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Sound upgrade 19' 23LSV?


Mattyb

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Hey All,  

Been enjoying our new boat so far this year, but am thinking of upgrading the sound.  We have the top package from Malibu with 4 rev 10's, but even at full volume it isn't super loud for surfing.  Any thoughts or suggestions on upgrades?

 

Thanks!

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5 minutes ago, Mattyb said:

Hey All,  

Been enjoying our new boat so far this year, but am thinking of upgrading the sound.  We have the top package from Malibu with 4 rev 10's, but even at full volume it isn't super loud for surfing.  Any thoughts or suggestions on upgrades?

 

Thanks!

Change out the amp on those rev10s and you will be happy.  The Malibu wetsounds DSP amps have a very conservative tune (that can not be adjusted.)

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On 6/14/2019 at 12:37 PM, gregtay said:

Change out the amp on those rev10s and you will be happy.  The Malibu wetsounds DSP amps have a very conservative tune (that can not be adjusted.)

Nice, will do. Any recommendations on what the best upgrade would be?

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@ixfe

Amps in the cart.

That is a legit project, nice work!!  Have to say that your DIY skills are 10x my own so I wont be going down the road of building a new box myself but you certainly have me thinking about taking it to a custom stereo spot to see what they might be able to do for me.

Its not the credit card I am worried about, its how loud it will be that I will be begging forgiveness for.  4 people in the family, 3 of us love the tunes cranked.  But when she is behind the wheel it she is feeling pretty maxed out on stimulus (wind, sun, other boats, dumb-a** jetskiiers, kids goofing off in the boat, etc. etc.) so full volume music doesn't necessarily help make her a happy relaxed boat driver.  Couple more years and my son will be old enough to take over the helm, will be a great day for all of us!

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So I made the black box adapters but don't feel like making the speaker output adapters.  Looks like Bu went with a custom plug that goes to the back of each cabin Revo 8".  I would prefer not to cut the factory wires so does anyone know where to find those plugs for each speaker?

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On 6/18/2019 at 8:10 AM, Mattyb said:

@ixfe

Amps in the cart.

That is a legit project, nice work!!  Have to say that your DIY skills are 10x my own so I wont be going down the road of building a new box myself but you certainly have me thinking about taking it to a custom stereo spot to see what they might be able to do for me.

Its not the credit card I am worried about, its how loud it will be that I will be begging forgiveness for.  4 people in the family, 3 of us love the tunes cranked.  But when she is behind the wheel it she is feeling pretty maxed out on stimulus (wind, sun, other boats, dumb-a** jetskiiers, kids goofing off in the boat, etc. etc.) so full volume music doesn't necessarily help make her a happy relaxed boat driver.  Couple more years and my son will be old enough to take over the helm, will be a great day for all of us!

You’ll also need to order one of these for each amp.  

https://exileaudio.com/store/install-accessories/rca-audio-cables/malibucabinharness.html

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a 2019 25 LSV with the same 4x rev 10 setup. This is the first boat I have owned that I can't hear well when surfing without getting way too loud in the cabin. I wish the speakers were mounted farther back or higher up on the tower like on the Axis and Supras so the sound projected better to the rider. 

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16 hours ago, xraydoc said:

I have a 2019 25 LSV with the same 4x rev 10 setup. This is the first boat I have owned that I can't hear well when surfing without getting way too loud in the cabin. I wish the speakers were mounted farther back or higher up on the tower like on the Axis and Supras so the sound projected better to the rider. 

Your problem isn’t speaker location. It’s the same tower speaker location Malibu has been using since they introduced the original Illusion tower aprox 15 years ago...

Your problem is the factory amp is not set up to run those speakers to their full potential. You gotta wake those big pods up!  

See my post earlier in this thread. 

 

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IXFE - Could not agree more. I have been completely disappointed in with the factory stereo setup - and I went with all the upgrades. I was on a friends 2019 Supra SE 550 this weekend and his factory stereo made mine sound like a kids science project. Still hard for me to believe at these price points Malibu can't get the sound up to par and people who want good bass and good projection from the tower have to resort to extensive modifications. 

One of my objectives is to decrease the decibel levels in the cabin and increase them at the surfers ears. Do you think just upgrading the amp to the rev 10's will do the trick or would moving them to the top of the tower help?

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So many people compare these new factory systems to aftermarket systems. Much like the systems in your car or truck, they’ll never be a match for a tricked out stereo. The thing is though, you’ll never see a tricked out stereo with a 5 year warranty. 

Check these things out on Your demo, (you did demo before buying a $100k + boat, right?) This will be what you are getting when your new boat is delivered. If you don’t like the demo, you’re not going to like your new one either. In that case, go stereo delete and custom aftermarket with the resulting warranty. 

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Man, I don’t know how loud you all want the tunes but I have 4 Rev 10s from the factory and they can certainly be heard while surfing.  I get there are better systems but something  isn’t right if you can’t hear them surfing (maybe you have already permanently damaged your ears from the tunes 😬)

Yes, you can really wake the system up if you want.  But first, do a few things and make sure if you are using a phone as your media device you have the equalizer set flat (make adjustments in the 7” screen) and volume is turned all the way up on your phone as it is the source. If you are on Bluetooth and want more, plug into the USB in the glovebox and you get quit a bit more volume from the factory system.  

 

Also, I notice that when using the mixer screen you really need the main volume and zone you want cranked up and then turn down  the zone you want to soften.  Having main volume on 15 and towers on 30 doesn’t seem to give “30” out of the tower.   I don’t know if there is truth to this in the programming but that seems to be my results.   

 

 

Edited by hethj7
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Ronnie - I totally agree with your assertions about factory vs aftermarket. I did demo my boats before buying. I felt at the time that Malibu was behind the other top tier manufactures in factory stereo quality but ahead in enough other areas that Malibu was my final choice for both my slalom and surf boat. 

Hethj7 - thanks for the pointers on zones and levels. I will play with those more and see if I can make things a bit better. 

 

What I do know for sure is that on my prior boats I could easily hear and enjoy the music while surfing without killing the passengers with such high sound decibel levels. On my 25 LSV in order to hear the music while surfing,  the cabin sound levels are way to loud for comfort. All subjective of course but I attribute it to the factory position of the speakers being so far forward in addition to being deflected into the cabin by the bimini (which is required by my pale family :) ). Just trying to find a relatively easy solution to maximize the musical enjoyment for everyone on the boat. It is not that the tower speakers don't get loud enough, just that the cabin volume levels are so high relative to the lower volume at the surfer. 

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I really don't think the system is that bad!   I agree that the sub is lacking, but the overall sound quality is pretty darn good compared to my stock 16' VLX. With that boat I did do a custom install which was great, but in the end for all that work and expense I"m not sure it was worth it!  On that boat  i followed @Fmanidea and modified the rear bimini support stanchions, which lifted the rear portion of the bimini up several inches.  This modification allowed the towers a bit more breathing room to throw the sound out instead of down.  I plan on doing the same on my 19".  

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On 7/22/2019 at 4:33 PM, xraydoc said:

that I can't hear well when surfing without getting way too loud in the cabin.

 

9 hours ago, xraydoc said:

Do you think just upgrading the amp to the rev 10's will do the trick

If im understanding the issue correctly, you can hear the system surfing, but at that point, the level in the cabin it too much? If so, making the tower play louder is not the solution. 

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13 hours ago, hethj7 said:

But first, do a few things and make sure if you are using a phone as your media device you have the equalizer set flat (make adjustments in the 7” screen) and volume is turned all the way up on your phone as it is the source. If you are on Bluetooth and want more, plug into the USB in the glovebox and you get quit a bit more volume from the factory system.  

Finally,  somebody that gets the whole hardwire thing.

And lose the Pandora/Spotify and download some real music. 

Edited by Sparky450
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12 hours ago, xraydoc said:

What I do know for sure is that on my prior boats I could easily hear and enjoy the music while surfing without killing the passengers with such high sound decibel levels. On my 25 LSV in order to hear the music while surfing,  the cabin sound levels are way to loud for comfort. 

Maybe check the way the EQ is set. I have a BIG system. I play it loud and get very few complaints about the sound In the cabin. How is your eq set?  

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14 hours ago, MLA said:

 

If im understanding the issue correctly, you can hear the system surfing, but at that point, the level in the cabin it too much? If so, making the tower play louder is not the solution. 

Agreed, louder and thus more volume in the cabin not the answer. Moving the sound dispersion away from the passengers and closer to and\or more in line with the surfer seems to be the solution. With the bimini out and the boat pitched up a bit for surf mode the speakers seem to fire and reflect into the cabin and the water just off the back of the boat rather than at the surfers ears. 

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55 minutes ago, xraydoc said:

Agreed, louder and thus more volume in the cabin not the answer. Moving the sound dispersion away from the passengers and closer to and\or more in line with the surfer seems to be the solution. With the bimini out and the boat pitched up a bit for surf mode the speakers seem to fire and reflect into the cabin and the water just off the back of the boat rather than at the surfers ears. 

Compared to other tower / Bimini configs, Malibu’s is one of (the?) worst for tower speaker volume annihilating cabin occupants with sound. Be happy you don’t have an illusion tower where the lower set of speakers was mounted right at ear level. 

IMHO, to improve things:

1.  get the wetsounds mounts not the factory shelf. Pair this with swivel mounts, so you can tilt the speakers up a little (I.e. so they will play level while the boat is towing nose high).

2.  if #1 doesn’t do it, remove one pair of Rev10s and repower with an aftermarket amp. a single pair well powered is more than enough for most people for surf and wakeboard listening.

3.  if 1 and 2 don’t do it, mount speakers to rear hoop and again point them up a little.

4. If 1-3 don’t do it, mount ‘em Mickey Mouse ears / slurpee style above the Bimini.  will need a little canvas work to make this work with the Bimini. 

 

 

 

Edited by shawndoggy
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I to have all stereo options , Very Disappointed in the system , If I was to ever order a Malibu Again I would do stereo delete and fit a custom system . 

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3 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

Compared to other tower / Bimini configs, Malibu’s is one of (the?) worst for tower speaker volume annihilating cabin occupants with sound. Be happy you don’t have an illusion tower where the lower set of speakers was mounted right at ear level. 

IMHO, to improve things:

1.  get the wetsounds mounts not the factory shelf. Pair this with swivel mounts, so you can tilt the speakers up a little (I.e. so they will play level while the boat is towing nose high).

2.  if #1 doesn’t do it, remove one pair of Rev10s and repower with an aftermarket amp. a single pair well powered is more than enough for most people for surf and wakeboard listening.

3.  if 1 and 2 don’t do it, mount speakers to rear hoop and again point them up a little.

4. If 1-3 don’t do it, mount ‘em Mickey Mouse ears / slurpee style above the Bimini.  will need a little canvas work to make this work with the Bimini. 

 

 

 

I think your observations are spot on.

If #4 was offered from the factory that would be my choice for sure.

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On 7/24/2019 at 12:31 AM, Sparky450 said:

And lose the Pandora/Spotify and download some real music. 

But then how are all the kids going to get custom music for each one of their runs?  I am now running double duty, boat driver and DJ at the same time!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just completed my tower speaker upgrade.  Went from a pair of REV 8’s to a pair of 10s mounted with the dual bracket.  Also modified the rear Bimini support poles to lift up the rear a touch.  Sounded great today while surfing! Had cabin speakers off and towers adjusted so could easily enjoy while surfing without killing the people sitting in the cabin.  

6CA590DE-ACA1-453D-9AF4-A76C154FB7EF.jpeg

AC61288D-A535-45C3-9283-CCEEDFCB5DAD.jpeg

E5E8AF07-3FE6-4877-A08C-63D1FD97B118.jpeg

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3 hours ago, ctvandy23 said:

Just completed my tower speaker upgrade.  Went from a pair of REV 8’s to a pair of 10s mounted with the dual bracket.  Also modified the rear Bimini support poles to lift up the rear a touch.  Sounded great today while surfing! Had cabin speakers off and towers adjusted so could easily enjoy while surfing without killing the people sitting in the cabin.  

6CA590DE-ACA1-453D-9AF4-A76C154FB7EF.jpeg

AC61288D-A535-45C3-9283-CCEEDFCB5DAD.jpeg

E5E8AF07-3FE6-4877-A08C-63D1FD97B118.jpeg

How did you modify the Bimini?

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The back Bimini  support is 6”without the end fittings.  I bought a piece of 7/8 stainless tubing and cut it to 7.5” then reattached the fittings with a rivet gun.  Prior to the modification I measured from the base of the tower to the underside of the rear end of the stock Bimini.  From there I played around to see how much I could lift it without it looking odd but functional to the point of allowing more speaker sound to escape.  An extra 1.5” seemed to look the best so I went with that!

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