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2008 VLX stereo questions


Parrothead

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I have an 08 VLX with Titan 3 stereo upgrade. 2nd owner, so didn't have a choice. Would like to know a few things and hoping some of you can help.

1) The aux input when used with an ipod or iphone has a seriously diminised volume on the main stereo. (even with the volume on the individual ipod/ iphone turned up 3/4. Does the WS-420 improve this input volume? Ideas on how to improve this? Is there a better way to run an aux input?

2) I am looking to replace the four tower speakers with quick disconnect (possibly Samson) type. I have to take my T3 down each time to put in the garage and this will allow me the room to do so without removing the rear hoop. Will my current amps (factory Fosgate) be sufficient to power or do I have to upgrade the amp also?

3) The previous owner turned down the gains on the cabin speakers as the dash speakers were too loud without cabin/tower control. What should my gains be set at (all middle?) to be at better sound?

Thanks for the help.

Edited by Parrothead
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1) your head-unit may have an adjustable AUX level. Check it as it may be set low.

2) what amp will be driving the towers, and what model tower speakers are you looking to get, the 6.5" or 8.375" HLCD or 6.5" coaxial?

3) The lower the gains, the better. I would google gain setting procedure. There are a few good ways it can be done. Fallow it to set the gains at no more then their max (max setting, not the max position on the dial). Then, gain down the chnls driving the dash speakers. There are quite a few devices, from EQ's to zone volume control that will allow for tower and in-boat volume control, which is not the same as "fade". Most also offer a line lever increase on all channels. This allows for lower gains, thus lowering the noise floor.

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1) Most EQs will have independent gain adjustments for the main and auxilary inputs. Some are accessable from the exterior of the EQ chassis and some are protected and found inside the EQ. But you balance the levels once and forget it.

Iphones/ipods have poor internal amplifiers only designed for earbuds. So you really want to use the true preamp out the bottom port. But this output has weak voltage. So you can run a small line driver between the iphone/ipod and source unit input.

Here's kind of a side note but I just added a separate headphone amplifier between my classic ipod and good headphones. WOW!

3) As for dash speakers it is a really good idea to have dedicated channels for these independent of the rear cockpit speakers to balance the levels. Otherwise the dash tends to dominate. If you do not have the channels to spare or do not wish to add two amplifier channels, you can add a concealed 10-step stereo autoformer to the dash speakers and they can still share channels. The autoformer is a magnetic coupled medium and does not create the heat and wasteful losses that a resistive attenuation device will. Once you've resolved that issue then you are on to a tower to in-boat zone controller, which could be your source unit fader (very inconvenient) or an EQ or line driver w/ zone controller. There are tons of options.

All easy solutions.

David

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1) your head-unit may have an adjustable AUX level. Check it as it may be set low.

2) what amp will be driving the towers, and what model tower speakers are you looking to get, the 6.5" or 8.375" HLCD or 6.5" coaxial?

3) The lower the gains, the better. I would google gain setting procedure. There are a few good ways it can be done. Fallow it to set the gains at no more then their max (max setting, not the max position on the dial). Then, gain down the chnls driving the dash speakers. There are quite a few devices, from EQ's to zone volume control that will allow for tower and in-boat volume control, which is not the same as "fade". Most also offer a line lever increase on all channels. This allows for lower gains, thus lowering the noise floor.

]

The head unit is the factory in dash (2008) unit. The main is in the walk through and there are panels in the drivers seat for some controls as well as the I will check to see if the aux input has an adjustment (doesn't appear to have adjustment), There are three amps in the boat currently. They are all Rockford Fosgate Punch Amps. P500-2 P400-2 and P400-4. I am not sure how the speakers are configured using the 3 amps. Hoping some of you can shed some light on this also, as I do not have a wiring schematic. I am not sure it I will go with Wake type (hlcd) or surf type yet. Leaning towards the HLCD however. Most likely 6.5 either way. I am assuming that HLCD require more power, just not sure how much. I will research the gains on google. Thanks.

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The in-boats will be driven off the 400.4, so that leaves the two 2-chnls for the sub and 4 towers. The 400-2 will offer 100W to each of your 4 tower pods or 400W if its powering the sub. The 500-2 will offer 125W for each tower pod and 500W if its driving the sub. Both will be fine for 2 pair of 6.5" coax surf speakers, but would leave any HLCD speaker well on the light side. This would hinder their ability to project to your rider. So of you are leaning to an HLCD for wake-board range projection, then I would suggest an amp. I would also consider going larger then 6.5" HLCD's. They lack the mid-bass to offset the aggressive powerful horns. As another option, a single pair of larger, like an 8" or 10" HLCD, may well offer the projection needed to reach wake range, as well as the warmth of coax for near-field listening. If you have a local shop, try to get by and demo some and talk with them about the differences.

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I have an 08 VLX with Titan 3 stereo upgrade. 2nd owner, so didn't have a choice. Would like to know a few things and hoping some of you can help.

1) The aux input when used with an ipod or iphone has a seriously diminised volume on the main stereo. (even with the volume on the individual ipod/ iphone turned up 3/4. Does the WS-420 improve this input volume? Ideas on how to improve this? Is there a better way to run an aux input?

2) I am looking to replace the four tower speakers with quick disconnect (possibly Samson) type. I have to take my T3 down each time to put in the garage and this will allow me the room to do so without removing the rear hoop. Will my current amps (factory Fosgate) be sufficient to power or do I have to upgrade the amp also?

3) The previous owner turned down the gains on the cabin speakers as the dash speakers were too loud without cabin/tower control. What should my gains be set at (all middle?) to be at better sound?

Thanks for the help.

1) Is it the factory JBL head unit or the Sony? What's the model number on the head unit? This will be beneficial to giving the proper answer to this question...

2) the connectors will be fine but, need to know what exact speakers your gonna get to determine if its the proper power and channel set up on the existing amps?

3) these "gains" are set to match the amplifiers output to its input, there is no 1 setting.. When it comes time to "re-tune" your system after all the chaos, it can be better explained or I can get more detailed and there are several ways to do it then ;)

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1) Is it the factory JBL head unit or the Sony? What's the model number on the head unit? This will be beneficial to giving the proper answer to this question...

2) the connectors will be fine but, need to know what exact speakers your gonna get to determine if its the proper power and channel set up on the existing amps?

3) these "gains" are set to match the amplifiers output to its input, there is no 1 setting.. When it comes time to "re-tune" your system after all the chaos, it can be better explained or I can get more detailed and there are several ways to do it then ;)

The Head unit is the JBL. It does not appear to have a model on the front. It is not a head unit in the traditional sense. Similar to a black box type. The controls are more of just an lcd panel, versus a traditional type head unit. It is definitely not the Sony version, so I am going to assume that it is the JBL. There are other JBL components in the amp area, so safe assumption.

I "Googled" the gains and using a multimeter on how to adjust. Will work on that one when I get a few minutes to toy with. As for the speakers. I was leaning towards the Samson SMT 65, and it appears that they will work with the exisisting setup based on above post. I would like to run some HLCD's ,just not sure I need everyone on the lake to hear my music selection.

Thanks for all the advice to this point.

Edited by Parrothead
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The Head unit is the JBL. It does not appear to have a model on the front. It is not a head unit in the traditional sense. Similar to a black box type. The controls are more of just an lcd panel, versus a traditional type head unit. It is definitely not the Sony version, so I am going to assume that it is the JBL. There are other JBL components in the amp area, so safe assumption.

I "Googled" the gains and using a multimeter on how to adjust. Will work on that one when I get a few minutes to toy with. As for the speakers. I was leaning towards the Samson SMT 65, and it appears that they will work with the exisisting setup based on above post. I would like to run some HLCD's ,just not sure I need everyone on the lake to hear my music selection.

Thanks for all the advice to this point.

it should say it on the hidden box :( MBB something.... anyways, it doesnt look like it has a adjustment like most head units to even out the different sources volume :( this was just a quick look into it...

for the tower, if you want coaxials, may I suggest JL 7.7's? best sounding 7.7 coaxial on the market.. If you want 8" coaxials then I would suggest WetSounds Icon8.... Now if you do decide HLCD I would strongly suggest a minimum of a 8" but prefer a 10" if they will fit....Plus you must go hear the difference between brands when it comes to HLCDs, their will be a noticable difference between the midbass and horns from brand to brand.. some more aggressive horns, some more aggressive midbass.... When it comes to audio you must not take anyones opinions to heart without hearing them for yourself first, peoples opinion differ in this area drastically... some like the harsh horn, some like the soft horn, same with midbass from brand to brand..... now if your brand bias, then roll with that brand :biggrin: Almost any HLCD set up will require more power than a coaxial.... keep us posted!

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it should say it on the hidden box :( MBB something.... anyways, it doesnt look like it has a adjustment like most head units to even out the different sources volume :( this was just a quick look into it...

for the tower, if you want coaxials, may I suggest JL 7.7's? best sounding 7.7 coaxial on the market.. If you want 8" coaxials then I would suggest WetSounds Icon8.... Now if you do decide HLCD I would strongly suggest a minimum of a 8" but prefer a 10" if they will fit....Plus you must go hear the difference between brands when it comes to HLCDs, their will be a noticable difference between the midbass and horns from brand to brand.. some more aggressive horns, some more aggressive midbass.... When it comes to audio you must not take anyones opinions to heart without hearing them for yourself first, peoples opinion differ in this area drastically... some like the harsh horn, some like the soft horn, same with midbass from brand to brand..... now if your brand bias, then roll with that brand :biggrin: Almost any HLCD set up will require more power than a coaxial.... keep us posted!

Thanks to all for the advice. This will give me some things to chew on during my downtime. Thanks.

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