New JL Audio systems from 2018-Present

[Brien]

Got rid of my 2014 Nautique and just took possession of a new 2019 boat. Actually miss my old Polk system. At least I could hear the music when I was wakeboarding.

So far I have had problems with the JBL head unit not interfacing very well with the boats computer. Also it does not link to my phone very well to get my music via USB and the Bluetooth is intermittent when switching from one device to another. My dealer is ordering me a new head unit. I will let you know how that goes. I tried hooking up to a different boat in his show room and the interface was much more reactive.

Tower speakers sound beautiful however they do not get loud enough for me to hear well wake boarding or even surfing. My old boat was much better at this. Sadly it looks like they are severely under powered. My dealer even looked and thinks I might be missing an amp. I actually hope that is the case because it would make sense and solve the problem. Again I will keep you posted.

Frustrating to be spending this much money on a boat and having assembly errors from the factory. Come on Nautique get your act together.

[Snickertime]

I agree, the JL audio to Link system needs some troubleshooting. Put a thumb drive with MP3 files into the USB slot, JL head unit locks up and not responsive to any input. Link states to start audio. Recovery is to turn battery off. USB is rarely used because of challenge Bluetooth is usually good, sometimes drops a phone connection. I have a pair of 8.8 which are great for swimming around the boat, and i agree, less so much for wake boarding. Overall, I'm happy just being on the water.

[Brien]

So there seems to be two problems. JL Audio head Unit software not current enough to handle the fast changing software on phones. JL Audio is way behind on this. That's why an old iPod or flash drive works with USB but updated phones do not. I have contacted JL Audio to express my disappointment.

Next, the awesome JL Audio tower speakers are simply not being given enough power. Go to the JL Audio website and look at the specs or just talk to your local Audio guy. Too many speakers not enough amp. Hopefully nautique will realize and fix this configuration. Either that or they don't care because so many people are surfing instead of wakeboarding they don't have to try to project sound so far back any more.

[acs220]

I know this is an older thread, but i totally agree that there are too many speakers and no enough amps. They are trying to run multiple channels, types of speakers, and subs off 2 amps. I’m currently having sound issues with our 2012 210 and can’t get the sound right. Either too much bass, or non at all. Thinking about changing the configuration this winter and adding a 3rd amp. That way I can split the bow and sub away from the tower and main seating area.


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[bturner]

This is a common comment on all the the top tier sound system on the 2016 - present boats, not only here but with the MCs as well. I think a lot has to do with expectations on volume and sound quality especially when it comes to a Bluetooth connection where the old saying "garbage in, garbage out" seems appropriate.

All Bluetooth is not created equal and if you have a head unit even 3 or 4 years old chances are the standards used are probably twice as old. As one might think newer versions of the standard have incorporated higher speed and much better sampling rates. Which brings us to your source files. If you're looking for Pandora or Spotify to deliver audiophile quality sampling rates, think again. Pandora does offer a premium version of their streaming service as well as others like Amazon Music HD but I always find it interesting that people aren't aware of this difference. But wait you say, I'm playing my music from a USB stick of MP3s. Here again the issue becomes how was the source created and at what sampling rate. So to fix or at least attempt to get better quality plan on updating your head unit to one with the latest Bluetooth codex. Which BTW may cause an issue with the screen/info system that's built into the boat.

This brings us to amps and power. If you bought the upgraded system from 4 or 5 years ago it is probably vastly under powered for your expectations. Most good installers will tell you if you want good performance out of a set JL speakers expect to push 100 watts RMS @ 4 ohms to each channel for interior speakers, 200 watts to the sub and the same with the tower speakers. Doing so will result in a very quick and distinguishable difference in sound quality, volume and your wallet. Adding up the channels to do this is easy math....

6 cockpit/bow speakers - 600 watts
1 sub woofer - 200 watts
2 tower speakers - minimum 200 - 400 watts

Total (max wattage) is 1200 watts or 12 channels with most conventional amps. So in JL Audio terms you'll need a pair of 600/6 amps. Keep in mind JL Audio recommends a dedicated feed with a 50 amp breaker per amp and you can get an idea of just how much source power you're going to need to power these amps. Dual batteries are near mandatory (and certainly recommended) and most good shops will recommend an upgrade to the boat's alternator to keep up with the charging system demands. None of this is cheap so expect to spend a couple grand in amps and supporting electrical components to complete this type of upgrade correctly.

If you're not prepared to make this type of commitment and think you've found a short cut or cheaper alternative, be prepared to be disappointed. The old saying in audio gear is that you have 3 basic characteristics of any system.... Cheap, Loud and Good. The only problem is that you only get to pick two.

You can have cheap and loud but it won't be good.
You can have good and cheap but it won't be loud.
Or lastly the one that fits this thread best.... you can have good and loud but it won't be cheap.