JL Stereo System Install

[DockRocker]

JL Stereo System install. My boat came with 1 battery and a weak Sony stereo system with 6 in-boat Sony 6.5" speakers. 4 of the in-boat speakers that were in the sun, were all brittle and the cones were falling apart. First, I installed a second battery and ACR and battery charger. You can see my post with that info, Blue Sea Add a Battery and battery charger. Then I installed a new Sony MEX-M100BT Head Unit, 2 JL M600/6 Amps, 6 JL M6-650X-S-GwGw-i in-boat speakers, 1 JL M6-10IB-S-GwGw-i-4 10 inch Sub, and 2 JL M6-880ETXv3-Sb-S-GmTi-i 8.8 inch Tower Speakers. I installed 2 JL Volume controls. JL HD-RLC volume control for the Sub, and JL CL-RLC Remove Level Control/Line Driver for the Tower Speakers. All of my 9 JL speakers have LED lights behind the cones and it creates a very nice, even lighting. I also bought a lot of other stuff to do with this install, including Marine grade wiring, 2 Wetsounds RGB light controllers (1 for speaker LEDs and 1 for underwater lights and additional LED lights to be added later). I did all these installs myself and it did take a lot of time. I took my time and did not get in a hurry. I bought all the JL stuff from Creative Audio. I bought the JL 12 gauge speaker wire and the Crutchfield RGB wire from Crutchfield.

1. Sony MEX-M100BT CD Receiver with Bluetooth. Creative Audio.
2. JL M6-650X-S-GwGw-i, In-boat speakers, qty 6. Creative Audio.
3. JL M6-10IB-S-GwGw-i-4, 10 inch Infinite Baffle Sub, Creative Audio.
4. JL M6-880ETXv3-Sb-S-GmTi-i, 8.8 inch Tower Speakers, qty 2. Creative Audio.
5. JL M600/6, 6 channel Class D Marine Amps, qty 2. Creative Audio
6. JL HD-RLC, Amplifier Remove Level control, for Subwoofer. Creative Audio.
7. JL CL-RLC, Remove Level Control/Line Driver, for Tower speakers. Creative Audio.
8. JL M-SWMCPv3-2.500 swivel mounts for tower speakers. Creative Audio.
9. JL M880ETX-CVR, Neoprene tower speaker covers. Creative Audio.
10. Wetsounds Fuse Distribution Box. Creative Audio.
11. JL RCA Cables and Y-Splitters. Creative Audio, Crutchfield.
12. JL Audio 12 gauge speaker wire. 120 feet. Crutchfield.
13. Crutchfield RGB wire. 200 feet. Crutchfield.
14. Ancor Marine Grade Wire, 4 gauge, Red and Yellow, 50 ft. $78. Amazon - Atlantic Boat Supply.
15. Ancor Marine Grade Wire, 12 gauge, Red and Yellow, 100 ft. $30. Amazon - Atlantic Boat Supply.
16. Blue Sea Waterproof in-line ATO/ATC Fuse holder, for ground wire. qty 7. $7. Amazon.
17. Custom Speaker ring for SUB, 10 3/4" OD, 8 7/8" ID, 3/4" thick. white. $65. Boat Outfitters.
18. All Stainless Steel hardware from Bolt Depot.
I bought a lot of other stuff too, way too much. I think I got enough hardware to install another system. Except the wire, I used every bit of the wire.

[DockRocker]

Pictures of running the power and ground wires and the speaker and RGB wires, and Wetsounds Distribution Box back by the battery.

[DockRocker]

I drilled 2 holes for the JL volume controls, 1 for tower speakers and 1 for Subwoofer, and 3 holes for Blue Sea Switches, 1 switch for Stereo, 1 switch for RGB controller 1, and 1 switch for RGB controller 2. I wired everything straight to the battery and some to the battery switch. Nothing is tied to the ignition switch. I hated the way the stereo was wired to the ignition switch and it would turn off every time you turn the key off. No more of that.

[DockRocker]

I laid out the hole for the Sub using the Spacer I bought for the Sub. Thank you Nauti's for the dimensions I needed for the spacer. It worked great. I used 5 skil saw blades cutting this sub hole, but it did make a very nice cut.

[DockRocker]

More pictures of Stereo installed and Subwoofer. The one picture is how I soldered the Tower speaker wiring with 1 person.

[jhnmdahl]

Great writeup, and I love all the pictures!

I’m curious though - how did you use a skil saw to cut the hole?

[DockRocker]

I mounted the Amps on the Upper carpeted board on the front Port side storage compartment. I bought starboard material to mount the amps to, but decided not to use it and I mounted them directly on the carpeted board, and the Wetsounds RGB light controllers are mounted there too. I did add a screw to each stringer toward the top, because of the extra weight of the amps on that board. The factory had 2 screws in each stringer and one of the screws didn't even hit the stringer. They missed it, so I corrected that too. Pictures of amps installed.

[DockRocker]

Final amp install pictures.

[DockRocker]

Great writeup, and I love all the pictures!

I’m curious though - how did you use a skil saw to cut the hole?

I used a Skil Saw brand JIG saw, and it does have a scolling option so you can turn the blade at any angle with the handle at the top. It took 5 blades to make a good cut.

[Holy Smokes]

That's an AMAZING install. Any typical stereo shop would charge big bux for that kind of project.

Now.....tell us how it sounds!

[DockRocker]

That's an AMAZING install. Any typical stereo shop would charge big bux for that kind of project.

Now.....tell us how it sounds!

Thank you! I worked on it countless hours, every weekend for about 6 weeks straight, but that included the Add a battery, ACR and battery charger too. It turned out great! Sounds awesome! Very loud and clear. We were at Grand Lake of the Cherokees on Memorial Weekend. There was a boat there that had 5 outboard motors, 400 HP each. Going back there over 4th of July weekend. We love Grand Lake, Oklahoma, Dripping
Springs is the party cove. I will post some speaker pictures and videos in a few days.

[DockRocker]

I finally got my underwater lights installed! It’s a Quasar 16K, which it 2 diablo royale light installed with a Y fitting. 16000 lumens. It shines on both sides of the lower unit and it has a drain plug in the center. I hooked it up to a Wetsounds RGB controller so I can change the color and it has multi color modes and music modes. I really like it. It is not wired to the same Wetsounds RGB controller as my speaker LEDs.

[DockRocker]

Another picture from Grand Lake of the Cherokees in Oklahoma! Arrowhead Yacht Club and Marina. #1 Cobalt Dealer in the World!

[AsLan7]

I finally got my underwater lights installed! It’s a Quasar 16K, which it 2 diablo royale light installed with a Y fitting. 16000 lumens. It shines on both sides of the lower unit and it has a drain plug in the center. I hooked it up to a Wetsounds RGB controller so I can change the color and it has multi color modes and music modes. I really like it. It is not wired to the same Wetsounds RGB controller as my speaker LEDs.

.
Nice DR! Does it stick out below the hull at all?

.

[DockRocker]

It does stick out about a quarter inch on each side below the hull. I am keeping a close watch on it for now. The lights are offset, so I could remove the Y fitting and just use one of the offset Diablo Royale lights if I think that would be better, safer. Right now, I'm leaving both lights and the Y fitting in.