Stereo help

[baldmike73]

I have a 2021 GS24 and am looking for some help on the details of my stereo - most Nautque dealers are closed already so thought i'd turn to you all who have already torn parts of their stereos apart.

I have my boat in getting a stern thruster installed, so found it to be the perfect time to "enhance" the current stereo.

I have the upgraded Eltie package with the 6 M3 6.5's in the boat and a pair of 8.8's on the tower and the 10 inch sub. Where i need help is identifying which amps i have in the boat today. Looking where the current sub is i only see 2 amps which confuses me based on what is listed above.

What i am going to be doing is adding another set of 8.8 (if i can find them - says tower is pre-wired - just install and plug in so that is simple), removing stock sub and having shop build a custom box and 10W3 and reuse the wall that is there now to retain stock look and will move to a bigger amp if need be, and then shop is going to tune the current amps to get overall better sounds.

Not looking to go radical like i did back in the old days and have bass for days, just increase the presence and keep it all stock looking for resale value.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[bturner]

Pictures would really help as without them anyone is going to be just guessing. Based on the JL installations I've done and the ones I've upgraded on MasterCrafts I would think you probably have a JL 600/6 and a JL 400/4. The typical set up would be to run the cockpit speakers off the 600/6 (1 speaker per channel). Each tower speaker would get a channel and the sub would be bridged on the 2 remaining channels. I say this is typical as it's rare to have a manufacture put more capacity in a stereo than is needed whether that's amp channels, size of the breakers, power/ground runs or even speaker wire. Each of the fore mentioned items do cost more incrementally and can be a significant cost for even a modest bump up.

Moving to the upgrade.....

If this is indeed how your boat is set up, adding a sub and another pair of tower speakers is not going to be "plug and play" and additional amp components are going to be necessary. If you stick with JL and don't plan to go full on, at a minimum you'll need 4 more channels (2 for the sub and 2 for the tower speakers) so this would mean at a minimum you'd need another JL 400/4. If you were just planing on adding a second set of tower speakers or the additional sub I would swap out the 400/4 for a 600/6 to get the additional 2 channels and call it a day. Even going that direction you'll probably have to change the breaker out in the panel and quite possibly the power/ground cables as well although I would be very temped to try what's in place first.

What most shops will try to do base on your wish list is sell you all new higher power amps and a lot of times an EQ like the Wet Sounds WS-420 unit. This is typically where the train comes off the tracks from a cost perspective and the complexity as well. If you go this route find a really good marine audio installer and pay them the money to do the installation correctly. Look on any boating site in the sound forums and you'll find tons of unhappy customers with various issues from janky so called professional installations. Unfortunately the dealer typically isn't the place to go for this type of installation unless they're farming it out to a high end shop. If the latter is the case you'll be paying the dealer to manage the contractor for you.

Now the tower speakers.....

While the newer boats I've worked on have lately (last 10 years of age) have all come pre-wired to one degree or another that pretty much stops at speaker and amp wiring. What does this mean? With speakers I found the towers all to be wired but that ended at the base of the tower. Speaker wire from the tower to the amps has never been there. Same goes with speaker locations within the cockpit. Amp cabling has never gone further than the power panel however I was pleasantly surprised to find the breakers for the amp circuits installed in this last boat. No power/ground cables pre-wired though.

Other upgrade items to consider....

If you do the full upgrade (additional sub and tower speakers) as stated above you'll need another amp. Another amp means another set of power cables, another breaker (if a third amp breaker is not already installed in the power panel), speaker wire, cable ends, patch cables and misc. materials to do the installation. All this costs and most times more than you think so be prepared for an estimate that may be more than you're thinking. If you decided to do larger amps many times installers are basically scrapping your old gear and infrastructure components as the higher power amps will require larger power cables, breakers, speaker wire and the list goes on.

The good news....

Those old components are worth money and I for one am in the market for that JL 400/4 you'll most likely be removing. If they're pulling you're old gear you're always better off selling it yourself rather than taking their trade in on the old components (if they offer one). And who else better to sell that amp to than the guy helping advise you with your upgrade options.....

[MLA]

and having shop build a custom box

This is who I would lean on in regards to how the existing system is laid out and how to best make use of whats there and configure it for the best results. Make any new amp suggestions, like for the woofer and driving 2 pair of tower pods.

If a "stock" look is your goal, why not consider the M6-10W. Should be able to get it with a matching grill to the existing speakers, but its intended for a small enclosure rather then Infinite-Baffle like the OEM M3-10IB. Or, if it will fit, id go with the M7-12IB and a good mono amp.

[baldmike73]

Thanks bturner for the great write up - once i hear back from the shop i will make the recco to go with the 600/6 as that seems like the easiest from an install standpoint/retaining factory functionality and would gladly sell you that amp as i won't have a need for it - it's barely been used as the boat only has 24 hours on it and 6 were put on at the shop trying to figure out an eng prob early on.

(still waiting on exactly which sub to get but like this one per your suggestion MLA - https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/...closures-93646 )

this was all super useful as I like to come to the table a prepared with research done as i can get a bit OCD on making sure i have the right equipment installed and don't want a hack job or second guess what was done after the fact.

[Crooked_FL]

Mike- How is it going with that thruster install....? Set up / pics / pros/cons etc.... I’d like to hear the details on that too... I’m interested in adding stern thruster and trying to gather as much real world insights as possible.

[baldmike73]

Mike- How is it going with that thruster install....? Set up / pics / pros/cons etc.... I’d like to hear the details on that too... I’m interested in adding stern thruster and trying to gather as much real world insights as possible.

Crooked_FL i took the boat to the shop on the 19th knowing the last 2 weeks of the year would be minimal work days - spoke to owner Tuesday and they had it all mocked up waiting on one more question from tech support before cutting a hole though the boat - i asked them to measure 10X - cut once, as you only have one shot. Unfortunately i did a group buy with 3 other gents and the shop that EZ Thruster had recommended as their primary installer in the Bay Area's electrician died so we are now using "Liquid Trends" stereo shop. They work really close with a body shop so cutting/wiring will be a snap for them. My boat is first under the knife so they are taking their time as they are working with EZ Thruster to be the preferred vendor for all Nor Cal sales. Hoping to have the Thruster installed within the week and stereo upgrades complete too.

Once I have pics I share them - am hoping to take the boat once i have it back to test it out, but i am not pushing too hard as its been cold AF here.

Stay tuned.......