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Just looking over the stereo in our 2011 242. It has a head unit, cockpit & swim platform remote control, amp and six speakers.

Here's the odd thing. The four main cabin speakers are run from the subwoofer output through the amp. The two bow speakers are run straight from the head unit. So unless I turn the subwoofer level WAYY down, the four main speakers are 100x louder than the bow speakers. Goofy setup.

Is this a normal setup for the factory stereo? We don't need a crazy powerful system, but I might start by just replacing the speakers and see where that gets us.

That CPS speaker doesn’t look factory, and it sounds like your wiring isn’t either. Cobalt used to run one pair of speakers off one pair of outputs from the receiver, and two pair of speakers off the other pair of receiver outputs, usually with no sub. Kicker speakers would have been common I think in that era.

There are a lot of opinions on sound, but rewiring (maybe reuse your amp?) and some new speakers like JL Audio might be a nice upgrade without spending too much. Plus, a good foundation for when you add a sub, tower speakers, etc. later if you choose.

John

That looks like my stock stereo setup, but I haven't removed a speaker to see what brand it is. We also have six speakers with no sub.

I'll have to see if my bow speakers are wired like that. It does seem as though they sound thinner than the cockpit speakers, so maybe.

G

My 2011 242 ran all the speakers off the sub and nothing off the head unit. But it was only a 4 channel amp so they piggy backed the speakers. Last winter replaced my MB quart speakers(6) with JLs, added a 10" sub, and replaced the amp with a JL 8 channel. Run the six speakers on separate channels and "bridge" the other 2 channels to the sub. Left my old MB Quart head unit. The sound is a definite improvement.

I have this same setup in my 2011 232. Is it easy to switch out just the head unit or do you need to change the receiver. Sorry , audio technology passed me by 25 yrs ago! Also on a separate note, the aux cuts in and out when connecting my iPhone

My 2013 242 has an Alpine amp from the factory.