simple stereo install in process

[TXST8tj]

the 21i was dropped off at the shop today to have the stereo reworked. out with the stock JVC mess, in with the new stuff.
we had planned to do the install ourselves, but time constraints were not going to make that an easy task.
my buddy wanted better speakers in the cabin, some tower speakers, a new headunit, and a second battery. he really does not get into crazy loudness and could really care less in general beyond factory stuff, but with two blown stock speakers and friends that love to jam out on his boat, he decided to swap in 4 new cabin speakers, two tower tubes, and a new Ipod ready h/u.

the cabin speakers are Bazooka MAC6502W 6.5" coaxials


the tower speakers are Bazooka MT8002B "Tubbies"


the tower speaker amp is a Bazooka ELA100.2


the headunit is a Dual...not sure on the model


he got the Tubbies online for $200 for the pair. i heard them in person and was actually quite impressed. for the price for a speaker and housing, they are hard to beat. he's getting the 6.5"s and h/u from the shop for a decent price (not as cheap as he could've gotten them online, but once again...time). i'm not really partial to Dual in general, but i'm sure it will get the job done. i donated the amp. i bought it a few years ago, but haven't used it since i bought it. it's plenty powerful...115w rms x 2 which is just about perfect for those tubbies, but i just don't need it...run PPI in my truck.
he is leaving the cabin speakers powered by the headunit for now. if he feels they need some more umph, he'll amp them. same with a sub. nothing for now, but he can always add one. he does have an amp for one already, just needs to figure out how he wants to go about that.

this is obviously not a comp. setup, nor is it intended to overpower everyone else on the lake, but it will no doubt be lightyears better than the stock JVC setup. the entire setup, equipment (speakers, h/u, amp), parts (battery, wiring, isolator, etc.), and labor came to less than $1000. not really too bad for a whole install.

should be done for tuning on the lake saturday.

[Domsz06]

that will get the job done!

[TXST8tj]

well, there have been a couple changes....

#1 - they decided to use a Sony marine headunit instead of the Dual marine headunit. not sure why, but i don't see any difference in using a Sony unit vs. an "off-brand" unit.

#2 - the Bazooka tubbie tower brackets require a 3" dia. tower. the Metcrap tower is not even close to a 3" dia. at first they said they were not going to be able to do anything. however, after my buddy went in saturday, they said that they were going to give something else a try. so we'll see.

#3 - with the tubbies not being installed, they just went ahead and used the bazooka 2 channel amp to power the 4 cabin speakers.


other than that, the second battery and isolator were installed. my buddy went by the shop on saturday and checked it out because it was done at that point (2nd batt., amp, 4 cabin speakers, and headunit). he said it sounded awesome, but it was missing the low end, which i told him it would all along. so he told them while they had it, just to go ahead an throw in a sub. he had already dropped off a MTX mono-channel sub amp, so they are going to use that for the sub....i think a 12" Rockford P2 in a sealed downfiring rhino-lined enclosure. if they get the tubbie speakers mounted, then he will just get another 2channel amp for those and will be all set.

[G-MONEY]

The Bazooka tower brackets come with inserts to fit smaller towers....... I have them.

[TXST8tj]

HMMMM....i will have to tell him to call the shop and find out where they are.

i wonder if they tried the inserts and the metcrap tower was still too narrow.

[TXST8tj]

he said they tried the inserts but they still didn't work. seems odd to me.

"Clamps for mounting a pair of Tubbies onto 1-7/8", 2", 2-1/4", and 2-1/2" diameter rails"

not sure what the exact rail diam. is, but i can't see it being less than 1-7/8".

edit: looking at a picture of the tower....




i wonder if they were trying to attach it to the two bars that run perpendicular to the left to right part of the main tower where the padding is. i.e., instead of removing or cutting the padding for the wakeboards, they used the other rails which judging by the picture, are much smaller in diameter. if that is the case, they should just remove or cut the padding to allow them to be mounted on the forward or rear rail because we don't use the tower for boards.....it's not secure enough.

[bigo181979]

I mesured my tower on my 99 2100v, looks exactly the same, and it is 1.5" just figured I would let you know. That was the bar that goes across the top by the way(horizontal sp?) from one side of the boat to the other.

[TXST8tj]

thanks, i appreciate you doing that. not sure where they are with getting them mounted, other than them not being mounted yet....as of yesterday afternoon (the shop is about 1 mile from my house, so i pass it on a regular basis). at very least, i'm certain the sub and sub amp are installed.

[TXST8tj]

well, it's been ready since saturday (minus the tubbies on the tower), but it's been rainning since thursday, so he hasn't picked it up.....doesn't want it to get filthy on the drive down to the lake storage.

they still could not get the brackets to work for the tubbies, so those will have to wait for now. i found that they make a different type of bracket for the tubbies. it's made specifically for Malibu towers and has a flat side to bolt through instead of the round clamp.




so the plan is to bring the boat to work and have the welder weld in two flat aluminum pieces between the two main side to side rails, then use the Malibu brackets and call it a day.