Originally Posted by
Eric1687
Im thinking about redoing the whole system in my 01 launch the 6 speakers in the boat plus a sub and 2 real nice tower speakers what would be the best set up such as kind of speakers sub and tower speakers? amp set up ? also im planning on putting in an extra battery and beefing up the alternator.
For in-boats, I like to suggest a true marine speaker as the in-boats seem to take the brunt of the splash and direct sun light. There are tons of quality built marine in-boats, all with their own look, sound and price range. Getting a chance to demo them is a huge plus, but theres hardly any "bad" choices.
Subs, all it takes is a mild 10" woofer with a little bit of power to fill in those missing low end notes that the small in-boats will not reproduce. So unless you are a bass-head or listen a lot of hip-hop, a big sub with tons of power is not needed. So its really up to your personal preference. The best sub is the one done right. Cost wise, theres typically not much price difference between a 10 and a 12 within the same brand and model and they can typically be driven with the same amp power. So if space permits, the extra surface area of a 12 can be a plus. But the boat will typically drive the shape and size of the enclosure, thus influencing the the driver choice.
Tower speaker will fall into to main categories, projecting to wake range with an HLCD or near-field sound quality for surfing or party cove listening with a traditional coax. The best compromises are going to come from the larger HLCD,s like an 8" or 10", or something like the 6 pod Kicker "6-Pack" which has 4 6.5" mid-bass drivers and 2 horns. The tower setup will typically consume the majority of the budget. So figuring out what your primary and secondary listening goals are, will help get you down the right path.
Amps. I strongly suggest Class-D amp for the efficiency and small footprint. Once all the speakers and subs are chosen, the amps will fall inline. Dont overlook adequate cabling and circuit protection and all the other install incidentals that go along with the install.
Michael
Mikes Liquid Audio