Stereo system help...

[petrey10]

Ok this winter I might...might.. upgrade the stereo system in my Tige 20i. In there right now looks to me to be some outdated components. Should I start with the radio and then to amps and interior speakers to the tower speakers or should I start up top on the tower speakers and work my way down? Also I won't have the money to purchase WETSOUNDS or NVS. What head unit do you guys prefer. Also do you think that you should amp the interior speakers and sub then also amp the tower speakers seperately? I will have 4 interior speakers, 12in sub, and then a pair of tower speakers. I would also like the option of expanding the tower speakers to 4 if I want at some point later on. What brands are great for what I need (I know WS and NVS would be nice but its just not in my budget).

[Dave K]

Yours speakers will always sound better with power behind them even when you play them at lower volume. I think I would amp the towers and sub first. The boat speakers generally, at least for me, are faded abit as it gets too loud in my boat when we want the Wet Sounds to be heard by the rider, and of coarse the neighbors sitting on their docks.

If you do fade your boat speakers abit for less volume, they will however sound 10x better if they are amped.

As far as a deck head IMO make sure your buy a deck with enough pre-outs so all speakers and sub/s can be hooked straight to your amps. I am not sure if all decks are high output or not but that is something to consider. Also, I find the Ipod, and Cd give better quality music than Satelite radio but Satelite ready deck head sure is nice to have. But that can be an on later to your deck.

Unfortunately you have to pay to play!! Be careful on the tower speakers you settle with. Quality means $'s.

I have Pro 80's on top. I considered saving some money and buying cheaper speakers. But with the help of the guys/gals on the forum, I decided to take their advise and spent the extras $$'s and I sure am glad I did !!

In my boat I have 4 Kicker speakers and they sound pretty good, and they are fairly reasonable as far as cost goes.

Good Luck with your project!

[petrey10]

ok well I guess I should say that I am relatively new to the whole system scene. I know very lil about it. I definitely want the IPOD hookup in the head unit because that is what we use to get our music thumping right now. The system now is pretty good and sufficient but my towers speakers and interior speaks are old and starting to show their age (2001 and I don't knwo the brand off the top of my head). I just hate the square boxes hanging formthe tower. And my interior speakers aren't the greatest some seem rather soft while others are super loud. The sub is a 12'' kicker I believe and its really thumps, it doesn't need to be upgraded. My amp seems to run everything ok and the head unit is fine except the remote won't run it with the "lid" closed over it. So I just want to upgrade it and get it sounding better and for interior speakers I am wanting white ones to go better with the boat.


As for what I can see people seem to like the Kickers as a good quality low end speaker. Am I correct?

If I have 4 interior speakers, two tower speakers, and my sub what kind of amp should I have?

Do I need two seperate amps?



Like I said I need help here mainly cause I am new to this area of boating life.

[chpthril]

Ok this winter I might...might.. upgrade the stereo system in my Tige 20i. In there right now looks to me to be some outdated components. Should I start with the radio and then to amps and interior speakers to the tower speakers or should I start up top on the tower speakers and work my way down? Also I won't have the money to purchase WETSOUNDS or NVS. What head unit do you guys prefer. Also do you think that you should amp the interior speakers and sub then also amp the tower speakers seperately? I will have 4 interior speakers, 12in sub, and then a pair of tower speakers. I would also like the option of expanding the tower speakers to 4 if I want at some point later on. What brands are great for what I need (I know WS and NVS would be nice but its just not in my budget).

Here are a couple ings to think about as you plan out your upgrade:

Budget - Mild or wild sky's the limit kinda system or Quality components, nice clean sound, but not off the hook.

Expectations and priorities - What do you want out of the system: Party cove/sandbar system, all out for the rider, well rounded system?

With what I have now, will I need an overhaul or just an upgrade - Give us a list of what you got know. Providing that the components aren't shot, it may be a simple add on a new pair of tower speakers, or it could be a complete re-do. Matching an amp to a set of tower speakers, is actually more important then the tower speakers themselves. Think about a race car......doesnt matter how many horses you have under hood, with the wrong set of tires, you'll never get the car to hook up. With speakers, it doesnt matter how much you spend, if not powered correctly, with a quality amp, they will never perform. Also, you dont have to blow the bank in order to get a nice sounding quality setup, there are options out there.

So, give us a complete run down of what you got now, and what you want to do, and we will make some recommendations.

[petrey10]

Ok well I am looking for a system that can be heard better by the rider while boarding. If the system is loud enough for the rider then it will be plenty for party cove. We are drinking at party cove anyways so we won't be able to tell the difference...haha. Anyways as for components I will make a list when I get home this evening. I did notice last night when I was vacuuming out the boat that there are two amps. I really need new interior speakers because they are black when my color scheme is white blue and yellow so I would like to get some white speakers. I also think that the interior speakers are blown in one location. I don't know what the head unit is but I know that I can't control the volume or songs when I am driving becasue the remote won't go through the black lid top.

[chpthril]

Ok well I am looking for a system that can be heard better by the rider while boarding. If the system is loud enough for the rider then it will be plenty for party cove. We are drinking at party cove anyways so we won't be able to tell the difference...haha. Anyways as for components I will make a list when I get home this evening. I did notice last night when I was vacuuming out the boat that there are two amps. I really need new interior speakers because they are black when my color scheme is white blue and yellow so I would like to get some white speakers. I also think that the interior speakers are blown in one location. I don't know what the head unit is but I know that I can't control the volume or songs when I am driving because the remote won't go through the black lid top.

For your white in-boats, I would recommend the Kicker KM6000's http://www.kicker.com/km_coaxials

For an awesome set of tower speakers that wont break the bank, I highly recommend the Kicker KTM6 tower speaker system http://www.kicker.com/kmt6

Depending on your time frame, I may have another option to offer in the next month or two

Sounds like you need a new head unit that will interface with a marine wired remote. Lots of options, like Sony, that also have a USB port for MP3's

[philwsailz]

For your white in-boats, I would recommend the Kicker KM6000's http://www.kicker.com/km_coaxials

For an awesome set of tower speakers that wont break the bank, I highly recommend the Kicker KTM6 tower speaker system http://www.kicker.com/kmt6

Depending on your time frame, I may have another option to offer in the next month or two

Sounds like you need a new head unit that will interface with a marine wired remote. Lots of options, like Sony, that also have a USB port for MP3's

And the perfect amp for the KM6000's would be the MX350.4, unless you were addign a subwoofer, in which case an MX700.5 would be the ticket.

Then the KMT6 tower spesaekrs will want to be on a ZX450.2.

Phil
Kicker

[petrey10]

i like the kickers... decent price but I don't know about the tower speakers because they are paired in the same enclosure...

Also What head unit do you recommend so that way I can also have a wired remote on my side

[chpthril]

i like the kickers... decent price but I don't know about the tower speakers because they are paired in the same enclosure...

Also What head unit do you recommend so that way I can also have a wired remote on my side

The Kicker KTM6 tower speakers are a 2-pod setup, so you get 4 6" mids (2 in ea. pod) and 2 horns (1 in ea. pod) and they sound AMAZING, trust me.

Sony CDX-M60UI, CDX-HS70MW, or the CDX-H910UI head units and the RM-X60m remote

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...2&N=4294954988

[petrey10]

well will two channels run the 2-pods or do I need a four channel? I think they will look good with two pods but just one pod would look dumb. Man I ran the numbers and I am still looking at 1400 bucks to upgrade my boats stereo...I might need to rethink my decision here


Also where do you think I should start if I was going to slowly piece the system together??

[philwsailz]

Grab a two-channel amp; the Kicker ZX450.2 is ideal. Each pod has a single speaker connection, so the wiring is really easy.

Most guys here are looking for tunes while riding, so I tend to think that going for the tower speakers and a dedicated amp is a good first jump.

Good luck and let us know!

Phil
Kicker

[chpthril]

well will two channels run the 2-pods or do I need a four channel? I think they will look good with two pods but just one pod would look dumb. Man I ran the numbers and I am still looking at 1400 bucks to upgrade my boats stereo...I might need to rethink my decision here


Also where do you think I should start if I was going to slowly piece the system together??

Get us that list of what you currently have in the boat i.e amps, sub, etc. You may find that not everything needs to be replaced in order to improve on what you have now. We might be able to help with the cost

[petrey10]

i know i know I need to do that tonight but I might not have time but hopefully it rains enough to keep me from doing other things

[petrey10]

finally got my system specshere they are...

Head Unit= Alpine CDM-7857
Tower SPeakers= Russound Outback OB-6.1 10-150W (name sounds crappy)
Int. Speakers=All I could find was that they r Alpha Sonics (look crappy)
Amp1= Alpine MRV-T320 2/1 ch
Amp2= Sony Xplod XM-1505SX 5/3ch 880W
Sub= SOny Xplod 900 W (all I could find on it I think its 10'')



Let me know how crappy you think this system is and what I should upgrade first. Like I said I think one of the tower speakers might not be working right along with a interior speaker.

[chpthril]

Head Unit= Alpine CDM-7857: Sounds like this may be working ok, just doesnt have the features you are wanting. I would move this down the upgrade list for now. Need to check the specs on this one, Alpine does have a remote that works on some of their marine and non-marine units.

Tower SPeakers= Russound Outback OB-6.1 10-150W (name sounds crappy): Never heard of these and sounds like one may not be working anyway. Tower speakers are typically a high priority on a tow boat, so I say these and an amp to drive them go to the head of the line.

Amp1= Alpine MRV-T320 2/1 ch: This poor little thing will only put out 50 watts to each speaker, and 160 watts in single chnl mode - no use for this baby anywhere, sorry.

Int. Speakers=All I could find was that they r Alpha Sonics (look crappy): Not sure 'bout these either, but sounds like they are toast anyway.

Amp2= Sony Xplod XM-1505SX 5/3ch 880W: This 5 chnl amp delivers 40 watts @ 4ohm's on the 4 speaker chnls, and 150 watts @ 4 ohms to the sub. It will drive the Kicker KM6000's, but not nearly to thier potential.

Sub= SOny Xplod 900 W (all I could find on it I think its 10''): This puppy is either way over rated or way under powered as it's only getting 150 watts RMS from the amp. Sounds like it's hitting ok on the Sony amp so far.

Ok, here is what I would recommend and in the order I would do it if you are working with in a budget and wanting to do a complete overhaul of the system.

Tower speakers and amp: Kicker KTM6's and zx450.2 - This setup will be night and day different from what you have know. It will be worth every penny you spend.

In-boat speaker: Sounds like you got a couple that are done, so replace now to balance out the quality sound that will be coming from the tower. 2 pair of Kicker KM6000's. These will sound ok with the power from the Sony amp, but would perform better with more power, so plenty of room power wise to upgrade amps later.

Head Unit: Lots of choices out there. I like the Sony marine line along with RMX60M remote. The CDX-M60UI head unit is pretty decent as far as price and features. I went back and forth on where to put the head unit in on the list. It really depends on how bad you want the added features on the new ones, such a remote and MP3 hookup.

Amp for in-boats and sub: MX700.5 will power 4 or 6 in-boat speakers with plenty of power. It will also deliver either 210 watts rms to a 4ohm sub, or 420 watts rms to a 2ohm sub. This amps is basically 2 amps in one and fits SOOOO many applications, it's my #1 seller.

Sub: Kicker Comp VR104. This 10" 4ohm dual voice coil sub will pound when mated with the 420 watts of the mx700.5. It is the perfect sub for a boat because it does not require an enclosure, but just a solid bulk-head wall to mount to. More info on this later if you want.