I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

[iamthunderman]

But I have no idea what to look for. Any suggestions?

 

[audiogod]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

http://clarion.com/us/en/products/2009/marine/index.html

Thats all i run in my boat been great equipment!

 

[John_S]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

Blast your music next to me on the water, and I will help everyone on the lake kick your a... :0

Just remember, sound carries a long way across the water.

 

[salty87]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

what boat are you putting it in? what's the budget?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

When you budget for this project don't forget the very large deep cycle battery you will need. Then also don't forget to plan for how you intend to keep this battery charged. Depending on the engine, the alternator may not have enough output to keep up so you then need an on-board charger that you plug in at the dock. And before you ask, NO - a solar panel will not do the job either if you don't have power at the dock. There are no acoustics in a boat so why one needs a mega powered system in a free-air environment is beyond me other than to just "make noise".

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

When you budget for this project don't forget the very large deep cycle battery you will need. Then also don't forget to plan for how you intend to keep this battery charged. Depending on the engine, the alternator may not have enough output to keep up so you then need an on-board charger that you plug in at the dock. And before you ask, NO - a solar panel will not do the job either if you don't have power at the dock. There are no acoustics in a boat so why one needs a mega powered system in a free-air environment is beyond me other than to just "make noise".

Amen

 

[TNBASSCAT]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

One thing you can never go wrong with in a boat is 2-4 quality 6x9's, preferably 4-ways. As far as subs go, no matter what kind you purchase, as crazy as it may sound, you want your subs 6-10" off the floor firing straight down if at all possible. Personally, I think "marine grade" audio equipment is, for the most part, nonsense. Quality speakers, whether marine grade or not, are usually made from the same materials. I would say that if you take price, quality, and sound all into consideration.....you can't really go wrong with Polk Audio. You could probably spend $1,000 on Ebay and get (4)10" subs, (4) 4-way 6x9's, and (2) amps..........and it would be rockin!!!!! I've got (2) 10" Polk Audio DVC's, (2) 3-way 6.5's, (2) 4-way 6x9's and a 5 channel amp in a bass boat and it sounds damn good!!!!! As far as batteries go, I would go with a Stinger. They are very pricey, but you get what you pay for in that dept. Luckily Ive got 2 deep cycle trolling batteries on my boat.......and you cant fish and listen to the radio all day! It's usually one or the other!!!

 

[TNBASSCAT]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

Blast your music next to me on the water, and I will help everyone on the lake kick your a... :0

Just remember, sound carries a long way across the water.

If you have that attitude....I have a very strong feeling that you 2 obviously go to the lake for different reasons!!!....I doubt you'd be spending much time in any "party cove"!!! lol

 

[Splat]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

One thing you can never go wrong with in a boat is 2-4 quality 6x9's, preferably 4-ways. As far as subs go, no matter what kind you purchase, as crazy as it may sound, you want your subs 6-10" off the floor firing straight down if at all possible. Personally, I think "marine grade" audio equipment is, for the most part, nonsense. Quality speakers, whether marine grade or not, are usually made from the same materials. I would say that if you take price, quality, and sound all into consideration.....you can't really go wrong with Polk Audio. You could probably spend $1,000 on Ebay and get (4)10" subs, (4) 4-way 6x9's, and (2) amps..........and it would be rockin!!!!! I've got (2) 10" Polk Audio DVC's, (2) 3-way 6.5's, (2) 4-way 6x9's and a 5 channel amp in a bass boat and it sounds damn good!!!!! As far as batteries go, I would go with a Stinger. They are very pricey, but you get what you pay for in that dept. Luckily Ive got 2 deep cycle trolling batteries on my boat.......and you cant fish and listen to the radio all day! It's usually one or the other!!!

Really?...... Really?........ ........

Why on earth would you use a 6x9 if you don't have a space issue? There would be no need.... 6x9's were

Marine head units are "potted" although many use a standard car head unit and keep it dry with good results, marine head units are a requirement in salt water conditions......

Marine speakers are WAY different than a standard automotive speaker. The materials are infact water resistant, unlike those of a standard automotive speaker.

Battery choice is left up in the air, many people have good luck with Optima blue tops, I can't comment on a "stinger" I've never even heard of one, let alone delt with one, personally I don't think you can go wrong with the cheepie walmart brand. They hold up and have a great NQA warranty return.

Bill

 

[TNBASSCAT]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

Really?...... Really?........ ........

Why on earth would you use a 6x9 if you don't have a space issue? There would be no need.... 6x9's were

Marine head units are "potted" although many use a standard car head unit and keep it dry with good results, marine head units are a requirement in salt water conditions......

Marine speakers are WAY different than a standard automotive speaker. The materials are infact water resistant, unlike those of a standard automotive speaker.

Battery choice is left up in the air, many people have good luck with Optima blue tops, I can't comment on a "stinger" I've never even heard of one, let alone delt with one, personally I don't think you can go wrong with the cheepie walmart brand. They hold up and have a great NQA warranty return.

Bill

I'm just speaking from experience, that's all!!!! I have never heard a boat system that sounds as good as the one in my brothers 33' fountain, and he's got 4 6x9's and 4 10's. Why would you buy twice the number of speakers to achieve the same quality of sound!?

As far as "marine" speakers being way different...I'm not sure what you are refering to. "Marine" speakers have poly cones with rubber surrounds, just as you will find in any quality built sub on the market.

As far as going to Wally World to buy a cheap battery to power a boat system!.....I think that says it all! Stinger is the battery to buy if you are putting a high power stereo in something with a charging system that could never keep up. For example, if you went with the setup I was referring to, you could expect to get between 5 and 7 hours of play time out of a single charge, depending on the amps you choose.......probably 3 to 4 times what you would get out of a Wally World battery! Going to Wal-Mart to get a battery to power your new high dollar stereo is about like buying a 1500 watt amp and using a 16 gauge power wire!!!!!!!.....not too smart!

 

[slia67]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

As far as "marine" speakers being way different...I'm not sure what you are refering to. "Marine" speakers have poly cones with rubber surrounds, just as you will find in any quality built sub on the market.

In a true marine speaker, they are also magnetically shielded to prevent interference with compasses and navigation equipment.

As far as 6x9 speakers,... round speakers typcially produce better sound. So stick with a 6 1/2" or 6 3/4". Or if you are going with a 10" subs use 5 1/4" component speakers.

Whatever you do make sure your speakers and amps are compatable and you are not under-powering your speakers or your sub.

 

[mmccoy555]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

Running capacitors might be another good idea to help store some of that energy.

 

[Showtime22]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

I'd add two deep cell batteries and a switch to isolate the two from your normal battery. Run the deep cells when you are anchored and have the tunes rolling and then turn back to your normal battery to start. Charge them all at night.

I tried running 2 amps and a load of speakers and subs off a normal battery. I just kept the motor running and it almost worked....but around 5 pm when I wanted to go wakeboarding the engine died due to the battery being completely killed. Luckily I had a spare.

As far as paying extra for marine speakers - I didn't want to - I have 4 6x9's on my tower that simply unbolt at the end of the day or if it rains. Then theres also no threat of theft. And I'm not advertising the systems presence by having them visable.

I'd have to see your playlist before I helped anyone kick your ***.
Good Luck

 

[pentavolvo]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

Having installed systems in a number of boats ill toss my 2 cents in

I recommend 2 sets of 6.5s, the polk db 651 are marine rated and a pretty damn good speaker. You deff want an amp to power them otherwise you will never be able to remotely get the system loud. IMO unless u are in a salt environment you dont need marine amps and radio just keep them dry. As far as bass a single 10 or 12 sub with roughly 300wrms should be adequate but obviously you can go more if need be. Plan on 50-60wrms for the speakers. I run a second battery but if you know your limitations it isnt 100% necessary, I run a solenoid as an isolator so when the boat is off the amps only suck power from the second battery, once the boat is running the batterys are esentially connected and the stereo battery will then charge

 

[smarston]

Re: I want to put in a kick *** sound system in the boat I am going to buy.....

I have installed many marine audio systems in a variety of different types of boats and I have to say, there are some major considerations to think about. Depending on the boat and the locations you have will make the difference to which speakers to put in. As an example if you locate them close to a high traffic area where people will be getting on and off of the boat, and water gathers there, marine speakers are a huge plus. There are a bunch of differences between marine grade and normal speakers, not just the type of cone. Marine speakers have different surrounds that are designed to not degrade when they get wet, and then dry. Most also have epoxy or silicone treated tinsel leads. If you get the tinsel leads wet on a normal speaker(these are the wires that come through the center of the cone on a 2 way/3 way etc, they will cause a short and damage the deck or amplifier they are running off of. Some marine speakers such as the Clarions are also designed to be mounted in storage areas, and have protective baskets that make sure nothing can puncture the cone easily from behind. I have seen many times, speakers mounted under seats, only to have a screwdriver or other item stored under the seat go through the cone during maneuvering.

Once you figure out where all your speakers will be mounted I would then think about how you want to power them. If you want to have a truly hard hitting system amplifiers are a must, and I say that as a plural for a reason. If you want to hit hard, you need a seperate amplifier for subs, as the open air does not have the cabin gain characteristics of a car. Subs on a boat put out less than 1/4 the output with similar power because of this. Again location is key. The subs you choose will depend on where they would be, and the idea mentioned above about loading the subs(upside down) works well in some situations.

When you have decided which subs/speakers/amps you will be running you need to figure out the true wattage and current characteristics of the amplifiers so you can design the electrical with this in mind. Most major boat systems I have installed(3000 watts or more) I have focussed on the electrical more than anything. Most systems will be 2 amp systems in boats if done right. I would suggest 2 additional batteries on a seperate circuit from your starting battery, just with all three running when the ignition is on and the boat is running. A standard isolator can accomplish this easily and doesn't cost more than $30 at a local auto store. I have found in the last 18 years I did this that the most important thing to keep a boat system running properly is capacitance. The last system I made had 1500 watts and 3 one farad capacitors. Some find this to be overkill, but the reality is this helps out the charging system on the boat a huge amount. A capacitor takes a slow trickle type charge from the battery and then expells the power to the amplifiers as it needs it. This keeps more of a constant draw on the battery, which most marine alternators can handle, instead of the spike of the bass amplifier pulling from the electrical on the boat. I had them set up with one cap on the amplifier for the mids/highs and 2 for the sub amplifier. They are normally rated for 1000 watts each so some may consider this overkill. The other main thing is to keep them within 12-18 wire inches of the amplifiers, they are not effective if they are further away. On a boat capacitance is key and will keep you from overloading the alternator and possibly damaging other parts of the boats electrical or ignition systems.