Stereo Install 2011 210

[thomas205]

Hey guys just had a couple questions with regard to upgrading my stereo.

The boat currently has the four factory Polk cockpit speakers and the Clarion CMS1 head unit.
I picked up a Wetsounds HT-6 amp and a couple of XST 650s for the tower and will be getting a sub as well.

The things I am not sure about are...

Sub location- the large area where the cooler is seems the logical spot but will I need to make a vent in the walkway? I would rather not make too many holes in the boat if possible. Is there a way around this or a particular sub that would allow me to avoid doing this?

Which sub? (see above) and will I need another amp to power it?

Wiring in the tower- I assumed that the tower was not pre-wired as it wasn't on the option list but when I looked up top there are some rubber plugs which when removed have a purple wire attached to them. Are these there for audio? Where do they come out at the other end?

Appreciate your help on this one, I am by no means an audio expert.

[jonsquatch]

I am assuming you have the FCT5 tower, Roswell pre-wired the tower the tower pre-wire option from Nautique gets you the rest of the wire from the base of the tower, to the amp (which is included in the option) and hooks it up to the deck. There are harnesses exiting the base of the foot on either side, I haven't spent any time looking at it but I would assume that the speaker wires are on the port side. There should be wires to both the top of the tower and to just behind those aluminum plates at the mid tower. The HLCD's they put on the top also have lights in them so there are probably also power and ground at the top of the tower.

Check out the pictures of the tower on NautiqueParts http://www.nautiqueparts.com/fct5towerraworpainted.aspx

[nyryan2001]

Thomas- whats your budget for sub, amp and wiring? What are you trying to achieve?

[thomas205]

Ok that's good to know about the tower, I wasn't looking forward to that job!

As far as what I want from the stereo, I am not looking for huge volume or audio at 80ft. Just want to get a little bit more out of what is already there and be able to turn it up a little more without losing quality. Currently I have

Clarion CMS1
4 Polks inside
2 XST 650s
HT 6 Amp

Not sure what sub to go with and where/how to position it really.

[nyryan2001]

Most folks will say a slot ported box that vents and radiates directly into the cockpit will give best results and is more efficient power wise...give the best blend out output and sound quality. David and MLA can give you the hard rationale.... you pretty much double your output by vented vs sealed... and x4 to x8 if the box is hidden away back in a compartment with no direct access. you'd need to put it in the observer's compartment vented into the walkway...cut a hole in the vinyl and put a slick grill in there.

IMO most folks get happy with performance when they are in the 1000-1500w+ range...usually more than enough for most folks, allowing you to play your gear at 30-40% most for the time for max sound quaility and efficiency. by taking this route, you dont have to buy the most pricey premium JL for example gear to maintain constant power because whether at 12.6v or 14.4v taking the 30-40% route... you have so much headroom in a setup like that you dont need such tight tolerances and you can get the same performance.

I can give some reccomendations.... but you havent described what type of guy you are and what you are looking for. Providing reccomendations without more info will have a legion of forum trolls sniping everything that is said. Folks always get pissy when guys make specific reccomendations...the vendors will criticize what they dont sell and carry... which is why no one has provided recs to this point.

How price sensitve are you? 1500w setups can range from $500-$1500.

Is someone going to help you with your box and positioning it? Nautiques are tough...for best results you gotta put it in the pobservers compartment and vent into the walkway.

What is your battery setup? Do you have Perko and onboard charger? Any adversions to addintg another battery or 2?

Is a F150 worktruck type setup with vinyl floors ok? Or do you need the Platinum edition with heated and cooled leather seats?

How brand loyal are you? ok to mix and match brands?

[xrichard]

The most logical place to put the sub in the observer seat compartment...and it has to be vented outside that compartment or it will sound bad.

For a DIY build, radiating directly outside the observer seat compartment will be hugely difficult unless you have good woodworking skills and the right tools. Most put the sub box in that location but then vent the observers seat area by cutting the base support of the seat and/or cutting the walk through area.

For mine, I vented the walk through by cutting 6 x 5" holes using a hole saw. I then covered it with speaker cloth with a foam backing to keep the cloth from flapping around (I cut matching holes in the foam so it wouldn't impede airflow). I used foam wrapped in speaker cloth on the inside of the compartment to give that area a finished look. The upside of this solution is it's very easy to do and looks like it could be OEM. (The photo shows a sealed sub box...I subsequently changed it to vented.)

I have a Wetsounds XXX, but I think any decent sub with enough power will work. As a general rule, the smaller your amp, the smaller you'll probably need to go wrt the magnet. Don't pay for a "competition" sub and then try to drive it with 500w. Look up the specs for your sub and match the amp to that. Frankly, the stock sub can sound very good if it's in a good box and is powered to spec.

Ported/vented box v. sealed: both can sound good. When I went from sealed to vented, I noticed the roll on/roll off seemed to be more extended and it hit a bit harder. Nevertheless, the sealed sounded good and took up quite a bit less room.

[thomas205]

Thanks for the responses guys and sorry for the long delay between my replies, not in a great area for internet right now!

Im not looking for huge sound out of this setup but I would like an improvement in the quality of the sound. Not massively brand loyal either so mix and match is fine.

I have got a local stereo guy coming next week to wire in what I have already. He tells me he has an airblade for making the vent in the walkthrough, sounded like a better option than a saw. Anyone familiar with that?

He is also bringing a selection of subs so we can see which ones sounds the best in that compartment.

When mounting the amps in the locker is it cool to just screw them into the port side there in the factory place or do they need a backing board?