Cobaltchat.com

Hey Guys,
We are really wanting to update the sound on our 1996 220. We've gotten a couple quotes, it's quite a bit of money to do what we would like to do. Before you all say how over kill this is, which it is, we take sound very seriously. LOL

We would like to....

Fusion Head Unit
Replace existing 4 speakers with JL Audio M3 650
Add Speakers either 2 or 4 in the bow
Add Two speakers in transom...
Add 2 subwoofers (brand to be determined) Rockford probably.
Add 2 ARC Audio 5 cannel amps

Have any of you done stuff like this to your boat? How many batteries did you add? Did you upgrade your alternator? Any advice as we make a plan for epic audio.

Thanks!
Brian

Fusion head unit is a pretty standard upgrade, and work great. JL's new M3 speakers are pretty solid, but consider whether you can put the 7.7s in each location before committing to the 6.5s. Price difference is only $299 vs $229 a pair from a place like Creative Audio, but it's worth it if they'll fit, even with a sub or two stashed somewhere. If you can find old MX speakers still in stock somewhere, they're very similar to the M3 and may be a good deal too. The M6 is a solid step up in price, but a lot of people here have used them (or their predecessors, the M series) with good results, and prefer them when adding an amplifier to the mix.

For the subs, brand may matter less than where you put it/them and how the enclosure is constructed. Some put a sealed or ported box under a seat or in one side of the split center console, which can work well if there's enough of an air passage from the console to the listening areas. You often see subs mounted directly into the boat's fiberglass as well, which means either running an "infinite baffle" type alignment or doing some tricky work to configure an enclosure of the proper size behind the fiberglass panel. Your subs will use more power than the rest of the system combined, so consider an amp like the JL M600/6 that allows you to bridge a couple channels to power a sub while leaving the others independent for your main speakers (or the ARC X2 which appears to have a separate, dedicated high power channel for subs).

You don't say which amps, but since they're five channel I'm guessing something like the X2. Those are class D, so you shouldn't need a ton more power at normal listening levels. Price seems reasonable - similar to the JL M600/6.

One battery should be fine - do something like the add-a-battery kit from Blue Sea and move the ACR to the switched side so everything's disconnected when the switch is off and you'll be set. Put the new battery on the opposite side of the boat as your starting battery if you can, so if you decide to add another "house" battery later you can position them together and in parallel if you want.

Don't forget to run new wires from the amps to each of the speaker locations - some of the wire Cobalt used to use is undersized for even moderately high volumes or when adding any discrete amplification. And use marine/watertight connectors and other parts! Lots of threads on here from people who have done exactly this type of install.

2004 220 - Rockford System

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2648

Tower amp next season - system will blow you out of the water, lots of options on the mater remote

We had an older 23' Crownline that had a pretty nice setup. High SPL and decent SQ. Had 6 x 6.5's and 2 Sundown Audio SA8's in vented enclosures tuned to 35Hz. Ran a 6ch amp pushing around 100 RMS to each channel and a separate class D monoblock pushing around 2000RMS to the SA8's, as they were really power hungry. Had 3 deep cycle batteries and 1 cranking battery.

If I ever replace the stereo in the 302 I would go either Wet Sounds Revo 8's or JL 7.7's and I would for sure go with the SA8's again. These two 8's if properly vented will be more bass than you would ever need! Like said above, Fusion is pretty much standard these days. The zoning will be nice if you do run transom speakers. They also offer wired and wireless remote options. Just run the proper gauge wire to your amps, given the distance and current draw. When in doubt, go a little heavier in ga. I always use fused distribution blocks to keep the install clean. Good speaker wire and RCA's are a must as well.

Thanks so much for the advice guys! I'll let you know what we end up doing.