Marine Speakers

[Guest]

Hey All, Am after a set of 6.5" marine speakers for external use. Any recommendations good or bad. Cheers, Dan

[Murky 3]

Personally I have always run with the Pioneers but a mate recently installed the Fusions. Fusion have done what everyone should have years ago by selling replacement covers at a reasonable price when they inevitably get kneed or toed in. Which puts them well ahead of the pack in my book.

 

Not sure if you already knew but a good suggestion is to just place the speakers where you intend to locate them, connect the cables temporarily and keep an eye on the compass when you turn the stereo on. The results can be a bit interesting.

[wheels 544]

Yeah i would go the Fusion as well. They sound OK, aren't too expensive and seem to hold up as good as any other so called Marine speaker.

[Murky 3]

P.S. I note that you specified 6.5" - if you had said "what are the biggest/most powerful speakers you can get on a boat", I would have deferred to someone like Booboo or one of the Piedy guys, who are undisputed champions in this arena.

[Guest]

They're going on an 88 so just a slightly refined party version of a piedy......waiting for it....

[wheels 544]

have deferred to someone like Booboo or one of the Piedy guys, who are undisputed champions in this arena.

 

I hear a challenge. They haven't seen (or should I say, Heard) me in the Arena yet

[Guest]

Fusion speakers are OK, their covers are still total crap.

[too_tall 15]

I am a fussy listener, so take this with a large grain of salt ( my home system probably would buy a pretty nice blue water cruiser ).

 

Focal speakers are the best sounding - specially the Beryllium ones. However, they cost an arm, leg, and ya left nut just for good measure.

 

Pioneer speakers tend to be "built to a price", albeit not to the same extent as the Fusion speakers ( which tend to be random generic Chinese stuff. )

 

JL Audio - http://marine.jlaudio.com/products_comp ... page_id=22 gear sounds between good and great - and while it is a somewhat premium priced brand, it at least performs as such. JL Audio is carried by JB hifi, however you will almost definitely need to order it in.

[Bogan 8]

I like Booboo's approach from the SR. A custom box that fitted above the companionway and came out for the party, but didn't get in the way while sailing (because it was down below, or not on board).

 

Or how about fitting the speakers into the cover of a screw in port. Keep a blank port as well, so you can choose whether or not to have the speakers in place.

[Atom Ant 0]

My experience with Fusion is they lasted approximately 18 months and were not marine speakers at all. They don't like direct sunlight and don't like water in any reasonable amount falling on them. This was told to me by a Fusion employee at the boat show. So if you get Fusion, Have water proof covers made for them. If you have any respect for your cockpit speakers, then do what I did which was to have some stainless steel guards made for them. Every time a crew member breaks a toe on them you have saved yourself from buying a new speaker!

[Guest]

Cheers for all the replies guys. We must be lucky with the current Pioneers, they are mounted just below the winches and have lasted well with no feet going thru them. Still leaning towards the Fusions I think, will have a listen and decide from there.

 

Dan

[wheels 544]

I don't know of any fully "waterproof" speaker. The only thing making any "marine" speaker a "marine" speaker, is that it has a plastic cone. The basket on all drivers I know of, are simply a lightly plated metal. To be truely waterproof, you would need the speaker fully sealed or made from SST. The cone should be able to take a splash of water, but not total immersion.

I use a pair of 6x9 Panasonics in the aft steering position and I took the metal mesh cover and sprayed it is a SST metal spray. They have been there for 3 years now and no rust. I did try Zinc as a primer and then a topcoat, but it didn;t last before rust spots appeared.

[Guest]

In My experience..... Go with the cheapest you can get.

 

They all sound not particularly wonderful.

 

They will crap out in 18months regardless of spending lots vs little.

 

The Boss Speakers that were about are ok- if you get them cheap.

 

Would go with Fusion over Pioneer for the replacement face plates....if they were much the same price.

 

If your worried about sound quality- build a pod like Booboo's.

[Murky 3]

They all sound not particularly wonderful.

And to be fair, it is always going to be a challenging environment - you are either underway, with the accompanying sounds of wind, sails, engine etc, or holding a gathering in the cockpit where the speaker will be blocked by someone's leg or back. And later doused with rum. Such is the life of a cockpit speaker.

 

I wish Booboo would post a photo of his big box on the Jagged though, just to illustrate what can be done. And whoever it was that had the pods mounted in the shrouds of their Piedy.

[Mothership 6]

If your worried about sound quantity- build a pod like Booboo's.

 

Just fixed that for ya

 

But otherwise yes; unless a speaker has a decent enclosure and a decent source i.e. reasonable amount of current from the head unit, or better yet - an amplifier (digital are much more efficient than traditional analogue amps) then the difference isn't huge, and even less so in a noisy outdoor environment.

[Guest]

I've been reasonably happy with the 2x 6x9 in the back of Smokey- with 1200w of bridged amp stuck through them

 

 

that is one thing I would reccommend if you have the battery power to cover it.....stick an amp in!!

[B00B00 330]

yes agree, adding an amp makes a HUGE difference but you are right about the battery power, my stereo can draw up to 30amps depending on how many subwoffers are hooked up!

 

Attached a few shots of the box mentioned earlier, it has 2 x JVC 350w 6x9's and 2 sony explod 6.5's with crossovers and seperate tweaters. The speakers are non marine but they are cheap enough to replace every so often anyway, they have lasted 3 years now and have seen plenty of water and salt. I made sure i got the 6x9's with solid mesh covers as i figured that most of the water (only spray and rain) wouldnt go through it saving the speakers a bit. The covers have gone slightly rusty but not too bad and still pump out the sound. There is a partition between the 6x9's but nothing seperating the 6.5s from the 6x9s and i have found that they distort with the force from the bigger speakers anyway but even when not used they help to distribute the noise.

 

 

 

The new fusion speakers with the tweater in the middle and the more solid cover are about the best out there I reckon. The old ones with the crosovers and tweater were great for the sound but the tweaters rusted out real quick and the old covers broke way to easily.

[B00B00 330]

The system also works well in the van and can be loaded into a marina trolly and setup on the dock with a battery and a charger, its the way forward i reckon!

 

The only problem is you often end up with way too many people on you boat!

[wheels 544]

(digital are much more efficient than traditional analogue amps)

Sorry MS, but there is no such animal. Turning 0's and 1's into o'sand 1's does not equate to louder sound. A "digital" amp is one of those snake oil machines.

 

Oh you guys, mere amatures.

How does 100Kw sound??? (insert Tim Toolman grunts)

[Murky 3]

The challenge has been laid down Wheels - photos at least as a starting point.