Yamaha 195s speaker budget upgrade attempt... Success!

[Cainon01]

I am about to embark on a journey to make my boat sound better without killing my wallet. The stock setup sounds good, but I can barely hear it while on the throttle. My goal with this thread is to get some advice/ feedback and help others with shared info. I have found that there is enough room to replace the aft speakers with 8". I also want to add 8" speakers midship right where the driver and passenger feet are, then leave the bow speakers stock. I am looking at getting the wet sounds revo 8's. Found them at creative audio refurbished for 279 a pair. I have purchased other refurb items before and had good luck. Then as long as I can confirm the wet sounds htx 4 has enough power I will use that to power the 4 new speakers and leave the bow hooked to the deck. Also found that amp refurb cheap. Posting pics of the wanted new location.
Edit: I live on a small lake that has big sound carry and echo so I won't do towers and am trying to avoid a sub.

Update 8/9/20
I have finished! 4- 8" revos and 1 htx4 amp, all refurb. The speakers, wire, and rca cables for under 1000 bucks. Sounds great!

 

[212s]

I am about to embark on a journey to make my boat sound better without killing my wallet.

@Cainon01 @Hoyt has a build thread and kept the stock speakers, plus added amps, towers, and a sub. Depending on your needs, you can go ahead and put in 8" speakers, or you can save a few bucks and just amp up the stock speakers to get them pumping louder. It all depends on your needs.

Our boat came with Polk DB652 speakers fore and aft, with DB525's at the swim platform, and with the stock head unit they sounded ok, but lacked volume and bass response (partly due to series wiring). I installed a JL Audio MX amp and ran new wiring to the speakers so I could maintain 2 zones on the audio system (stern = zone 2 while bow and cockpit = zone 1), and with some real power the Polk speakers wake up and sound great. All it cost was some wiring, the amp, and time to install myself. It's loud enough to hear while cruising, sounds great when anchored, and was cost effective.

If that's what you want, you can keep it simple. If you want more, you can start fresh or just add on. Again it depends on what YOU want from your audio system.

 

[ChrisM]

Definitely check your speaker wiring. When I did the build on my Vortex I added the wet sounds system. I was really disappointed when I tried it out. I did as mentioned above and replaced all the speaker wiring with good quality Monoprice wiring, and did away with the series wiring. My bow and cockpit are on the front channel, and the swim platform are on the rear channel, with proper left and right config. The performance change is night and day. I still want to investigate improvements on the sub. While a free air speaker, I think it needs to be at least ported to allow for better bass.

 

[Yamahaul]

@Cainon01 @Hoyt has a build thread and kept the stock speakers, plus added amps, towers, and a sub. Depending on your needs, you can go ahead and put in 8" speakers, or you can save a few bucks and just amp up the stock speakers to get them pumping louder. It all depends on your needs.

Our boat came with Polk DB652 speakers fore and aft, with DB525's at the swim platform, and with the stock head unit they sounded ok, but lacked volume and bass response (partly due to series wiring). I installed a JL Audio MX amp and ran new wiring to the speakers so I could maintain 2 zones on the audio system (stern = zone 2 while bow and cockpit = zone 1), and with some real power the Polk speakers wake up and sound great. All it cost was some wiring, the amp, and time to install myself. It's loud enough to hear while cruising, sounds great when anchored, and was cost effective.

If that's what you want, you can keep it simple. If you want more, you can start fresh or just add on. Again it depends on what YOU want from your audio system.

Following.... looking to do the same.

 

[ctyke]

I am finishing up a stereo upgrade (waiting for a bus bar from Amazon to finish up and post pics). I added a refurb HTX6 to power my stock speakers. Went with the 6 channel with the thought I could add mid speakers down the road. I haven't been on the water yet, but I am fairly confident that I won't need mid speakers anymore. This may change once I get people on the boat etc. but it is loud now sitting in the driveway! Of course I also added other stuff that broke my budget. I'll add mid speakers if needed down the road.

 

[white2kstang]

I did something similar and amplified the factory polks with an M800/8, upgraded the wiring and added a sub. Still couldn't hear without blasting everyone else out. Swapped the 4 factory Polks with JL m6, 6.5 and added two to the mid section and added a gain control for the towers. I'm happy with it now.

2 WS Icon8 on the tower
6 JL M6 LED
1 10" JL 10tw3-d4
1 WS Micro4 amp
1 JL M800/8

 

[Yamahaul]

does the single sub sound adequate in your opinion? i know everyone opinion is different. im not looking to kill fish just want fuller sound.

 

[Cainon01]

I did something similar and amplified the factory polks with an M800/8, upgraded the wiring and added a sub. Still couldn't hear without blasting everyone else out. Swapped the 4 factory Polks with JL m6, 6.5 and added two to the mid section and added a gain control for the towers. I'm happy with it now.

2 WS Icon8 on the tower
6 JL M6 LED
1 10" JL 10tw3-d4
1 WS Micro4 amp
1 JL M800/8

Thanks man, I thought that the mid speakers would be a must. I live on a small lake that has big echo so I won't do towers and don't want to do sub if I don't have to. I'm hoping that the lower tones from the 8s do enough. If I want to blast the bass I can just drive my truck lol.

 

[Cainon01]

@Cainon01 @Hoyt has a build thread and kept the stock speakers, plus added amps, towers, and a sub. Depending on your needs, you can go ahead and put in 8" speakers, or you can save a few bucks and just amp up the stock speakers to get them pumping louder. It all depends on your needs.

Our boat came with Polk DB652 speakers fore and aft, with DB525's at the swim platform, and with the stock head unit they sounded ok, but lacked volume and bass response (partly due to series wiring). I installed a JL Audio MX amp and ran new wiring to the speakers so I could maintain 2 zones on the audio system (stern = zone 2 while bow and cockpit = zone 1), and with some real power the Polk speakers wake up and sound great. All it cost was some wiring, the amp, and time to install myself. It's loud enough to hear while cruising, sounds great when anchored, and was cost effective.

If that's what you want, you can keep it simple. If you want more, you can start fresh or just add on. Again it depends on what YOU want from your audio system.

Hoyts thread is awesome! I want to go a different direction though. I will definitely add the mid speakers so I don't have to crank the music to hear it, and most likely run new wire ( great point). Maybe I should change the title to somewhat budget lol.

 

[drewkaree]

I've seen the term "in series" a few times. Please explain, and then explain the difference between that and what you did. Draw me diagrams, and use crayons, like you were talking to a 4-year-old. I'm at that age level when it comes to this stuff.

 

[white2kstang]

does the single sub sound adequate in your opinion? i know everyone opinion is different. im not looking to kill fish just want fuller sound.

I'm not trying to float into the cove and be the party. I am underpowering my 10 by about 100-150w. I think it sounds good but would probably hit harder with a little more power. I wasnt ready to drop any more $ on the stereo this year and my next spend will likely be replacing the HU and adding a transom remote. Someday I may drop some $ on a dedicated amp for it.
It's not earth shaking or competition worthy but that was not the goal. I just needed to fill out the low end and offset the towers a little. It does feel balanced and at volume its capable of rattling the boat. It's fair to note it is in a sealed enclosure in the rear underseat compartment so that plays into performance. I need to get some on the water gopro video still.

 

[white2kstang]

Thanks man, I thought that the mid speakers would be a must. I live on a small lake that has big echo so I won't do towers and don't want to do sub if I don't have to. I'm hoping that the lower tones from the 8s do enough. If I want to blast the bass I can just drive my truck lol.

Towers won't really help your in boat volume at the captains seat anyway. I got them for floating in the cove and watersports. Having stand alone gain is very helpful when cruising so that I can push the volume in the boat higher without the towers.

The mids from the JL 6.5s are fantastic. I just worried that it's hard for them, at volume, to cover the full frequency range. It sounds like your used to that full spectrum sound with a sub. I have a built system in my mustang and that's a whole different level from what this sub does in the boat. In the end the power you push to those 8s and your HPF settings will let you fine tune it if they can handle the frequency. Though I'd bet you might feel it's missing some of the lows of your used to having a stand alone sub in your regular listening setups.

 

[Yamahaul]

I'm not trying to float into the cove and be the party. I am underpowering my 10 by about 100-150w. I think it sounds good but would probably hit harder with a little more power. I wasnt ready to drop any more $ on the stereo this year and my next spend will likely be replacing the HU and adding a transom remote. Someday I may drop some $ on a dedicated amp for it.
It's not earth shaking or competition worthy but that was not the goal. I just needed to fill out the low end and offset the towers a little. It does feel balanced and at volume its capable of rattling the boat. It's fair to note it is in a sealed enclosure in the rear underseat compartment so that plays into performance. I need to get some on the water gopro video still.

that’s all I need. Sounds good to me. Thanks.

 

[ChrisM]

I've seen the term "in series" a few times. Please explain, and then explain the difference between that and what you did. Draw me diagrams, and use crayons, like you were talking to a 4-year-old. I'm at that age level when it comes to this stuff.

SERIES & PARALLEL SPEAKER WIRING LINK

How my boat was wired,




Almost forgot...

 

[Cainon01]

Towers won't really help your in boat volume at the captains seat anyway. I got them for floating in the cove and watersports. Having stand alone gain is very helpful when cruising so that I can push the volume in the boat higher without the towers.

The mids from the JL 6.5s are fantastic. I just worried that it's hard for them, at volume, to cover the full frequency range. It sounds like your used to that full spectrum sound with a sub. I have a built system in my mustang and that's a whole different level from what this sub does in the boat. In the end the power you push to those 8s and your HPF settings will let you fine tune it if they can handle the frequency. Though I'd bet you might feel it's missing some of the lows of your used to having a stand alone sub in your regular listening setups.

For sure there will be loss. Just trying to get closer and have good sound

 

[212s]

I've seen the term "in series" a few times. Please explain, and then explain the difference between that and what you did. Draw me diagrams, and use crayons, like you were talking to a 4-year-old. I'm at that age level when it comes to this stuff.

The other response will show how the wiring goes, but basically series wiring cuts the output in half if doubling the number of speakers. Parallel doubles the output if the amp is capable. In my boat, the rear and cockpit speakers were wired in series to one set of outputs and the bow speakers were connected to the second outputs. This made the bow speakers louder at the same volume setting. Since the stock Fusion radio can't handle a 2 ohm load, parallel wiring is not possible, and the Fusion only has 4 channels with 6 speakers so Yamaha had to wire it that way. The JL Audio amp can handle 2 ohm loads without issue so parallel works for the bow and cockpit speakers, and the rear on the second output at 4 ohms. I adjusted the gain so the rear speakers are just a couple dB's lower as they're rated 10w less, this way the rears don't get overpowered while maintaining good output from all speakers.

 

[Cainon01]

Ordered 4 revo 8's and a htx4 amp. Got a great package deal from creative audio. All refurb. About 40% less than new price. Hopefully it works out How I want it to!

 

[Cainon01]

Does anyone know if I can put screws in the bottom of this compartment to bolt down the amp?

 

[212s]

Does anyone know if I can put screws in the bottom of this compartment to bolt down the amp?

I wondered the same thing and was concerned that something important may be hiding under there, like a wire harness or other. So I came up with a simple solution thanks to another member here - I mounted the amp and my on-board charger on painted boards and then used industrial strength velcro strips on the bottom of the boards to hold to the carpet. Works great and they haven't moved even through the roughest chop and wake I am willing to challenge:

 

[Cainon01]

Speakers installed! The 8's fit nicely. Sounds amazing. Can actually hear the music while at full throttle! The 8s give good low tones and great mid.