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Marine vs Auto speakers


Mackie 12

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Technically you can use car speakers. Most marine drivers are built to withstand a negligible amount of salt exposure but also sun exposure and water, where as most car speakers don't worry about this. Another difference is marine speakers, in my experience, are built a little more solid and powerful due to it taking much more volume to get the same effects on the water out in the open. The sound is dispersed into an open environment which requires more db than in a car. Also marine speakers usually have stronger grills or more functional grills due to them being exposed for bumping into or things getting knocked into them. Alot of these features you can find in high dollar car speakers but then your at the point of buying the marine speakers in the first place.

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I have used the Polk Audio DB651 speakers that came with my Aerial Tower Speakers for 4(?) years now and have had no issues. After finding out what kind of speakers they were, I replaced the rest of the boat with these. They get wet all the time and I have never had any issues. +1 for car audio.

Link to speakers on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DB651-6-5-Inch-Speakers/dp/B000P0PF9G (If you are interested in these, they come in a slim version as well so they aren't so deep)

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Perfect, that's what I wanted to hear. Now what are your thought on a 10" 200W bazooka tube? My expectations are not high but would be nice to have some additional bass. They are on sale for 150 in town here and I cannot come close to that with an 8" sub, amp and building a box.

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Perfect, that's what I wanted to hear. Now what are your thought on a 10" 200W bazooka tube? My expectations are not high but would be nice to have some additional bass. They are on sale for 150 in town here and I cannot come close to that with an 8" sub, amp and building a box.

Negative ghost rider. I had one in my Honda a long long time ago, it sucked in there & will surely suck in your boat in the open air environment

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So I should get off my wallet and buy something that will actually work is what your saying? I have been googling and seems like if I am going to buy decent speakers I will need an amp anyway as the head units do not have enough power for the speakers. I will go shopping this weekend and see what I can find.

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You're gonna spend at least $500.00 for a good amp/sub combo new. But well worth it. You can always hit up craigslist in your area, low ball them. I have a ppi900.5 powering one sub & 4 interior speakers & it is plenty loud for us. I do have two more amps for the tower however

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We don't use craigslist here, we use kijiji which is the same thing and there is a few amps and subs I can pick up cheap but no speakers. There is a local place that has some MB Quartz 100w on sale for $50 a piece though. Can I get away with one amp for everything?

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Besides the obvious why can i not use car speakers vs Marine? Car speaker are alot cheaper around here.

I guess the obvious is an obvious enough reason in itself. It should be obvious.
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I have used the Polk Audio DB651 speakers that came with my Aerial Tower Speakers for 4(?) years now and have had no issues. After finding out what kind of speakers they were, I replaced the rest of the boat with these. They get wet all the time and I have never had any issues. +1 for car audio.

Link to speakers on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DB651-6-5-Inch-Speakers/dp/B000P0PF9G (If you are interested in these, they come in a slim version as well so they aren't so deep)

Exactly what I run in the cabin

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You can get away with one amp for the interior. It takes power & good speakers to hear them at wakeboard distance. Do it right, you're gonna just end up tearing it out & replacing it if you don't & that will be money wasted. You can always add to the system as you go but get good components. What are you trying to accomplish right now & how much would you spend?

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Racer,

I wouldn't want to spend anymore then $800 said and done. I can build a box myself easily enough so they should free up $100 I figure. I found some speakers for $100 for all four and a 10" sub for $100. The amp I would figure I get away with $400 and a $100 for good wire, fuses and that sort of stuff. Just looking for a good clean sounding system with a little bit of bass when a guy wants it.

Thanks for the tips racer I will take your advice and do it right the first time.

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I looked at these, however Amazon won't ship to canada.

If you're willing to make the drive, you can ship to Babb, MT and pick up there. About a 5 hour drive round trip, so need to save a bunch to make it worth it. That's what I do sometimes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Negative ghost rider. I had one in my Honda a long long time ago, it sucked in there & will surely suck in your boat in the open air environment

It depends on what the you want. A $150 bazooka tube will provide some bass and leave you with a few hundred bucks for gas money. Will it sound as good as a $500 setup? Probably not, but that may be OK for a lot of people. I had a bazooka tube in my old boat and it does what its supposed to. The Infinity basslink I have now sounds better. Both are 1/3 the cost of a custom amp and sub box setup.

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Racer,

I wouldn't want to spend anymore then $800 said and done. I can build a box myself easily enough so they should free up $100 I figure. I found some speakers for $100 for all four and a 10" sub for $100. The amp I would figure I get away with $400 and a $100 for good wire, fuses and that sort of stuff. Just looking for a good clean sounding system with a little bit of bass when a guy wants it.

Thanks for the tips racer I will take your advice and do it right the first time.

You can get a nice sub, 5 channel amp, or even two amps & excellent cabin speakers for that sort of money. Yeah, I spent probably $2-$300 for wiring, fuse blocks, amp board material, etc. Stuff adds up quickly!

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I have used the Polk Audio DB651 speakers that came with my Aerial Tower Speakers for 4(?) years now and have had no issues. After finding out what kind of speakers they were, I replaced the rest of the boat with these. They get wet all the time and I have never had any issues. +1 for car audio.

Link to speakers on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DB651-6-5-Inch-Speakers/dp/B000P0PF9G (If you are interested in these, they come in a slim version as well so they aren't so deep)

Those are marine rated. http://www.polkaudio.com/products/db651

"Marine Certified means the db651 is built tough to withstand the harshest environments on the water. They pass the industry’s most exhaustive quality tests, including drop testing, extreme signal response and UV & salt exposure testing."

I ran a couple different speakers in my old boat that I'd never suggest in a marine environment. First was a cheapie pair of Sony "Marine" speakers, though it was nothing more than a car speakers with a white grill. Foam surround and lasted, literally, about a month before the surround started to rot out. I also ran a set of Eclipse speakers (rubber surround and poly cone), did well but the tweeters started having issues from exposure.

IMO, I would NOT run non-marine speakers in a marine environment. They see exposure that amps, head units, etc. don't see. I wasn't happy with my previous car-based speaker experience.

Edited by Nitrousbird
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I had the older version of those kickers in my old boat, they sounded great and are extremely durable. Very loud highs and mids not much on the low end from them but that doesnt matter if adding a sub.

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Nobody has mentioned the main reason NOT to use most "car audio" coaxial speakers in a boat. The typical car audio coaxial speaker has a tweeter that is mounted on a post in the center of the cone. There is an opening around this post that allows moisture to travel directly down into the motor structure of the speaker. The typical marine coaxial speaker has a "bridge mounted" tweeter that is usually attached to the grille, with a cone dust cap that completely protects the voice coil of the speaker.

Also, the better quality marine speakers will have specific materials that resist rust and corrosion (polycarbonate or plated metals), coated tinsel leads, sealed connections, stainless steel hardware, etc. that all combine to make a speaker that is not only resistant to salty air but also highly resistant to moisture that is typical of most boats (fresh or salt water).

If it were my boat I would select a marine speaker. And I would strongly suggest listening to a variety of marine speakers before making your selection, as there isn't one "best" speaker, it's a subjective matter and the best speaker for you depends on a variety of factors.

Odin

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