2019 G improvements — ones I didn’t know about or weren’t

[Adrenaline1]

I have a 18 G25 with the upgraded stereo. i honestly think it’s terrible.

What do think is terrible about it?

[FOB1SAN]

Man years ago, and I am sure things have only gotten much better, I had a Wetsounds system with a JL W7 sub on my Malibu. It was unbelievable. Crystal clear, and you felt it. This one is just no where near loud enough. Honestly. I think my truck stock stereo system is louder then this. Cant say I am really surprised though. Except for the tower speakers, most the speakers are pretty hidden. I do think it sounds good. Definately not worth the 5k upgrade.

[nyryan2001]

I’m surprised you’re not happy with it. I’ve dumped tons of money into custom stereo upgrades on all the wakeboats I’ve had.

this JL System is by far in par with the best. That 13W7 also probrably dry rotted the foam and fell apart in under 3yrs. And it’s important to note, you lost no space with this stereo. You did with your other one.

You have 2 JL subs, Wavefront and 4x JLs on the tower and you’re not happy?

[greggmck]

Man years ago, and I am sure things have only gotten much better, I had a Wetsounds system with a JL W7 sub on my Malibu. It was unbelievable. Crystal clear, and you felt it. This one is just no where near loud enough. Honestly. I think my truck stock stereo system is louder then this. Cant say I am really surprised though. Except for the tower speakers, most the speakers are pretty hidden. I do think it sounds good. Definately not worth the 5k upgrade.

Something terribly wrong with your setup. Did you set the zone control up properly?

On my 2019 G with the upgraded stereo you can't hear a passenger yelling from the driver seat if the volume is over 40...it can go up to 50.

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[FOB1SAN]

I’d say these subs are hidden pretty good. I’m not surprised I can feel it. Could be that it’s not setup right. I doubt that. I did ask my dealer to double check it. They said it was fine. I spoke to screaming marine and to Hydrotunes and both said this system is replaced often. I am on the verge of gutting it and redoing it, but just not sure how long I’m gonna keep this boat. If the stereo max is 50, I should never even get close to 45. I’m at 45 all day.

[greggmck]

On the Linc, select the audio screen, then select zone control. I play my four 8.8 JL tower speakers at about 10 to 15 volume increments above the cockpit, dash, and subs. If you are playing your tower speakers and all other speakers at level 45 volume and you can stay in the boat without having a nose bleed something is wrong with the setup. I literally cannot drive my boat with my entire setup cranking at 45.

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[nyryan2001]

Now... if your goals are to blast out an entire Central Texas party cove... competing with the SoCal (but in Texas?) flatbillers will 6sets of Rev10s and a $50k HydroTunes install... the. Yes. It will come up short. No OEM stereo anywhere, of any brand will satisfy you. 1% of boat owners want those extreme setups.

and yes I know Central Texas. 3 of my wakeboats I had Tim White Scream Marine installs.

this JL stereo is on par or exceeds anything OEM out there.

[Bevostein]

I’m confused as well. I had a ‘13 with the stock “premium” stereo and thought it was definitely lacking. My ‘19 has all bells and whistles. I think it’s great and I’m not a noob when it comes to stereos. I would consider taking it to a local stereo shop for a tune and check up before ripping everything out.

[Kenv]

Stop playing Beethoven.....and put on some Migos....LOL

[FOB1SAN]

I’m not looking for extreme. Not at all. Better then any factory OEM setup doesn’t say much. I bet something is wrong with my setup. But shouldn’t a big upgrade come with it tuned to its peak performance?

Subs are way too hidden. That’s for sure.

[Adrenaline1]

I would agree that it makes no sense to pay for a premium JL system and not have it "setup/tuned" properly from the factory.

[blueroom]

This stereo topic seems to come up a lot.

I know a bunch of people on here have done some impressive work putting together some killer systems. If you have the drive, $ or initiative to do some work yourself the sky is the limit. For some, sound is also kind of a hobby as well - which I totally get.

For me, I have the Studio Elite package on my '16. Even with some of the issues with the leftover Polk head unit used on that year boat, I still think it is a good value and a good sounding system.

If you look at the cost of the components labor, etc. I don't think you are too far off of a similar system if you were to take it to a stereo shop and have them install it. I know our dealer has tried stereo systems a couple different ways, and I don't think the aftermarket installs have worked out all that great from a cost savings and quality perspective, especially when you also factor in the added hassle. I would probably purchase similar components if I installed from scratch anyway. Could you save a couple bucks? Probably. Is it worth it? Not for me, and definitely not something that stands out in overall cost of these boats.

The clincher for me is that it is all covered under the 5 year boat warranty. Knowing that if something fails that the dealer and Nautique will take care of it is big for me. We have a short season, and boat hassles are precious lost time for us - consistency and reliability are key.

Other than the head unit, I really like the JL speakers and amps. I have owned or spent time in boats with Exile's, Roswell's, Wet Sounds, etc. They are all great speakers, but for my preference I like the JL 8.8 tower speakers the best - so I feel that with the Studio Elite I am getting close to what I want from the factory anyway.

The one change i have made is replacing the port side sub with a Roswell G-series sub box and Roswell R1 sub. The stock sub sounded great, but my boat came with the 10" and the Roswell added a little more kick with the compartment closed. I may add a second sub amp so I am not torturing the 10" on the starboard side and can tune it separately from the R1.

From a tuning perspective, you need to adjust speaker zones for your volume, sound and music preference. When we crank it to 11, I run the sub zone a click or two up, towers several clicks up and everything else about neutral. The sound quality and volume levels are great. However, at half volume this set up does not sound as good, with cabin speakers seeming a bit muted. I need to adjust the bow, waves and main zones up some and sub zone down - and perhaps tweak the loudness setting. It would be really cool if you could program a custom sound curve with all this.

Just some of my own thoughts and experiences. Sound quality and preference is one of the most subjective things there is, so my thoughts may seem like bunk to others. : )

[SoCal G-Man]

This stereo topic seems to come up a lot.............

..............Just some of my own thoughts and experiences. Sound quality and preference is one of the most subjective things there is, so my thoughts may seem like bunk to others. : )

Great info! Thank you.

[FOB1SAN]

This stereo topic seems to come up a lot.

I know a bunch of people on here have done some impressive work putting together some killer systems. If you have the drive, $ or initiative to do some work yourself the sky is the limit. For some, sound is also kind of a hobby as well - which I totally get.

For me, I have the Studio Elite package on my '16. Even with some of the issues with the leftover Polk head unit used on that year boat, I still think it is a good value and a good sounding system.

If you look at the cost of the components labor, etc. I don't think you are too far off of a similar system if you were to take it to a stereo shop and have them install it. I know our dealer has tried stereo systems a couple different ways, and I don't think the aftermarket installs have worked out all that great from a cost savings and quality perspective, especially when you also factor in the added hassle. I would probably purchase similar components if I installed from scratch anyway. Could you save a couple bucks? Probably. Is it worth it? Not for me, and definitely not something that stands out in overall cost of these boats.

The clincher for me is that it is all covered under the 5 year boat warranty. Knowing that if something fails that the dealer and Nautique will take care of it is big for me. We have a short season, and boat hassles are precious lost time for us - consistency and reliability are key.

Other than the head unit, I really like the JL speakers and amps. I have owned or spent time in boats with Exile's, Roswell's, Wet Sounds, etc. They are all great speakers, but for my preference I like the JL 8.8 tower speakers the best - so I feel that with the Studio Elite I am getting close to what I want from the factory anyway.

The one change i have made is replacing the port side sub with a Roswell G-series sub box and Roswell R1 sub. The stock sub sounded great, but my boat came with the 10" and the Roswell added a little more kick with the compartment closed. I may add a second sub amp so I am not torturing the 10" on the starboard side and can tune it separately from the R1.

From a tuning perspective, you need to adjust speaker zones for your volume, sound and music preference. When we crank it to 11, I run the sub zone a click or two up, towers several clicks up and everything else about neutral. The sound quality and volume levels are great. However, at half volume this set up does not sound as good, with cabin speakers seeming a bit muted. I need to adjust the bow, waves and main zones up some and sub zone down - and perhaps tweak the loudness setting. It would be really cool if you could program a custom sound curve with all this.

Just some of my own thoughts and experiences. Sound quality and preference is one of the most subjective things there is, so my thoughts may seem like bunk to others. : )

Thanks!

I never meant this to be a negative about anyone’s setup. My setup is not ideal for me, and I am sure its tuned wrong. When shopping for this boat, I knew I was getting the upgrade, but I didnt know what model each component was. Short of the 8.8s, this is not the best stuff JL offers. It’s a healthy premium for value based equipment. I’m gonna find someone help me get the most out of it.

[scottb7]

"Short of the 8.8s, this is not the best stuff JL offers." It would be interesting to know where the items fall in JL line.

The stock polk stuff that came in a 2014 g21 was probably some of the cheapest available at the time. I think the speakers are going for like $50 per pair or something like that. Probably only sounds good in a showroom.