Stereo Help ... (Please) :smt100

D

Double Trouble

New Member
Jun 17, 2008
4
Nashville, TN
I want to upgrade the Clarion sysmtem in my 195 to something better, and with both dash and swim platform controls. Given this, and having read that several of you have already done so, I thought perhaps you might not only be able to tell me what to stay away from and what sounds the best; however, do any of you know where in the Nashville area, or Edgar Evins Marina area is particularly great at installing systems in boats??? :huh:
Need ... and appreciate ... any help here!

Thanks guys !:grin:
 
Okay, I'll give you my $0.02...

Stay away from Lanzar or anything else that seems like the price is too good to be true. It is...

Good brands to stand by: Wet Sounds, JL Audio, Clarion, Kicker... I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

As far as I'm concerned, if your head unit is exposed... there is only one real option... That's the Clarion CMD5. I installed this head unit in my 160; it's water tight so it doesn't require it's own flip open cover. Accepts XM and Serius, IPod controls and you can hook up wired remotes to it.

If your head unit is in a compartment and protected... well then the sky is your limit; any marine head unit will suit you just fine. But remember, with all things, you get what you pay for. (I love Alpine, but last I checked they don't do marine head units)

Speakers have a bit wider selection; there's a good number of companies out there making good sounding marine speakers. I'd rate Wet Sounds at the top with JL pretty high too. Usually if they have a solid rep for car audio, their marine line will be good too. Best bang for the buck right now I think is Kicker; doesn't sound as good as some of the more expensive, but for what you pay, you do get a lot!

Amps... Really, as far as I've seen the only people that make TRUE marine amps putting out anything close to reasonable power numbers are JL audio, Kicker and Clarion. A couple months ago one of the reps from wet sounds told me they are working on amps and those I imagine promise to be top notch.

Remember, things to keep in mind:
-try to give your speakers 70% or more of their rated RMS; it's unhealthy to under drive them.
-Good wiring with ample size wire for your amps, 18 ga wire for your mids and 14ga for your subs... decent quality RCA's; all of this makes a big difference in making sure the sound gets to your ears in a clear and vibrant manor.
-Tuning; if you don't bother to set-up your system once installed, a $5000 system can sound worse than a factory system.


What are you looking to spend? That will help out a lot in directing you to the right components for your stereo.



I can't be of much help for install places in TN... all I can tell you is a Marina will most likely cost you more than the already high prices of a car stereo installer. Just make sure they use tined wire, or seal every connection with glue lined shrink sleeve and liquid electrical tape. Also be sure your fuse is a MARINE fuse... yes, there is a difference; one has the potential for "BOOM" when exposed to gasoline vapor, the other does not.

Best of luck to you!
 
There's nothing wrong with the clarion head unit. It can accept multiple remote controls, depending on model, which you don't state. You probably just need a bit more power and better quality speakers. Wide range of speakers available. Find someone who sells a few different brands and listen to them. Buy the best sounding ones you can afford.

Best regards,
Frank
 
As the Crutchfield tech told me yesterday, try to pick a Manufacturer who does just one or two things, like just speakers, or just amps, or just speakers and amp, etc....
 
As for someone who does the installation, go to your service department and ask who they use or recommend, that usually gets you to the right place.

Wesley
 
Thanks for the input. I've got the standard Clarion AM/FM, CD head that came with the boat. It does not have the remotes however. My biggest concern was with the wiring itself ... fusing, grounding, etc. I would leave the install up to installers though.

I've heard, and read, a lot of good things about JL Audio. As for money I'm looking to invest, I won't go overboard ... haha ... saving that for the new 230 coming soon. Just looking to get a better sound for the 195.
 
I am a firm believer in JL audio speakers. They just rock LOUD & CLEAR. I have a Clarion in-dash as well but as soon as it quits I will replace it a with Alpine. They do not make a marine seris but there is little difference. If you are worried, just get one of those head unit enclosure "thingies" that Crutchfiel sells. For amps, Rockford Fosgate is bullet proof. You can cook on them them restart them and they are fine. Make sure you go to a Marine install sepecialist because marine/auto wiring is totally different.
 
There is much more difference between standard head units and marine head units. Most marine head units use a stainless chassis and the circuit boards are coated. Depending on the humidity of your environment and location of the head unit, having a non-marine unit installed could be very troublesome within a couple years. Stick with Marine head units. And as I said before, the CMD4 and CMD5 from clarion are both totally sealed; you can pour water on the face and not have any problems. My one complaint with my CMD5 is the quality of the display. It seems very 1990's; plain, super simple LCD. But I didn't buy it for the display, I bought it for the options and the fact that it is sealed.

I would tend to agree with the previous poster who said there is nothing wrong with your factory head unit. It's newer and as I recall, all newer clarion head units can have multiple wired remotes installed. Not sure what Pre-Out options you have though. Still shouldn't be a problem; line drivers will take care of that.

I would strongly push you in the direction of Kicker speakers and amps. JL and Wet sounds (these two are some of the best marine speakers available) are both relatively expensive. You can run four mid-range speakers on the 5-channel kicker amp plus one sub and walk away having spent maybe $1200-$1300 installed (do the install yourself and save 40% or so). Something like this from JL will run you $400 or so more... running Wet Sounds speakers and JL amps... look at nearly doubling that.

I run an Alpine head unit in my truck with JL speakers and an Autotek amp; pretty good set-up... cost me about $1200-$1300 as I recall and I did the install myself. So I by no means am a die hard kicker fan; I prefer Alpine and JL... BUT, with the horrible sound stage a boat provides, you just don't see the price difference in sound quality that you would in an auto application. SO the question is, what's it really worth to you? When you get into good quality audio, the sound quality difference starts to shrink. The difference between Kicker Marine and JL Marine isn't nearly as much as the difference between Kicker Marine and those $40 speakers West Marine and Overton's sell.

ANYHOW, as someone else stated; if you can go somewhere that sells several brands of marine audio products... go have a listen; see what you like the best in whatever price-range you are looking at.
 
Double Trouble said:
I've heard, and read, a lot of good things about JL Audio. As for money I'm looking to invest, I won't go overboard ... haha ... saving that for the new 230 coming soon. Just looking to get a better sound for the 195.
Click to expand...

Here is our upgrade we had done this year by the local shop that the dealer referred us to. Everything I read pointed toward JL Audio, if you do decide to go that direction one thing I would advise is to check with Jim at boemarine (our host) and then get the shop to install (I think I could have saved some money that way).

http://www.clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7348&highlight=audio



Wesley
 
NateRW21 said:
There is much more difference between standard head units and marine head units. Most marine head units use a stainless chassis and the circuit boards are coated. Depending on the humidity of your environment and location of the head unit, having a non-marine unit installed could be very troublesome within a couple years. Stick with Marine head units. And as I said before, the CMD4 and CMD5 from clarion are both totally sealed; you can pour water on the face and not have any problems. My one complaint with my CMD5 is the quality of the display. It seems very 1990's; plain, super simple LCD. But I didn't buy it for the display, I bought it for the options and the fact that it is sealed.
Click to expand...

My last Alpine NON-Marine head unit was next to my drink holder in my last Go-Fast boat. It got soaked frequently with the cocktail of the day and worked just fine. I had it for 3 years and never missed a lick and let me tell you it was nearly a alcoholic itself. It makes LITTLE difference if you install quality. Now if you install Walmart junk then I suppose I would want Marine grade. BTW I had some Kickers in my truck when I was a kid.
 
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