MagnaDyne Speakers?

[catfan95]

My new EbbTide 180 came with a no name CD (4x25watt) and four MagnaDyne WR65W 6 1/2 2 way speakers (50watt max - cannot find RMS). Sound is okay until you turn it up when cruising at about 30 mph. Then the bass goes to crap and the highs are too high. Does anyone know about MagnaDyne speakers? Would it help me to move to a Pioneer 2 way with higher max watts? I thought about car speakers but two are in box and 2 are mounted under rear seat. Both places see water on a regular basis. Thanks for the help.

 

[b.gagnon]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

To here that thing at 30mph you will have to turn it up so loud that you will make everyone within 2 miles very unhappy

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

Not so. At 30mph I can have a conversation with the person in the co-pilot seat without yelling. The boat is extremely quiet for a runabout. Just want clearer stereo sound when the stereo is up

 

[MidwestMonaco]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

Do a search on ebay for marine speakers.<br /><br />I just put 4 Polk Audio 6.5 and a Clarion CD player in my boat and I am very happy with them. I would like to add an amp and sub but that is a later project. <br /><br />I hate to tell you to replace the cheap stock stuff, but if you want loud AND clear music that is probably the route you need to go.

 

[vipzach]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

catfan, the problem you have is that the power your noname radio says it puts out is probly a lie. When the volume is turned up the internal amp begins to clip...causing distortion(crappy sound). I don't know anything about magnadyne, but the first thing I would do is buy a decent stereo/cd player. Just because a speaker is rated to handle two hundred watts doesn't mean it will play better with crappy sound coming to it.

 

[salty87]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

depending on money, in order to hear decent music at speed you'll need an amp. not too many stock decks will give you good sound quality and volume. you might be able to get away with putting an amp on the stock head unit, really depends on what condition it's in. since there's no name you can't research it, you won't know what it sounds like amplified until you put an amp on it.<br /><br />the speakers will need to be upgraded probably too. chances are that you've damaged them with the distortion, they weren't much good anyway. if you want to replace them, go with a decent brand and make sure the cones are made of polypropolene and not paper.<br /><br />a sub is always nice but you'll get better bass with an amp. it just won't rattle the windshield

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

Thanks to all for the help so far. Just looking for a little more help.<br /><br />Option I am considering:<br />1. Change out head unit with auto (Pioneer 50x4) or Clarion marine (50x4). Pioneer is much cheaper.<br />2. Upgrade speakers to clarion marine (150watt max, RMS = 50)<br /><br />I am not an audiophile but do like my music more crisp (little distortion). I don't want to drop a fortune on this project so any help would be helpful.<br />Questions to all:<br />1. Is a 50x4 head unit good enough?<br />2. What are the best marine speakers for under $100/pair?<br />3. Good head unit on a tight budget?<br />4. Will a cheap amp help?

 

[vipzach]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

If it were me: I would buy the pioneer and keep the other $200 (left from not buying the clarion) and buy an amp. Hook all that up and see how it sounds. If the speakers are also shot, I personally have heard the pioneer marine speakers and thought they sounded pretty good. I am using kicker speakers in my boat with a 10" sub, nice amp, and a JVC head unit.<br />The amp my brother put in his boat was around $100 and we bought it at Circuit City. Wal-Mart has a sony amp for around $150 that would probly work fine too.

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

So a basic Pioneer cd player from Wal Mart to replace the stock unit.<br />What risk do I run putting auto Pioneer (poly propylene) speakers in? May get a small amount of spash but never soaked.<br />Marine speakers are expensive and hard to find a good selection locally. I would be okay with having to replace the speakers every 4-5 years given the cost difference. <br />Guy at Best Buy said the smallest amount of splashed water would send water into the "voice coil" and ruin the speakers (2 way/coaxial). Is this true?

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

So a basic Pioneer cd player from Wal Mart to replace the stock unit.<br />What risk do I run putting auto Pioneer (poly propylene) speakers in? May get a small amount of spash but never soaked.<br />Marine speakers are expensive and hard to find a good selection locally. I would be okay with having to replace the speakers every 4-5 years given the cost difference. <br />Guy at Best Buy said the smallest amount of splashed water would send water into the "voice coil" and ruin the speakers (2 way/coaxial). Is this true?

 

[vipzach]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

The guy at Best Buy is right, it could ruin the speakers. My buddy has four of the pioneer 6 1/2 (regular car) they have been in there for two years now and no problems, they get the occasional splashing. If you aren't going to put in an amp, I wouldn't buy the cheapest stereo that they have.

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

So one last clarification?<br /><br />1. Buy decent pioneer auto cd ($99 at wal-mart)<br />2. Buy amp (what size?)<br /><br />It would seem that adding the amp will make my current speakers useless (only 50 amp max). <br /><br />If I were to keep current cd and add the amp will I blow out these speakers.<br /><br />One thing to remember, this is a new boat with only 9 hrs so I don't think I have ruined the stock speakers yet. They sound great at a reasonable volume.<br /><br />Thanks again for the help.

 

[vipzach]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

The amp I was telling you about at walmart (if I remember right) was a 4 channel amp. I would buy an amp that is rated to play 50 watts RMS. Turn the amp down, they have a gain adjustment that will let you turn them down. You will have to play with it a bit to get the sound you want. You won't blow the speakers if you don't turn the amp up to high. Listen for the distortion, that is what will destroy those speakers. <br />You may have to replace the speakers so that you can play at the volume you want, and for it to sound good that loud.<br /><br />BTW....is catfan the the Wildcats?

 

[sangerwaker]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

A little tidbit of info.....<br /><br />I heard this trick from a VERY high end stereo installer here locally. Use std auto speakers and spray both sides down with a silicone waterproofing spray. Won't degrade the sound quality, and saves a ton of $$ over marine grade. He uses that in all boat installs and has never had a problem.

 

[salty87]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

i've had auto speakers in my boat for almost 5 years, one of them recently started going. that's an inboard wakeboarding boat, plenty of splashing....dogs too! the marine speakers are more expensive and dont' sound as good, not worth the extra $ imo.<br /><br />sounds like you can get away with keeping the speakers. i'd save that money for the time being. i wouldn't limit myself to an amp that fits them though. if you're going to get an amp, you might want one that will let you get better speakers at some point later. those magnadynes may say 50 watts but that's probably 50 watts of noise and nothing you'd want to listen to. companies that make no-name equipment are notorious for over-rating them.<br /><br />if you have no plans to add a sub or go crazy with it, i'd get a 2 channel amp that's stable at 2 ohms. you lose a front to rear fader that way but it's cheaper. do you think you'll ever want the front speakers louder than the rear (or the opposite)? in a small boat, it doesn't really make that big of a difference since you're still close to the louder speakers.<br /><br />i'd start with an amp. the head unit might sound ok and the speakers might last a bit. you can always buy more.

 

[ratracer]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

ONLY consider using the existing CD unit with an external amp if the head has preamp outputs, although my guess is that it doesn't. Otherwise, all you'd be doing is using the external amp to boost the crappy signal coming out of the CD units internal amp. <br /><br />Walmart.com shows a Pioneer DEH-16 which I believe is rated for 22W RMS/channel across all 4 channels. This would be a good starting point for you for several reasons including a reasonably decent and fairly powerful amplifier. <br /><br />If after installing the new unit you find that it isn't really loud enough for your needs you can buy a 4-channel amplifier that supports speaker-level inputs (virtually all do) and install it by connecting the speakers to the amplifier output, and connecting the speaker-out connections from the CD unit to the speaker-in inputs to the amplifier. This is only worthwhile if you got an amplifier rated at 40-60 watts/channel RMS at 4 ohms, and a decent 4-channel amplifier at this power rating will run you around $100-$150. <br /><br />Avoid the temptation to pick up one of the $19.99 10-billion-watt amplifiers. <br /><br />I wouldn't worry about the 50W rating of your current speakers. As others have alluded, speakers are much more tolerant of a clean signal than a distorted one - even when the clean signal is much more powerful. Assuming you're using decent electronics, at the power levels I'm talking about there isn't much risk of zapping your current speakers unless you're planning on playing something like rap music at close to maximum volume. <br /><br />If you are happy with the peformance of your current speakers you should at least try to reuse them before considering replacing them. There's a good chance you'll find they sound even better than with the current CD head, because they'll be fed a better signal.<br /><br />As for the recommendation for using replacement speakers whose cones are made from poly, it's a valid one because of durability issues.

 

[catfan95]

Re: MagnaDyne Speakers?

Thanks to all for the help.<br />1. zipzach. Yes, catfan is for the KSU Wildcats (1995 grad)<br />2. A friend gave me a 200watt 4 channel Pioneer amp which I have now installed. Speakers sound great. Only issue is that fader control does not move speakers from front to back but rather when I put all to the front the sound goes down and when i put to the rear all the sound goes up. Not a real big issue and I will trouble shoot later.<br />3. Head unit is MagnaDyne and does have pre-amp (RCA) outputs. I went from head unit to amp with RCA then speakers from Amp.