210 FSH Bangin' Budget Stereo Build

[brian86992]

The threads I read before purchasing my equipment helped a lot so I'll throw up my experience as well.

Goal: Stereo that's louder than you'll ever need at a price point significantly below JL/Wetsounds setups and leave as much factory stuff as possible.

Result: Stereo that blows away the $5k factory systems in wake boats for $1700.

Parts:

• 2 x JBL Marine MA4505 amps 4 x 45W speaker 1 x 300W sub (Amazon sale $320/ea)
• 4 x Kicker 6.5 M604W 50W speakers (Crutchfield open box $75/pair)
• 2 x Clarion 12" CM3013WL 300W subs (Crutchfield sale $180/ea)
• 2 x Kicker 8" KM8 150W speakers (kit with housing $164/pair)
• 2 x Rockville tower housings (Rockville $99)
• 0 gauge 25' 100% copper amp power wire ($90)
• 4 gauge 25' 100% copper amp ground wire ($30)
• 14 gauge 75' 100% copper speaker wire ($40)
• 2 x Amp fuse blocks ($12/ea)
• 0 gauge battery terminals ($18)
• Battery switch ($15)
• 0 gauge wire lugs($15)
• Cooling fans ($35)

Some notes on part selection:

• Amp: Decided 5 channel is the way to go these days. Less wires than a 4 channel and monoblock for the sub and performance is just as good. Obviously I went with this model for the sale price which was near 50% off.
• Wiring: 0 gauge is definitely overkill and it's a beast of a wire to work with. I was originally only going to do 4 gauge but then needed more wire and the 0 gauge was available locally.
• Speakers: Love these kickers. Stay away from the cheap Sonys that are available online - I've read that they fall apart. They can also handle full amp output.
• Subs: Went 12" because why not but given the option to do it again might have gone 10". My system has tons of low lows but I would trade some of that for mid-bass which the 10"s would provide.
• Tower speakers: Can't say enough good things about these 8" Kickers and the housings. I can't believe how inexpensive the housing is compared to what's on the market and the Rockville customer support is fantastic. Running in bridged mode which is 130W, these things THROW.

Install:

Wiring is not too hard to run through the engine compartment and up to the head with fish tape. Used some quality terminals for good connection to battery and a cutoff switch so amps are separate from everything else.


Mounted amps directly to the white box that covers the fuel tank. It removes completely so it was easy to lay things out. I used threaded rod to make some adjustable "feet" for the back to support the weight of the amps.



Speakers... The bow speakers fit directly except the holes didn't line up so I epoxied the old ones closed and re-drilled. Curiously, the console speaker cutouts were a bit smaller and I had to enlarge. The fishing pole racks were removed and 12" holes were cut with a Rotozip for the subs.



Wiring: I retained the stock head unit for cost and simplicity (plus it's really just a Bluetooth receiver). I wired the front speaker outputs to the starboard amp which is the 4 6.5" speakers and one sub. The rear channels were wired to the port amp. Now I can use the fade on the Clarion to move either more or less sound up to the tower speakers.


Heat is apparently a problem for me since the tower speakers amp kept going into protection mode. I did a few things to help. Elevated the amps off the mounting board to allow air flow, installed 60mm high flow fans onto each head vent (one push, one pull) and placed 4 micro blowers under each amp. Keep in mind I'm in Texas and it's regularly 100 deg here.





And finally here's how the tower speakers look. As you can tell, sound was a bigger priority for me than fishing but the rod holders are still usable. I still need to run the speaker wire inside the T top. This location is actually great though because no one bumps their head on the speakers and they're oriented perfectly for sitting on the stern or wake surfing.



Hopefully this helps someone who's looking to upgrade their FSH.

 

[Sotally Tober]

Nice job on a great budget build! But "Stereo that blows away the $5k factory systems" is a bold statement. Specifically, the "Blows away" part.

 

[ShesCrafty]

Can’t go wrong with marine-rated Kicker 6.5’s! Used them to replace the unbelievably poor quality Polks in my 2015. They come in 2 Ohm and 4 Ohm (at least they did), for those of you who don’t want to redo the ‘in series’ wiring on some models, but want to put an external amp in the mix.

 

[brian86992]

Nice job on a great budget build! But "Stereo that blows away the $5k factory systems" is a bold statement. Specifically, the "Blows away" part.

Alright, give me a little hyperbole. I'm excited about my new kit. It can hang with the other systems is probably a lot more accurate.

 

[Agent Boost]

this is a GREAT write-up! thank you!

 

[zaclh]

Alright, @brian86992 that's my Kroger...

I'm trying to install my stereo now, and may need some assistance, as my Amp won't power up.

Where did you run the remote wires?

 

[brian86992]

Alright, @brian86992 that's my Kroger...

I'm trying to install my stereo now, and may need some assistance, as my Amp won't power up.

Where did you run the remote wires?

Small world! Both amps can auto-detect from the input if they should be in standby or not but the stock head unit does have a remote wire on it that I used in this case.

Make sure you have the amp setting to either "auto" or whatever mode tells it to follow the remote wire then just run a short jumper wire from remote to the 12V to troubleshoot.

 

[Florida195fsh]

Can you post a picture of the subs in the helm from the outside? Did you remove the rod holders?

 

[PhatPat]

Very nice install! With cooling fans to boot. And very nice choice of battery - the maintenance-free Deka - I have the same one as the starter battery in my boat. A word of caution about running the stereo on the battery only with a starter battery... starter batteries aren't meant to cycle down, they are meant to provide a lot of current really fast, whereas a deep cycle battery is meant to have a deeper cycle (you can run it down) but not provide as much cranking current. You might consider getting a second battery or switching to a dual-purpose battery that is in between starter and deep cycle. Our engines don't need much current to get started so a dual-purpose will provide ample current. I only say that because I had a monster stereo on my old boat and kept having battery problems because I always bought starter batteries. It had 2 batteries but I killed them both, repeatedly, and got stranded a few times. I am sure the 5F cap I had on the system didn't help.
Anyway if you are always jamming with the engine running it may not matter, but running on the battery alone may kill it.
I got one of those Clarion CM3013WL subs as well. I wish it had a little more oomph, but it provides decent bass. Having two probably makes a big difference!

 

[brian86992]

Can you post a picture of the subs in the helm from the outside? Did you remove the rod holders?

Yep, removed rod holders on both sides. Here’s a pic.

Very nice install! With cooling fans to boot. And very nice choice of battery - the maintenance-free Deka - I have the same one as the starter battery in my boat. A word of caution about running the stereo on the battery only with a starter battery... starter batteries aren't meant to cycle down, they are meant to provide a lot of current really fast, whereas a deep cycle battery is meant to have a deeper cycle (you can run it down) but not provide as much cranking current. You might consider getting a second battery or switching to a dual-purpose battery that is in between starter and deep cycle. Our engines don't need much current to get started so a dual-purpose will provide ample current. I only say that because I had a monster stereo on my old boat and kept having battery problems because I always bought starter batteries. It had 2 batteries but I killed them both, repeatedly, and got stranded a few times. I am sure the 5F cap I had on the system didn't help.
Anyway if you are always jamming with the engine running it may not matter, but running on the battery alone may kill it.
I got one of those Clarion CM3013WL subs as well. I wish it had a little more oomph, but it provides decent bass. Having two probably makes a big difference!

Thanks! The batteries are both OEM actually. I keep the start and house isolated to ensure I don’t get stranded. Never had issues with it running dead but then again I only have the boat shut off with stereo running for maybe an hour at a time (unlike some of the sandbar folks who are moored up for the entire day.)

 

[Florida195fsh]

Thank you! I just ordered the same sub but 10" I'll be doing my install this week!