Changing/upgrading Stereo System

[hopps1945]

Please help. Looking for a good place for info on stereo systems and all that. I have no experience or knowledge of speakers and amps and all that stuff that everyone talks about. Our boat had a tower upgrade and had speakers added and I know an amp but other then that, I have no clue where to start or what to do to upgrade the system. Would like to upgrade the stereo (Ipod connection) and maybe get some better sound out of the current setup? Where should I go to get some a start on learning this stuff?

Thanks!

[skippabcool]

Chpthril will probably chime in, he is great help and great to work with / buy stuff from. If he doesn't PM him.

I would see if you can list what you have to start with, your budget and what you are hoping for. When you plan on listening i.e party cove, cruising, wakeboarding, surfing, etc.

If you don't know what you have take some pics of everything.

[chpthril]

Hopps,

Skippa has the right idea. Tell us exactly what you have now, including quantity (and location for in-boat speakers and sub), amp models, speaker models, describe the sub and battery setup. Next is to describe what areas of the current system are lacking. You are off to a good start by indication you are looking for ipod/mp3 interface and more output. How will the system be primarily used: surf/party-cove, more for just cruising, wake-boarding or a little of everything.

This is where details are so important. Sometime we have perfectly good gear, but its used poorly or just under powered and sometimes we have to replace functioning gear as it just will not do what we need in order to achieve the goals put forth.

[hopps1945]

Thanks for the starting point. I will have to wait until the boat is out of storage before I can get most of the information. I think the use will be mostly across the board. We didn't get much time with the boat since we bought at the end of the summer. Will have to see how much we use/where we use it the the stereo this coming summer.

The boat is fairly stock for a 2000 2300V Limited. If my memory serves me correctly, there are two speakers in the bow and two in the rear. The only thing added was the amp and the two tower speakers. As for the Amp, it has so many dials and switches on it, I have no idea if it is even setup right or not. Never played with this stuff before. I'll dig through my paperwork and see if there is any info on the type of amp. The boat still has only one battery and was already thinking of adding a second just as a good measure as the previous owner has ran into a dead battery after leaving an accessory switch on.

Thanks everyone for the help!

[chpthril]

Ok, great. For now, we'll focus on the in-boat setup and battery scheme. I was able to look back through your previous posts to find a couple of pics. Your boat looks to have a couple of black closed grill 6.5" coaxial speakers. based on your description, id say they are only powered off the head-unit/deck. Here are 3 levels, or approaches to the in-boat upgrade, in this order:

1) Add an amplifier dedicated to the in-boats - A typical head-unit/deck delivers 15-18 watts RMS (continuous power). Adding an amp with at a minimum of 50 watts RMS delivers the power needed to allow the speaker to comfortably play above the wind, water and engine noise while under way. This results in clean clear sound at higher volumes when you are trying to overcome all the other competing sounds in the open environment of a boat.

2) Adding a subwoofer - At a minimum, a modestly powered 10" sub will fill in all those missing lower notes that a typical 6.5" full-range coax will not like to reproduce. This give is a fuller more natural sound.

3) Add a 2nd pair of coaxials to the main cabin - A simple way to double a systems output is to double the speakers. Adding another pair on the main cabin will not only increase the output, but bring the sound stage close to the helm (in your case as the current pair is behind you). When under way, those 2 aft in-boats are basically drowned out from your perspective. This results in turning the volume knob even higher so you can hear the system. With more speakers in the boat, you wont need to crank the volume dial as far in order to hear the tunes.

Now, I purposely left out replacing the 4 in-boats in the above options for a reason. With all things remaining the same, simply replacing functioning speakers will new ones, will probably not result in the upgrade and increased output you seek. What it will do, is change how it sounds as every speaker designer has their own sound signature. I would consider new speakers and factor in the cost as part options 1 and 3.

Specific gear can be discussed later. Once you have an idea of the direction you need and want to go, putting a part number to the plan is easy.

[chpthril]

Part-2: Battery banks

Having a dual battery setup is a huge plus for any boat. This gives you a battery bank to play the stereo and other accessories, while leaving the 2nd isolated and in reserve to start the engine. At a minimum, you need 2 batteries, one for each bank. Typically, a standard group-24 marine starting battery is all thats needed for the main cranking bank. For the house bank, a quality marine/RV deep-cycle. The size (amp hours (Ah)) and number of batteries in the house bank will depend on the total estimated current draw of the system and how long you want to play the system while at anchor.

As system can be as simple as 2 batteries and a dual-battery switch, or more complex with a stand-alone house bank replenished via a shore charger and with the ability to still have tunes when the engine is running. We can do a completely manual system, totally passive system, or a variation of each.

A manual system, as noted above, is nothing more then a dual-battery switch. Simple, functional but manual. Allows for combining battery banks for an emergency start.

A passive system would be 2 batteries isolated from each other via a diode idolater block. Simple and inexpensive, but not means for an emergency start. Tige used this setup from 06 to 2010.

A combination would be a switch used in conjunction with an ACR/VSR (auto combiner relay/voltage sensing relay. This allows the house bank to be charged while the engine is running, yet the main cranking is isolated from the house loads when the engine is off. Its more complex in terms of wiring, but once done, the switch is typically turned between off and on. When you hit the water, turn the switch on (or "1"), when you come off the water, return the switch to off.

There is no single battery setup that fits every system and every boaters needs. There are so many aspects that domino from one to another. Alternators make for poor battery chargers, so depending on how the system will be used and the scope of the system and battery bank, shore charging will range from a benefit to a must.

Part-3 head-units

Alpine, Clarion, Sony and Kenwood all offer a selection of marine head-units. They all offer remotes and most of the same basic features like: USB and/or Ipod specific, 3.5MM or RCA AUX, SAT ready, Bluetooth, etc. If your head-unit is on the glove box, there are a few options that be used to locate an interface port over on the helm if you like. Or, go with a bluetooth and eliminate cables.

[hopps1945]

Thank you for all the information! Wish it was spring so the boat was out of storage so I can dig into this! Come on Spring! Get here sooner than later!