Subwoofer location on 2016 242X E-series

[David Decker]

@ChrisP - I went to look at the pics above, but system says I don't have permission to view the album. Did you build your own enclosure?

 

[ChrisP]

Yes I built it into the corner of the compartment, using the fiberglass as the front. I then coated the MDF with truck bed liner to make it durable and waterproof.

Can you see the pictures now?

 

[David Decker]

@ChrisP - that looks really nice! I somehow pictured the sub on the starboard side, but it looks like you placed it on the port side. Did you use a "backing ring" behind the sub? I didn't put one in initially, but I am thinking of adding one so the screws have more than fiberglass to bite into. How did you attach the MDF box to the fiberglass front?

What is that white disc with the perforations, about the size of a quarter, just below the rear speaker? I saw it on my boat the other day and it looks like some kind of sensor. It has 2 wires coming out behind. A mic? Temp sensor? Gas detector?

 

[ChrisP]

@ChrisP - that looks really nice! I somehow pictured the sub on the starboard side, but it looks like you placed it on the port side. Did you use a "backing ring" behind the sub? I didn't put one in initially, but I am thinking of adding one so the screws have more than fiberglass to bite into. How did you attach the MDF box to the fiberglass front?

What is that white disc with the perforations, about the size of a quarter, just below the rear speaker? I saw it on my boat the other day and it looks like some kind of sensor. It has 2 wires coming out behind. A mic? Temp sensor? Gas detector?

I used liquid nail and C clamps to attack 3/4" MDF to the front. Where I could anyways, I did not add wood behind the table mount for 2 reasons 1 so I could remove the speaker and get to the bolts if I ever needed to remove the mount and 2 because there is already wood backing the mount.Of coarse the speaker screws bite into it as well which helps I also glued the bottom and front side in. Then I was able to glue and screw the rest of the box to those pieces. Because of the angle of the face and the bump out in the bottom it was hard to get the proper air space, even had to add a second layer of MDF to the bottom, but in the end I ended up with approx. .76. I planned originaly to use the starboard side but could not figure out how to do it without loosing the ability to get the cooler in and out.

The white perforated disc is nothing more than a vent. I had thought it was an alarm or something too but while replacing the stock speaker I poped it out. Just a vent! I assume it is to get air to the batterries as the lead batteries put off gas while they are being charged.

 

[Rodney Findley]

I was wondering if it would be possible to also mount a sub on the starboard side
to the rear of the throttles? I'm sure the depth is there but wondering about the routing of the cables? This would allow me to run a pair of 12's...

I was also curious about adding a 6.5" coaxial in the upper combing area?

 

[ChrisP]

I was wondering if it would be possible to also mount a sub on the starboard side
to the rear of the throttles? I will are the depth is there but wondering about the routing of the cables? This would allow me to run a pair of 12's...

I was also curious about adding a 6.5" coaxial in the upper combing area?

I added an 8" there and there was plenty of room. See pic below. The cables are not in the way.

The upper recessed area only has about 2 inches behind it.

 

[Rodney Findley]

Thanks for the info!

 

[David Decker]

I fabricated and installed a "baffle" for the sub today. It is made of polyethylene (a cutting board) and gives the screws something besides just fiberglass to bite into.
The idea was to stiffen the mounting surface behind the sub and hopefully reduce any unwanted vibration/resonance and help the sub to produce better sound.



I bought some latex tubing from Lowes and installed on the cup holders so they do not drip on the back of the subwoofer. This tubing is very soft and so should not "buzz" or make much noise back there. I cut 3 sections of tubing about 2' long, one for each cupholder. It is long enough to route any liquid directly down to the bilge area and well away from the subwoofer and wiring.


A few notes about the speakers. I ended up driving the bow and cabin speakers with a new Polk 5000.5 (5-channel) amp. The stock Polk head unit drives the tweeters in the tower (through the crossovers) and the swim deck speakers.

I can confirm that on my 2016 242, the bow speakers and tower tweeters were wired in PARALLEL on the head unit's "front" channels, while the cabin and swim deck speakers were wired in SERIES on the "rear" channels.

I simply disconnected the stock speaker wires at the bow speakers and ran new speaker wires back to the amp. This lets the amp drive the bow speakers and the head unit drive just the tweeters in the tower without any further wiring changes.
For the cabin speakers, I disconnected the stock wires from the speakers and connected them together with a short jumper I made with the appropriate size spade connectors on each end. I also ran new speaker wire for the cabin speakers to the amp. This lets the amp drive the cabin speakers, and the head unit drives just the swim platform speakers without any further wiring changes.

After finishing the install, I tested the system. All the gain controls on the amp were set all the way down to minimum from the factory, so initially I heard nothing! After turning them up, and adjusting the cutoff frequencies for the sub and main speakers, it came to life. I tested with some music and also with a couple of test tone generator apps for my smartphone. One app lets you generate test tones of different frequencies, and allows you to "sweep" across a range to check the operation of the various high and low-pass filters.

The sub sounds better than I expected. I did not test today above 70% volume level on the head unit, but so far I detected no vibration or buzzing from the subwoofer or the boat structure when testing with music. I was able to generate a buzzing sound using a tone generator app at 65Hz frequency and very high volume - not sure exactly what it is that is buzzing, but I didn't hear any buzzing when testing with music.

I think the sub sounds great at low and moderate volume levels, but I'm guessing it will not sound as good as a sealed enclosure at very high volume levels. I will crank up the volume next time and report what I find, but so far, I'm very pleased with the results.

The amp also does a nice job of driving the stock Polk speakers - they sound much better now than they did when driven by the head unit.

 

[ChrisP]

Sounds like a good set up. I will be following suit with the cup holder tubes. Wish I would have done that during my install. Good idea!

 

[Julian]

So I'm in the process of buying a couple more speakers for my 242x for the cabin...just because....I can and the price for 2 JLs was hard to beat (thanks @Monterro ).

I moved my sound bar to point at the cabin area, but want a couple more speakers there. So I'll either move two JBLs from elsewhere in the cabin there and replace them with the JLs or put the JLs in there. Starboard side is a no brainer.....port side....not so easy.

The 242x already has 1000 watts via 2 amps and 10 speakers.....I'm adding a 4 channel wetsounds amp to that....and 2 more speakers! LOL I hope to take two of the existing in boat speakers and move them to the wet sounds amp.

I'm in no rush....just something to play around with!

 

[Mainah]

Edit - Beware!!!!! While a direct fit there are some gotchas experienced by @Kane in a real world install. Stock sub is through bolted with nuts on the back and stock amp does not have enough power for the mm are the biggies. End Edit
@Julian and @David Decker you may want to look at this post. https://jetboaters.net/threads/242x-direct-fit-subwoofer-upgrade.10242/

If you do something to seal up the gap leading up into the gunwales and forwards to the cargo net location you will have a nearly sealed enclosure maybe some from a throwable cushion stuff into those tigh locations. Some dynamat or equivalent behind the sum on the hull wall may not be a bad idea as well.

That sub upgrade made a huge difference for me. I can feel the bass in the bow and on the swim deck now even at medium volumes. At high volumes I now think I don't even want a second sub.

I belive that @Kane may have just done this upgrade as well.

 

[rsg1963]

Thanks to this thread, I ended up putting a 10" sub on the Starboard side in the cooler area and another one on the Port side bow seating area under the flip-up seat cushion. Then added two additional speakers in the center area similar placement to @ChrisP 's placement. The subs do not change my storage by anything noticeable and I think I may build a plate like Chris did you cover the tops, just in case a little too much drinky drinky happens some day, or the grandkids get curious.
I used these JL units because they were for open enclosures (infinite baffle they call it)
http://www.jlaudio.com/m10ib5-sg-wh-marine-audio-m-series-subwoofer-drivers-91733

When I'm done, this site specifically will be to blame for me parting with over $5k of mods and counting.
All your fault.
I'm a victim.

 

[Pinhacker71]

@David Decker is there a rca pre out for the sub. I see the front and rear channel rca outs on the Polk head unit but cannot find a subwoofer one. I am wanting to do the same Upgrade that you did.