Honest opinion on in cabin speakers

[MLA]

9 hours ago, asnowman said:

but what sub would you use?

The best woofer is the one executed right. proper enclosure, proper power, good location for bass radiation. Having said that, there some attributes that make some woofers better suited for the marine environment, then others. First and formost, is the cone material. I would suggest a woofer that has a 100% synthetic cone. Steer clear of woofer with paper based cones. Terms like cellulose, presses pulp, and hybrid. These types of woofers typically have a cone that paper based on the back and a laminate coating on the front side. Wont stand up to the humid boat environment as well as a synthetic cone material. I like a composite or aluminum basket myself. Stamped steel is fine if you trust its got a quality power coat rather than a cheap pain job. Synthetic spider, rubber surround and other qualities to consider.

Location wise, under the helm is typically best. It allow for the most radiation into the cabin. Insulated lockers just rob so much bass.

 

@ those that feel $300 for a quality built marine ported enclosure is high. How many hours and average cost of materials do feel it takes to build that enclosure? Just curious.

design, cutting, assembly, internal seam prep, external surface prep, finishing coat, wiring terminal cap.   

[onamission]

Looks like we have the same boat.  Speaker wires on our boat was built into the boat harness.  Our boat has 2 heaters installed from the factory, 1 in the passenger compartment with 2 hot tubes for the passengers.  Behind the drivers kick panel is were the other is along with an Infinity BassLink.  Know modification other then cutting a round hole and putting a grill.  Cabin speaker are also from Infinity, just like the idea of them all being the same.  I opened up the dash speaker holes so the fit was better. Boat house has a few picks.

 

[asnowman]

@onamissionWhat is the cone behind your prop? As I hijack my own thread....

[jjackkrash]

3 hours ago, MLA said:

@ those that feel $300 for a quality built marine ported enclosure is high. How many hours and average cost of materials do feel it takes to build that enclosure? Just curious.

design, cutting, assembly, internal seam prep, external surface prep, finishing coat, wiring terminal cap.   

IMO, $300 is reasonable.  Baltic birch, sealed and waterproofed, perfect tune, Q, T/S parameters all designed for the specific woofer, etc., and fits right under the helm.  A ported box is trickier than a sealed box.  The time I didn't spend figuring all this out and building the box was well worth the $300.  I guess it all depends in your personal building skills and what your time is worth.   

 

[onamission]

22 hours ago, asnowman said:

@onamissionWhat is the cone behind your prop? As I hijack my own thread....

Acme and OJ used to make them, just makes things look clean instead of the cotter pin.

Edited January 19, 2017 by onamission

[onamission]

Found an Acme Fairwater cone, the one I have is nibral instead of SS.

 

[Nitrousbird]

On 1/15/2017 at 11:17 PM, shawndoggy said:

I know tht this is an answer to a question you didn't ask, but this is the internet, so... I've NOT owned the exiles but have owned the ws 650s and the polk audio mm651ums and if I were picking based purely on sq on about 75w, I'd pick the polks every day.

Don't forget the MM651's - also marine rated:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C3P6FI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have been very pleased with mine.  Cheaper than the WS and Exile speakers too.  

[shawndoggy]

1 minute ago, Nitrousbird said:

Don't forget the MM651's - also marine rated:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C3P6FI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have been very pleased with mine.  Cheaper than the WS and Exile speakers too.  

But why, when UMs are cheaper? https://www.sonicelectronix.com/lp/pla-65-speakers/2-mm651um-oeblack?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&affiliate=googpla&scid=scplp17797889&sc_intid=123173&adtype=pla&lsft=adtype:pla&gclid=CK2v0PnaztECFcRgfgodpa0HRg

[David]

I agree. If considering the Polk, I would only consider the 'UM' marine version. The non UM has an unusual impedance that may or may not become a factor. The non UM has an open voice coil gap which I would avoid in an up-firing application. The UM also has a little more midbass cone surface area.

 

[MLA]

29 minutes ago, David said:

The non UM has an open voice coil gap which I would avoid

So, where would one find these "marine rated" ratings and who is the governing body? 

[Nitrousbird]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

But why, when UMs are cheaper? https://www.sonicelectronix.com/lp/pla-65-speakers/2-mm651um-oeblack?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&affiliate=googpla&scid=scplp17797889&sc_intid=123173&adtype=pla&lsft=adtype:pla&gclid=CK2v0PnaztECFcRgfgodpa0HRg

Because those are a 4ohm speaker and the MM651's are 2.7ohm.  This was exactly why I went with these over the UM's.  I am running 4 off of a 4-channel amp (well, a 5 channel, but the 5th is for the sub).  Most 4-channel amps, when run with all 4 channels, are 2ohm stable.  Because of this, I am able to get more power pushed to these speakers with my amp than I would have with the UM's.  In the OP's situation where most would likely suggest a small 4-channel amp, this would be ideal for him.  

 

12 minutes ago, MLA said:

So, where would one find these "marine rated" ratings and who is the governing body? 

This is very true.  I can say that I've had my MM651's installed for 4 seasons.  I have been caught in several severe rain situations where these things have been drenched.  A couple overnight rains without a cover on a vacation and a few where we just got stuck out in the rain.  Plus normal use wet time and a lot of spray when I power wash the carpets (obviously I try to avoid getting the speakers wet when power washing but it happens).  4 seasons and all 4 work perfectly.

[shawndoggy]

22 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

Because those are a 4ohm speaker and the MM651's are 2.7ohm.  This was exactly why I went with these over the UM's.  I am running 4 off of a 4-channel amp (well, a 5 channel, but the 5th is for the sub).  Most 4-channel amps, when run with all 4 channels, are 2ohm stable.  Because of this, I am able to get more power pushed to these speakers with my amp than I would have with the UM's.  In the OP's situation where most would likely suggest a small 4-channel amp, this would be ideal for him.  

All of the UMs that I've seen in real life have a 3ohm impedance stamp on the magnet, notwithstanding the published specs.  YMMV.  

[David]

It's a mess with Polk because they have several versions of one speaker model #. There's a black UM that was OEM for Nautique that had the lower impedance. There's also a 4-ohm UM. You just have to verify.

The dash speakers are likely to be gained down quite a bit in order to offset the positional advantage and somewhat moderate the dash speakers. Any speaker, no matter how great, isn't going to sound stellar reflecting off the windshield. Thus the lower impedance and greater amplifier power will pay no dividends for the dash. Otherwise it's about a 1 dB gain for the rear. Not that much.

Open voice coil gap on an up-firing dash speaker? The voice coil wire is enamel coated. The VC former is a polymer. Okay thus far. But the soft magnet and steel pole piece will rust. Standing water inside can rot the spider. I wouldn't want dust & debris getting down in the gap. None are visible. All are real issues.   

IMO, the JL Audio MX650 is the best sounding 6.5" coaxial. Similar in tonal balance with the Polk but an improvement. And not that much more cost.

[asnowman]

12 hours ago, onamission said:

Found an Acme Fairwater cone, the one I have is nibral instead of SS.

 

Two on the way, one for each boat. How sad is it that of all things to hate seeING, it's that cotter pin.

Thanks!

[asnowman]

So update for everyone. 

Decided to put the polk db651mm in the response, mostly based on the cost, then it took a while to finally get them in the boat. Anyway, what a difference! Music can actually be heard while cruising along, and the is some bass tone where there really wasn't before. Sadly today was the first day out in the boat this year.

Thanks to all that gave advice. Figured i really couldn't go wrong when I nabbed the 651s for $99 a pair shipped.