2016 AR240 JL Audio upgrade

[wallacerb]

I use Quad Pods on my wake board tower and I purchased them from Waves and Wheels in Missouri.. They hold 4 speakers in each pod.. 2 facing and 2 facing back.. Sound travels a long distance with these things as @Drift Away said. .. I currently have a JL 8 channel 800 watt amp powering 3 sets of speakers inside the boat, 8 speakers on the tower and one 10 inch sub. Recently added another 10 inch sub (Digital Designs) and replacing all speakers with a new line called Bluave Marine Audio (manufactured from Waves and Wheels) and adding a new 6 channel 600 watt JL amp so I can distribute power a little more evenly. Tower speakers are definitely worth the money but don't skimp on quality, once they are kicking it will be easy to hear a lower quality speaker very easily. (The pic shows my quad pods mounted on my older boat ((2012 AR240)) they are now mounted on my 2016 AR240)

 

[MattFX4]

did you get any chipping using a hole saw for the smaller speakers?

No, I ran the saw backwards to start the cut, then switched to forward and finished it off. I didn't have any issues.

 

[swatski]

I use Quad Pods on my wake board tower and I purchased them from Waves and Wheels in Missouri.. They hold 4 speakers in each pod.. 2 facing and 2 facing back.. Sound travels a long distance with these things as @Drift Away said. .. I currently have a JL 8 channel 800 watt amp powering 3 sets of speakers inside the boat, 8 speakers on the tower and one 10 inch sub. Recently added another 10 inch sub (Digital Designs) and replacing all speakers with a new line called Bluave Marine Audio (manufactured from Waves and Wheels) and adding a new 6 channel 600 watt JL amp so I can distribute power a little more evenly. Tower speakers are definitely worth the money but don't skimp on quality, once they are kicking it will be easy to hear a lower quality speaker very easily. (The pic shows my quad pods mounted on my older boat ((2012 AR240)) they are now mounted on my 2016 AR240)

View attachment 50390

Very cool setup!
In your new boat, did you mount the speakers onto the front or the rear (aft) tower tube/bar? Any thoughts on that? I hear that running wires may be easier in the thicker front tube. Any issues with bimini clearance?

--

 

[wallacerb]

Very cool setup!
In your new boat, did you mount the speakers onto the front or the rear (aft) tower tube/bar? Any thoughts on that? I hear that running wires may be easier in the thicker front tube. Any issues with bimini clearance?

--

Front tube and we have had no issues with the bimini top.. depending on where you bring the wires up from the boat will determine which tube you use. Example, my wires exit the boat about 6 inches in front of where the tower mounts to the boat. This way the wires will fold with the tower when lowered instead of pulling them if they exit towards the back side of the tower.. it's my opinion that the front tube should be used. This way there will be no chance of interference with the Bimini top. Just my opinion. Here are a couple of more pictures of the new boat..

 

[wallacerb]

Front tube and we have had no issues with the bimini top.. depending on where you bring the wires up from the boat will determine which tube you use. Example, my wires exit the boat about 6 inches in front of where the tower mounts to the boat. This way the wires will fold with the tower when lowered instead of pulling them if they exit towards the back side of the tower.. it's my opinion that the front tube should be used. This way there will be no chance of interference with the Bimini top. Just my opinion. Here are a couple of more pictures of the new boat..

Ill send another picture of the wires exiting the boat this afternoon..

 

[swatski]

Front tube and we have had no issues with the bimini top.. depending on where you bring the wires up from the boat will determine which tube you use. Example, my wires exit the boat about 6 inches in front of where the tower mounts to the boat. This way the wires will fold with the tower when lowered instead of pulling them if they exit towards the back side of the tower.. it's my opinion that the front tube should be used. This way there will be no chance of interference with the Bimini top. Just my opinion. Here are a couple of more pictures of the new boat..

Thanks for posting. That makes sense, Yamaha factory pictures also show speaker pods mounted on the front tube.

--

 

[Benny Sibbitt]

Mine is mounted on front tube - dealer installed - its at a slight angle, I have never hit my head on the tower speakers and I'm 6'
I just need to install 2 mid cabin speaker - anyone consider upgrading their sound system; I would say mid cabin speakers are a must
I have 8 JL Audio speakers and 2 amps but at WOT I can hardly hear the radio....

JL Audio Sound System

• Benny Sibbitt
• Jun 28, 2016

 

[wallacerb]

Thanks for posting. That makes sense, Yamaha factory pictures also show speaker pods mounted on the front tube.

--

 

[wallacerb]

Mine is mounted on front tube - dealer installed - its at a slight angle, I have never hit my head on the tower speakers and I'm 6'
I just need to install 2 mid cabin speaker - anyone consider upgrading their sound system; I would say mid cabin speakers are a must
I have 8 JL Audio speakers and 2 amps but at WOT I can hardly hear the radio....

JL Audio Sound System

• Benny Sibbitt
• Jun 28, 2016

View attachment 50408 View attachment 50409

There is never to many speakers in a boat... i installed one behind the passanger chair and one below my side.. filled in missing sound pretty well.. you may consider adding tower speakers facing forward as well, helped mine tremendously when full throttle and being able to hear...

 

[AndyD]

I just paid down the deposit for our speaker upgrade we're getting in a couple of weeks. We're going with almost the identical set up it looks like a lot of people are doing so it sounds like we have made some wise choices. Can't wait to hear this baby fully cranked up! I'll post pictures once the install is complete.

6 JL MX650's with sport grilles and blue LED's


2 JL M770's for the tower with sport grilles


1 JL M10W5 subwoofer with sport grille mounted in the port side storage compartment


M800 8 channel amp

 

[MattFX4]

I just paid down the deposit for our speaker upgrade we're getting in a couple of weeks. We're going with almost the identical set up it looks like a lot of people are doing so it sounds like we have made some wise choices. Can't wait to hear this baby fully cranked up! I'll post pictures once the install is complete.

6 JL MX650's with sport grilles and blue LED's
View attachment 52198

2 JL M770's for the tower with sport grilles
View attachment 52199

1 JL M10W5 subwoofer with sport grille mounted in the port side storage compartment
View attachment 52200

M800 8 channel amp
View attachment 52201

Nice. Just the m800 amp?

 

[AndyD]

Nice. Just the m800 amp?

"Just"? I was under the impression it was a great quality amp and one of their best for marine applications without stepping up into their MHD models?

 

[MattFX4]

"Just"? I was under the impression it was a great quality amp and one of their best for marine applications without stepping up into their MHD models?

My bad, didn't mean it to sound that way. I meant are you only going to run the one amp to push all those speakers? The m800 is a awesome amp. I have the same amp in my boat and it's great. I also have a m200 that runs the m10ib5 subwoofer. Are you putting your sub in a box?

 

[AndyD]

My bad, didn't mean it to sound that way. I meant are you only going to run the one amp to push all those speakers? The m800 is a awesome amp. I have the same amp in my boat and it's great. I also have a m200 that runs the m10ib5 subwoofer. Are you putting your sub in a box?

Oh LOL I see what you mean. You had me worried for a minute that I had committed to something subpar.

But yes, just the 800 for everything. The stereo shop said it could handle everything so I'll take their word for it since I'm sure they don't want poor quality systems out there representing their name. However, though, it'll be pushing the limit of the 800 watts so I'll check with them just to be sure before the start. Down the road I'm looking to add additional speakers near the captains chairs in the cockpit and when I do I'll add the second amp to push the sub and run all the speakers on the 800. They're installing the free air sub in the port storage and cutting a hole through the side wall making the storage somewhat of a box of its own. I think I put the wrong model in my last post because the M10W is not a free air but the M10IB is correct? They sold me the IB.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

@Emilio22 and @Mmmd5 - what are the foam rings you are placing behind the subwoofer for? i don't know what to call them so can't figure it out with Google.

 

[MattFX4]

Oh LOL I see what you mean. You had me worried for a minute that I had committed to something subpar.

But yes, just the 800 for everything. The stereo shop said it could handle everything so I'll take their word for it since I'm sure they don't want poor quality systems out there representing their name. However, though, it'll be pushing the limit of the 800 watts so I'll check with them just to be sure before the start. Down the road I'm looking to add additional speakers near the captains chairs in the cockpit and when I do I'll add the second amp to push the sub and run all the speakers on the 800. They're installing the free air sub in the port storage and cutting a hole through the side wall making the storage somewhat of a box of its own. I think I put the wrong model in my last post because the M10W is not a free air but the M10IB is correct? They sold me the IB.

Ok cool should sound good. Sounds like a good plan to add the additional cockpit speakers later on. They make a big difference! Yep the m10ib is the free air. That's what I'm running too.

 

[nate kennedy]

View attachment 38273 View attachment 38274 View attachment 38275 I ended up using a jig saw for the sub. It wasn't that bad other than messy, the vacuum only does so much

I was thinking about doing the same placement on my 212x... how does it sound with the speaker and sub so close together?

 

[Mmmd5]

I like the GPS location in the pictures. What bracket did you use? Where did you get it?

It was a RAM mount from Bass Pro - can't remember the details. It worked out well though other than being a pain to install

 

[Mmmd5]

I was thinking about doing the same placement on my 212x... how does it sound with the speaker and sub so close together?

I don't really remember there being any issues last summer. I did add sub level control to the helm though - helped with bass adjustment from song to song

 

[AndyD]

It was a RAM mount from Bass Pro - can't remember the details. It worked out well though other than being a pain to install

You can get a ton of different styles of ram mount on their website and they are unique to whatever brand of item you are mounting so the holes line up properly. Great products! I love mine and used it to mount my Garmin in a similar location. Rock solid too!

http://www.rammount.com/