Audio System

[protrac231]

Amps

Need for speed. You can just carve out an area for the speakers in the foam. I did that and it worked out great.

What i was concerned about was putting the amps in the back were the gas tank is, with all of the fumes. I would be afraid that a possible explosion due to a spark or short from the amp.

Putting in a Marine amp poses some problems because out boats dont have good grounding blocks to put the (-) lead of the amp to. YOur supposed to only have that lead be less that 16in from a ground source due to ground loops.

Has anyone had good luck running longer (-) cables back to the battery??? Any suggestions?

 

[Craigmri]

Guys,

My Utopia 205 has some really poor sound. Its got a stock Clarion Non-Satellite radio and stock 6" clarion speakers(two of them). The thing has Zero bass.

I want some decent sound but dont want to go nuts with amps and the works. The radio is rated for like 45w x 4. Can I get away with keeping the head unit and investing in some good quality marine speakers? if so please make a recommendation.

Craig

 

[boeing747arowair]

Craig i Put in the Sony MX-110 Head unit with Sony Speakers. and it sounds excellent! has some bass and no amp. Love the sony system

 

[Craigmri]

Speakers

Boeing, Which Sony speaker did you go with. I'm gonna go speakers and if the sounds still isnt good enough I'll replace the head unit.

Craig

Craig i Put in the Sony MX-110 Head unit with Sony Speakers. and it sounds excellent! has some bass and no amp. Love the sony system

 

[need4speed-ster]

ground loop

ground loops are a common problem in vechicles due to the fact that nearly all ground returns use the car body as the major return back to the battery. the sharing of common paths create loops, hense noise. however with a boat each ground goes to a ground block and then to the battery which should make it more isolated if you run a separate ground to the battery. The length is only a matter of greater resistance which equals voltage drop which equals less power. In other words it shouldn't be a problem if you use heavy enough guage wire and shorter lengths.

 

[Mopey]

Did this on my SeaDoo over the weekend. Only took about 2 hours and didn't even have to drill into the hull. Turned out pretty good I think. Sounds nice too.

 

[Mopey]

Thinking about getting another battery and running it off of that but I'm not sure yet.

 

[RFoster130]

I am sitting in a hotel on the way home from picking up my 98 speedster and I am already planning the audio upgrade. I bought the boat a month ago but was too busy to pick it up. During the last month I started planning my audio system.

I can't just replace the factory speakers, I have to go all out..lol. I will probably have lots of questions. I will hopefully start my own thread under the modify section about the whole process but it looks like you really know what you are doing, so I will have lots of questions for you.

First question, do you think the stock charging system can handle a single amplifier. I plan on using the Kicker MX700.5 It is a marine rated amp that is cable of running everything I plan on putting on the boat.

 

[ou812]

I just ordered one 10" MM1040-UM, and two 6 1/2" MM651 UM from Polk audio. The two 6 1/2" will fit were current speakers are. The 10" sub is my problem...1)where to put it and 2)does it need its own box? I was hoping to put the sub in without a box, not really any room for that. I was thinking about installing it on the side of the glove box. I have a 2006 Challenger, with a full windshield. Any suggestions?

 

[tresvatos1]

Subwoofer location..

Here is an idea for mounting your subwoofer...!:cheers:

 

[ou812]

That's sweet!! LOL If I had room....:rofl:

 

[Kevin3151]

I just ordered one 10" MM1040-UM, and two 6 1/2" MM651 UM from Polk audio. The two 6 1/2" will fit were current speakers are. The 10" sub is my problem...1)where to put it and 2)does it need its own box? I was hoping to put the sub in without a box, not really any room for that. I was thinking about installing it on the side of the glove box. I have a 2006 Challenger, with a full windshield. Any suggestions?

I have seen them mounted on the left side kick panel below the glove box.

KH

 

[tresvatos1]

Update on Audio System

Here are the latest pics of what started out as a bare bones Speedster.

Please let me know what you think....LOTS of time and $ went into this boat.

LEDs in interior with wake illumination beams( All remotely controlled ), ten polk coax speakers with Pioneer head unit & amps, Hydroturf, GPS/Navigation, stern charger receptacle, custom seats, LED trailer lighting all around, and LED navigation lights....:coolgleam:

Thanks,

Greg

 

[darthspeed]

Greg,
Great job. The hydro-turf looks awsome!!!!:cheers:

MIKE

 

[RFoster130]

Greg it looks great!! I would be happy if mine turns out that good. I sent you a PM with some questions.

 

[tresvatos1]

Credit where credit is due!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that darthSpeed was the inspiration for this audio project I have going.

He was the one who had the know how from installing his system. I would have never cut some of these
speaker holes without asking him first. There are so many wires and cables in these boats that you risk
damaging if you do not take precaution. He was more than helpful in getting me set-up the way I am
with the Audio side of the boat.


So thanks Darthspeed!

 

[RFoster130]

I am in the process of doing a system in my 98 Speedster almost identical to both of these boats. I am just compiling all the parts now. I have a Clarion head unit, 6 Kicker 6.5's and 10 Kicker 10" subs and all the wiring. I plan on doing a new thread once I get started detailing the whole process. I am curious where you found that Ipod mount Darthspeed, I need one just like that.

 

[CypherAZ]

I am in the process of doing a system in my 98 Speedster almost identical to both of these boats. I am just compiling all the parts now. I have a Clarion head unit, 6 Kicker 6.5's and 10 Kicker 10" subs and all the wiring. I plan on doing a new thread once I get started detailing the whole process. I am curious where you found that Ipod mount Darthspeed, I need one just like that.

how do you plan to power all that?

 

[boeing747arowair]

craig, i used the sony speakers that come with the radio i mentioned above as a combo.. sounds real good!

 

[protrac231]

Hey Fellas

Hey guys, im just about done with my setup too. I used mostly the ideas from Darth speed. My question is, im using Polk audio mm651's and they have a passive crossover. Measuring the impediance i get a true 2.3ohms. With that siad, wiring the front speakers, i cannot run the left two front in paralell because the impidance is way to low for the rated amp, but i can run in series. Has anyone seen a negative effect running two speakers in series with passive crossovers???

 

[RFoster130]

how do you plan to power all that?

That was definitely a typo. It would take a small powerplant for all that. I mean 2 Kicker 10" subs. I am gonna use an Alpine PDX5M amp. It is 5 channels and very compact, should work good.

 

[tresvatos1]

Amp set-up

Man that amp is EXPENSIVE!! how do you plan on separating the channels on the amp to power 6 mid-highs, and 2 subs?


PDX-5M 5-Ch Digital Marine Amplifier

4 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan, 2 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan, Bridged, 4 ohms: 150 watts x 2 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan, Salt/Fog/UV protection

 

[darthspeed]

Protrc231
You should be fine on to wire them in parallel and see about 4.6 ohms. Perfect for an amp. The amp will not produce as much power, however it would not run as hot. I have my front and middel components wire this way and it worked out great. I did also have mine at first wired parallel and the amp would show a diagnostic of too low of impedence. Wired in series the system still gets very loud. No problems at all, just match the gan inputs so the other channels match the output. Lets see some pictures!!!!!

Rfoster130
I would use the alpine PDX, excellent choice....

 

[RFoster130]

My plan for powering it all was to use the front and rear channels to power the 4 6.5 highs and the subs wired parallel on the sub output. The Alpine should easily handle it all. The component set of highs I bought because they were a good deal, I did not plan on them originally. They will be in the front of the boat at the walk through, so I was thinking of just using the head unit to power them.

I know the Alpine amp is crazy expensive. I really think it is my only choice though as far as powering everything and still being compact enough to fit in that compartment under the cooler. I did find the MTX TM1805, which has the exact power ratings and setup of the alpine and it is $125 cheaper, but it is much larger.

I really think for the sound and quality I am looking for, I willhave to get the alpine. I plan to get started on it all this weekend, I will post pictures and start a buildup thread.

 

[protrac231]

Darthspeed,

I am going to take photos first thing tomorrow morning. I just finally finished the setup this afternoon. As you said, i did adjust the gain on the amp to match the channel outputs. It is really loud for sure.

I was wondering, you used two of the clarion amps, what did you use the second for??? Your subs? Im having a heck of a time trying to figure out were i can locate a subs on my Challenger 1800, and i refuse to use free airs because i think they sound terrible.

I was thinking to take the MM561's in the rear holes to a lower spot, and enlarge the stock holes to fit subs there like you did, but im not sure i can get a box in that spot.