Upgrade Time

[74green]

I have only owned my 2001 Air for a couple months and haven’t really gotten the chance to get into replacing the stereo and other items.

Currently installed I have…
1. Clarion marine CD player (FM radio is the only thing that works)
2. 800w Sony amp pushing 4 sony 6.5” speakers in the boat (only amp hooked up)
3. 1800w Sony with 4 6x9 Duals on the tower.
4. 1000w Sony with 1-12” Sony subwoofer
5. Perko Switch (Trash...Doesn’t even work properly)
6. Two Blue top optima’s (these will stay)

The Current plan is to begin by utilizing all the Sony amplifiers (given they all work). Wish I had owners manual or knew the rms power and some specs. Haven’t found any online yet. Anyways the plan is:
1. Rewire everything for the stereo, batteries, alternator, and starter.
2. Find new CD-Player with AUX in, Ipod, and 3 sets of RCA outputs
3. 800w Sony pushing new 2 kicker KM-60 (6.5”) and 2 alpine SPS-M600 (6.5”).
4. 1800w Sony for the tower speakers. Haven’t decided what to do with this.
5. 1000w Sony with newer 12” Alpine Dual Voice coil sub (already own)

Anyone got any recommendations on a good CD-Player. I’ve been looking and it seems...Alpine, Clarion, and Kenwood are all decent choices. I have always been a fan of Pioneer units and have them in the 2 vehicles, but idk if I trust pioneer’s waterproof cover for the non-marine units. Think a specific marine unit would be better suited. Want something that can take direct water contact. Within a reasonable price

Also anyone ran 6x9's on their tower?

[74green]

RE: Upgrade Time

[EarmarkMarine]

RE: Upgrade Time

74green,

Just a couple of recommendations here.

In today's market you have so many quality choices in tower speakers from WetSounds, Bullet HollowPoint and Exile. In many respects one pair of good HLCDs will out-perform two pair of 6 x 9s. All 6 x 9s are primarily intended for a.) an infinite baffle like a trunk, and b.) the near-field listening of a small, enclosed and reflective vehicle interior. Placing 6 x 9s in a small pod inordinately raises the resonance so you get very little midbass. Plus, they won't be particularly articulate at wakeboarding range. I can understand someone wanting to preserve their factory Titan pods, but otherwise go with a more contemporary tower soluation.

Place injection-molded isolation chambers behind those coaming coaxials and convert the mounting to the exterior. Coaxials don't sound very good when playing from the rear of a recess. Also, speakers that are mounted at the edge of an open coaming pocket don't have front-to-rear isolation and are undamped. Enclosing them will significantly improve both their power handling and output. BTW, these isolation chambers are only of benefit when addressing a specific problem.

Stay with a 1.8 din marine unit like the Clarion or Kenwood for exposed use.

Get a real dual-bank charger and not a tender.

David
Earmark Marine
www.earmarkmarine.com
Dallas Texas

[74green]

Thanks for the recommendations David. I think for now I’m going to focus on getting the sound squared away in the boat. And I’ll worry about the tower speakers when I get some more money to spend. Cause I would like something better and maybe smaller than those 4- 6x9. And I would either be upgrading the speakers or the entire tower set up. So It does make more sense to upgrade everything. I think all the existing stereo equipment all is pretty dated.

So something like the Clarion M309 Marine CD Receiver? How are the equalizer settings on that unit? Anything similar to like pioneers where you have a custom setting so you can tweak it just how you like it and subwoofer control?

[EarmarkMarine]

74green,

While the M309 is a marine unit it does not provide protection from direct exposure to water like the Clarion CMD6 or Kenwood KMR-700U or Sony CDXH910UI.

Both the CMD6 and KMR-700U have triple preouts with sub control.

Just not familiar with the Pioneer.

You may also need an adapter to convert from your XMD1 to some of the contemporary 1.8din source units. But it shouldn't be a big deal.

David
Earmark Marine