‘24 AR250 Audio Replacement - feedback?

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Thanks @adrianp89 - that makes me feel a lot better. They have ~20hrs quoted at $119/hr. I think it’ll take all that time. Great technician that really knows boats.

You should be solid. Low prices are for people that don't know their value. A lot of people don't realize how much effort goes into running new wires, and adding LEDs into mix makes it even more work. The last boat I did, we had over 2 hours just in soldering and heat shrink. I don't know of a single bad dealer that sells Hertz... they are usually all pretty good installers.

 

[Erinpatricksmith]

Just getting started…

The 25W 6.5” Jensens (ASA) are coming out.

The difference in wattage, magnets, and quality of the the RF 6.5” and 8” is pretty crazy. 6-10x the RMS rating.


The 10” RF sub is going in facing towards captain chair. Too deep for side panel. Didn’t want it in walkway where it had risk of puncture / damage.

More pics next week…

 

[Erinpatricksmith]

More progress…

The 8” RF upgrade from 6.5” mid-cabin is def worth it. So much fuller sound, and 250W capacity. 6.5”s in bow and transom are a tight fit, but look great.

The 10” sub is getting 500W at 2ohm and is more than enough for me. It vibrates the floor throughout and keeps up with the 6 speakers. The 8”s help cover the mid-range well.

Hertz radio has great Bluetooth range. The settings are intuitive - and a great feature is a volume control “max” setting - which keeps your speakers from blowing if someone tries to crank it all the way up. (It can be adjusted). The 2-zone setup allows the transom and cabin to be isolated - essentially you can mute the interior and have plenty of sound for the water behind the boat. If we add towers we’ll put them on the same zone as the transom. (There’s an upgraded Hertz that has 3 zones if you prefer more control). The sub has its own volume settings if you want more/less based on music choice, but it defaults to match the levels of the other zones.

The rear remote is simple to use. A nice convenience for $150

The 2 Hertz amps mount cleanly behind the helm.

The sound is incredible. Concert-level volume, clean highs, and plenty of bass. Glad that I paid for upgraded quality amps. Made a huge difference.

Very happy so far. Final pics and pickup is Friday.

 

[WiskyDan]

Looks great!!

 

[Erinpatricksmith]

Looks great!!

Thanks! Excited to get it out on the water in the spring.

 

[jcb1977]

instead of starting a new thread, i thought I would ask here....2024 SX250 here, wondering if there's any benefit to just replacing the speakers with something better? I have some Polk DB652's lying around for an upgrade to my old boat but never got around to it. would I get better sound with the polk's over the stock ones? I thought I read the speakers might be factory tuned to the amp or something and replacing speakers is useless.

 

[thedon]

instead of starting a new thread, i thought I would ask here....2024 SX250 here, wondering if there's any benefit to just replacing the speakers with something better? I have some Polk DB652's lying around for an upgrade to my old boat but never got around to it. would I get better sound with the polk's over the stock ones? I thought I read the speakers might be factory tuned to the amp or something and replacing speakers is useless.

You need to add an amp with DSP or change the tuner to be able to adjust the sound. I am changing the tuner in my ar 250 to a JL music master

 

[jcb1977]

You need to add an amp with DSP or change the tuner to be able to adjust the sound. I am changing the tuner in my ar 250 to a JL music master

So your saying just replacing speakers has no benefit? Even as a budget upgrade?

 

[NoFla21]

So your saying just replacing speakers has no benefit? Even as a budget upgrade?

If you already have the speakers, I would throw them in and see what the difference is. I decided to do a complete overhaul and very happy with the results. Yes, it was expensive but well worth it to me and what I wanted to attain.

 

[thedon]

So your saying just replacing speakers has no benefit? Even as a budget upgrade?

to me not being able to adjust the sound (bass treble etc) was a deal breaker. It cant hurt to try speakers first though.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

instead of starting a new thread, i thought I would ask here....2024 SX250 here, wondering if there's any benefit to just replacing the speakers with something better? I have some Polk DB652's lying around for an upgrade to my old boat but never got around to it. would I get better sound with the polk's over the stock ones? I thought I read the speakers might be factory tuned to the amp or something and replacing speakers is useless.

What speakers come on the SX250?

 

[jcb1977]

What speakers come on the SX250?

I believe they were the 25W 6.5” Jensens (ASA) in the 2023 models.....I haven't pulled one out yet on my 2024 but the grille looks the same.

 

[SCP1]

instead of starting a new thread, i thought I would ask here....2024 SX250 here, wondering if there's any benefit to just replacing the speakers with something better? I have some Polk DB652's lying around for an upgrade to my old boat but never got around to it. would I get better sound with the polk's over the stock ones? I thought I read the speakers might be factory tuned to the amp or something and replacing speakers is useless.

The Polk’s will sound better, than the stock ones.