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2001 VLX budget stereo build


Chatty21VLX

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Like the title says, i'm doing a budget stereo build in my 2001 VLX. It won't be done in one day since time won't allow, and i'm ordering materials as the wife allows. I'll add pics of the process. The goal of this phase of the build is to install permanent wiring that will allow for future expansion. 

The first step is to remove all the old stuff I don't want. The stereo in the boat when I bought it was: Dual brand am/fm aux/usb receiver under the armrest. There was an Orion 12" sub in a ported box fed by an off brand amp, and 2 Kicker Impulse 6.5's in cans on the tower fed by a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 500.2. There are 4 Infinity 6.5's in the boat fed by the head unit.

I removed the sub. The box was rotten, but the classic Orion sub is in good shape. I removed the off brand amp, but left the PG amp. I removed all the amp wiring since both amps were fed by a single 8 awg cable. 

So far, here is what I have purchased:

JL Audio M700/5 amp to power the 4 in boats and a new sub.

JL Audio 4 awg tinned OFC cable to run from the distribution block to the amps

Wet Sounds Big Block distribution block.

Blue Sea Systems 285 series 120 amp circuit breaker 

10 pack of 60 amp mini ANL fuses

12" sealed sub box, carpet removed, joints silicon sealed, and covered in truck bed liner (I have read the bed liner probably doesn't water proof it, but I only need it to last 2 or 3 seasons.)

JL Audio 12 awg tinned OFC speaker cable

JL Audio marine rated multi-wire battery post terminal

New Kicker 6.5's for the tower cans (these aren't permanent, and only need to last 2 or 3 seasons)

Things I need to purchase:

2 awg tinned OFC cable to feed the distribution block

A 12" sub with a 300 watt rms rating at 2 ohms. Probably the Kicker 40CWS122. (This sub isn't permanent, and only needs to last 2 or 3 seasons)

Wet Sounds eq

Wet Sounds 6 channel 7meter rca's 

Maybe some other things I can't think of right now. 

Everything except the battery is going in the storage behind the observer seat. Today I mounted the M700/5 and the distribution block. I ran the power and ground cables for it, and used some Gorilla Glue to mount cable tie bases  to the hull to secure the main power and ground cables back to the battery located in the aft port side locker.

I wanted to run power and ground to the PG, but didn't have any terminals that would fit both the 4 awg cable and the amp terminals. Looks like i'll be going to some car audio stores or Amazon to find a fork or ring terminal that will fit 4 awg cable and a #10 stud. Might be hard to do...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update: I got both amps mounted, the distribution block mounted, and power/ground run to the amps. Also got a freebie new sub for doing some work for a guy. The sub is a Diamond (never heard of the brand) and is a 4ohm dvc. I wired it in parallel and mounted it in the box. The sub channel is rated for 300w at 2 ohms at 14.4v, and the sub is rated for 200w rms. Hopefully they will be a good match. Like I said, the sub only has to last a couple seasons.

I'm still needing my #2 power and ground cables to complete my power circuit. I have been to every marina and car audio installer in town, and nobody stocks it. Looks like I have to order it.

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#2 as in 2 gauge cable? 1/0 is a VERY popular gauge for mobile audio, so just go with that. Theres almost never a downside, outside of cost, to going with a larger gauge cable. 

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17 minutes ago, MLA said:

#2 as in 2 gauge cable? 1/0 is a VERY popular gauge for mobile audio, so just go with that. Theres almost never a downside, outside of cost, to going with a larger gauge cable. 

Yes, 2 gauge. I was mistaken in thinking the Wet Sounds Big Block couldn't accept larger than 2 gauge on the line side. 

The downside is cost. 1/0 is $8/ft and #2 is $6/ft. I need 44 total feet, so that's a cost increase of $90. The ampacity of 1/0 is way overkill for my plans for this boat. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

20160401_124631.jpg

Amps with Big Block and 4 gauge to feed them are installed. 

20160402_141823.jpg

I ended up going with 1/0 from the battery. I used Gorilla Glue to glue cable tie bases to the hull, and used a razor knife to cut out carpet squares as needed. 

20160402_144009.jpg

120 Amp Blue Sea Systems circuit breaker is mounted to the battery box. The power circuit is done. Now I need to buy and install RCA's and an EQ/zone controller.

  • Like 2
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That Phoenix Gold cast heat sink is a thing of beauty. JL Audio is one of the few that still make that type of investment in their amplifiers. Btw, if you add the cast end caps to the Tantrum amplifier, it extends the thermal capacity of the sink.

It's never a bad idea to get the vinyl tubes from Home Depot and drain the cup holders into the bilge.

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7 minutes ago, David said:

That Phoenix Gold cast heat sink is a thing of beauty. JL Audio is one of the few that still make that type of investment in their amplifiers. Btw, if you add the cast end caps to the Tantrum amplifier, it extends the thermal capacity of the sink.

It's never a bad idea to get the vinyl tubes from Home Depot and drain the cup holders into the bilge.

I'm going to add drain tubes, and I will re install the fresh air duct when I'm finished working in there. I need as much room as I can get! I'll also look for the end caps at auction or an online store since they weren't in the boat when I got it.

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On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 7:14 PM, Chatty21VLX said:

Yes, 2 gauge. I was mistaken in thinking the Wet Sounds Big Block couldn't accept larger than 2 gauge on the line side. 

The downside is cost. 1/0 is $8/ft and #2 is $6/ft. I need 44 total feet, so that's a cost increase of $90. The ampacity of 1/0 is way overkill for my plans for this boat. 

You need to shop around; I didn't pay anywhere near that for my 1/0.  IIRC, it was around $4/foot or a little less.  I don't recall needing 44' of it either...I think it was around 30-35' total (that's for 2 batteries):

IMG_2422_zpscrnpiaul.jpg

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The $8/ft was JL audio brand, fully tinned, 100% oxygen free copper. I ended up using "marine grade" (but it's not tinned) 1/0 for $5/ft. I did have about 4ft of each left over, but I bought extra in case I changed my cable routing mid-install. So yes, it ended up being 36ft total 1/0 in the install.

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  • 1 month later...

I now have my ws420sq mounted, and all wiring from the head unit, switch, and eq rewired to the stereo battery. Also installed the 7 meter 6 channel wet sounds rca cable. 

I have 2 questions:

1. The 420sq is grounded to the stereo battery, but I left the stock grounds on the back of the switch. There are 2 wires crimped under one spade terminal and attached to the post on the head unit switch. I assume there are 2 wires because 1 goes to the hu and 1 goes to the ground bus. Is this correct? The wires go into a loom, and are impossible to trace.

2. The 420sq instructions for tuning say to unplug all rca's, and plug 1 pair in at a time to tune. I did the boat speakers first. They sound great, no problems there. I went for the towers next. They sounded horrible and had a bunch of hissing, so I unplugged them and tried the sub. I got zero sound at all from the sub. I left the sub plugged in and plugged the boat speakers back in. The sub started playing at that point. So then I plug the towers back in to see what would happen, and they start playing loud and clear. What's going on with it not letting me tune the tower and sub without the in boats? 

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The only grounds on the back of a rocker should be for the rockers light illumination, and have nothing to do with the switched circuit. 

Sounds like youve got some RCAs crossed or some amp settings not quite right. May want to talk with your SW-420 retailer.

Edited by MLA
  • Like 1
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I had a pair of rca's plugged into the wrong channels on my JL amp. In 4 channel mode, you plug a pair into channels 1&2, 3 &4, and the sub channel gets its input from 3&4. I had it plugged into the sub inputs, which was why I wasn't getting sound from the sub without the other channels plugged in. The noise from the tower speaker is gone. Must have been a bad connection that was cleared up by plugging everything in again. However, now I have no sound from the port side tower speaker. Either that channel of the 420 is bad, or the speaker wire became disconnected from the speaker somehow. 

I can already tell that i'm really going to be wanting some rev 8's or 10's next season. A single pair of 6.5 coaxials on the tower just won't cut it.

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FYI, I'm doing a stereo upgrade to my '99 VLX which appears almost identical to your 2001.  I haven't installed a stereo since I was a teenager and I've never messed with an AMP so I'm trying to get as much info as I can.

Question 1 - Is that Red/Black Cable you used for the power to the Distribution Block / AMP just regular marine battery cable, as opposed to a marine audio cable?  I suppose audio-grade cable might have more/tighter strands and some might argue an audio cable would be better but, in my mind, if it's marine grade and if the gauge is heavy enough (1/0), it shouldn't matter if it's audio-specific and it should do the job...Thoughts? 

  • Where did you buy that cable?

Question 2 - I see you installed the power cable directly off the battery and you used a Blue Sea Circuit Breaker on the battery box.  Upon the advice of some, I'm going to install my power off the common on the battery switch, although I will ground to the battery, directly.  I also see that you have the Wet Sounds Distribution Block, which also has fuses.  So, my question is, is it necessary to have the breaker near the battery (or battery switch) and also have the fuses in the distribution block?  I've heard it's better to have the breaker or fuses closer to the power source, although having both seems redundant.  Am I missing something?

  • What size fuse(s) are you using in the distribution block?

Thanks ! ! !  

 

 

 

  

 

 

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20 hours ago, SkiBumPMC said:

FYI, I'm doing a stereo upgrade to my '99 VLX which appears almost identical to your 2001.  I haven't installed a stereo since I was a teenager and I've never messed with an AMP so I'm trying to get as much info as I can.

Question 1 - Is that Red/Black Cable you used for the power to the Distribution Block / AMP just regular marine battery cable, as opposed to a marine audio cable?  I suppose audio-grade cable might have more/tighter strands and some might argue an audio cable would be better but, in my mind, if it's marine grade and if the gauge is heavy enough (1/0), it shouldn't matter if it's audio-specific and it should do the job...Thoughts? 

  • Where did you buy that cable?

Question 2 - I see you installed the power cable directly off the battery and you used a Blue Sea Circuit Breaker on the battery box.  Upon the advice of some, I'm going to install my power off the common on the battery switch, although I will ground to the battery, directly.  I also see that you have the Wet Sounds Distribution Block, which also has fuses.  So, my question is, is it necessary to have the breaker near the battery (or battery switch) and also have the fuses in the distribution block?  I've heard it's better to have the breaker or fuses closer to the power source, although having both seems redundant.  Am I missing something?

  • What size fuse(s) are you using in the distribution block?

Thanks ! ! !  

 

 

 

  

 

 

1. As far as I know, the only thing that makes a cable a "marine" cable is the copper strands are tinned to prevent corrosion. The cable jacket might also be rated for resistance to certain chemicals. You can probably use marine battery cable, but the cable will have fewer, but thicker strands of copper. This means the cable will be harder to bend. The cable I got has tons of thin strands, and it's very easy to bend and manipulate, resulting in an easier install. You are correct in saying that the size is really the only thing that matters. I will send a PM to tell you where I bought the cables.

2. The only reason I ran directly from the battery to prevent accidentally killing my engine starting battery. Your circuit protection needs to be mounted no more than 12" from the source. I used a circuit breaker instead of a fuse holder so I can have a means to disconnect the power from the amps. If you power from the common of the selector switch, you could use a fuse holder instead, since you will have the selector switch to turn off power. (I happen to have a brand new JL Audio fuse holder I need to sell...). The distribution block should be mounted 18" or less fromg the amps, at least that'swhat JL Audio recommends in their installation manual. The reason you want the overcurrent protection (fuses or breakers) so close is to protect the wiring in case of a fault. The circuit breaker I have is 120 amps, and it is to protect the 1/0 cables. The fuses I have in the block are each 60 amps, and they protect the power cables going from the block to the amp. The fuses in the block should be sized based on your amp manufacturers' recommendations, and your main fuse size should be the sum of the fuses you have being powered by your main power cables. Remember, fuses and breakers are to protect the wires themselves, and not the equipment they serve. It's also very important to use fuses and breakers that don't exceed the current carrying capacity (ampacity) of the cables. Ignoring this could lead to a fire in the event of a fault. Hope this helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks like my idea of gluing cable tie bases to the hull is going to have to be reworked. I'm not sure if it was the heat or bad chop over memorial day, but some of the bases came off. Mostly, the factory glue from the bases separated from the plastic base, and the sticky pads are still stuck to the hull. I think i'll try some different glue this time.

Also, my ws420sq had a bad channel in the tower zone right out of the box. I registered my warranty for it, and Wet Sounds has made initial contact about it. Looks like I get to see how good their customer service is. 

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37 minutes ago, Chatty21VLX said:

 

Also, my ws420sq had a bad channel in the tower zone right out of the box. I registered my warranty for it, and Wet Sounds has made initial contact about it. Looks like I get to see how good their customer service is. 

if you purchased through an authorized dealer or Wet Sounds direct, you have nothing to worry about. Before pulling it, get with your dealer and make sure you isolate the issue to the EQ.  

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8 minutes ago, MLA said:

if you purchased through an authorized dealer or Wet Sounds direct, you have nothing to worry about. Before pulling it, get with your dealer and make sure you isolate the issue to the EQ.  

I'm sure it's the eq. One of the tower speakers started getting hissy and noisy, and would quit playing. The mic will play through both speakers just fine. When I reverse the L and R interconnects on the back of the 420 for the tower zone, the problem changes to the other speaker, and music plays fine through the one that previously had the problem.

I hope I wasn't naive to assume that a boat dealership with the standard Wet Sounds display is an authorized dealer... I didn't ask, and I wasn't about to fill out Wet Sounds ridiculous  dealer locator form. When Rob from WS emailed me, he never said my products weren't purchased from an authorized dealer  (you have to email a copy of your receipt to register products).

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  • 4 weeks later...

I ended up getting a rma from wet sounds for my 420. Apparently I got a bad one, and they're sending me a brand new one. Kudos to them so far!

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Big shout out to Rob at Wet Sounds for great customer service. He told me on Monday that he was sending me a new eq, and I had it in my hands Wednesday afternoon.

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59 minutes ago, Chatty21VLX said:

Big shout out to Rob at Wet Sounds for great customer service. He told me on Monday that he was sending me a new eq, and I had it in my hands Wednesday afternoon.

That's the norm. Wetsounds does great customer service everyday and without fanfare.

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  • 3 months later...
On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 0:00 PM, Nitrousbird said:

You need to shop around; I didn't pay anywhere near that for my 1/0.  IIRC, it was around $4/foot or a little less.  I don't recall needing 44' of it either...I think it was around 30-35' total (that's for 2 batteries):

IMG_2422_zpscrnpiaul.jpg

@Nitrousbird, what is your opinion on your battery installation location? I want to install a second battery and I was considering putting them both under the observer's seat similar to your setup. I ran this past a friend and he debated that he would keep his batteries in the observers' storage and keep them in the battery boxes. His theory being that sometimes our boats get caught outside during a rain storm or the batteries may get wet being more exposed in this location. Have you ever experienced your batteries getting wet? Added wear and tear? Increased corrosion? If you had to do it again, would you keep your batteries in this configuration? Or would you put them back in a battery box inside the storage cubby? - Thanks!

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39 minutes ago, lukehartwig said:

@Nitrousbird, what is your opinion on your battery installation location? I want to install a second battery and I was considering putting them both under the observer's seat similar to your setup. I ran this past a friend and he debated that he would keep his batteries in the observers' storage and keep them in the battery boxes. His theory being that sometimes our boats get caught outside during a rain storm or the batteries may get wet being more exposed in this location. Have you ever experienced your batteries getting wet? Added wear and tear? Increased corrosion? If you had to do it again, would you keep your batteries in this configuration? Or would you put them back in a battery box inside the storage cubby? - Thanks!

Leave them in the pouring rain.  Plastic doesn't rust, nor does galvanized connections.  These are sealed AGM batteries so they don't have the venting issues of lead-acid batteries.

Further, I have been caught in some very bad downpours and that area stays dry.  Who cares if they are exposed?  Is the battery in your car in a battery box?  They are designed to be exposed.  Batteries in the observer compartment eat up prime real estate - batteries here use up unused storage space. 

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For power and ground wire, i have used welder cable ontained by the foot at welding supply stores for a good price. Ive even used a pair of jumper cables. Just cut the grips off and crimp on proper connectors. 

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5 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

Leave them in the pouring rain.  Plastic doesn't rust, nor does galvanized connections.  These are sealed AGM batteries so they don't have the venting issues of lead-acid batteries.

Further, I have been caught in some very bad downpours and that area stays dry.  Who cares if they are exposed?  Is the battery in your car in a battery box?  They are designed to be exposed.  Batteries in the observer compartment eat up prime real estate - batteries here use up unused storage space. 

What batteries are you running? I am adding a second battery this winter and need to move the one out of the rear locker too. The group 27 I have is too tall for under the seat. I want to set it up pretty much like yours

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