Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Looking to add sub, help with deciding!


Brandonloos21

Recommended Posts

I currently have a 2017 Axis t23 with SP2. This comes stock with a wetsounds sub under the helm, though i am not exactly sure of what amp it is (could someone please list what amp specifically it is), and i would like something a little bit more. I was looking to add 2 12" Kicker L7 subs, one under the helm, and one under the observer compartment, and power them off of the same amp (with the same size and type of box so that they produce the same sound). Upon wanting to do this, i found some information stating that putting a subwoofer in the observers compartment, and it pretty much stated that its pretty much useless, due to the cushion infront of it. I found this odd, as i have put systems in previous car trunks, and was able to hear more than enough bass through the rear seats. Is there anyone here that can justify why or why not to do this (if you have 2, one under the helm, and in the ob compartment specifically i would like to hear your opinion). Thanks in advance!!

Link to comment

I would go with one of those 12" woofer in a ported enclosure under the helm, driven with an honest 750-1000 watt RMS, over two sharing 300W from the OEM amp. This will also likely free up 2 amp chnls so you can spread out the 3 pair of in-boats so each is on its own chnl. Thats a bump in wattage and amp runs with a more conservative load. This is IF, the 2017 was not yet using the OEM DSP amps, which I do not think Axis was. 

34 minutes ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Upon wanting to do this, i found some information stating that putting a subwoofer in the observers compartment, and it pretty much stated that its pretty much useless, due to the cushion infront of i

Boat lockers are quite insulate and do rob quite a bit of the perceived output. The woofers do resonate throughout the boat, but a lot of the audible bass is muffled. With that said, im not opposed to a secondary woofer closed in a locker, thats complimenting a primary thats radiating right into the cabin, say, from under the helm. Its also a great idea to add in a vent grill to the port locker to let some additional bass out.   

Link to comment

["I found this odd, as i have put systems in previous car trunks, and was able to hear more than enough bass through the rear seats. Is there anyone here that can justify why or why not to do this."] A closed car cabin and an open boat are world's apart acoustically, so what will apply to one may not apply to the other. The small & closed confines of a car (within a 6-sided box) creates a 12 dB per octave output rise as the frequency lowers. Thus, any low bass that is attenuated thru the car's thick rear seat cushion is more than offset by the 'cabin effect'. In contrast, the open air environment of a boat results in the opposite, a sharp decline in output as the frequency lowers, where bass energy is free to flash dissipate in all directions. The more tactile low bass might still survive the boat's closed port side locker and do little more than provide a boat shaker. But it will lag in output, especially in the upper bass, as compared to the far more efficient subwoofer under the open driver's side console. So while the second subwoofer in a compromised location may add somewhat to the overall output, it's comparatively a waste, in subwoofer, in amplifier power. There's also destructive phase cancellations with dual subwoofers when one is open and the other is enclosed. The best way to use your resources is to employ a single largest subwoofer in the largest possible enclosure in the best location with the largest amplifier.           

Link to comment
On 10/10/2019 at 4:26 PM, MLA said:

I would go with one of those 12" woofer in a ported enclosure under the helm, driven with an honest 750-1000 watt RMS, over two sharing 300W from the OEM amp. This will also likely free up 2 amp chnls so you can spread out the 3 pair of in-boats so each is on its own chnl. Thats a bump in wattage and amp runs with a more conservative load. This is IF, the 2017 was not yet using the OEM DSP amps, which I do not think Axis was. 

Boat lockers are quite insulate and do rob quite a bit of the perceived output. The woofers do resonate throughout the boat, but a lot of the audible bass is muffled. With that said, im not opposed to a secondary woofer closed in a locker, thats complimenting a primary thats radiating right into the cabin, say, from under the helm. Its also a great idea to add in a vent grill to the port locker to let some additional bass out.   

So I did see that the channels 4-5 are bridged for the sub. So what you’re saying to do is get a new amp For the new subs, and make each cabin speaker have their own channel?

 

do you know what ones currently run off which channel?

Link to comment

IIRC, the OEM installed amp, is a 6 chnl. woofer wired to 5/6. Bow are likely on 1 & 2, main cabin on 3 & 4. You would need run new wire from two main cabin speakers, to the amp, as I believe the parallel connection is made at one of the speakers, not at the amp. 

The existing amp's available wattage is good for a single mild woofer. A new woofer setup like you propose, deserve proper wattage.  

Link to comment
On 10/14/2019 at 9:18 AM, MLA said:

IIRC, the OEM installed amp, is a 6 chnl. woofer wired to 5/6. Bow are likely on 1 & 2, main cabin on 3 & 4. You would need run new wire from two main cabin speakers, to the amp, as I believe the parallel connection is made at one of the speakers, not at the amp. 

The existing amp's available wattage is good for a single mild woofer. A new woofer setup like you propose, deserve proper wattage.  

Would you recommend going with a marine amp or no? I see people doing both. Would be nice to save a little of $$ if I didn’t need a marine amp. 

Link to comment
20 minutes ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Would you recommend going with a marine amp or no? I see people doing both. Would be nice to save a little of $$ if I didn’t need a marine amp. 

I don't know what the existing amps are but most of the "newer" style amps are Class D.  The only difference between a marine amp and a regular amp is the conformal coating that will provide some water resistance in the case that the amp gets splashed (or if you leave things wet and there's high humidity.)  Some lower end amps may also have some terminals that are susceptible to corrosion.  

The Class D amps are mostly sealed.  They are much more efficient than the older style amps that needed air-flow and active cooling.  

I find it difficult to introduce moisture to the area under the observers hatch.  I've been running non-marine amps for 10 years now with no issues.  In my opinion, you can replace a regular amp 3 times before you'll get to the cost of a marine specific amp.  I had to replace a single sub amp about 8 years ago (it was not a Class D amp and there's no evidence it was moisture that killed it.)

You'll need to decide for yourself what you are comfortable with.  It's your money.

Link to comment

Both @David and @MLA hit the nail on the head with respect to the 2nd sub in the observers compartment.  On my RLXI, I put a sub in the observer compartment and it works against you unless you port the seat base with a couple false speaker grilles.  Otherwise, it's a bit of a waste as suggested.  You could, if you're willing to cut some fiberglass, have it fire through the walk through as an alternate solution.  IIWM, I would simply do as @David  suggested and you'd be in great shape.  But, if you want to burn some cash and bump like crazy, have at it and share your results. 

Link to comment
8 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

Interesting read, as the 2nd sub option from the factory places it under the observer's seat, presumably custom "tuned" by Wetsounds.   

I know that the factory boats that I've heard with the subs under the observers seat have been very underwhelming.  I attributed this to the factory being unable/unwilling to put in an actual box and free-air subs being dumb...... but..... it's probably a combination of factors.  I know that my friends G23 has an AWFUL stereo.

Link to comment

I'm actually pretty happy with my sub setup in the 25LSV, compared to previous Malibu offerings.   The best out there?  No, but this is also the first stereo I didn't feel the need to immediately modify.  

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Would you recommend going with a marine amp or no? I see people doing both. Would be nice to save a little of $$ if I didn’t need a marine amp. 

For a fresh water trailer boat, marine built amp is not a must-have. However, I prefer to look for a marine solution first, that fits the overall build. If you look at a brand that offers both marine and automotive, you will see a small difference in price between their automotive amps, and their marine built counterparts. For example, a 500W rms marine amp will not be much more then the same 500W rms amp in the automotive line. Its apples to oranges to try and compare one brand's amps that only offers marine, to another brand's automotive line. 

Link to comment

Just as an example, a JL Audio marine amplifier is less than 5% more than the equivalent automotive version, so a very modest premium. There are numerous amplifiers labeled as 'marine' that really don't adhere to marine standards. It used to be a white chassis, stainless hardware, and conformally coated circuit board was enough. Btw, even conformal coating does not envelope those above-board components that need to dissipate heat. Today, the legit marine amplifiers might have extra filtering and definitely have a sealed chassis with sealed covers over all switches & adjustment pots (they've learned and adapted). Even in fresh water, I would avoid any amplifiers with internal fan-cooling and a vented-chassis. A wash over the bow occasionally happens. Depending on the humidity, morning temperature rises can produce condensation, and port lockers can become a sauna. In brackish and coastal areas, a true marine amplifier is a necessity, and while not a necessity in fresh water boats, it's still worth consideration. Corrosion can rob your amplifier of performance long before, if ever, it causes the amplifier to become inoperable.

On another note, the Kicker L7 is a hard subwoofer to drive and deserves TONS of power. I can't imagine running a large L7 off bridged channels off most any multi-channel amplifier. The L7 should get its own dedicated amplifier, and a darn big one! This will go a long way in eliminating any need for a second subwoofer.     

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...