Decisions, Decisions...

[talltigeguy]

I got the Stereo about where I want it to be on the X-45. 420 is installed and looks pretty sweet.

Problem is that the interior only has 4 JL 770 interior speakers and the JL free air sub. I am going to put the Tyrants back up on the tower, so I will be rocking there for sure.

The interior is just a little lacking. Since there are 2 speakers up front and only 2 in the main cockpit area, I think it just tends to sound a little less robust. Especially when I sit with my leg in front of the speaker that is right beside the driver's knee and the best passenger seat is right across from the driver in front of the other speaker.

So I think I might add another 2 speakers. MC Cronies would consider it heresy to go with anything other than JL, but I might just pop 2 wetsounds XS 650's in the back wall to round things out. I have an arc audio 900.6driving all of the in boat speakers. The interiors are run in parallel on channels 1 and 2 and then channels 5-6 are bridged to the subwoofer. That leaves channels 3 and 4 free.

The other thing that is lacking is the sub punch that I am used to. So I could move the JL sub to the other channels, even though it would be a little underpowered, and then put in a big daddy XXX or JL 12W3 on the sub channels. Could even just dump the JL sub altogether instead of having 2 subs, but building a sub box is going to be painful in that particular compartment. The compartment is very short, I do not think a 12 inch speaker will fit there, and the floor follows the contour of the boat...sort of. It is just an irregular shape in there.

I could even be talked into selling the Tyrants and replacing those with a WS Threesome. I could make that work with the amp I have now, even though the pair of 80's would have to go mono, instead of stereo.

I am mostly rambling, but looking for ideas.

Money is not so much an issue once I sell the overpriced MC can speakers that are on the tower now.

[ImaPigDog]

I think you should sell it and buy a Tigé! :P

[Carter13]

Tall,

I have been buying stereo equipment like a druken sailor as of late for my Avy. I am going with all Wetsounds.
I am curious if you are installing your subs in the port storage area because it looks like there is no room under the steering wheel for your long a$$ legs . I may not be able to put a sub under the steering wheel because of the way the wall is configured and was curious if you knew anyone that had one mounted there and how it sounded?

[rushin]

Who cares it's a mastercrap!

[ImaPigDog]

I think you should sell it and buy a Tigé! :P

In all seriousness, I would have to defer to those who are far more qualified.

[Jason B]

From the pics it looks like there should be room under the steering wheel. Otherwise, maybe moving the amps off the inboard wall in that compartment to the gunwhale wall would allow you to put a XXX in that inboard wall facing toward your walkway/driver.
The compartment LOOKS big enough to get a sub box into---maybe they're misleading?

[G-MONEY]

Go big or go home.....

Go with the xs-xxx or JL W3/6/7 or kicker L7.

Your boat is huge put at least 6 in boat speakers if not 8 get creative with location.

Do worry about loss of storage space with building a custom box you have more room now then you did in the 24V. Improvise adapt and Overcome.

I can wait until the cold water to see and hear you win the stereo comp... unless I win it of course!

[wetsounds1]

Maybe think about putting the sub in the storage area under the glove box. And fire the sub sideways right into where the amp is mounted now. Move the amps to the other side. Or a panel in front of the sub box etc..

Then cut a vent in there and use some trick starboard or acrylic for the sub to vent into the boat.

This is how it is done on a lot of the CC boats.

Tim
Wet Sounds

[G-MONEY]

Maybe think about putting the sub in the storage area under the glove box. And fire the sub sideways right into where the amp is mounted now. Move the amps to the other side. Or a panel in front of the sub box etc..

Then cut a vent in there and use some trick starboard or acrylic for the sub to vent into the boat.

This is how it is done on a lot of the CC boats.

Tim
Wet Sounds

If you have the room in I'm sure you do, build a custom box in the storage where the sub is mounted now and use the hole where the old 10" sub in mounted to let the sound out.....

[talltigeguy]

Thanks for the good thoughts so far.

I wonder if the natural porting of that compartment will be sufficient. If you look closely, the area under the glove box has about a 1/2 inch gap in the fiberglass along the side furthest to the right. That gap runs for about 16 inches or so, and creates a fairly good spot for air flow.

I just do not want to be in a situation where I want to open the seat up just to listen to the bass better.

There are a couple of spots I could put another 10 inch sub in without too much trouble, including the box. Tim, are you going to make a 10 inch Xs-XXX? Maybe a kicker 10 inch L7?

G,

The problem with putting a new sub in where the old is the shape of the compartment. I am pretty good at making a sub box that is a 90 degree angle, I think I can even do a 45, but this one is very irregular, as far as how it follows the contour of the hull and such.

[chpthril]

The interior is just a little lacking. Since there are 2 speakers up front and only 2 in the main cockpit area, I think it just tends to sound a little less robust. Especially when I sit with my leg in front of the speaker that is right beside the driver's knee and the best passenger seat is right across from the driver in front of the other speaker.

So I think I might add another 2 speakers. MC Cronies would consider it heresy to go with anything other than JL, but I might just pop 2 wetsounds XS 650's in the back wall to round things out. I have an arc audio 900.6driving all of the in boat speakers. The interiors are run in parallel on channels 1 and 2 and then channels 5-6 are bridged to the subwoofer. That leaves channels 3 and 4 free

How are those cabins wired, lefts on 1 chnl, rights on other chnl? Not sure how it would sound with the bow JL's and the main cabin JL's wired in parallel on 2 chnls and and set of xs-650's on the other 2 chnls. Or, the bow JL's on 2 chnls and a set of JL's and xs-650's in parallel on the other 2 chnls. Just dont see it being very "balanced" Go with all xs-650's or another set of JL's.

The other thing that is lacking is the sub punch that I am used to. So I could move the JL sub to the other channels, even though it would be a little underpowered

The JL is rated for 250W's rms and is a 4ohm driver. Bridged, the Arc is delivering 550W's to it, thats 2x what it needs. If your not happy, I'd look at how it's set/tuned as it should be hammering pretty good. If it's tuned correctly and you're still not happy, then a new sub is in order. If you want to utilize the sub chnls of the Arc, IMO, the 550W's would not due the XXX justice, Tim, what's your thoughts on that? I'd say throw a Wet Sounds xs10-FA 2ohm DVC in place of the JL if you dont want to build a box a loose storage. If you want to build a box and add another amp, sky's the limit!

[talltigeguy]

Good thoughts, CHP. The 4 JL interior are already wired in parallel, so adding a pair of XS 650's would allow me to put them on their own channel with straight wiring. No mixing and matching. I guess I could do 2 pair of 650's in parallel

I know the JL sub is overpowered...that makes me think the sub is simply insufficient for my needs. I set it up once and have left it alone...maybe I should play with some settings again and see if I still agree with how it is set up. Maybe I really need some more time in the boat to decide what it is I lack.

[wetsounds1]

The XS-XXX works well with 500 watts when in the slot loaded box as the ported box is more effcient. We have guys use the SYN-6 ch 5-6 on the XS-XXX a lot. Of course it can handle more power and the SYN-1 at 1 ohm mono for a solid 1000 watts is great.

Tim
Wet Sounds

[talltigeguy]

Tim,

Any thoughts on how it sounds when placed in an enclosed area like under the passenger seat? Is it muffled and limited as far as how well the bass waves get out?

[wetsounds1]

Anytime you put a sub in the enclosed area with no vents, you will gain the feel of the bass but you will not have as much output and sound quality as you can by venting it. So if you go that route, the best thing to do is cut in a vent. You can make a really nice vent out of starboard, acrylic etc...there are some pre made ones that will look great. Some even made out of arcylic with led's as back light for a really custom look.

Tim
Wet Sounds