Added a second pair of speakers to the cabin

[JWPrendergast]

Originally I planned on the 3 sets of JL 7.7 speakers, but funds got diverted to the purchase of our new home on the river. I did, however, want to at least throw another set in the cabin in the mean time. I used a 5" hole saw which made beautiful holes, and ran the speakers to the amp.

Currently, all 6 of the boat speakers are hooked up to a JL M600/6 amp, and the 2 4" swim platform speakers are connected directly to the head unit. I can use fade to raise/lower the sound from the boat to the platform. I also have the JL knob that allows me to individually adjust the bow speakers independently from the rest of the boat (people on bow always said music was too loud; people in cabin said it wasnt loud enough).

Ill probably add a toggle switch to go from bow to platform speakers in time, but for now, this made a huge difference!

 

[Zarrella]

Awesome Job!!!

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I guess once you had cut that first hole on the transome you just can't stop!! Nice work.

 

[leeatmg]

Originally I planned on the 3 sets of JL 7.7 speakers, but funds got diverted to the purchase of our new home on the river. I did, however, want to at least throw another set in the cabin in the mean time. I used a 5" hole saw which made beautiful holes, and ran the speakers to the amp.

Currently, all 6 of the boat speakers are hooked up to a JL M600/6 amp, and the 2 4" swim platform speakers are connected directly to the head unit. I can use fade to raise/lower the sound from the boat to the platform. I also have the JL knob that allows me to individually adjust the bow speakers independently from the rest of the boat (people on bow always said music was too loud; people in cabin said it wasnt loud enough).

Ill probably add a toggle switch to go from bow to platform speakers in time, but for now, this made a huge difference!

/QUOTE]

Very nice! I have the same amp and want to do the same thing - what knob are you talking about?

 

[redthumper9]

Great job. I am considering this myself. I think the polk db651's are seriously underrated speakers. I love mine and see no need to upgrade until mine bite the dust. At that point Ill consider polk mm's or JL, but may just go back with the db's because of their price point.

 

[Julian]

Nice job! I too love the Polks! #speakers

 

[Miller_Time]

Nice! I need to do this soon. And the these Polks are great once you put an amp on them.

 

[SCSTWG]

Interesting that you went low with the mounting. I want to install a cockpit pair as well, but for some reason in mind that they needed to be higher. When I take it out of storage I will review my options. Nice job.

 

[leeatmg]

Any thoughts on mixing speaker brands? I added the JL 600/6 and replaced the four Db651s with JL MX650s but kept the old speakers. What about adding two of the Polks to the amp mid cabin as the OP has done and the other two on the swim deck running of the head unit? Or do we not mix brands on the amp and/or in the cabin? (Sorry for the hijack!)

 

[cozilla]

@JWPrendergast looks like you changed hole saws between the sides. What was the reason for that? I will be cutting my holes either today or tomorrow for my swimdeck speakers. Any advice on using the hole saw?

 

[octavio3311]

I too had a pair of Polk's added to the mid cabin - all 6 powered by a WetSounds HT6. Mine are mounted a little higher though.
The addition of the pair made an incredible difference in sound quality and volume. I had the dealer do it before I picked it up last spring.

 

[rkluck]

Very nice!

 

[whaler7626]

Awesome!

 

[Cory]

So you guys are good with the Polks?

I have a bunch of them ready to put in the boat, but after visiting the local marine audio shop, I was led to believe I was a complete idiot for even considering them. So I figured I would go with something else instead. Not the case?

 

[JWPrendergast]

leeatmg, JL has knobs that can attenuate 2, 4 or all 6 channels. I like the ability to quite things down on the bow, where the engine noise isnt nearly as loud as it is in the cabin.

SCSTWG, I decided to go there because I felt that the sound wouldnt be blocked by any legs or chairs. It turned out super nice! We dont go anywhere (or do any maneuvers) that would cause the boat to get swamped. In the unlikely event that it actually happened, the speakers would likely hold up (but I would probably have bigger things to worry about)

cozilla, I figured someone would ask that question... Yes, I changed the hole saw. I found a CHEAP set on amazon for $13 that came with like 10 hole saw blades (including the 5" that I needed). I figured that even if they were crap, I only needed 2 holes. Weeeeeelllllll, lets just say that more of the blade came off than the fiberglass. $40 for a good holesaw from Lowes (used in reverse) and it was done in no time.

The Polks are actually not bad. I will say ill probably change them out for the MM651 down the road, but they really do sound nice (much more so with a quality amp)

 

[octavio3311]

I agree - the Polk's sound great once you put some power behind them.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@JWPrendergast is this what you are using? I have been having the same issue with the bow speakers being to loud.

http://www.jlaudio.com/cl-rlc-car-audio-system-expansion-98117

 

[cozilla]

@JWPrendergast thanks for the response. I used a cheap 5 inch hole saw form harbor freight last night and it worked great. Just need to finish the starboard side as the batter ran out on my drill.

 

[David Analog]

So you guys are good with the Polks?

I have a bunch of them ready to put in the boat, but after visiting the local marine audio shop, I was led to believe I was a complete idiot for even considering them. So I figured I would go with something else instead. Not the case?

The Polk dB 6.5" is tops in sound quality among coaxial speaker offerings below $100 par pair as there isn't much serious competition in that price bracket. The exact same speaker has been around for well over 10 years (with varying model #s) and I used a ton of them when I was in the industry, particularly for dealer boats because of the low cost.
The Polk dB is 'marine certified' (by Polk) which is just a marketing ploy. The speaker has a metal basket, a linen spider, uncoated tinsel leads, and an open midbass voice coil gap on the front side where water and debris has direct access. Far from a marine standard of construction. But in fresh water areas they hold up pretty well.

The Polk dB isn't going to compare in sound quality or built quality to a product like a JL Audio MX 6.5" which has true marine construction in every sense, a continuous midbass cone that provides more radiating surface area and a sealed voice coil. The tweeter, the midbass cone, and every aspect of the JL Audio is superior. But you get what you pay for and the JL Audio is naturally going to cost a multiple of the Polk dB.

The Polk Audio MM651UM (not the non-'UM' version) is a true marine speaker. And, it has a continuous midbass, larger tweeter, etc. It's a major upgrade over the dB in sound quality plus construction and does require a bit more amplifier power to drive to its potential....but that will always be the case with a more linear & wider bandwidth speaker. The Polk MM-UM nicely bridges the gap between the entry level price points and the upper tier products from JL Audio and Wetsounds.

 

[4x15mph]

Great setup and I appreciate all of the detailed pics. I will get the 5" Hole Saw to help me install front, bow speakers. Thank you