CliffA
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 4,712
- Boat Info
- 2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
- Engines
- Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
I have read many threads about various head units and speakers used on various boats...there is a current thread running its course right now in this forum.....
I have given this considerable thought.....this post is not to offend anyone.....it is an opportunity for me to be educated on a subject i don't know a lot about....
first off I appreciate great sounding music just as much as anyone, maybe better than most.....I have always loved to listen (really listen) to music and played in a few local bands growing up.....
but let's face it....IMO a boat cockpit is a lousy stage to try and achieve premium sound quality from a stereo sound system....the acoustics are practically non-existent...there are no walls or ceilings to bounce sound waves off of...the speakers are usually not positioned for optimum listening....there is usually a lot of outside noise interfering with the music.....and I assume that truly 'marine grade' components may not be able to produce the same quality sound as standard components....
with all this in mind does it really make a difference if you pay $50 for a pair of good sounding speakers or if you pay $800 for a pair of 'premium' speakers?......same thing goes for spending big $$ for a head unit and subwoofers and amps.....I certainly do not mind paying top dollar for premium things that are obviously far superior.....but in the environment of an open boat cockpit do you really notice that much difference in the sound quality?......I have been on a few boats that have multi thousand $$ sound systems and they do sound great.....but almost every time i return to my boat with my 'entry level' Polk Audio DB651 speakers playing music from my original Clarion head unit and original amps I think to myself that my system sounds almost as good as the big $$ systems.....
I am not faulting anyone for installing high quality sound components on their boat....even if they perform only marginally better than less expensive components in this specific environment.....sometimes it is nice to know you can afford to have the better things in life and enjoy them....I am just wondering if I am taking a wrong perspective on this subject.....
cliff
I have given this considerable thought.....this post is not to offend anyone.....it is an opportunity for me to be educated on a subject i don't know a lot about....
first off I appreciate great sounding music just as much as anyone, maybe better than most.....I have always loved to listen (really listen) to music and played in a few local bands growing up.....
but let's face it....IMO a boat cockpit is a lousy stage to try and achieve premium sound quality from a stereo sound system....the acoustics are practically non-existent...there are no walls or ceilings to bounce sound waves off of...the speakers are usually not positioned for optimum listening....there is usually a lot of outside noise interfering with the music.....and I assume that truly 'marine grade' components may not be able to produce the same quality sound as standard components....
with all this in mind does it really make a difference if you pay $50 for a pair of good sounding speakers or if you pay $800 for a pair of 'premium' speakers?......same thing goes for spending big $$ for a head unit and subwoofers and amps.....I certainly do not mind paying top dollar for premium things that are obviously far superior.....but in the environment of an open boat cockpit do you really notice that much difference in the sound quality?......I have been on a few boats that have multi thousand $$ sound systems and they do sound great.....but almost every time i return to my boat with my 'entry level' Polk Audio DB651 speakers playing music from my original Clarion head unit and original amps I think to myself that my system sounds almost as good as the big $$ systems.....
I am not faulting anyone for installing high quality sound components on their boat....even if they perform only marginally better than less expensive components in this specific environment.....sometimes it is nice to know you can afford to have the better things in life and enjoy them....I am just wondering if I am taking a wrong perspective on this subject.....
cliff
Last edited: