Camo '06 210 Stereo Advice Needed

[CAMO_SAN210]

I'm looking to improve my stereo set-up for better quality and increase the loudness and bass. The PO has already upgraded it to all JL speakers and amps, but am looking to improve it further as economically as possible.

I've tried to consolidate the info best as possible, I apologize for all the details...but current equipment consists of:

Standard CMD4A head unit (19W x 4 @ 4 ohms)
JL e6450 6-channel amp (45W x 6 @ 4 ohms)
JL e1400DM mono amp (320W @ 4 ohms or 500W @ 2 ohms)

2 Fish Noyz Tiger Shark Tower Speakers (unknown RMS, pushing with 150W RMS @ 2ohm)
2 JL 12W1v2-4 Subs in custom enclosure in middle side seats (300W RMS, pushing with 500W @ 2 ohms)
6 JL TRs component speakers (50W RMS @ 4 ohms)

The current setup of the 6-channel amp:
2 channels x-overed pushing the tower speakers
4 channels pushing rear component speakers

The mono amp is connected in parallel to the two subs.

The sub quality and thump is not that great and I'm not sure if it's being caused by the subs, enclosures, head unit, or amp. Looking for advice on components to replace or alternate configuration of current components...any help will be great.

I'm thinking of upgrading the subs to 12" Kicker Solobaric L7s (750W RMS), upgrade the sub amp to something more powerful, run the 6 component speakers on the current 6 channel amp, and add another amp to push the tower speakers.

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: Camo

So you're the one who owns that boat... That is one of my all-time favorite Nautiques. Love that boat!

If you search the forums here, you'll see that I have posted pictures of your boat several times.

[AuMDLST]

RE: Camo

What are the dimensions of the sub(s) enclosures? Are they sealed? Based on the number of screws on the enclosure pictured I would guess they are not sealed very well. Those subs specs look to be S.V.C. 4 ohm @150 RMS so they would have enough power from the amp if wired correctly. You would need potentially two 750 RMS amps to push two L7's. I'm running a kicker 750.1 to push my 12" L7 and it thumps (sealed enclosure).
Are the two bow speakers on the head unit? If so you should look at moving them to an amp (posibly the 6 channel).

[CAMO_SAN210]

RE: Camo

Thanks Jeff...it's my fav too. I found it for sale on this site a couple years ago and couldn't pass it up. It's been a great boat and it still turns a lot of heads even with the newer boats and custom stuff out there.

The sub enclosures are about 1.25 CF each and are pretty well sealed. Only one of the subs has the plexiglass and it has some type of sealant between the glass and box as well as the screws. After looking at the 6 channel amp again, I think that maybe all six component speakers are running off of two channels. There is a cluster of speaker wires all bundled together neatly and I haven't gotten into them since I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet...but when I pull out the 2 sets of RCA cables going into the amp, all of the sound goes away (except the subs of course).

I had a similar setup in my last boat...a 12" L7 in a sealed plexiglass enclosure with a 750W MTX amp...it hit better than these two subs for sure. I might start with just upgrading one of the subs and see what it sounds like at 500W @ 2 ohms. To get the bass I'm looking for, I probably need to have ported boxes, but don't think these seat boxes are big enough and I hate to not use them.

Let me know if anyone has any other suggestions...I think the 2009 Kicker stuff is coming out in the next couple of weeks, so I'm not going to buy anything until then.

[EarmarkMarine]

RE: Camo

Beforehand I wanted to say that is a clean looking sub install.

Your current W1 subs are fairly efficient and very easy to drive. With a 2-ohm load you're getting 250 watts to each sub. So you should be enjoying some really good bass considering the collective surface area and power. I suspect there are other issues in the design and unrelated to equipment.

I also question the enclosure's seal under considerable internal pressure. There's an easy compliance check for this. A downfiring sub is difficult to get right because you have to control so many acoustical aspects that you don't have to worry about in other applications. Separate sub locations with varying phase characteristics based on different loading conditions can really compound the challenges. Mixing bass-reflex with downfiring is a total crap shoot. I wouldn't know how to begin to predict how that would tune.

On a downfiring sub I would want to know the distance between the woofer's surround and the deck since too small of a gap can seriously choke the sub's output. Similarly the venting method, minimum vent surface area and volume of the venting cavity can have a profound effect. Is this sub's output forced into the cockpit or can it also escape into gunnel/coaming interior spaces and other under seat cavities? The crossover is a potential issue too.

I'd like to visit with you, and your installer if you're using one, about the system design before you purchase new equipment. This way you won't carry existing problems forward.

I like the Kicker subs but you might also entertain the JL Audio 13-inch TW5 for this particular application.

In the end I'm guessing that your best results will come from a single sub in the most controllable location.

You can email me at sales@earmarkcaraudio.com