2016 242 LS stereo upgrade

[Drmackdaddy]

First I wanted to say thanks to all who have posted there build. My goal is to fill the cockpit and boat with quality sound at a reasonable budget. I got this boat this summer and it needed speakers immediately. I picked up 3 pair of infinity 622MW at academy for $59/pr. They sounded great but we’re lacking power from the stock amp. They’re rated at 75 RMS and I think 300 max. I’ve been researching Amps and well, I couldn’t figure out what route to go, 1,2 or 3 amps until I met a jet boater on the lake and he helped me make a quick decision. He had 3 amps, 3 pairs 6.5s with a 12sub and 8”towers. So loud and plenty of bass he couldn’t use the sub. It sounded great but no way was I gonna spend $10k on a system that will probably begin to fail in a few years anyway.
Here’s my list and approx prices and by the way, it rocks.
$10 Metra 70-7303 wiring harness
$12 Pyle amp wiring kit from Walmart online. It’s cheap but does it’s job
$32- $16 x2 200’ monster cable speaker wire
$240- 4 pair infinity 622 mw 75 rms
$16 half sheet of marine plywood
$16 outdoor carpet
$5 small L-frame brackets to mount the board for the amp.
$120 Refurbished Rockville 8 channel amp.
1/2 day of sweat.

I haven’t mounted the 2 cabin speakers but will in the winter. It rocks as it is. , good bass, mids and highs. Depending on how the additional cabin speakers sound I may or may not add a wetsounds stealth 10 sound bar. I needed a couple beers so I wasn’t able to tidy up. Hopefully that will happen in a couple days.

 

[Jaylex]

Looks awesome, simple and sweet...do you have any subs? Those cockpit speakers are a big help.

Once you amp speakers they come alive....those Rockville amps seem solid, a few duds from what I've seen but good performance.

Not sure if those 10k systems are as unreliable, that comes down to the equipment used vs amount spent....my system is 100% JL, I expect years of trouble free use, although I paid for it...used other brands in the past...guess only time will tell...

I say throw in the other cabin speakers if u can, will give u a good idea if towers or soundbar is even needed.

 

[Drmackdaddy]

Do you have pics of the cockpit speakers for reference . I’m concerned about the drivers speaker being to close. I’m even considering getting 8” and mounting them in the lower positions because I left the tower tweeters which sound considerably better but are desperately needing some bass.

 

[Jaylex]

Mine like many are mounted down lower, so in some ways the sound isn't ear level, whereas others have mounted them up higher and either used a spacer or a speaker with sufficient clearance.

How deep are the Infiniti's your running....I think @Julian mounted his up higher and got solid results that way....had I not been chicken maybe I would have as well, but the new M770 speakers I used were deeper.

Search on speaker mounting and you will see some examples, sure others will post theirs as well.


Here's one pic of my 6.5s before I swapped to the 7.7s...the other is mounted similarly on the port side.

 

[Julian]

The thread below has lots of info on amplifying sound at the helm:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/easiest-way-to-add-amplify-music-at-the-helm.12049/page-8

 

[Jaylex]

Money shot!!

Do this, add a sub and you might not need the sound bar

 

[Drmackdaddy]

 

[Drmackdaddy]

Against better judgement I drilled tiny test holes and measured with a paper clip. All good but I would suggest mounting them up high as it narrows down lower. I’ve got 8 speakers plus the tweeters that sound good cranked up but buzz with lower volumes or no volume. Any suggestions?
Also, I’ve also got 2 channels left on my amp.I think the amp is 75 rms per channel. Should I bridge a sub? Will I have enough power?