# 2002 Crownline LPX boat build



## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

So my 2002 Crownline LPX 202 powerboat is ready for an upgrade in the audio department. I have been lurking around the site for awhile collecting info and haven't seen any boat installs, so I thought I would share mine in case there are any other lake rats out there. Please offer any input if you see fit, and thanks in advance if you do. It's been about 20 years since I loaded a vehicle with audio, so bear with me.

The boat has some basic sound including 6 various poor quality 6.5s and a set of blown 5.5s in the front, 2 Sony Xplode 12" subs in the engine compartment and a sony cd player. All this is going in the trash...

My goal is to be able to actually hear the full range of the music while we are cruising along at 60. The bass literally disappears, and I am just now able to hear the mids and high when I replaced a set of the 6.5s with some JL C5-650x. I spend 90% of the time sitting in the boat or floating in the water around it. So I guess this would technically be an SPL system from what I need from it. I also have a ground issue with noise and loud pops when accessories are turned on and off. I am not planning on using "marine audio" for any of this since I garage my boat. I, like everyone else, am going to try and get the best quality that I can afford without being too much of a cheapskate. 

Here's what my wishy-washy, nothing-picked-out-yet plan is so far:

5.25 2-way for the bow
10" for the kickpanel (10w6v2?)
Highs in the dash
Keep the c5-650x in the rear side panel
6" mid bass under the rear seat (6w3v3?)
single 12w7 1.3 ft3 sealed enclosure in the engine compartment, left side

Right now I have:
Rockford Fosgate p400-4
RF P500-1
Sony Xplode 1200

I'm picking up a JL 1000.1/v2 tomorrow used, and ordering a new 12w7 online. I have my eyes on some 10w6v2 on craigslist. I would like to try my hand at some corner fiberglass enclosures for the 2 kickplates, and that would be a good start while I figure out and buy the rest of the pieces.

Any ideas? What would your boat have?


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I picked up the JL 1000.1v2, a bunch of wire, fuse block, and swapped out the existing Rf - it works to say the least. The two 12" Sony Xplodes sound amazing in comparison. I am still waiting for delivery of the single 12w7 to replace the Sonys. 

I have decided on the Alpine iDA-X100M for the head unit. It has a waterproof handheld volume/ipod track remote for floating, and a wired external remote that I can install in the swim deck.

I am looking into two JL Audio 13TW5-3 for my midbass in the kickplate since the price is nice from a local person selling them used, and that they have a 2.5" mounting depth. I can make a 24x24x4" enclosure and still have more than enough room underfoot.


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## basshead (Sep 12, 2008)

Not sure the JL 13t is a good candidate for midbass... unless you LP them at 200Hz.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

basshead said:


> Not sure the JL 13t is a good candidate for midbass... unless you LP them at 200Hz.


What would work well in your opinion? I guess another option would be a component set split with the 13t in my enclosure.

A major issue is that the ambient noise is rediculous while the boat is moving along with open pipes out of a 320hp engine. Most of the sound has to be in front of the passengers while the boat is moving if it is to be heard.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

The 90-150hz range is what I am looking for... in searching (and searching) 93hz seems to be the magic # for the "kick" I am looking for from the area under the front dash. Is that right? Would it be a waste to tune the 13t up to over 100hz?


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## basshead (Sep 12, 2008)

Do you have pics of the inside? 

Just like that my advice will be to have the more cone area you can fit, the 13t are good but i would put at least 4 of them to get the kick i like!


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

Here is where the kickplate enclosure will go with the midbass driver, and maybe a midrange, or component set. I will replace the light with an underdash LED, and lose the ropelights the previous owner installed.









Left side kick









Right front bow. I have a 5" hole there so I will stick with that size.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

The JL xr650 stays in the side, the other 6.5 is gone with a fan in its place to help move some air into the compartment for the amps. I smoked an amp under there this summer after several long, hot, windless days on the water.









I am just going to JB Weld the amps together like this since it is awesome. This pic is a candidate for the Ugly Builds thread. (I couldn't wait to hear my new Slash). It stays there and the other 2 amps go to the right side bench compartment.









Left side engine compartment. The box is gone, leaving only the batteries, switch, power inverter, and fuse box for the amps. I will make this usable storage for tools and safety equipment.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

12w7 goes in this right side engine compartment. Still waiting on it...









I might add a tweeter here









Or in the middle of the switch gauges. I don't hear any highs from the floor.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I found a 13w7 locally instead of the 12. Sounds great, but the box it came is nice and to spec, but too large for the space I have for it, smells like smoke, and I look forward to building a new enclosure for it. I have exterior enclosure dimensions max of 16x16x24 and would like to port it. I found JL's recommendations below but am still on the hunt for tuning info. 

Maybe two ID8 D2 V3 for the kick panel tuned up a bit?

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/594.pdf

JL Audio: Products


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## Tbagg (Mar 15, 2008)

Nice to see another Crownline install. I have a similar boat in which I did a full install, although it sounds like you are planning much more than I did. In any event, I suggest you stay away from the engine compartment with any component. It just gets to hot and humid in there. Here are a few pics of what I did if you're interested. 




























Although you won't find the expertise for the DIYer as you can find on this website, you can try teamcrownline.com. It's a website dedicated to Crownline owners and they have a stereo forum. 

Good luck.


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## Tbagg (Mar 15, 2008)

I should also add that all the time you spend with the ignition turn on while you are testing/tuning your equuipment, or just showing to your friends, your engine hour timer is running. I added just under 150 hours to my boat just by tunning/ testing and listening to it last winter!


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

Nice enclosures Tbagg. Did you build them? My engine clock doesn't run if the key is to the left, to the right it does - I will double check though, thanks. Crowninehq.com is another site with a few more folks on it too - hit one of the rallys if you get the chance. I went to the one at Milford lake last summer and it was a blast. They are a fun group for sure.

I wish that I didn't need to put anything in the engine compartment but there is nowhere else for w7. The old subs did fine with no noticeable damage over 3 seasons, so I'll risk it for the nice sound of the 13. I am trying to maximize space - your kicks give me some ideas though, thanks.


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## Tbagg (Mar 15, 2008)

Yep, I did the enclosures myself. My ignition had an accessory postion also, but I didn't know it untill this summer when I had to change it. Wish I would have know about it before I racked up all those hours! 

I'd like to hit one of those Crownline Ralleys, but I don't trailer my boat much. In the lake in the spring and out in the fall. We have a cottage, so to convince my wife of the hassle of taking the boat out to travel to another lake for the weekend doesn't go over so well.

The 13" sub you are planning is a moster sub and the engine compartment maybe your only option. You mentioned the ID 8's for midbass. They are great drivers, I have four of them in my truck, so if you choose to go that route, rest assured you are buying quality stuff. Good luck with the install, I'll watch this thread closely to see how it turns out!


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

Still trying to decide on midbass, but found this JL 500.1 slash to run whatever I figure out.









I had some surgery today so I will be home for the week. This gives me some time to put the sub enclosure together for the 13w7. I picked up some MDF and will give it a nice coat of epoxy after I get it together. Here's the sub:









Still looking for the best place for the 1000/


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I have the enclosure for the w7 mostly built. Today I will route out the port and the sub holes. I need to find some tiny T-nuts to hold the sub in and doing some research on polyfill. I have read about the benefits in sealed enclosures, but don't know about ported.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I decided on the ID8 d2 v3 for the midbass in the kicks, so I should have them here in a few days and get the the enclosures on them started after the other one is finished off with a coat of resin and something to match the rest of the boat interior.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

The enclosure for the 13w7 after several coats of resin inside and out, sanding, and a coat of white epoxy. I poured 1/2 gallon of resin inside it and rolled it around so that every inch inside and out is sealed. I decided to leave it uncovered since it will be in the engine compartment, and this will be easier to clean should it get filthy. Oh, it sounds great, nice and tight, reaches deaper than expected, literally makes my vision blurry.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I built some different sized enclosures for the ID8s to test positioning for the FG panels. Not very happy with them right now since they are barely audible. The recommended sealed size at .35 cu ft even leaves them weak at best with zero snap. My goal with them is range between 60 and 140hz.

edit - I found some better sound when I hooked them up to the 500.1 slash as it is double filtered through the 1000.1 slash. It gives them the kick that I was looking for. The w7 gets deep and the IDs pick up the higher end of the bass drum from acoustic music. Electronic and rap it doesn't make much of a difference from what I can tell so far.


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## dougc (Oct 24, 2009)

I have all these links that I have been saving as I'm learning that I keep referring back to, so I figure that I would make a list of what has been helpful to me in my build, maybe it could be helpful to another audio newbie:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/7160-basic-guide-crossovers.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/17429-basic-guide-crossovers-part-2-a.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...perceived-flatness-vs-graphical-flatness.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...our-car-using-pc-based-measurement-setup.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/product-selection-comparisons/9806-rear-fill-do-you-use.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/48558-thinking-going-2-way-3-way.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/69099-setting-gain-properly.html

Internal area calculator
http://www.hometheatershack.com/foru...me-calculator/

Port calculator
PORT Size Calculations and Formulas for WOOFER and Subwoofer BOXES 

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - iDA-X100M

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Icemedic/amp.jpg

Fiberglass subwoofer box - a tutorial


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