Boat Speakers

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Hmmm. So is your head unit also in a round form factor (like the speaker) and mounted on the instrument panel? Prospec shows at least one and maybe two on their site that are. It would only be a guess but I would venture the speakers were OEM quality at best and age in a humid environment has not improved them. 5 1/2 inch speakers are plentiful so replacing those will be easy if you intend to put them back in the same holes. Replacing the head unit, if it's round, will be harder of course but prospec does show a JBL one that "might" be a suitable replacement. I think I would recommend replacing the speakers first and see how they sound. If they sound OK but aren't loud enough, then add an amp between the head and the speakers and see if that helps. If the head unit is [censored] the amp will...amplify that. But you will know if it also needs replacing. So those are my thoughts. There are many more knowledgeable people here to help more than I can. And the suggestion by someone earlier to consider a Bluetooth speaker is a good one if this gets to be too...hard.
 
Here's some food for thought.........do you want clear clean audio at full throttle? If so then everything will need to be replaced with a considerably more powerful head unit or aftermarket amp. Additional speakers would be required.

If your just wanting some tunes at rest or slow cruise speeds then what you have after replacing the existing speakers just might work. If you prefer radio make sure you have a good antenna and connection.
 
Where are these speakers mounted? Much depends on location. Photo possible?
I didn't see the model # listed on the link you provided.
How's your hearing? Any trouble with consanants?
 
Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Here's some food for thought.........do you want clear clean audio at full throttle? If so then everything will need to be replaced with a considerably more powerful head unit or aftermarket amp. Additional speakers would be required.

If your just wanting some tunes at rest or slow cruise speeds then what you have after replacing the existing speakers just might work. If you prefer radio make sure you have a good antenna and connection.


Basically music while stationary, but music while slow crusing would be nice too. I spoke with Crutchfield as was suggested earlier. Great people. Suggested a wide range of speakers for consideration. He thought the head unit would be ok. He suggested I add two more speakers of better quality. Replace the original speakers if needed. An amp would be the last resort.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Where are these speakers mounted? Much depends on location. Photo possible?
I didn't see the model # listed on the link you provided.
How's your hearing? Any trouble with consanants?




The speakers are located on the seat bases forward of the console on each side, across from each other. If I add two more, one would go in the same location on the rear port side seating. The other would go under the console facing the stern. There just isn't a lot of places to mount speakers on our boat.
 
The front two are facing each other, rather than you and the Mrs. Not good. I suspect she'd sit aft on the 90° bench while you're driving, no? Given that, one under/inside the aft port side + one under the console would be my preference.

Another option is a single long medium size speaker up underneath the console pointed down at 45°. Something like a marine-grade soundbar. The sound is likely to be better.

Note that those tiny, Mylar 13/15/1x mm tweeters are next to useless. Why? Because the f3 point of the 1st-order, high-pass network has to be so high to protect them (because they're cheap & fragile)to make them all but useless except for teenagers and dogs. Further, if over 50 your hearing response above 12KHz is probably greatly diminished compared to your Mrs.

Given this, I'd advise you to go with a mini outdoor residential enclosed spkr like these: https://www.amazon.com/Niles-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers-FG00987/dp/B000FBBHKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1506213299&sr=1-1&keywords=outdoor+patio+speakers&refinements=p_89%3ANiles

These use an actual dome tweeter rather than the tiny, tinny Mylar version. The treble will be quite a bit better & so will the sound. I have a pair of Niles outdoors similar to these (with dome tweeters) in my garage for nearly 2 decades now. No problems.

If these are too much $$$, shop for something similar with a true outdoor dome tweeter rather than a mylar.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
The front two are facing each other, rather than you and the Mrs. Not good. I suspect she'd sit aft on the 90° bench while you're driving, no? Given that, one under/inside the aft port side + one under the console would be my preference.

Another option is a single long medium size speaker up underneath the console pointed down at 45°. Something like a marine-grade soundbar. The sound is likely to be better.

Note that those tiny, Mylar 13/15/1x mm tweeters are next to useless. Why? Because the f3 point of the 1st-order, high-pass network has to be so high to protect them (because they're cheap & fragile)to make them all but useless except for teenagers and dogs. Further, if over 50 your hearing response above 12KHz is probably greatly diminished compared to your Mrs.

Given this, I'd advise you to go with a mini outdoor residential enclosed spkr like these: https://www.amazon.com/Niles-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers-FG00987/dp/B000FBBHKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1506213299&sr=1-1&keywords=outdoor+patio+speakers&refinements=p_89%3ANiles

These use an actual dome tweeter rather than the tiny, tinny Mylar version. The treble will be quite a bit better & so will the sound. I have a pair of Niles outdoors similar to these (with dome tweeters) in my garage for nearly 2 decades now. No problems.

If these are too much $$$, shop for something similar with a true outdoor dome tweeter rather than a mylar.


Thanks for the info and opinion on the speakers. I checked them out. I actually might consider a pair of these for my garage since the old, cheap ones I had been using just coincidentally gave up the ghost yesterday. I honestly believe Noah used these things to pipe music to the animals during the great flood. For the boat, since it's new, I would prefer a flush mount for a more clean appearance to keep the vice-admiral off my back. And yes, it's been so long ago I can't remember when I slipped past 50.
 
In that case, you could mount both up underneath the console.
Disconnect the cheap ones and leave them in place.
As for garage wall mounting, try them upside down too and listen for any difference about 15' away. Sometimes you'll near more treble upside down when mounted vertically.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
The front two are facing each other, rather than you and the Mrs. Not good. I suspect she'd sit aft on the 90° bench while you're driving, no? Given that, one under/inside the aft port side + one under the console would be my preference.

Another option is a single long medium size speaker up underneath the console pointed down at 45°. Something like a marine-grade soundbar. The sound is likely to be better.

Note that those tiny, Mylar 13/15/1x mm tweeters are next to useless. Why? Because the f3 point of the 1st-order, high-pass network has to be so high to protect them (because they're cheap & fragile)to make them all but useless except for teenagers and dogs. Further, if over 50 your hearing response above 12KHz is probably greatly diminished compared to your Mrs.

Given this, I'd advise you to go with a mini outdoor residential enclosed spkr like these: https://www.amazon.com/Niles-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers-FG00987/dp/B000FBBHKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1506213299&sr=1-1&keywords=outdoor+patio+speakers&refinements=p_89%3ANiles

These use an actual dome tweeter rather than the tiny, tinny Mylar version. The treble will be quite a bit better & so will the sound. I have a pair of Niles outdoors similar to these (with dome tweeters) in my garage for nearly 2 decades now. No problems.

If these are too much $$$, shop for something similar with a true outdoor dome tweeter rather than a mylar.
I was thinking about suggesting enclosed speakers as well, my first though was a pair of Yamahas.
 
I e-mailed the company that made/sold the speakers that came witb the boat. Not sure this is helpful, or means much, but the speakers are rated at 100W peak, and 50 RMS. Should this be a determining factor in selecting the additional speakers, if I choose to keep these in use and not replace them?
 
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