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Upgrade Advise


jjackkrash

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My old Am. Skier has a very nice system in it, but its on the for-sale block.  It has 6 JL 7.7 in boats; a 10" ported 10W6 under the helm; and was powered by two JL HD power amps on an extra house battery.  

 

My new ride currently has 4 JL Audio MX650CCX-SG-TB in boats and I believe they are powered off the factory head unit.  I have a few questions about an upgrade path (no tower).  

1.  The factory in-boat holes are for 6.5"JLs.  Is it worth upgrading the in boats to better 6.5s, or would that yield only a marginal improvement?  If I upgraded, I'd add power as well.  If I don't upgrade the speakers, would adding power to the stock in boats yield anything more than a marginal improvement (considering it takes a power doubling to yield an extra 3dB).  

2.  I am considering an IB 10" JL sub cut onto the walk through on the passenger side, instead of losing the space under the helm with a ported sub.  Any thoughts on this?  I understand an IB sub won't match ported, but I am hoping that it won't be so inferior that I'm pissed off I cut a hole on the walk through.  

3.  Thoughts on bow speakers?  I can add them, but I am not sure the upgrade is worth the cost, since I spend most of my non-water time in the driver seat.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.  I hope you all won't hold my off-brand boat against me, as I consider this the best site on the web for marine audio tips and advise.  

Jack

 

 

 

 

Edited by jjackkrash
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1) The JL MX650 requires a 5" cutout, same as about 99% of the other marine 6.5" speakers, so swapping out wont be an issue. Before doing that, id most definitely get the speaker off the head unit and on an amp in the 75W rms range. 

2) If your bench mark is a properly powered 10W6 in a ported enclosure, I feel that a 10IB driven in the 250-300 range, will not live up. id go with the 12IB and drive it in the 600+ range.

3) easiest way to add volume. 

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Thanks!  BTW, how are the "M" series amps compared to the "MHD" amps.  It looks like they both use power switching tech, but I wonder if the HD amps are that much more efficient to be worth it.  

 

 

Edited by jjackkrash
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Also, does anyone think I can get away without adding a house battery/blue sea separator, etc.?  We don't generally sit in the boat for hours and listen to tunes; mainly listen between ski sets, etc.

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Although im a huge fan of dual banks in a boat, the basic answer is no. A 2nd bank is not needed for audio if you do not spend time playing at anchor. At the most, just go with a simple 1/2/BOTH/OFF switch and 2nd battery. 

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I am looking at the fairly new JL Audio Marine 12" IB.  It would go in the walkway to the bow (cut into the the passenger-side storage compartment).  I saw David post in another forum that this is a really beefy sub and it sounds like I might need to reinforce the fiberglass if I mounted it in the walkway.  

Does anyone have any experience with this woofer and thoughts on what kind of mounting reinforcement I would need?  

 

 

Edited by jjackkrash
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1 hour ago, jjackkrash said:

I saw David post in another forum that this is a really beefy sub and it sounds like I might need to reinforce the fiberglass if I mounted it in the walkway

This is for sure. You will need to reinforce the wall. Not only to support the woofer but reduce flex. Wood is the easiest medium to work in. 

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jj,

There are larger and thus more powerful coaxial speakers, but the JL Audio MX650s are as balanced and as musically accurate as anything available. You may add but no need to upgrade. 

The MX650s deserve more than HU power. Yes, double power adds + 3 dB, which seems modest, but HU power also generally lacks bandwidth. Plus, an external amplifier provides a HP filter which is critical once adding a subwoofer.

Yes, the JL M12IB is a monster when correctly powered. I'd rather have a very good direct-radiating ported 10" or a sealed 12" within the boundaries of the cockpit versus any 12" subwoofer that is positioned just beyond the cockpit boundary, such as the walk-thru surface.  

Bow speakers are strictly for the benefit of bow occupants, especially when underway.

 

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David, thanks, our new boxer puppy that set me back when I bought it promptly broke its leg and needed two surgeries to the tune of about $6.5k more, so there goes my stereo upgrade in the near future.  

All that said (sorry for the venting) I am not sure there is another place for the IB sub other than the walkway, but I will check under the helm to see if it could go there when I recover the vet-bill sticker shock.  

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