Want a lot of bass for not a lot of money? Here is what I just discovered.

[Ronnie]

For context, I installed a 10” subwoofer at the side of the captain’s chair a few years ago. It never put out the deep bass sound I was looking for. Recently I upgraded to a dedicated class D amp putting out 300w RMS which matches the specs of the Alpine subwoofer. It still doesn’t hit like I think it should. The sound is very localized to my side of the cockpit.

Today I got to check out the two 8” kicker speakers I installed on the swim deck. These are powered by a dedicated amp that puts out 150w RMS to each speaker. Again this matches the (Kicker’s) speaker specs. This setup beats hard, HARD! I only turned up the volume to about 50%. If i didn’t already cut a giant hole in the boat for the 10” sub I would not hesitate to remove the sub and its dedicated amp entirely. It’s that good. I’m not an engineer but think the compartment the speakers are mounted to seems to be the perfect bass box, they vent to the bilge/clean out port area/engine compartment (and eventfully behind the swimdeck seats, I think).

Price: I spent roughly $400 ($200 for the speakers and $200 for the amp, both Kicker branded). Not cheap but not horribly expensive either.

 

[Nick Hughes]

YMMV, my 10" JL Audio IB with a dedicated JL M200 bridged amp hits very hard. Sensitivity is even set at maybe 40%.

 

[Ronnie]

YMMV, my 10" JL Audio IB with a dedicated JL M200 bridged amp hits very hard. Sensitivity is even set at maybe 40%.

Where did you mount it and what does it (speaker and amp powering it) cost?

I’ve seen a few systems that I’m sure hit hard but I’ve also seen some of the astronomical prices for them. I just checked for the amp at Crutchfield, they want $389 for a two channel amp that puts out 75w rms, 200w bridged. For comparison my kicker amp does almost twice that at half the cost. at twice the cost. I’m not saying the m200 is not worth it but I couldn’t justify buying it.

I also checked for 10” JL subwoofers and the prices range from $120 to $830. I spent $200 for two 8”s with integrated LEDs. Getting these to fit in the stock locations on the swim deck was a challenge, I’m almost certain I could not get a 10” speaker in there and two would likely break my budget. If I could install 10”s there and afford to power them appropriately, I bet it would sound awesome.

There are an infinite number of component combinations that can be used. My primary point in posting is not to say that I’ve found the best components but that I’ve found a great location for bass reproduction. The compartments are not completely sealed, they open up to the bilge and are only loosely walled off from the gunwhales/sides/rear cockpit storage compartments which seems to make them perfect for creating and transmitting the bass I’ve been looking for.

 

[Nick Hughes]

Where did you mount it and what does it (speaker and amp powering it) cost?

I’ve seen a few systems that I’m sure hit hard but I’ve also seen some of the astronomical prices for them. I just checked for the amp at Crutchfield, they want $389 for a two channel amp that puts out 75w rms, 200w bridged. For comparison my kicker amp does almost twice that at half the cost. at twice the cost. I’m not saying the m200 is not worth it but I couldn’t justify buying it.

I also checked for 10” JL subwoofers and the prices range from $120 to $830. I spent $200 for two 8”s with integrated LEDs. Getting these to fit in the stock locations on the swim deck was a challenge, I’m almost certain I could not get a 10” speaker in there and two would likely break my budget. If I could install 10”s there and afford to power them appropriately, I bet it would sound awesome.

There are an infinite number of component combinations that can be used. My primary point in posting is not to say that I’ve found the best components but that I’ve found a great location for bass reproduction. The compartments are not completely sealed, they open up to the bilge and are only loosely walled off from the gunwhales/sides/rear cockpit storage compartments which seems to make them perfect for creating and transmitting the bass I’ve been looking for.

I have my sub under the port rear seat. I bought my amp refurbed for $230 from Creative Audio, 0 issues. You need an IB sub without any inclosure. I went with the MX-IB3, not the best but does well. Its 200 or less. I would also caution with comparing watts between brands as a comparison. That said, JL watts are more conservative than Kicker IMO. If your 8s hit on the swim deck, then your goal is achieved. Unless you want bass in the cabin.

 

[2kwik4u]

For context, I installed a 10” subwoofer at the side of the captain’s chair a few years ago. It never put out the deep bass sound I was looking for. Recently I upgraded to a dedicated class D amp putting out 300w RMS which matches the specs of the Alpine subwoofer. It still doesn’t hit like I think it should. The sound is very localized to my side of the cockpit.

Today I got to check out the two 8” kicker speakers I installed on the swim deck. These are powered by a dedicated amp that puts out 150w RMS to each speaker. Again this matches the (Kicker’s) speaker specs. This setup beats hard, HARD! I only turned up the volume to about 50%. If i didn’t already cut a giant hole in the boat for the 10” sub I would not hesitate to remove the sub and its dedicated amp entirely. It’s that good. I’m not an engineer but think the compartment the speakers are mounted to seems to be the perfect bass box, they vent to the bilge/clean out port area/engine compartment (and eventfully behind the swimdeck seats, I think).

Price: I spent roughly $400 ($200 for the speakers and $200 for the amp, both Kicker branded). Not cheap but not horribly expensive either.

Have any pictures?

 

[Nick Hughes]

Have any pictures?

Not the best, but you get the idea.

 

[Jeromy Gaudy]

For context, I installed a 10” subwoofer at the side of the captain’s chair a few years ago. It never put out the deep bass sound I was looking for. Recently I upgraded to a dedicated class D amp putting out 300w RMS which matches the specs of the Alpine subwoofer. It still doesn’t hit like I think it should. The sound is very localized to my side of the cockpit.

Today I got to check out the two 8” kicker speakers I installed on the swim deck. These are powered by a dedicated amp that puts out 150w RMS to each speaker. Again this matches the (Kicker’s) speaker specs. This setup beats hard, HARD! I only turned up the volume to about 50%. If i didn’t already cut a giant hole in the boat for the 10” sub I would not hesitate to remove the sub and its dedicated amp entirely. It’s that good. I’m not an engineer but think the compartment the speakers are mounted to seems to be the perfect bass box, they vent to the bilge/clean out port area/engine compartment (and eventfully behind the swimdeck seats, I think).

Price: I spent roughly $400 ($200 for the speakers and $200 for the amp, both Kicker branded). Not cheap but not horribly expensive either.

Did you install a third battery? I'm worried about battery life if I upgrade my system

 

[Nick Hughes]

Did you install a third battery? I'm worried about battery life if I upgrade my system

No, rarely have an issue. The house battery doesn't control the starter, always able to start the boat up and charge things.

 

[Jeromy Gaudy]

No, rarely have an issue. The house battery doesn't control the starter, always able to start the boat up and charge things.

Cool. So you use float mode alot? If I'm on the water music is playing and I just worry bout draining juice. I installed an onboard charger last summer and that helps. Just my own nerves I guess.

 

[Ronnie]

I will post pics of my setup later today but there is not much too see. That is, larger speakers on the swim deck and a sub on the side of my captains chair. My amp is a smaller kicker model and didn’t come with a true amp certificate like the other three kicker amps did. All those put out more amps than what’s stated on the specs. Whether I’m actually sending or able to send 150w rms to each swim deck speaker I will never know for sure but so far I’m happy with the results. I do realize that amp output is hard to compare between brands though, my focus this time around is on rms not peak or max amps.

I have not added a third battery but did upgrade both the start and house batteries. I also don’t think I will be blasting the volume often and the boat batteries are on a charger whenever the boat is not on the water so im going to pass on adding another battery, for now anyway.

 

[BigAbe75]

Does anyone have any experience with the powered Bazooka subs?

10" tube with powered 250w amp for $369 - probably cheaper at resellers, if I had to guess.

10" Marine Amplified Bass Tubes & FREE Universal Mounting Bracket - Amplified Bass Tubes® - Bass Tubes®

<p>Our 10" Marine Amplified Bass Tubes have an integrated 100W or 250W amplifer with a Bass Tubes enclosure design and variable gain control. They are waterproof, made from stainless steel hardware and are the perfect upgrade to any audio system. Salt, fo

www.bazooka.com

Just feels easier to install an all in one unit, rather than building all of the components.... for a non-aficionado, anyway.

 

[I_squared_r]

Does anyone have any experience with the powered Bazooka subs?

10" tube with powered 250w amp for $369 - probably cheaper at resellers, if I had to guess.

10" Marine Amplified Bass Tubes & FREE Universal Mounting Bracket - Amplified Bass Tubes® - Bass Tubes®

<p>Our 10" Marine Amplified Bass Tubes have an integrated 100W or 250W amplifer with a Bass Tubes enclosure design and variable gain control. They are waterproof, made from stainless steel hardware and are the perfect upgrade to any audio system. Salt, fo

www.bazooka.com

Just feels easier to install an all in one unit, rather than building all of the components.... for a non-aficionado, anyway.

I have the kicker 8" underneath my bench

There is a 10" but it doesnt fit under the bench of the ar192. Both of these you need to provide an amp. It has good bass, but maybe some day i'll add another

 

[jacoviii]

What model Alpine subwoofer?

 

[Ronnie]

What model Alpine subwoofer?

One of these.

 

[Ronnie]

Here are a few pics of of the components I installed recently.

 

[d_coyne1984]

So was the intent here to get more bass in the cockpit or behind the boat?

 

[2kwik4u]

I have the kicker 8" underneath my bench

There is a 10" but it doesnt fit under the bench of the ar192. Both of these you need to provide an amp. It has good bass, but maybe some day i'll add another

I think this is what I'll be adding when the time comes. It's just too compact and convenient of an installation for me to overlook.

 

[I_squared_r]

I think this is what I'll be adding when the time comes. It's just too compact and convenient of an installation for me to overlook.

Its a cool speaker. It replaced cheap dual 12in subs that I had under the seat that had died from moisture. These aren't as loud but the sound is cleaner. It moves a lot of air that I can feel it on my feet at the driver seat.

 

[Ronnie]

My original intent was just to get better and more sound out of the swim deck by installing bigger speakers on it. I was surprised that the bass sounds so much better coming out of that location and shared it with everyone here in case someone can benefit from it. If I could do it all over again, I would not install a separate single sub woofer or dedicated amp to power it in he cockpit but would focus my efforts on the swim deck speakers, for the bass anyway.

FYI - I’m waiting on delivery of another pair of alpine tweeters for the swim deck and have already run the speaker wires for them, just haven’t cut the holes yet. Hopefully I can tune the speakers on the swim deck so that the tweeters won’t be overwhelmed by the 8” kickers. As originally re-configured I was getting too much bass out of the swim deck speakers.

 

[Maillis]

I’m no expert, but I noticed that in general Kicker speakers have a frequency response range that starts lower than other marine speakers - typically in the 30-35hz range vs 45-55hz of other manufacturers. Could that be part of the reason they have a little more “thump” than others?