Stereo advice 03 Launch

[Meyeronfire]

Looking at putting a nice but cost effective stereo system in my 03 Launch SSV. Looking to replace the 4 inboat speakers, a pair of towers, 2 amps and a head unit. I dont even know where to start with whats decent for marine and quality ride in salt some so needs to be pretty durable, not looking to rock the entire lake just something simple and clean and of course cost effective. Let me hear what you guys have to say please and thank you.

[Wylietunes]

Lets start with the in-boats. Since you run is salt water, I would go with a quality, true marine built speaker. They all have a different look and sound signature, so getting a demo can be helpful in making the choice thats right for you. Other then that, go with the ones that fit the budget and you like the look sand sound of. Here are a couple of key features for a marine speaker: stainless steel hardware, tinned speaker wire if any is included and an enclosed or insulated magnet. A few worth looking into are Kicker, Wet Sounds, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate.

Amp: again due to salt water, I would suggest marine amps. The extra steps such as a conformal coated PCB, SS hardware, etc. Brand - again, lots of quality amps out there, so plenty of options. Kicker, Wet Sounds and JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate, Clarion all make a solid quality marine amp. I would suggest going with a more efficient amp like Class-D or G/H. Smaller and less battery current draw per watt RMS as compared to the older class-a/b.

One thing I see missing from your pan is a sub. Without a sub, you are missing out on a 4th of the music content. Just a small 10" sub with a little bit of power is all thats needed to fill in those missing lower bass notes. If you do decide to add a sub to the plan, then I would suggest a 5 or 6 chnl amp for the in-boats and sub. There are a handful that will do the job.

Tower setup: What are your tower speaker goals? Are you looking for a setup for strictly surfing and the party cove, a dedicated wake-board setup or a setup that will do both well? What we know what you are looking for in a tower setup, we can offer some suggestions.

[Meyeronfire]

Lets start with the in-boats. Since you run is salt water, I would go with a quality, true marine built speaker. They all have a different look and sound signature, so getting a demo can be helpful in making the choice thats right for you. Other then that, go with the ones that fit the budget and you like the look sand sound of. Here are a couple of key features for a marine speaker: stainless steel hardware, tinned speaker wire if any is included and an enclosed or insulated magnet. A few worth looking into are Kicker, Wet Sounds, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate.

Amp: again due to salt water, I would suggest marine amps. The extra steps such as a conformal coated PCB, SS hardware, etc. Brand - again, lots of quality amps out there, so plenty of options. Kicker, Wet Sounds and JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate, Clarion all make a solid quality marine amp. I would suggest going with a more efficient amp like Class-D or G/H. Smaller and less battery current draw per watt RMS as compared to the older class-a/b.

One thing I see missing from your pan is a sub. Without a sub, you are missing out on a 4th of the music content. Just a small 10" sub with a little bit of power is all thats needed to fill in those missing lower bass notes. If you do decide to add a sub to the plan, then I would suggest a 5 or 6 chnl amp for the in-boats and sub. There are a handful that will do the job.

Tower setup: What are your tower speaker goals? Are you looking for a setup for strictly surfing and the party cove, a dedicated wake-board setup or a setup that will do both well? What we know what you are looking for in a tower setup, we can offer some suggestions.


Thanks for the reply,

Heres the goals I'm tryin to acheive, ill start with the tower speakers. Not looking to go extremely loud, but plan to do a lot of wakesurfing over the summer this year and we do like to anchor up to party a bit but mainly we ride, I'm looking at the vector skylon 8" towers , came across a good deal from a friend who is a dealer for them for sure will need to amplfy these I think wetsound is pretty expensive and a bit overated in my opinion. Not sure about the specs on the vectors but not sure what amp wattage to use. In boats there are 4 speakers only. I've always been a kicker fan so I would like to possibly go with them. Also would a head unit be enough power to supply the 4 inboats, I will be needing a new head unit as well since the factory kenwood does not have an aux connection. Suggestions for a decent head unit capable of power 4 inboats? Lastly the sub, I do want a sub looking at a 12" sub to put under the dash having someone build a custom box to accomadate. Maybe jl audio since they are so reliable for salt? Amp size for the sub?

[Wylietunes]

Heres the goals I'm tryin to acheive, ill start with the tower speakers. Not looking to go extremely loud, but plan to do a lot of wakesurfing over the summer this year and we do like to anchor up to party a bit

This makes me think you are looking for a couple pairs of 6.5" coaxials or a single pair of 8" coaxials and not an HLCD like the Vector 8"


but mainly we ride

"Ride" as in wake-board? If so, you will need not only a loud system thats fed with a lot of power, but one that projects. This would take you down the HLCD path like the vector 8" or other HLCD


think wetsound is pretty expensive and a bit overated in my opinion

Have you compared the retail prices? The Skylon Vector 8" HLCD would be comparable in terms of size, to the Wet Sounds Rev-8.

Vector 8" = $1099.00

Wet Sounds Rev-8 = $1049.99

The Wet Sounds Rev-8's are actually $50 cheaper @ retail, for a product that is 100% designed in house by Tim White, the owner of Wet Sounds. The Vector 8 is a solid HLCD, but its assembled using open-tooling components. The Vector 8 will be loud, but will not have nearly the sound quality when listening close in as the Wet Sounds Rev-8 will. I would seriously look into the Rev-8 if a wake-board HLCD is what you are looking for.

For more of a look into the open-tooling, look at the pod shape and design as compared to the Memphis Audio, Exile and Samson pods. For the clamps, look at the clamp design on those as well as the Rockford Fosgate tower pod. They are coming from the same source, with only minor changes.


Not sure about the specs on the vectors but not sure what amp wattage to use

Amp for the Vector 8's or other 8" HLCD, i would go with a 2 chnl amp that would deliver 200W to 250W rms x 2 @ 4 ohm, or a 4 chnl in bridge mode that delivers 250w to 300w rms x 2 @ 4 ohm bridged.


I've always been a kicker fan so I would like to possibly go with them
The KM6200 is a solid in-boats speaker. Kicker also makes an HLCD setup, the KM6500.2. Im a huge fan of this setup when you add the extra KM6500 mids for what we call the "6Pack".


Also would a head unit be enough power to supply the 4 inboats

The average head-unit only delivers 15-18 watts rms. They really struggle to get the speakers above the wind, water and engine noise. A small 2 or 4 chnl amp will make a huge difference for them.


Lastly the sub, I do want a sub looking at a 12" sub to put under the dash having someone build a custom box to accomadate. Maybe jl audio since they are so reliable for salt? Amp size for the sub

The boat will determine the allowable enclosure shape and size, this will influence the woofer choice, which in turn will determine the right amp based on wattage. For a 12, I would want to drive it with a minimum of 400W rms in a boat. JL only offers a marine sub in the 10". But in a sealed enclosure, I wouldnt hesitate to go with an automotive sub that had a 100% composite cone and either an aluminum or composite basket. Wet Sounds offer a marine 12". Kicker offers some composite cone woofers with an aluminum basket also.

[jonyb]

Very good replies on both sides.

To the OP, you need to post a dollar figure you're trying to stay around. I get people that "not looking to rock the entire lake just something simple and clean and of course cost effective". That seems to be the big disclaimer these days. Well, you can't get that and still buy junk. If you want something clean, it needs plenty of power, and it needs a good signal.

If you cheap out, you'll spend twice as much because you'll spend more money when you go back to the drawing board. I'm not saying you need to spend a million bucks on a stereo, but don't completely cheap out and buy the cheapest thing you can.

You're comment about Wet Sounds tells me that you haven't even given them a chance, assuming you haven't ever heard them first hand, saying their overrated. Do you have a local dealer? I suggest finding one, or finding someone that does sell them and give them a try before a kick to the curb. Lots of people are surprised on first impression. Not only with the sound and product, but also with the down to earth customer service that's not found with most other companies out there. I've been in the audio business for more than 20 years, and I haven't found many companies that were'nt too big for their own britches, as they say. The guys at Wet Sounds haven't forgotten where they came from.

Shop around at your local dealers, if that's possible. See what's out there. But most importantly show a budget. Most of the brands you mentioned above are pretty pricey....

[Meyeronfire]

Very good replies on both sides.

To the OP, you need to post a dollar figure you're trying to stay around. I get people that "not looking to rock the entire lake just something simple and clean and of course cost effective". That seems to be the big disclaimer these days. Well, you can't get that and still buy junk. If you want something clean, it needs plenty of power, and it needs a good signal.

If you cheap out, you'll spend twice as much because you'll spend more money when you go back to the drawing board. I'm not saying you need to spend a million bucks on a stereo, but don't completely cheap out and buy the cheapest thing you can.

You're comment about Wet Sounds tells me that you haven't even given them a chance, assuming you haven't ever heard them first hand, saying their overrated. Do you have a local dealer? I suggest finding one, or finding someone that does sell them and give them a try before a kick to the curb. Lots of people are surprised on first impression. Not only with the sound and product, but also with the down to earth customer service that's not found with most other companies out there. I've been in the audio business for more than 20 years, and I haven't found many companies that were'nt too big for their own britches, as they say. The guys at Wet Sounds haven't forgotten where they came from.

Shop around at your local dealers, if that's possible. See what's out there. But most importantly show a budget. Most of the brands you mentioned above are pretty pricey....


Thanks for the replies everyone. Im really trying to stay around 3k or less of course. I dont know if this is achievable. I dont really know much about audio in general trying to do a little reading and research to learn more. I just dont know what wattage of amps to go with and brands and such, I dont want to buy junk but I dont want to spend 10k on a stereo system. I have a friend who is selling me 2 vector skylon 8 inch tower speakers for 700$ and vector comes with the clamps to mount on the tower. Wetsounds where about the same price retail for 1199$ although I thought they didnt come with the clamps?

[Wylietunes]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Im really trying to stay around 3k or less of course. I dont know if this is achievable. I dont really know much about audio in general trying to do a little reading and research to learn more. I just dont know what wattage of amps to go with and brands and such, I dont want to buy junk but I dont want to spend 10k on a stereo system. I have a friend who is selling me 2 vector skylon 8 inch tower speakers for 700$ and vector comes with the clamps to mount on the tower. Wetsounds where about the same price retail for 1199$ although I thought they didnt come with the clamps?

What brand and model amp does your Skylon dealer suggest?

Wet Sounds offers a direct mount option, a fixed tube clamp option and a swivel clamp option that is also a quick-disconnect that allows for optional LED rings to be installed with the wiring through the clamp along with the speaker wiring. All this info anf MSRP can be found on the Wet Sounds Web site. The Wet Sounds clamps are also stainless steel, so less likely to pit in the salt air as opposed to chrome plated clamps.

If you are doing the install yourself, I think your budget is realistic. But based on the info given hear, an HLCD like the Vector-8 is not the best speaker for surfing and party-cove listening. I would lean towards a traditional coaxial like a pair of Icon-8 or 2 pair of 6.5" coaxials.

[jonyb]

yeah, I think that budget is realistic too.

Where are you located meyeronfire?

[Meyeronfire]

yeah, I think that budget is realistic too.

Where are you located meyeronfire?

Located down here in galveston tx