Syn 4 Rev10 issue

[David]

I wouldn't apply a few service situations to the overall.

A veteran professional with years of experience has layers upon layers of knowledge and skills beyond that of a DIY'er, who has done perhaps a half dozen boat installs. It is like a certified technician that has gone to school and has attended some very sophisticated training sessions. You just don't pick up that type of knowledge on forums. Apply that to your own industry.

But if you select the low bidder or you buy all your equipment on-line and take it to an installation only service, then you are very likely destined for a bad experience. That good ones will be too busy or too smart to take business on that basis.

In truth, the internet sales has forever changed the mobile electronics industry. Many of the most talented have moved on from an industry that no longer provides competitive compensation for their abilities. And there is only a fraction of the independent operations there was 15 years ago. So today you have to look a little farther to finds the better ones.

Clay,

I see what appears to be pinched cables under an amplifier and the use of anodized screws. Certainly the installer wasn't familiar with the equipment they were installing. Was this job performed by a Wetsounds dealer?

[Nitrousbird]

But if you select the low bidder or you buy all your equipment on-line and take it to an installation only service, then you are very likely destined for a bad experience. That good ones will be too busy or too smart to take business on that basis.

Sadly, being busy or expensive doesn't guarantee any better results. It seems the only real way to find someone good is a lot of reviews of that retailer/installer, detailed examples of work, etc. I agree the amount of good shops around are dying out.

[shawndoggy]

No doubt, David. I can DIY the rest of my life away and I'll never rival an over the top chucktronics install. But chances are that my install is on par with or better than 95% of what's out there, AND that I HAD FUN DOING IT. Half of the fun (for me) of a big stereo is spending all that time (and I am sure that I'm 10x slower than a good pro) and finally getting to the point that I'm ready to put power to the system and turn it on. Letting that first BOOOOOOMMMM out of the sub and hearing it blend with the rest of the system makes all of the time and cut up bloody fingers worth it.

EDIT: online sales and youtube have done the same to bicycle shops. Bikes aren't that hard to work on, but every now and then you NEED a good mechanic. Those guys have a real hard time making a living nowadays.

Edited April 26, 2014 by shawndoggy

[Bawshogg]

The now " retired" audio retailer of course would defend the " if you don't have 10g to spend , we ain't interested, I ain't installing that gear cause you didn't buy it from me! " crowd.

I never said that you can't get a good install from a qualified shop. There are a few of them out there, but from my experience you pay over and above what it's really worth to use these guys.......but I ain't gonna tell you how to spend YOUR MONEY. They are few and far between and not readily available to most consumers across the country. EXAMPLE: THIS THREAD.

The sad reality, is YES.... The installation industry is dwindling. It is what it is. Knowledge is more readily available ,at your finger tips actually if you can employ cognitive reasoning and reading skills. You don't need to pay someone thousands of dollars to get a better than average sounding system. Marine audio is nothing "high tech" in today's age. This still doesn't excuse incompetence, but it sure makes you think twice about paying someone else to BE incompetent. I would rather keep my cash and be incompetent myself, maybe educate myself and next time I will be competent. This has nothing to do with being, "cheap" or buying my gear online cause it was a better deal. It has to do with reality.

Everything of any importance when doing an install on these boats has been covered HERE nine and ten times over. All you have to do is read.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Bobby Bright

[David]

The fact is that forums info only scratch the surface in audio and deliver lots of incorrect information that people follow daily. It's hard to recognize what you don't know. Perhaps 90% of the people who run a fullrange bridged amplifier do it incorrectly and incur major distortion, yet are clueless. I read examples of how to manage charging systems that are dead in the wrong and bad for their boat electronics while these suggestions go unquestioned because they came from an experienced boater. Dealers are not all the same and they certainly aren't perfect. Neither are forums a source of complete and accurate information. That's not a criticism of those who wish to save or enjoy doing it themselves. It's just ridiculous to think you can read a forum and be on the level of a well-trained and highly experienced pro.

[Bawshogg]

This would be a good enough reason for you to stop littering our " boat enthusiast" forum then wouldn't it? Or are you "Captain save an enthusiast " with your valedictorianesque banter and speaking above the skill level of most enthusiast of this forum?

Nobody said that these forums can replace a knowledgeable installer.... Point taken. But finding a "well trained" pro installer is the bigger part of the battle. They all say they are "trained" and certified. I bet a " certified " guy did CJAY's install and look who helped straighten that one out?

I think it's been confirmed you are waisting your time here, especially in retirement .

Edited April 26, 2014 by Bobby Bright

[shawndoggy]

Or David, to say it another way, how about you spend some time writing some white papers for the DIY crowd on "how to do it right" rather than just saying "you are doing it wrong."

Clearly the OP spent real greenbacks to get an install that most of the experienced boater diy hacks here could see in an instant.

I'm with Bobby B... I'd rather keep my money and have only my own incompetence to blame than spend real $$$ for an install I know I could do better.

[robtr8]

This section needs an FAQ big time.

[MLBurns]

David, if you pushed Exile you might not get bashed as much. Have to be careful whet you say on here for fear of being flamed by people that must have too much time on their hands.

[Bawshogg]

Oh ofcourse! This is clearly a brand specific discussion. Duh.... What was I thinking?

Thanks for the " on point " feminine odor of a post Mr. Burns.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Bobby Bright

[nyryan2001]

My beef in this whole thing is the price gouge, and like Nitrous said, paying the over the top price doesn't guarantee quality work or performance.

when the true cost starts to exceed $150-$200 an hour for labor... between straight charge and the gouge for the over priced gear... that's where I tap out. And why certain folks will never get my business. That and trying to sell me a Bazooka tube for my boat.

there are a few guys that say: " I make $125-150 an hour (plus materials and gear), what are you looking to have done? <------ THESE ARE THE GUYS I GO WITH. Not guys that try to fearmonger their way into $5k+ installs.

[martinarcher]

Knock it off or warnings are going to fly. Get it back on topic. Last chance. If it isn't constructive to the OP's issue move on. With some of your knowledge of the stereo world it frustrates me to see it used on brand bashing and personal attacks. Use you wisdom to help others, not fight about it.

[CJAY]

So I spent about an hour tuning today, got everything dialed in. Tower sounds great, set the 808s to full and the 650s to high, then set all the cross overs and gains. System sounds amazing. They had the 808s set to high and the gain all the way down.

You guys helped a ton. Should have made the hour and half drive to the wetsounds dealer

Edited April 27, 2014 by CJAY

[MLA]

I would still run Hi-pass in the 8" in-boat. 80Hz at least, maybe a tad lower. The low gain level could have been to prevent them from overtaking the 6.5" in-boats.

[Bawshogg]

How do the 808.s handle full range operation when it's fully cranked?

I always try to tune each zone separately. It gets challenging when everything is going at once. I found with the fosgate 8's they sounded great on some songs when I ran them full range, but there were a few occasional songs that just had too much low end and they got scary sloppy when the volume was cranked.

If this happens , run them high pass with the crossover set at 70-80h . I had to settle on that for the overall betterment of the speakers.

[CJAY]

Man the 6.5's were blowing them out of the water, you could barely hear them. They finally are adding the midbass they should

[Bawshogg]

I would still run Hi-pass in the 8" in-boat. 80Hz at least, maybe a tad lower. The low gain level could have been to prevent them from overtaking the 6.5" in-boats.

Musta been typing at the same time.....

[CJAY]

How do the 808.s handle full range operation when it's fully cranked?

I always try to tune each zone separately. It gets challenging when everything is going at once. I found with the fosgate 8's they sounded great on some songs when I ran them full range, but there were a few occasional songs that just had too much low end and they got scary sloppy when the volume was cranked.

If this happens , run them high pass with the crossover set at 70-80h . I had to settle on that for the overall betterment of the speakers.

Really good, I tuned each zone separately. Nice that the SD6 is zoned out, I just moved the RCAs to the 3-4 ins. The lows on more bassy songs really sound good. Now the 650s and 808s really meld nicely

[CJAY]

I may try the high pass. I had them there, and they lacked misbass up loud that they had full

[Bawshogg]

Awesome. I love the fact that have moved to the 8" speakers in the cabin. Adds sooo much more to the overall SQ.

[CJAY]

Yeah I've always thought most wetsounds systems I've heard have very little midbass, the 808s solve that. They sound by far the best in the boat.

[Bawshogg]

Didn't you go with an RE sub? Thoughts?

[CJAY]

I like it a lot, but I really am not a big bass head. It rounds out the sound really nicely, but I keep it between 25%-50% on the 420. My buddy had this same sub in his boat, and he's a huge bass head, and it thumped. I actually bought it off him, he upgraded to a 2000watt RE.

[David]

Clay,

There are numerous reasons why you should run the 8" coaxial, or any inboat coaxial in the highpass mode, especially when running a subwoofer. Because it is larger, offers deeper midbass, and handles more power, a little lower crossover setting on the 8" versus the 6.5" is okay. But you want to avoid too much difference between the 6.5" and 8" highpass settings, plus you want to minimize the overlap region between the subwoofer and all fullrange/coaxial speakers.

[CJAY]

Ok I'll try Highpass again on the 808s, but they really didn't sound near as good