Collage Daughters need better sound in my VLX

[shawndoggy]

I'd get a sub first before you do the rest of the system. It's the foundation.

For the cabin speakers I'd get a four channel amp. Wire the bow speakers and the rear cabin speakers on the same channels (parallel) and then wire the dash speakers on the other two channels. That way you can tune/reduce the gain on the dash speakers to level match with the rear cabin speakers.

[iliketoski]

Then I would guess you add another amp for the Tower. How do you connect two amps when you only have 2 RCA outputs from the head unit, (+ 4 regular speaker leads).

Also, if I wanted to try to get by with just one 4 channel amp (only 2 cans) How could I connect the other 6, maybe run 4 off the head unit directly, then two off the amp, maybe the rear set?

I know I'm stretching it, but don't want 2 amps (or 4 cans).

[MLA]

For surfing you'd be well served by a set of Kicker KMD 6500.2 mids and horns. It requires 4 cans, but those can be found fairly cheaply new or used online. On the right amp they can even be heard while wakeboarding, but won't be as loud as a true HLCD setup like WS or Exile, etc.

But for the money, are pretty good.

Why not as loud? They have a larger voice coil than the exile. They are a true hlcd just a component setup not a pro axial. They are the real deal hlcd wake range setup that sounds warmer near field then most any other 6.5 pro axial hlcd.

[Simo]

Bimini clearance can be an issue. Not only in the down position but the clearance when collapsing it on mine was only a few inches. That was a major selling point for me with the Exile's.

[shawndoggy]

oh man. this is really a project you don't want to try.... either spend the money and do it right or don't start. Any speaker you have needs to be powered properly by an external amp. If you don't want to do that, adding more speakers is just adding more sources of marginal sound quality. Get what you have sounding as good as it can before moving on to the next zone.

So get a good five channel amp for the cabin. That will power your cabin speakers and a sub. Stop there if you've run out of budget. We can come back to tower speakers and an amp for them next season, as well as some form of zone control so you can quickly address the volume of the cabin and tower speakers independently.

[wakedncsu]

I can hear this perfectly at the end of 75'.

http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Player-Swimming-Standard---Green/dp/B00DJLTJSQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1411487442&sr=8-7&keywords=water+proof+mp3

Just know you need a new set of headphones. The one's they come with suck out loud.

[LYNRDSKYNRD]

With a 4 channel amp you should be able to power the towers off two channels and then 4 of the cabins of two other channels. As mentioned not optimal but it should work. <br />

[iliketoski]

Now that's the positive attitude I like to hear :-). I know its not optimal, but I'm not interested in stunning the fish with my sub, or rocking like I was 20 something. Decent sounds that will enhance the experience. I've got better things to sepnd money on than keeping up with the Jones, (like retirement :-).

[shawndoggy]

the idea that you need a sub to stun fish or let the other flat billers on the lake hear you from 4 miles away is a myth. The sub is the foundation of any good system. Songs like the Eagles' Hotel California will never sound the same once you hear what they are supposed to sound like. Sure you can let the boom out if you want to, but that's not what you NEED a sub for. You need a sub to reproduce the parts of the music that your cabin speakers can't.

You say you aren't trying to keep up with the Joneses, but you want to hang something on your tower for some unspecified purpose, and all I can think is cuz it's because other boats have tower speakers too? Why not focus on getting what you have now to sound GOOOOOD?

If the goal is just to hang something up there and underpower it, I'd just look for any old used setup on your local craigslist.

[iliketoski]

But can you put a basic sub in, that will give the low response you are talking about without sacrificing a ton of storage and requiring significant power. Yes, I agree the lows really make a difference in the overall sound experience, but this isn't a concert hall. The need for the tower speakers is the ability to drive the sound outside the boat since the cabin speakers aren't doing the job. I gues I could beef them up and add an amp, but then noone could sit in the boat at the same time.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Stunning the fish? Seriously?

You don't "need" tower speakers for the system to sound good. They are for projecting the sound out of the boat....where the Joneses are.

A sub & a descent amp will make a huge difference in cleaning up to sound. And make it louder so it projects better.....like the Joneses boat.

Now that's the positive attitude I like to hear :-). I know its not optimal, but I'm not interested in stunning the fish with my sub, or rocking like I was 20 something. Decent sounds that will enhance the experience. I've got better things to sepnd money on than keeping up with the Jones, (like retirement :-).

Edited September 23, 2014 by Bill_AirJunky

[shawndoggy]

couple hundred for a nice sealed 10 or 12 that will fit under the helm. $3-800 for a nice amp that will power your cabin speakers and sub. for now that nice amp could do your towers and sub (though that's not optimal because it pushes the amp really hard), and leave your current four channel on your cabin speakers.

[iliketoski]

Ok, I'm getting the understanding for the sub, but I'm still liking the idea for the Towers, if nothing else, than to get the sound outside the boat, (so that people could still be in the boat). One problem we've always had is that if we crank it for outside the boat, its too loud to be anywhere in the boat.

[Michigan boarder]

Ahh, nothing like a stereo rabbit hole thread on a Tuesday afternoon.

[shawndoggy]

just be warned that with a nice tower system that actually does project outside of the boat, those tower speakers will probably sound louder in the boat than your current setup does. Nice tower speakers are large and power hungry. When powered correctly, they definitely get sound out of the boat. But they are loud loud loud, especially in the boat. It's not like you'll be at conversational levels in the boat with tower speakers jamming to your riders.

[iliketoski]

The more I'm thinking about the need, since I doubt I'll be putting in a system strong enough to rock the end of the rope, most of the use will be for socializing behind the boat.

[shawndoggy]

For that purpose, look for a used set of titan alphas. They were malibu OEM speakers (maybe still are?) and sound pretty decent near field on a reasonable amount of power. You could probably score a pair for $250 or less and they will do everything you want.

Actually here's two pair for $400: http://axiswakeboardboats.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2741

You won't do better than that.

[iliketoski]

Do you have to do 4, or can you do 2?

[Levi900RR]

WOW, I'll split them with you... 2 each.

[shawndoggy]

two would be fine for music around the boat while chilling / floating. four would be minimum (of the titans I linked) for sound to a surfer while surfing. HLCDs a single pair is sufficient for most folks for all purposes.

[iliketoski]

I'm concerned on the size, they are monsters.

[Michigan boarder]

iliketoski - start with the sub and an amp. So here's my history:

I got the boat in '08, when I was 39. Wife & 3 kids. This is our everyday do-everything boat. Cruise, board, surf, tube, etc. It had an old POS Aiwa stereo and 4 Kenwood speakers. There were 2 tower speakers that were blown and a blown amp the guy gave me. I took the tower speakers off, and threw away the amp. Following the advice from the Crew (including Shawndoogy) in 2009 I went with their exact recipe:

4 new Polk speakers - two at rear bench seat, 2 up in front inside the side panels

1 refurbished Boston Acoustics 55 watt 4 channel amp

1 used powered Basslink sub

1 used Apline head unit

I did the speakers, head unit and amp first, and there was a world of difference. Before that I could hardly hear the radio while on plane (tubing, cruising around, boarding, etc.). Now I could hear it all very well. A year later I did the sub and that really sealed the deal. I did not have to rock it as loud to get a good sound. My teenage boys were like "Dad's dialed in, this sounds sick!" and were fighting over whose ipod to use.

Like you, I don't need to blast the lake. It's distracting to me when pulling people and I hate having to yell over music to simply talk. But - when we hop out of the boat to swim or hang at a beach, we do like to crank it up a bit. And that simple system that I have does very well. No, you can't hang out in the boat during that, but you can hear it plenty well outside of the boat, swimming around in the water or 15 yards away from it. So again, I'd say start with getting your cabin stuff going first.

What equipment do you currently have (makes/models)?

[Levi900RR]

I'm not thrilled about the size / over all look of them either, but its hard to be picky at that price. I'm probably going to buy them. A buddy of mine who has a Mastercraft is looking too so I can split the 4 with him.

[Michigan boarder]

On the other hand, if your main goal is appeasing your daughters, doing the boring cabin stuff probably won't do the job. They want to see what the other boats have - tower speakers.

[Levi900RR]

I have to wait until the admins over at Axis world or whatever to approve my account before I can PM that guy. Dang...