Clarion to JL Audio in a '01 340 Dancer - Instal Questions

Knot It

Knot It

Member
Oct 28, 2011
374
St. Louis, Mo
Boat Info
'01 340 Sundancer
Engines
T-7.4 Horizons w/ V Drives
Ok, I recently bought a '01 340 with the "upgraded stereo" and it turns out that all 4 of the original Clarion cockpit speakers and the 10" sub have rotten cones and need to be replaced. I have done a search / advanced search and read every post but did not find he answers to my question. I want to replace the 6.5's with a JL Audio M650-CCX-CG-WH and the sub with a JL Audio M10W5-CG-WH. The sub I'm not really concerned about but the JL Audio 6.5's specs indicate thay are are 3/4" deeper than the Clarions.

My question and hesitation is that my boat is still at the dealer just outside of Chicago and I live in St. Louis and I won't actually bring her home until April. The dealer has agreed to do the instal (over the winter) of identical CLARION speakers (free of charge) if I provide them with the speakers. I suspect that they want to simply replace the old with identical new to avoid any additional modification or instal problems.

Does anyone know if the JL audio speakers I want will fit into the existing cut out and depth? I'd really like to have a decent working stereo for our 230+ mile trip home and hope the JL Audio speakers I want will be sort of a plug and play swap. I'm not holding my breath b/c I have learned that if I dont have bad luck, I usually don't have any luck at all....

Thanks in advance for your input.

Sammy
 
Hi Sammy...

Good choice of the jl speakers. I have read nothing but great things on here about them. Hampton on here is who I was able to get my speakers through so I would have a warranty. I'm sure the great ppl on CSR will answer your clearence question...

Ps: keep us posted on your trip in april...
 
Ill get them for you when you learn about the clearances. You will not be disappointed.
 
Sammy,

You will have to correct an interference problem with the JLs, unfortunately. The two forward cockpit speakers should not be an issue - the starboard forward speaker is near your right knee, if you are seated at the helm, and there is plenty of clearance behind that one. Likewise, the port forward speaker, just below the wet bar sink, also has clearance. The problem lies with the two speakers in the arch. These have almost no clearance behind the magnets. In order to mount the JLs in the arch, you'll need to buy or fabricate spacer rings, to move the speakers out about 1/2" or 3/4". It's a simple modification, and well worth the time.

Dale
 
John,
Thanks for the offer. I got an email response about using JL Audio from the dealer who will do the install. They said I could use the speakers of my choice and they will do the install as long as I send them all the parts needed for the job. Let me know what you had in mind.

Dale,
Thanks for the info. I was afraid of the clearance issue in the arch and have been on a desparate search all over the net looking for white plastic spacers with no luck. I have found several MDF, grey and black plastic ones just no white ones. My problem is the boat is nearly 5 hours away and I was going to just order the parts and have them shipped to the dealer so he can make the install. I guess that I can still do that and then try to fabricate the rings out of starboard or MDF and just spray paint them later. Do you, or anyone else, have a contact or a place I can buy some white 1 inch spacer rings?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help.

Sammy
 
Last edited:
I bought mine at a car stereo place (they only had black which painted up great)
 
You could put in some zapco ZCX-165. They are shallow mount. Sound good with a good price. The only problem is they do not handle a tremendous amount of power RMS. I have used them in tight car audio installs before without a problem.

http://www.zapco.com/Speakers.html

If your dealer is only providing labor consisting of removing and replacing with identical you might want to wait and do it yourself. I do not know what you have access to in terms of tooks but you can also cut spacers from starboard that work nice. Or acquire the material and have a local car audio install shop cut them for you. They may be commercially avialable also.

John
 
Knot It said:
John,
Thanks for the offer. I got an email response about using JL Audio from the dealer who will do the install. They said I could use the speakers of my choice and they will do the install as long as I send them all the parts needed for the job. Let me know what you had in mind.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help.

Sammy
Click to expand...

Check your private messages.

John
 
Thanks for the replys everyone. I really have my heart set on the JL Audio speakers...their sound quality is OUTSTANDING and herd to beat.

Dale, I will be ordering some black plastic 1" spacers for the ones on the arch. I will just prime and spray paint them white and change them out later if I dont like them. I hope this was the only interference problem you were talking about.

John, I pm-ed you back and thank you again.

Next question, What size fenders are best suited for the 340. I'm thinking I will need 4 of the 10"-26"....something like this
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/pro...hrough_Middle_Fender_10_x_26&r=view&from=grid
or this
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=50304&subdeptNum=50340&classNum=50341
 
I went with the same 6.5" speakers this summer...awesome sound but it was not without challenge. The two up front were a breeze but the two in the arch required a larger cutout than the clarion speakers had. Now, i am not the most handy guy around and the thought of cutting a larger hole in the arch scared the daylights out of me. Had the guys come out from the audio place I bought them from and they got things all taken care of. On my boat there was no issue whatsoever with the depth, it was just the diameter of the hole. Did not need spacers at all...they mounted perfectly flush. Once in I could not believe the difference...those are awesome speakers!
 
Did the same install myself on my 410da. Aside from from the radar arch installs, all we're plug and play. Although I think I had to drill new screw holes to mount the speakers. For the radar arch I fabricated spacers from plywood, primed and painted white. I think 2 years later looks great. These are amazing speakers. We have had parties on dock, where my boat becomes the juke box. Enjoy!
 
I replaced mine this summer with Kenwood marine speakers from Amazon. They were only about $70/pair and sound great. No interference issues whatsoever. The only thing you will need to do is drill new holes because the Kenwoods have (6) mounting screws where the factory Clarion on have (4). Basically plug-and-play in my opinion.

They are $75/pair and here is the model number Kenwood KFC-1652MRW. The sub/amp combo is $155.

Ed:thumbsup:
 
Hi Sammy,

I replaced all of my Clarion speakers and the sub with JL. All that was needed was a spacer ring between the speaker cover and the cockpit wall to accomodate the depth of the JL's. I hope this helps.
Oh, and the JL's ROCK! I hate being "that guy" with loud music but I had a hard time not showing off the speaker capabilities for my friends when they came on the boat. I am better now....

Mike
 
IMAG0842.jpg

Here is a picture of the installed seakers with the spacer. Hope this helps.
 
That looks great Mike, exactally what I want mine to look like. I looked and looked for white plastic and could not find any. Where did you get them from or did you make them. I bought some 1" black plastic but if 1/2 inch will work I'd like to get them instead.
Thanks,
Sammy
 
Same on my 410da. I fabricated 1/2 inch ply wood spacers and painted white. Looks just like sailor Jerry's picture. I assume the 340da arch needs the same 1/2 inch spacer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,267
Messages
1,429,710
Members
61,146
Latest member
bmel
Back
Top