2004 226: Redoing Stereo

[benjamin_rohrs]

Picked up a 2004 226 last year, and as expected for a 20 year old boat, the stereo is ready to be replaced. Is it possible to re-do the entire stereo system for under $3k? Looking to get a Kicker system as it seems to be the border of affordability and quality. Any speaker/sub/amp/tower speaker recommendations? I would like to have at least a little knowledge about what I want before we hand the boat (and a couple thousand dollars) over to an installer. Thank you!

[Polidori]

Ben - I’ve been down this road before. I’ll PM you.

[bturner]

It's amazing how expensive marine audio has gotten. Tower speakers were always expensive for the higher end gear but amps have skyrocketed. If I were repowering now I'd be tempted to use car audio gear for the amps as I'm in a fresh water environment and the gear is installed in a protected area. I get there are differences in construction but will it make a difference in say 5 years? I've never had a marine amp fail but neither has a local friend who decided to go with the automotive version route some 6 years ago. Here's what the pricing looks like this morning.....

[MLA]

bturner

I would find a better example. JL has those amps listed with a $20 difference. Theres some other reason for that sub-MAP listing by sonic elec and its not a conformal coated board. That slim price difference can be found at other manufactures that list a car and marine version of the same chassis. Kicker and rockford are two examples.

Hopefully the installer is also the equipment supplier. If so, what are their suggestions? In 2004, boat builders still were not taking marine audio serious. It was till an afterthought, even when some were using quality (at the time) gear. So a red-do is a great opportunity to address the flaws and shortcomings of the OEM system. Substandard wiring. Small or too few speakers. Bow speakers wired to the head unit and main cabin wired to an amp thats shared with a poorly executed subwoofer

If that price includes parts and labor and the goal is to simply replace the old audio components with new components that are as similar as they can be, then I think you are short on budget if there are a couple amps and a head unit and a couple of wired remotes.

[JDC02SANTE]

benjamin_rohrs I went with an entire "audio overhaul" about this time last year. All Polk Audio. New head unit, 6 new cabin/bow speakers, new tower speakers, new sub, 3 new amps and also an upgrade to a 2 battery setup with disconnect switch. I have a post on here showing some before and after pics. All in for just about $5K.

[benjamin_rohrs]

JDC02SANTE Sounds like your boat rocks. We were originally planning on a full overhaul with fusion parts, but the head gasket blew at the end of the summer. That along with a few other parts + labor ended up being around 4k. Gotta cut costs with the stereo now haha

[distinguishedmotorsports]

search used equipment on facebook market place, here and craigslist. you might find some deals. if you are facebook, the marine audio page has classifieds and you can pick stuff up easily.