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Boat / Marine Audio
Posted on 4/11/21 at 7:09 pm
Posted on 4/11/21 at 7:09 pm
Hope this gets some attention here, I think I have it figured out, but not quite.
New boat on the way and I want to add a simple, but reliable sound system.
Headunit: Something by Fusion
Speakers: (4) KM84 8" marine speakers. 150RMS 300W max
Amp: Something that is 4 channel and is 150RMS per channel.
I am looking at NVX marine amps. They are priced great and have great reviews. But, they are budget line for sure. Should I roll the dice with a budget amp or spend the money on something a bit better, but not JL or Wetsounds money?
NVX Amp
Fusion Amp
New boat on the way and I want to add a simple, but reliable sound system.
Headunit: Something by Fusion
Speakers: (4) KM84 8" marine speakers. 150RMS 300W max
Amp: Something that is 4 channel and is 150RMS per channel.
I am looking at NVX marine amps. They are priced great and have great reviews. But, they are budget line for sure. Should I roll the dice with a budget amp or spend the money on something a bit better, but not JL or Wetsounds money?
NVX Amp
Fusion Amp
5
Posted on 4/11/21 at 7:57 pm to Ice Cream Sammich
I am not familiar with that brand but “budget” and “marine” don’t seem like a durable combination. Like they say, buy once cry once
Posted on 4/11/21 at 8:28 pm to DawgCountry
quote:
Like they say, buy once cry once
I agree 100%, 50% of the time.
I should have mentioned, this is going into a 18' aluminum boat. Its not a jon boat, but not a Yellowfin either.
No need for a $1,000 JL Audio amp.
And honestly, it kind of falls into the outdoor TV area for me. Heres what I mean, outdoor rated TVs cost over $1,000. Their picture is okay, at best. They will last 10 years.
A cheap Vizio TV will cost $250 and last 5 years with a better picture. Buy two Vizios and be in half the cost of a "outdoor" TV. Plus, no telling what technology you will miss out in trying to make that outdoor TV last 10 years.
Posted on 4/11/21 at 8:46 pm to Ice Cream Sammich
Boat used in salt, fresh, or brackish?
Posted on 4/11/21 at 9:02 pm to ntrcptr
Fresh and some brackish. No salt.
Posted on 4/11/21 at 9:50 pm to Ice Cream Sammich
Get the JL speakers. Fusion good too.
I’ve blown through Sony Marine, Pioneer Marine, West Marine brands before I bit the bullet for the good stuff.
I’ve blown through Sony Marine, Pioneer Marine, West Marine brands before I bit the bullet for the good stuff.
This post was edited on 4/11/21 at 10:06 pm
Posted on 4/12/21 at 6:46 am to Ice Cream Sammich
Im on my 3rd Fusion Amp in 8 yrs. Will not buy Fusion Amp again!
Posted on 4/12/21 at 10:10 am to Ice Cream Sammich
quote:
I should have mentioned, this is going into a 18' aluminum boat
What about mounting locations for the amp? on most aluminum boats you're going to have a very hard time finding a location that is dry enough to mount one. If you don't have a good mounting spot to keep an expensive amp safe, I'd go with a cheap one. Yes JL and Wetsounds are a step above, but I probably wouldn't put either in an aluminum boat.
Posted on 4/12/21 at 10:50 am to Ice Cream Sammich
Just go buy one of those big water resistant speakers at academy for $100 and blue tooth your phone into it. Audio on a boat is a fools game
Eta: if it’s 18 ft then buy one of the smaller ones.
Eta: if it’s 18 ft then buy one of the smaller ones.
This post was edited on 4/12/21 at 10:51 am
Posted on 4/13/21 at 8:15 pm to Ice Cream Sammich
I have the NVX VADM4 in my boat powering 8 speakers, basically running 2 speakers per channel. It’s a great amplifier from my experience. The amplifier dynos I’ve seen show it puts out more power than it’s rated to put out (I want to say over 170 watts per channel) and it is very low on distortion. I’d highly recommend it. It’s a small amplifier so it will fit almost anywhere. I think they compare the footprint to the size of a dollar bill of I’m not mistaken.
Edited to add that the wattage I was talking about is at 2ohms.
Edited to add that the wattage I was talking about is at 2ohms.
This post was edited on 4/13/21 at 8:42 pm
Posted on 4/16/21 at 8:46 am to Tiguar
quote:
Just go buy one of those big water resistant speakers at academy for $100 and blue tooth your phone into it. Audio on a boat is a fools game
100% this. Most guys I know, even the "car stereo aficionado" type, have switched to bluetooth portables. The concept of having truly good audio in a boat (or even a car) is a tough one. 20 years ago Bose fooled us into thinking lots of highs and lows and/or high volume was the high end of car audio. Compared to a good setup in a building, you will never match.
At that point, don't waste a pile of money, just get a loud bluetooth speaker.
Posted on 4/16/21 at 10:02 am to tadman
Agree, bought one of those portable bluetooth speakers on wheels from Costco and it sounds great at a fraction of the cost of quality speakers and an amp.
A friend and his wife recently purchased a used 21' Tahoe with a Jensen head unit (non-bluetooth) and stock speakers and and they sounded like crap. He replaced the speakers with some JL speakers and the HU with a Sony bluetooth, thinking that the Sony alone would power the speakers. I pointed out that he would need an amp so he sends me links yesterday for a Kicker amp and a Kenwood amp. I told him to buy a quality JL amp or something similar to do those speakers justice but he's trying to cheap out. My exact words we "buy once, cry once" and I think he's getting it. He's very much into his music so it's worth the investment, even if he goes the refurbished route.
A friend and his wife recently purchased a used 21' Tahoe with a Jensen head unit (non-bluetooth) and stock speakers and and they sounded like crap. He replaced the speakers with some JL speakers and the HU with a Sony bluetooth, thinking that the Sony alone would power the speakers. I pointed out that he would need an amp so he sends me links yesterday for a Kicker amp and a Kenwood amp. I told him to buy a quality JL amp or something similar to do those speakers justice but he's trying to cheap out. My exact words we "buy once, cry once" and I think he's getting it. He's very much into his music so it's worth the investment, even if he goes the refurbished route.
Posted on 4/16/21 at 2:28 pm to tadman
I think you’d be surprised how good a boat system can sound if it’s setup properly. I have about $300 in speakers and $200 in the amplifier in my boat. It’s very loud and clear, with enough bass to feel it in the floor of the boat. If I turn it up all the way you can hear it clear, every word being sung, from at least 100 feet away. If you use a lower resistance (2 ohms vs 4 ohms) you will get a much louder system and it won’t have to work as hard to be loud. Of course, if you don’t know much about radio installation it will cost a lot more money to have it set up properly. So a sound bar might be the way to go for ease of installation.
Posted on 4/18/21 at 9:59 pm to Ice Cream Sammich
I put Skar Audio speakers and amp in my boat last summer.... and i’m here to tell you, they are impressive. I don’t know if there’s a better marine speaker out there for the money. Everyone that gets in my boat, including buddies that have JL Audio speakers are impressed.
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