New Speakers & Amp

[surfinjoe]

I finally ordered my new speakers to compliment my Clarion XN 3410 amp. I choose the Polk db 5251's for the cockpit and decided to upgrade to bow speakrs to 6 1/2" Polk db 651. Anything has to be better than the factory speakers. Since the new Polk grills are silver, I may decide to paint them white to match. Who knows, maybe I will like the look of the silver. I was thinking about going the JL Audio route, but my pocket book couldn't afford them.

I will post pic's when they are installed. Just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit.

 

[CliffA]

I finally ordered my new speakers to compliment my Clarion XN 3410 amp. I choose the Polk db 5251's for the cockpit and decided to upgrade to bow speakrs to 6 1/2" Polk db 651. Anything has to be better than the factory speakers. Since the new Polk grills are silver, I may decide to paint them white to match. Who knows, maybe I will like the look of the silver. I was thinking about going the JL Audio route, but my pocket book couldn't afford them.

I will post pic's when they are installed. Just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit.

i installed the Polk 651's in my cockpit a couple years ago...they looked good and sounded great for a couple years...then one of the cones developed a crack and both speaker cones were loosing their color from exposure to the sun....i replaced the Polks with JBL speakers earlier this year...hopefully they will hold up a little better....hope you have better luck with the Polks than i did.....

cliff

 

[surfinjoe]

I hope I don't develop a crack. In Michigan, we only get 4 or 5 months of boating in, so I am not too worried about sun exposure. My main concern is how the speaker grill does not cover the woofer completly. Kind of worried about a kid sticking their fingers into the woofer to see what's in there.

 

[AMFM3]

AMFM3 has gone 3 years with the speaker and amp installation the PO did. It's all Eclipse speakers and amps. There are no issues to date. Here's some pics that might give you some ideas.

Mark

 

[CliffA]

I hope I don't develop a crack. In Michigan, we only get 4 or 5 months of boating in, so I am not too worried about sun exposure. My main concern is how the speaker grill does not cover the woofer completly. Kind of worried about a kid sticking their fingers into the woofer to see what's in there.

yep, the grill on the Polk speakers is pretty open....i think that contributed to the deterioration from the sun's rays....not much grill to protect the cone...the new JBL speakers have a full grill to better protect the cone....like i said earlier the Polk speakers sounded and looked great...i wish they would have held up better in the southern heat....you can see the new JBL speakers in the attached pic.....

cliff


View attachment 29664

 

[surfinjoe]

AMFM3 has gone 3 years with the speaker and amp installation the PO did. It's all Eclipse speakers and amps. There are no issues to date. Here's some pics that might give you some ideas.

MarkView attachment 29662View attachment 29663

I love your set-up! I was thinking about adding a set of speakers to my bimini top rail. How do you like the Eclipse?

 

[magstang1]

Eclipse makes good stuff. My experience with several of their upper end automotive lines has proven to me that their tweeters are their shortcoming. I had one fail on a 4x6 and two of them fail on a high end component set. I'm done with them.

Polk makes really good stuff too. Their Momo speakers are quite impressive. Their Mobil monitor series (which replaced the Momo) is good stuff too.

I'm saving my pennies for M series JL. I just won't be able to buy all the speakers I need at the same time.

 

[surfinjoe]

That's why I went with the Polk. I replaced all (4) speakers for the price of (2) JL's. I may regret it later, but I figured the Polk were a great value for the $$. Plus, I really want to buy a nice chart ploter this year, and I have plans to build my LS1 motor in my GTO so I am trying to do as much as I can for a reasonable price. It's not easy to ride two horses with one ass

Eclipse makes good stuff. My experience with several of their upper end automotive lines has proven to me that their tweeters are their shortcoming. I had one fail on a 4x6 and two of them fail on a high end component set. I'm done with them.

Polk makes really good stuff too. Their Momo speakers are quite impressive. Their Mobil monitor series (which replaced the Momo) is good stuff too.

I'm saving my pennies for M series JL. I just won't be able to buy all the speakers I need at the same time.

 

[surfinjoe]

Looks good Cliff! I would have rather had that type of grill, but what can I do! The JL's had a similar grill style, but I just couldn't justify paying $400-500 for for speakers!

yep, the grill on the Polk speakers is pretty open....i think that contributed to the deterioration from the sun's rays....not much grill to protect the cone...the new JBL speakers have a full grill to better protect the cone....like i said earlier the Polk speakers sounded and looked great...i wish they would have held up better in the southern heat....you can see the new JBL speakers in the attached pic.....

cliff


View attachment 29664

 

[AMFM3]

Joe...

So far, knock on wood, I've not had any issues with the Eclipse system on board. It's wired up pretty sweetly with access for iPod/iPhone/iPad, USB and a follow me option so the component downstairs will follow the main unit in the helm. Both units he used are Clarion's and the bench holds the sub. There are a pair of speakers outside on the stern that have a separate volume control. It's nice for if you're swimming or out on the platform.

Mark

 

[wakeup 19]

Maybe you could use speaker grills from another set of speakers. My buddy borrowed my Polks from me for a year and that is what he did. Mostly because his boat was all white. Also maybe someone makes speaker cover so they won't be sitting out in the sun when not in use. That would certainlyextend the life. Who cares what the covers look like you uncover them when you get down to the boat. my 2 cents. Rob

 

[surfinjoe]

This week, despite rain and high winds, I installed my new system. Here is what I ended-up with:

(4) Polk db651's - 6.5" Speakers
(2) Polk db5251's - 5.25" Component
(2) Kenwood KFC-W254MRW 10" subs
(1) Clarion XN 3410 - 90W X 4 AMP
(1) MB Quart NAU 460 - 60W X 4 Amp

Now this boat ROCKS

 

[surfinjoe]

I installed the db5251's just in front of my throttle. It's so nice to have a set of speakers that I can hear while underway!

 

[surfinjoe]

For some reason, I can't delete the attachments from my profile, so I am unable to upload pic's.