Stereo - To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

[Driller]

I kept my stock head unit, a MBQuart and added a sub woofer, eight channel amp, and 6 new speakers all JL. The improvement was impressive. IMO the amp and new speakers is a must, head units aren't that expensive, but in my case I would have had to run new remotes, which add to the cost. I added a bluetooth connection hooked unto the aux in. I'm happy with my setup.

[Homeskillet]

I need to locate some dealers near me who have these speakers that we've talked about, set up to demo

[Big Block Power]

I need to locate some dealers near me who have these speakers that we've talked about, set up to demo

Just go to Gordys and listen to them in the boat.

[Homeskillet]

I spoke to another guy who installs systems in boats (at least he used to - now he does a handful of boats a year more or less as favors to friends).

He thought the older Amps would be power hungry, hot, etc. and was really steering me towards a JL Amp (like many of you were suggesting). Also thought it might sound pretty nice to do the 7 series (bigger cutouts) without a sub, if I wasn't wanting to cut a hole for a sub. But did say to def get an amp if I went with them.

I'm still trying to decide what (if anything) I want to do.

[akorcovelos]

Install captains calls and throw the stereo out, lol.

[NautiGirl]

I spoke to another guy who installs systems in boats (at least he used to - now he does a handful of boats a year more or less as favors to friends).

He thought the older Amps would be power hungry, hot, etc. and was really steering me towards a JL Amp (like many of you were suggesting). Also thought it might sound pretty nice to do the 7 series (bigger cutouts) without a sub, if I wasn't wanting to cut a hole for a sub. But did say to def get an amp if I went with them.

I'm still trying to decide what (if anything) I want to do.

This is solid advice. If I could have made 7.7's fit we would have them in our boat, there just isn't enough room in the bow of most older Cobalts, and I didn't want to have 6.5's in the bow and 7.7's in the rest of the boat.

You can send more power to a 6.5in speaker, but at the end of the day you are really limited by the physical size of the driver. On the newer boats Cobalt is making room for larger speakers.

Run a 6 channel JL or Wet Sounds amp and some decent speakers. Add a Sub later if you want.

[Homeskillet]

Exactly what I was thinking I'd do... except I will probably keep the smaller speakers up front.

[Homeskillet]

Now I just gotta find exactly what I need, and where to buy it all

[Big Block Power]

Now I just gotta find exactly what I need, and where to buy it all

Creative audio was awesome to nauti's and I. Might be able to give you a coupon code.

[NautiGirl]

Now I just gotta find exactly what I need, and where to buy it all

You really need to listen to both JL and WS and see what sounds best to you.

If you go JL's I would recommend M770's for your 7in speakers. If you are looking at 6.5's then you can also take a look at the more affordable MX line. Short story in the 7in speakers the M's really do sound that much better than their MX counterparts. When you step down to the 6.5in speakers the difference between the MX and the M isnt as great, and in my opinion not worth double the price.

We did MX 6.5s for the in boats and M770's for the towers.

Remember not only are the 7.7's bigger in diameter they are also much deeper than the 6.5s in your boat. You will most likely need to do some form of spacer. BBP will jump up and down and say "BUY LED TRIM RINGS!!!!!!". Not my jam but they work. You can also look at starboard spacers, we just had boat outfitters cut some for our Sub, not the cheapest thing in the world but they came out perfect.

If you want to go WetSounds then you will need to bug BBP for recommendations, I am not as familiar /w their stuff.

As far as where to buy it, make sure its an authorized dealer if you want a warranty. If you dont care as much you can find good deals on ebay. If you call or online chat /w CreativeAudio.net and tell them what you want they put together a package for you and will cut quite a bit off MSRP.

[Big Block Power]

Again. If you want to hear mine swing by in July. It might be warm by then. Lol
Hell yea led spacers baby

[Homeskillet]

Gonna get the JL Audio amp that jhnmdahl suggested to drive some JL Audio MX650-CCX-SG's. I know I talked about stepping up to the 770's, but I don't think I want to enlarge the speaker holes - call me names if you have too but I just can't do it at this point lol. I am planning to go with this set up for this upcoming season and see how I like it. If a sub is in order, I'll look into that for the next season.

The speakers with the discount come to $567 (after the 10% discount code provided by my friends here - thanks!!) and free shipping
The JL Audio "refurbished" amp is $409 (didn't find any sort of discount for that).

I found a roll of 14ga speaker wire on Amazon for $25. I am going to use 6ga battery cable for the amp. And I'll put a good quality fuse in as well.

How's everyone feel about my decision???

[NautiGirl]

Gonna get the JL Audio amp that jhnmdahl suggested to drive some JL Audio MX650-CCX-SG's. I know I talked about stepping up to the 770's, but I don't think I want to enlarge the speaker holes - call me names if you have too but I just can't do it at this point lol.

I get it - no name calling here - I wouldnt cut into our boat and BBP may not admit it, but he is shaking thinking about cutting a hole in his. Hell I was nervous drilling new 9\64in holes in ours for speakers let alone a 10in sub cut out. No shame.

The speakers with the discount come to $567 (after the 10% discount code provided by my friends here - thanks!!) and free shipping
The JL Audio "refurbished" amp is $409 (didn't find any sort of discount for that).

Did you chat /w Creative before you ordered? I have a feeling if you tell them you are ordering three pairs of speakers and an amp they will cut you a better deal than 10% off. I will tell you we paid less than that for six of the same speakers, and it's enough of a difference that I would at least try to talk to them. Maybe I just caught them in a good mood?

I found a roll of 14ga speaker wire on Amazon for $25. I am going to use 6ga battery cable for the amp. And I'll put a good quality fuse in as well.

Step up to 4GA power and ground wire. That is the minimum recommended for the M600\6. It's really not that much more expensive as compared to 6GA. Cheapest I could find that was marine rated was NVX. Worked out great in our application, easy to run, flexible, and marine rated. https://www.nvx.com/4-gauge-cable/

14GA speaker wire should be fine.

[Bfun220]

Gonna get the JL Audio amp that jhnmdahl suggested to drive some JL Audio MX650-CCX-SG's. I know I talked about stepping up to the 770's, but I don't think I want to enlarge the speaker holes - call me names if you have too but I just can't do it at this point lol. I am planning to go with this set up for this upcoming season and see how I like it. If a sub is in order, I'll look into that for the next season.

The speakers with the discount come to $567 (after the 10% discount code provided by my friends here - thanks!!) and free shipping
The JL Audio "refurbished" amp is $409 (didn't find any sort of discount for that).

I found a roll of 14ga speaker wire on Amazon for $25. I am going to use 6ga battery cable for the amp. And I'll put a good quality fuse in as well.

How's everyone feel about my decision???

Like Nauti said, step up to 4ga on your power and ground.

I think you'll be happy with this set up and if you feel you need more bass you can add a sub down the road.

[jhnmdahl]

I'm doing the same install this summer - the M600/6 to some new speakers, with new 4ga power lines and 12ga speaker wire. I really wanted the 7.7" too, but there's just too much work involved with some of the speaker locations having molded-in recesses for 6.5" speakers.

John