Updating stereo on boat 228

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Guys,
I am going update my audio system on my 228. I am going with a Fusion head unit and likely JL speakers like you see on wake boats attached to the hardtop tubes. I am thinking of adding a single 10 inch sub for enriched low frequency not for a sambar party . . I just don't know where to put it. I am slightly adverse to cutting holes.

I thought about putting it up front next to companion seat foot area . Do any of you Seafarer owners have a sub and where did you put it?

have any of you installed those bracketed JL or Fusion style box tube looking speakers to your pipework on your hard top ?

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions.

 

[DennisG01]

Suggestion... skip the speakers that attach to the hardtop tubes. Those are designed for higher volumes and, while they'll work at lower volumes, you're kinda throwing money away. Plus, I assume you'll be mounting them on the underside of the hardtop which means they could end up being a "head knocker". Take a cardboard box (or similar) of about the size of the speakers and hold it in various places to see if I'm correct in my assumption.

If you're really just after "better sound" and not "huge" volume, I would keep it simple. Replacing the existing speakers and head unit with higher end stuff is going to off a dramatic increase in sound. You might find that that's all you need and you get to use all of the existing holes, too. Depending on where the existing speakers are located, you might even be able to go up a bit in size. If you still need more, then look at a subwoofer.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Suggestion... skip the speakers that attach to the hardtop tubes. Those are designed for higher volumes and, while they'll work at lower volumes, you're kinda throwing money away. Plus, I assume you'll be mounting them on the underside of the hardtop which means they could end up being a "head knocker". Take a cardboard box (or similar) of about the size of the speakers and hold it in various places to see if I'm correct in my assumption.

If you're really just after "better sound" and not "huge" volume, I would keep it simple. Replacing the existing speakers and head unit with higher end stuff is going to off a dramatic increase in sound. You might find that that's all you need and you get to use all of the existing holes, too. Depending on where the existing speakers are located, you might even be able to go up a bit in size. If you still need more, then look at a subwoofer.

Thanks Dennis. I currently have an Alpine Marine deck I bought new in 2009 and it's paired with 4 box speakers from Polyplanar. There are two in the cabin and two in the cockpit attached to the bulkhead between the cockpit and cabin. I am little adverse about drilling and cutting big holes in part because I also need to ensure the cut material especially if cored or is plywood as Grady uses in some places , that the end grain is sealed well from moisture .

My boat came with the hardtop where the ton holders are on the sides ,not up top . I hear you brother on hitting your head because I have clunked my noggin a time or two on the side mounted rod holders . .

a big part of me is upgrading because my iPod classic is acting up, I don't have XM and my Alpine is not blue tooth compatible for the next gen ipod or my phone . It actually sounds decent . These are Polyplanars top of the line coax box speakers and have held up exceptionally well through the years .

 

[blindmullet]

I agree with Dennis on the tube style speakers as they don't have enough room behind them and lose a lot of the range. I made a set for my JL's and immediately pitched that idea. If you get the fusion get one of the little puck remotes if you do ever go to the sandbar. It makes it easy to changes your tunes without having to use your phone.

 

[DennisG01]

So here's a little outside the box thinking... or, in this case, "in the box" thinking... can you just take out the current speakers and put better ones back in? I'm not sure if the new speakers would need more "air space" to perform their best than what's inside those Poly boxes, though.

Or... if you all you really need is bluetooth capability, the Alpine probably has inputs on the backside for a CD. These would probably be RCA (red/white)? You can get a BT dongle for about $15 that will do the job perfectly.

 

[JRyan]

Hi, I have a 228 with a stereo. I mounted them in the hole where the inspection covers are located down on each side of the boat nnear the rod holders. They are plenty loud and with the loud setting on the stereo on they have a nice sound. If you fish, the sub might produce too much vibration and will annoy the fish you are looking to catch.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Subscribed. I don't think I really need a sub or anything but on my cross country road trip back from Maryland to Seattle, both of my speakers mounted to the hardtop fell off and into the boat. They are the standard Poly Planar speakers and well and have heard that they're just decent, so I'll likely upgrade to better speakers and a stereo before the summer. I'm 6'2" tall and have never hit my head on the speakers while mounted to the hardtop. For those that say the speakers mounted to the hardtop while facing the rear lose quite a bit of their sound, couldn't you just flip them around and angle them forward facing toward the captain and passenger?

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Ok, after you guys or y'all's input here is my thinking. Ditch the wake tower idea and get either 6.5 or the 7.7 JL round coax speakers and use the inspection plate holes to mount the speakers and keep my current boxed Polyplanars under the helm..Ditch the sub but maybe add a 4 channel amp to improve sound quality . I have a Garmin 942xsplus and a Garmin Quatix 6 watch both have Fusion interfaces so I like the idea of interfacing the. Head unit with these other Garmin devices .

Now I am sort of on the safety side and I have heard of stories where folks discover a broken hose on the thru hull fittings that drain the fish boxes . I carry tools and I inspect those hoses every season using those inspection ports. My only concern of putting speakers in there is how quick in an emergency can I unscrew 4 or 5 screws to get the speaker out ? Other than that I like the placement and idea of using that cut out for the speakers.

JRyan what size speaker fits best in those wholes ? I haven't measured it yet . Maybe you know off the top of your head? THANKS .

 

[blindmullet]

Ok, after you guys or y'all's input here is my thinking. Ditch the wake tower idea and get either 6.5 or the 7.7 JL round coax speakers and use the inspection plate holes to mount the speakers and keep my current boxed Polyplanars under the helm..Ditch the sub but maybe add a 4 channel amp to improve sound quality . I have a Garmin 942xsplus and a Garmin Quatix 6 watch both have Fusion interfaces so I like the idea of interfacing the. Head unit with these other Garmin devices .

Now I am sort of on the safety side and I have heard of stories where folks discover a broken hose on the thru hull fittings that drain the fish boxes . I carry tools and I inspect those hoses every season using those inspection ports. My only concern of putting speakers in there is how quick in an emergency can I unscrew 4 or 5 screws to get the speaker out ? Other than that I like the placement and idea of using that cut out for the speakers.

JRyan what size speaker fits best in those wholes ? I haven't measured it yet . Maybe you know off the top of your head? THANKS .

I think you will like the sound better with that setup. Just make sure you have something for you while you are running. I don't have a hard top currently and added some Harmon outdoor boxed speakers under the storage/cup holder area on both sides. It's just temporary but actually sounds pretty good. I would go with the 7.7's if you can get them to fit.

The Garmin watch widget is a bit clunky. That's why I ended up with the fusion remote.

 

[DennisG01]

Regarding how quickly you could unscrew them in an emergency. First, you would somehow have to know THAT'S where the leak is. But as far removing a few screws... the little bit of time it takes is inconsequential to what would be happening - an extra 30 seconds isn't going to mean much.

Besides, those hoses don't all of sudden go bad - inspecting them once a year will totally prevent a surprise. Also, a fish box drain goes out the side, right? I wouldn't put that in the "emergency" category. You could always tap a bung into the thru-hull.

It's a good thought to have - but in reality, it's not an issue.

 

[Parthery]

I had poly planar speakers on my hardtop next to the spreader lights. They were plenty loud. See pic.

You can remove deck plates, and install speakers in those holes.

My 225 has a sub next to my right foot in the panel under the console, JL Audio...seems to work pretty well.

A lot of different options.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

The other thing I was thinking of is go with the classic grill style especially I install speakers in the inspection port area. The cool looking grills seem to me lend themselves for things puncturing the woofer cone like a rod butt, gaff butt or some other object on the boat. What say you?

 

[blindmullet]

The other thing I was thinking of is go with the classic grill style especially I install speakers in the inspection port area. The cool looking grills seem to me lend themselves for things puncturing the woofer cone like a rod butt, gaff butt or some other object on the boat. What say you?

I would go with the Classic grills as well. I have a set of each and will say the classics provide much more protection. I have the newer style aft and haven't run a sinker through them yet. Where you want to put them might see more feet and possibly a fish rod tip as its near the rod racks.

PXL_20210720_152302505.jpg

• blindmullet
• Jul 20, 2021

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I would go with the Classic grills as well. I have a set of each and will say the classics provide much more protection. I have the newer style aft and haven't run a sinker through them yet. Where you want to put them might see more feet and possibly a fish rod tip as its near the rod racks.

PXL_20210720_152302505.jpg

• blindmullet
• Jul 20, 2021

Do the speakers interfere with seating and folks legs at all? I kind of like where you installed these. I think the JL 7.7s will fit perfectly in the inspection plate holes . I like that install you did there.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Subscribed. Some ideas for you. I'm on a budget (not a poly planer budget, but not JL) but good sound is important to me. I have a 228 and have been upgrading my stereo to version 2 this winter. I made a big hole in my cuddy for a 12" sub on my last walkaround and was not impressed. The bass didn't really carry out of cuddy. So I'm not drilling any big holes for subs in my Seafarer either. I just added a low profile sub/amp combo 8" in a spot under the gunnel. (will add photo later)

Your head unit isn't going to help your sound so get a fusion if you want but it will sound the same as a $40 name brand head unit. They are so cheap now. Invest in a nice 4 channel amp that is at LEAST 100w per channel. buy an amp that is 150% of the RMS rating of your speakers so you have headroom.

Also I learned the hard way that speakers at your ankle level are not ideal You can't really hear them. Get 4 speakers up high on your hard top and they will project better than 6 speakers down low.

Front speakers
I made speaker pods aimed straight at my head for 6.5". I like the POLK blacks but they look great with white grills too. 6" PVC pipe caps make perfect pods on the cheap. 2nd boat that I've done it. many have copied. Powered by amp. White grills make them look professional, people can't belive they are PVC caps. They are glossy and smooth, not like the pipe.


Rear. The wakeboard speakers hung down too far but I found these 6.5" box speakers for Skar audio on amazon. They bump compared to the 4x6 boxes that were there. No substitute for size in speakers. JL would be much better I imagine. Also powered by amp.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Looks good! I was wondering about putting speakers up in the corners like where you put yours, or in the upper cubby area where it looks like you have your VHF. Which might hopefully also deter some people from stealing your speakers if you moor/store your boat elsewhere and they happened to find themselves in your boat uninvited. Is Poly Planar a decent brand of speaker? I believe those are what came with my boat when I purchased it but both fell off and into the boat when driving back to Seattle from the east coast when I bought my boat. So, I'm guessing if they fell 7' or that they'll likely be somewhat damaged and need to be replaced.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Is Poly Planar a decent brand of speaker? - Not in my opinion. Neither is BOSS or Pyle but they do get the job done and are expendable.

If you want bumping marine speakers on a budget but can't/won't spend for JL's (me). Look at SKAR audio marine speakers they are a little bigger than most 6.5"s have a huge magnet and they also have a bigger size coax speaker 7 or 8". https://www.skaraudio.com/collections/marine-speakers

POLK audio is another mid-range brand. Try to spend $80-100 on 6.5" speakers to get something decent. I've had plenty of $50 speaker sets and even with an amp, they left me wanting more.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Also if you don't have much room for an amp get a digital marine version, they are tiny and very efficient. Class A/B is the typical amp class and does sound better but is also power-hungry.

However, now that I need more power this year I'm switching from a digital 4 channel to a (free) older more powerful A/B style marine 4 channel. We shall see if it sounds better. Also switching to high-quality shielded cables to cut down on VHF interference.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Thanks for the reply. I honestly don't really think that I need to have an amp or crazy sound system or anything like that for my boat. It's more just for listening to when trolling for fish or occasionally cruising a bit. I'm one of those that doesn't like drilling a bunch of holes or modifying something that's mostly in stock form. I figured with the Poly Planar speakers that I have, you can find them for right around $100 for the pair. I don't really have to have the best speakers or anything and it would be nice to have the same style of brackets for installing underneath the hardtop so that I don't have to drill more holes. Are the Skar or Polk speakers considerably better and for around the same price at $100 a pair?

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Size is the issue. How big were your poly planers? Little speakers sound tiny and little, sound like noise at cruise. Bigger speakers will always sound more natural. BTW I used the same holes for my rear poly brackets hang my bigger SKARs. So no new holes in hard top. You put on the Burwins instead fo drilling for your scotty swivels right?

My post was mainly directed at the OP who wanted to build out his stereo. Always a topic I think is important on a boat!