# marine audio question



## bark424 (Feb 16, 2013)

A friend wants me to install a system in his boat soon and since I've never done a boat before i didn't know if it was a pretty straight forward install or if there was anything special I'd need to know. I know you can't cabin gain into account (which i don't hear mentioned on here very much) and would probably want the most efficient speakers we can find. And, any suggestions on components? Looking at the boat I'd say budget probably is not a big concern.


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

Get Marine rated equipment, keep the amps closer to the batteries, and run a distro block for all grounding needs.


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## sjr033 (Dec 30, 2011)

What kind of boat? Play time with the boat off? ie parked at sandbar.
The charging system on most boats horrible. (My 50hp outboard has something like a 6amp alternator.) So using the most efficient speakers and amps (class D) are going to be important. Based on his budget I would start with JL Audio's marine line. Polk Audio seems to all be marine cert. and budget friendly.


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## jp88 (Jun 25, 2007)

bark424 said:


> A friend wants me to install a system in his boat soon and since I've never done a boat before i didn't know if it was a pretty straight forward install or if there was anything special I'd need to know. I know you can't cabin gain into account (which i don't hear mentioned on here very much) and would probably want the most efficient speakers we can find. And, any suggestions on components? Looking at the boat I'd say budget probably is not a big concern.


The first question is what size boat, what kind of engines, what type of construction is used on the boat. There are a lot of different things you may need to know depending on the answers to these questions. 
A couple generic boat things are make sure to use tinned boat wire, and good quality heat shrinkable connections (or cover all connections with heat shrink)
Make sure all equipment, fuse blocks, terminal strips, etc are marine rated.

Make sure that if you cut any holes in fiberglass that has wood as a core seal the wood with either gel coat or epoxy. (take very special care if balsa is used as a core)


Ill think of some more later Im sure. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask I installed marine electronics (including audio) for over 10 years Mostly on larger boats(40 ft and up)


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## rgiorgio (Nov 21, 2012)

Polyplanar will hold up the best and longest. That is all they make, marine. Also an interesting variety of modules for individual volume control in cabin, on tower and so on. Can also integrate into VHF. Ive sold all marine equipment except JL. All came back or dies in a year except for Polyplanar. Their speakers are by far the best. Memphis used to hold up ok also, but i feel they are a different company today.
Marine Products | PolyPlanar Waterproof Marine Audio Systems


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## darinof (Feb 6, 2009)

It is a pontoon, sky boat, speedboat? Any pictures to figure out speaker locations?


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## bark424 (Feb 16, 2013)

Ok, so i really didn't know what he had or wanted. I had only seen a pic once. Its an '09 sea ray 340, 32'cabin cruiser. Apparently wants to upgrade. He doesn't knows beans about audio. Some of the keywords were jl, 1000 watts, 3 10's, 6 6.5's. Sounds like a rocker to me.


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## jp88 (Jun 25, 2007)

searay 340 sundancer, Not too bad of a boat to work with. Cable runs wont be too terible. Equipment mounting locations may be a little rough. Searay makes good use of space (which unfortunately doesnt leave much for addons sometimes). The alternators and batteries on that boat should be plenty to handle a really good system though


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## nadroj81 (Jul 27, 2012)

I have a sea ray 280. It has all 2 sets of jl 6.5 (better marine line), a set of jl 7.7 in deck mount jl cans. Those fire to the rear of the boat and are mounted to the radar arch. 
I have 3 jl 10w3v3 in a sealed box under the rear most seat in the boat. The box is removable. I have a marine alpine 10 under the sink also. 
I am running jl 600/4(cockpit), pdxv9 bridged powering cans and single sub , and a massive n3 powering the jl subs. My calculations put it at about 2500watts. Whatever that means. 
I am running 2 gel batteries. Can't remember which kind. But I can get about two hours of play off each one before the voltage drops and turns off. 
I don't have an on board generator so getting a battery system that can hold charge for 8+ hours is something I really would like to find advice with. 
I do not believe the onboard converter supports charging two different battery types in two banks, so I need to change that or other. 
I will post some pics of the boat.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I did some boats in the 90s for a while, mostly offshore style. Most didn't want subs then due to no room or too much weight would slow the boat down, or power usage. We always ran 6x9 or 6x10 in at least one place. You get zero cabin gain so you need to beef the midbass and bass. Quad drivers 6x9 or larger worked really well then 6.5 in other places. Did put some IB subs in since they take up little room and don't really weigh much either. Plus IB subs and larger mids both make more noise on low power, typically didn't need over 300rms amps on that stuff (was 12v rated old school 300rms however). You will have a hard time setting it up like a car, and since its generally used for a public sound system with people moving around...it is much different than a car. Even driving the boat its so noisy you need power more than anything, something that still sounds fairly good loud. Worry about speaker placement you can hear outside the boat, that is most important, though not for bass speakers. Multiple locations work great, as you see in some boats with 10 pairs of speakers mounted.

These boats had car engines (I/Os) but you don't run it when you tie up and party and that was 80% of the usage, so we put extra batteries in. Just used a switch so you could start it on different ones you didn't use for sound. Though some of them had two or three V8s in them, but once you start one it will charge the others.

This was freshwater, salt water might be different. We used about any car speaker unless it was in a spot that you knew would get wet. Most of these boats got no water unless you got caught in the rain. In those spots we sometimes used marine speakers, sometimes we just put grill cloth (sprayed with waterproofing) under the grills it will keep water off unless it gets dunked. Car speakers tend to hold up to moisture pretty well anyway, or most of them do.

Have to be careful of wiring you will get connection problems. We soldered about everything outside the cuddy, but it never got wet inside there so the amps and all went there. Was right behind the HU anyway. Might be too far away from the batteries for larger amps.

Sometimes speakers would puke after a couple seasons, so you just replace them. Its a tough environment, was typically the most exposed ones like the dash area. Good place for marine speakers. I had some rust the terminal post right off them lol. I used to put dielectric grease on all the connections and plugs.


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## nadroj81 (Jul 27, 2012)

Got some pics of my boat up.
All the amps are downstairs protected. I don't have a handy picture of them. I am running the stock clarion deck that came stock on the boat, because it would be a pain to replace the head unit and the cabin remotes. I do have volume control for the subs and the rear facing speakers. 



















































it's LOUD.


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## robtr8 (Dec 6, 2011)

You can check the stereo forum at Malibu Crew or any of the other ski/wake/surf boat forums. Very active community of system up-graders. Two manufacturers that aren't mentioned on DIYMA but own the marine audio space are Wetsounds and Exile.

The biggest trend right now is adding Bluetooth so that you can control the music selection from your iPhone where ever you happen to be standing in the boat. The other is dropping the use of HU's and using just preamp/EQ/zone controllers like the Exile ZLD.

If the existing drivers are JL just make sure they aren't weather damaged and give them more power, they'll come alive. If they're Clarion, s**t-can 'em and start over.

The most important things to know about marine audio is: A) You need more. It's an open environment, no cabin gain and tons of outside noise. Add sound proofing to the engine compartment if it doesn't already have it. Kits are available at Partman.com You need more speakers, more watts, more batteries. B) There's never enough mid bass. Never settle on a 6.5" if you can fit a 7" or better yet, an 8". C) It's a boat, assume everything is going to get wet and UV damaged. Do not use MDF ever. Baltic Birch or MDO with the surfaces sealed are preferred.

A great source for marine grade supplies is Defender.com West Marine will also price match and you can get free shipping if you pick up at the local store.


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## nadroj81 (Jul 27, 2012)

Forgot to mention I did this upgrade in two stages. The interior facing speakers and the single 10 were done one year. The difference from stock was ridiculous by itself. You couldn't even hear the music when you were going 25mph.
The 6.5s and the 10 made a huge difference and would even thump when you were cruising. It had great sound when you were on the boat. 
Of course, everyone loves to tweak and upgrade. So I added the JL cans facing back and the 3 10s. That threw sound off the boat VERY VERY far with dynamic range, Not sure the horn loaded crap (IMO). 
A word of advice, if you don't have a wake tower, but you have a radar arch, the "Cans" are much more expensive, due to the mounting difference. If you have a tubular tower, the clamps are cheap and there is more selection of speaker/cans available. 
Figure close to 800+ per pair of loaded cans.... (why i don't have 2 pairs..)


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

I would be interested in 8x12s I see but not knowing how good they are. 7x10s made some bass on their own, sounded impressive for what they were, the larger speakers really help a lot, 6.5 themselves were crap unless you had subs....and larger speakers were better yet with subs.

Nice looking install.

Yes a lot of people going headless install. Some also broadcast their ipod/etc so other boats can play the same music nearby.


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