Thanks to awesome advice in this forum I decided to tackle my stereo system upgrade. I think I read just about every post on the subject here...
. And the ones posted by
@David Analog - at least twice. You guys make it instructive and fun, love this forum!
All together (so far) my total cost came up to about $1,000, all in parts (my labor). I'm still on the fence about
tower speakers, which are not included in this upgrade.
EDIT: As it always seems to happen here, I ended up getting tower speakers and a bunch of other $$$hit, so my "budget" upgrade I was so proud of became just another jetboaters.net style upgrade (read: it kind of doubled...tripled...).
Because I've added several amps, EQ, and BT to the system - all power antennae are connected via a relay.
Here is what I did:
1. HU
I decided to keep my OEM JBL MR 145.2 radio, at least for now. Just fixed all the connections and added a remote. This unit used to drive me crazy - cutting in and out randomly in chop - it turned out to be a bunch of loose connections / the main plug - I ended up cutting the plug out and soldering speaker level line outputs. Not included here - adding Premium Marine Bluetooth 4.0 + Aptx Music Receiver - Exile Audio.
Because this HU comes enclosed in the glove box, I installed a wired remote from Prospec Inc. mounted in the dashboard, works great. I got a 20' cable with it which was plenty.
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2. Coaxials in the cockpit
Following advice of several members here, I got the Clarion XC1410 class D 4-channel amp driving 4 Polk DB651 coaxials (replacing OEM junk). Very good resulting sound.
3. Subwoofers
Needless to say - this was the critical part of the project - took me a few weeks to figure it out, and countless scenarios. Almost, almost went with IB type subs, but then reversed course and ended up with two Kicker 10' mounted subwoofers in ported enclosures (which have a slanted/trapezoid profile). I know, if only I had
@Speedling carpentering skills...
These are driven by Kicker CX600.1 1200W Class D Mono Amplifier. I actually tried a couple of different versions of the setup, thank you my local Best Buy, before settling on that and proceeding with the final install.
I ended up mounting the sub enclosures inside the helm and the passenger side consoles and vented them with SS marine vents - see the pics below.
Here is the starboard side, Kicker enclosure inside the helm, it was a very tight fit to squeeze it in there. Hard to take pics, too, but it is basically wedged in between the hull and the cockpit (bulkhead), supported by steel braces that lift it up from the sole. The fit is incredible, it is almost like if it was custom made...
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On the port side - inside the passenger console/storage compartment - I mounted the second subwoofer facing aft, directly underneath the glove compartment, also supported by braces and lifted a couple of inches above the sole.
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The wiring is not cleaned up, yet. I used 6 AWG stranded copper wire with a 80A fuse for the Kicker amp from the battery.
Importantly - loss of storage space in this scenario is alleviated on the port side (as this sub enclosure is fairly slim) and basically none on the starboard side.
Not obvious from the pictures, but both subwoofer enclosures are "upside-down" with the cones slanted / angled towards the sole.
I also mounted a separate Bass Level controller under the dashboard, works great and is super easy to use (for those less crazy about shaking the boat with the new bass base).
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The toughest part, of course, was cutting the vents - I hate cutting holes in my boat... But, it needed to be done as I did not want the bass to be all muffled up, with only thump and no music.
http://www.amazon.com/stainless-ste...psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00
Here is the port side:
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The woofer cone is pretty much centered on the middle vent, with the cone rim stretching out to side vents:
(the cone is actually a few inches away behind the opening, it just looks juxtaposed in the picture; the cone is also angled downwards as the enclosure wall is slanted).
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Here is the helm side:
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I must say my subsequent sound-check carried out on the water surpassed my expectations. The system sounds freaking awesome. With a lot of power to spare. Most importantly, it passed muster of my 14 and 12 yo critics / daughters who decided to be my judging panel. And - they loved it
!
Cheers, and thank you all who contribute to these threads with great tips and advice!
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