Speaker placement for driver listening

[Onnieray]

Hi all.

Just bought a 2021 AR195S (still awaiting its arrival) This is my first boat and I have been doing a boatload (ha) of research into upgrading my sound system. I have never messed around with boat audio however I am a long time home theater/home audio enthusiest so I have I do have good deal of technical knowledge.
Obviously for a boat (or a car for that matter) your not going to have the same soundstage at the listening position as you would in a home system and for the driver position I am trying to figure out the best way to get speakers pointed towards the driver. It drives me nuts that the speakers in back are on the ground level below the seats. Now I still havnt heard the system yet but can only assume the stock system and speaker placement needs to be upgraded. I do plan on adding tower speakers and was thinking of having 2 facing towards the bow behind the driver. I have seen alot of people adding the tower speakers but I dont see anyone pointing them forward. Am i missing something?
So what I am asking is how is everyone getting good sound quality and soundstage to the driver?

Thanks

 

[captainhook]

Some of us put speakers under the throttles and opposite in front of the passenger seat to get more sound to the driver. It makes a big difference. I would’ve rather had it above the throttles but was worried I wouldn’t have enough space.

 

[captainhook]

 

[Onnieray]

View attachment 130128

I've seen this also. Similar to a car door speaker. I just would prefer something closer to ear level. Do you have tower speakers or have you considered them?

 

[captainhook]

No tower on my boat unfortunately. I think the towers are more for projecting sound out back than to the passengers in the cabin, but that’s just what I’ve read here, no personal experience. I do know that a lot of people with tower speakers still add the cockpit speakers for sound at the captain’s chair.

 

[MonctonR1]

View attachment 130128

Just cut the hole and fish the wires? Is this a relatively simple install?

 

[Babin Farms]

Plenty of sound with installing the mid cabin speakers. Basic,. simple install. Been there, done it.

 

[Onnieray]

I figure the install is easy but is it better for me to have tower speakers pointing towards the listening position. Since you dont have the tower thats not an option.

 

[Onnieray]

Plenty of sound with installing the mid cabin speakers. Basic,. simple install. Been there, done it.

Thanks. Do you have a tower. Was the midcabin speaker your only option?

 

[Yamahaul]

couple threads down. looks like a solid plan to me

https://jetboaters.net/threads/yamaha-195s-speaker-budget-upgrade-attempt-success.28688/

 

[Babin Farms]

Thanks. Do you have a tower. Was the midcabin speaker your only option?

I've got a tower but the speakers on it are facing the swimdeck. The mid cabin speakers make a big difference in actually hearing the tunes for the driver.

 

[anmut]

I have 6k into a full JL audio system and still had issues with sound for the captain. None of the stock locations, or the two 8.8's on the tower, gave enough sound at cruising speed for me. Added another pair of M6's below the throttle area last week and it's like a different boat now - plenty of sound for me and now my rear passengers aren't being blasted with the tower speakers because I can't hear anything... LOL!

 

[captainhook]

I have 6k into a full JL audio system and still had issues with sound for the captain. None of the stock locations, or the two 8.8's on the tower, gave enough sound at cruising speed for me. Added another pair of M6's below the throttle area last week and it's like a different boat now - plenty of sound for me and now my rear passengers aren't being blasted with the tower speakers because I can't hear anything... LOL!

This is the main reason I added them. If I blasted it loud enough to hear while underway, the people in the bow and back seat were completely blown away and I still couldn't hear it that well. Cockpit speakers made it much better and I have those amped separately so I can blast them and only blow out my own eardrums instead of everyone else's too.

 

[anmut]

This is the main reason I added them. If I blasted it loud enough to hear while underway, the people in the bow and back seat were completely blown away and I still couldn't hear it that well. Cockpit speakers made it much better and I have those amped separately so I can blast them and only blow out my own eardrums instead of everyone else's too.

Perfect! Yes, I can zone mine out to just the tub speakers or just the tower speakers, make it nice for everyone. I think next year I'm going to add another pair of 8.8's on the tower though. They're barely loud enough with all that Yamaha engine noise when surfing and wake boarding.

 

[Theryan]

Hi all.

Just bought a 2021 AR195S (still awaiting its arrival) This is my first boat and I have been doing a boatload (ha) of research into upgrading my sound system. I have never messed around with boat audio however I am a long time home theater/home audio enthusiest so I have I do have good deal of technical knowledge.
Obviously for a boat (or a car for that matter) your not going to have the same soundstage at the listening position as you would in a home system and for the driver position I am trying to figure out the best way to get speakers pointed towards the driver. It drives me nuts that the speakers in back are on the ground level below the seats. Now I still havnt heard the system yet but can only assume the stock system and speaker placement needs to be upgraded. I do plan on adding tower speakers and was thinking of having 2 facing towards the bow behind the driver. I have seen alot of people adding the tower speakers but I dont see anyone pointing them forward. Am i missing something?
So what I am asking is how is everyone getting good sound quality and soundstage to the driver?

Thanks

You have a couple of options, really.

You can install them down by your feet below the throttles, if desired.

You can install some smaller 4" speakers right by the existing 6.5" speakers (I just did this this week and they help a ton).

Or, you can find a way to route some speakers up through the dash (you'd want some smaller speakers) and put them in some sort of mount that allows you to have them aimed at you while driving and sitting on the dash).

Obviously, tower speakers are an option, too.

 

[Onnieray]

You have a couple of options, really.

You can install them down by your feet below the throttles, if desired.

You can install some smaller 4" speakers right by the existing 6.5" speakers (I just did this this week and they help a ton).

Or, you can find a way to route some speakers up through the dash (you'd want some smaller speakers) and put them in some sort of mount that allows you to have them aimed at you while driving and sitting on the dash).

Obviously, tower speakers are an option, too.

Do you have pics of the 4' speakers? I have thought about something on the dash but not sure how that would look.
I may just try and install tower speakers and point them towards the captains position. If I don't like it I could always turn around.
I am surprised no one has tried this but I guess thats my concern that there is a downside I am missing.

 

[Theryan]

Do you have pics of the 4' speakers? I have thought about something on the dash but not sure how that would look.
I may just try and install tower speakers and point them towards the captains position. If I don't like it I could always turn around.
I am surprised no one has tried this but I guess thats my concern that there is a downside I am missing.

They're the smaller ones in the pictures I posted here. If you went the route of the dashboard idea you'd have to find some holders for them, and then route the cables through. I considered doing this one, but I have two additional gauges on top already (Kenwood remote and depth sounder) and didn't want more up there.

On top of the stock location for the 6.5" provided a good boost (I have a 400W compact amp powering just the 4" speakers, and a bigger amp powering the 4-6.5s).

It gets loud.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/the-official-what-did-you-do-to-your-jet-boat-today-thread.2661/post-477283

 

[white2kstang]

Mid cabin speakers are a must. Even with the towers. Mine swivel front to back. Still projects well over the captains chair. The problem with most clamps is that you cannot move them vertically because of the holes for wires. So once they are installed it's a pain to change them.

You could have custom angled mounting rings made to angle the mid cabin speakers upwards.

My 2019 195 has two Icon8 towers pushed by a bridged WS Micro4 amp and 6 M6 6.5 and a JL 10 powered by an M800. Towers have independent volume control.

 

[Onnieray]

Mid cabin speakers are a must. Even with the towers. Mine swivel front to back. Still projects well over the captains chair. The problem with most clamps is that you cannot move them vertically because of the holes for wires. So once they are installed it's a pain to change them.

You could have custom angled mounting rings made to angle the mid cabin speakers upwards.

My 2019 195 has two Icon8 towers pushed by a bridged WS Micro4 amp and 6 M6 6.5 and a JL 10 powered by an M800. Towers have independent volume control.

Thats the feedback I was looking for. So youre basically saying with towers the sound is too high. I might just do towers at captain and mid cabins also. Do you have pics of your setup?

 

[mark_m]

@Onnieray Make sure you have a good quality amp powering the 6.5 or 7.7” speakers in the tub. Having nice clean power is going to be the way for you to enjoy the music. I wouldn’t suggest trying to create a great soundstage on a boat, it’s just not practical.

I run a multi zone setup (4) so I can dial down all the speakers in the tub (including the sub) and only drive the pair on the transom. That’s where hanging out the JL 650s shine for me and floating at the stern in the water.

In the captains seat driving it’s all about driving and as long as you have a pair placed in the front like @captainhook you’re gonna be good.