Tower Speaker Help

[jeffmeag]

Thanks Jeff, 7.7's would be fine for me, as I'm saying, I just want a better sound from the tower speakers than the ones I have right now. I don't need to be asked to turn them down The current speakers cannot be heard unless you put your ear up in front of them and that seems like a waste to me. Question, if I installed the 7.7's on the current amp setup, would they be better or is it a necessity for a third amp?

[NautiGirl]

Thanks Jeff, 7.7's would be fine for me, as I'm saying, I just want a better sound from the tower speakers than the ones I have right now. I don't need to be asked to turn them down The current speakers cannot be heard unless you put your ear up in front of them and that seems like a waste to me. Question, if I installed the 7.7's on the current amp setup, would they be better or is it a necessity for a third amp?

Im trying to catch up on this thread, its like when someone sends you an email and the only thing they type is FYI and then you have to read pages and pages of forwarded messages to figure out what is going on....

What speakers are in the boat now? What amps? Model numbers would be awesome, or pics if the boat is around.

We can figure out how best to get you some decent towers, because everyone should be asked to turn their stereo down in a cove, its the best thing ever.

[jeffmeag]

LOL, sorry Mr. Nauti...I totally know that feeling and apologize for not providing more context. I have a 2017 R5 with the premium sound package offered at that time to include sub, transom and tower speakers. It is a Rockford Fosgate head unit (PMX-5CAN) with the RF wired remote (PMX-1R). Transom speakers and sub are JL audio, however, I'm not sure what the cockpit speakers are due to the "cloth covering" that is over them. I also have two JL Audio amps, both being M400/4's. The tower speakers are "Samson" which is the only part of the system I'm not happy with. I will try to get photos of the amp setup along with determining what the cockpit speaker are today.

I really appreciate your help, as I've stated, this is really not my area of expertise at all. Hopefully I've provided enough detail, if not, please just ask and I'll try to figure it out.

tower.jpg

[NautiGirl]

LOL, sorry Mr. Nauti...I totally know that feeling and apologize for not providing more context. I have a 2017 R5 with the premium sound package offered at that time to include sub, transom and tower speakers. It is a Rockford Fosgate head unit (PMX-5CAN) with the RF wired remote (PMX-1R). Transom speakers and sub are JL audio, however, I'm not sure what the cockpit speakers are due to the "cloth covering" that is over them. I also have two JL Audio amps, both being M400/4's. The tower speakers are "Samson" which is the only part of the system I'm not happy with. I will try to get photos of the amp setup along with determining what the cockpit speaker are today.

I really appreciate your help, as I've stated, this is really not my area of expertise at all. Hopefully I've provided enough detail, if not, please just ask and I'll try to figure it out.

tower.jpg

No need for pics, just needed to know you have M400/4's How many speakers are total in the boat, 6 in the boat 2 towers and the sub?

[Big Block Power]

I still wonder if they didn't power that tower off the head unit?
How many speakers are in the boat 6 not including the transom speakers not the sub.
So did they power the sub and transom off 1 amp and inboats on the other amp. Still did they power 6 inboats on 1 amp? See Jeff this is your baby!! Not the amp set up I would use. Really should have 2 - 6 channel amps at a min.

[jeffmeag]

Yes, I believe it is 6 total inside the boat plus the sub, towers and transom.

[NautiGirl]

Yes, I believe it is 6 total inside the boat plus the sub, towers and transom.

Well there's your problem. Common cobalt thing, they have gotten better about it over the last few years but historically they have had a habit of putting more speakers in the boat than amplifier channels. You have 10 speakers and a sub in a boat /w 8 total amplifier channels so some of the speakers are not getting the power they should. How are the transom speakers, they sound ok?

You have two options either replace one of the M400/4's with a bigger JL amp or add a third amp. replacing one of the M400's is easier, you dont have to run new power and ground wires for the third amp, but does mean you would have a M400/4 laying around that you were not using, course they sell pretty well on ebay.

Other option is to buy a third smaller amp for just the towers, which would be cheaper, but would mean you would need to run new power and ground 12v wires from the battery to the amps. Running the wire isn't horrible, BBP did it in his and the wife and I did it in ours.

Third option is for me me to provide you some model numbers options and prices and then for you to go to a local place and pay for it to be done. I can tell you that I got quoted $1,200 to install new stuff in our boat, labor only. It took two days but I did it all myself and it turned out fine, we can talk you through this if you are decent /w wire cutters and a screw driver. Bonus its all 12v electric so you cant shock or kill yourself! I would at least shop the stuff online and get a price so you know you are not getting screwed at your local shop.

What sounds good?

[Big Block Power]

Yes, I believe it is 6 total inside the boat plus the sub, towers and transom.

Well there's your problem. Common cobalt thing, they have gotten better about it over the last few years but historically they have had a habit of putting more speakers in the boat than amplifier channels. You have 8 speakers and a sub in a boat /w 8 total amplifier channels so two speakers, sounds like in your case the towers are not getting the power they should.

.

So Jeff im counting 8 inboats speakers with the transom speakers. 1 sub and a pair of towers. So in total 10 inboats plus a sub. I'm putting in at least 2 - 6 channel amps at a min. Am I missing something?

[NautiGirl]

Yes, I believe it is 6 total inside the boat plus the sub, towers and transom.

Well there's your problem. Common cobalt thing, they have gotten better about it over the last few years but historically they have had a habit of putting more speakers in the boat than amplifier channels. You have 8 speakers and a sub in a boat /w 8 total amplifier channels so two speakers, sounds like in your case the towers are not getting the power they should.


So Jeff im counting 8 inboats speakers with the transom speakers. 1 sub and a pair of towers. So in total 10 inboats plus a sub. I'm putting in at least 2 - 6 channel amps at a min. Am I missing something?

Yeah I edited my original post, I cant count. I missed where he said he had transom speakers.

[jeffmeag]

Wow, thanks Jeff, some very good options. I was really trying to stay away from taking it to a shop and was hoping for something pretty easy. Options 1 & 2 both sound manageable, I can handle running power and ground along with the wire cutter/screw driver stuff, however, if for option 1 it is simply switching out the current amp with a larger one, a whole plug and play type thing, that sounds easiest.

If I switch out the amp, I am guessing that the tower speakers (which appear to be under powered) may sounds much better and not need replaced? If I switch the amp, what should i go with and how do I determine which one to replace? Obviously the power/ground will already be there, would I just plug in all the other cables pretty similar to how they are now, or would I need to "re-wire" something?

I hope this even makes sense

[NautiGirl]

Wow, thanks Jeff, some very good options. I was really trying to stay away from taking it to a shop and was hoping for something pretty easy. Options 1 & 2 both sound manageable, I can handle running power and ground along with the wire cutter/screw driver stuff, however, if for option 1 it is simply switching out the current amp with a larger one, a whole plug and play type thing, that sounds easiest.

If I switch out the amp, I am guessing that the tower speakers (which appear to be under powered) may sounds much better and not need replaced? If I switch the amp, what should i go with and how do I determine which one to replace? Obviously the power/ground will already be there, would I just plug in all the other cables pretty similar to how they are now, or would I need to "re-wire" something?

I hope this even makes sense

Sure yeah makes sense, and yeah I would look at adding power to your current tower speakers before dropping $800 on new ones. May end up swapping them out but why not see how what you have works first?

First step is we gotta figure out how cobalt wired the speakers from the factory. It's a 2017 I really thought they had most of their crap wiring practices fixed by then - sorry they make great boats but their stereo setups sucked until recently. I joke its either Malibu's influence or they hired a 18 year old kid from Neodesha High School who had a decent system to help out.

If you have all that powered off two M400/4's they are still cutting corners somewhere. We need to figure out which speakers they combined to get 10 and a sub powered off 8 amp channels. Is the boat close? If so pics of the wires into the amps would help.

[jeffmeag]

Here are a couple photos of the two amps and also the head unit, but that is hard to get to. If these don’t give you enough, let me know what else to try.

[Big Block Power]

Ok Jeff. This one is a Dandy.
I see 6 pairs of speakers and a bridged sub. Where is the rest?
If this is my boat. It's under warranty and I would bring it to the dealer and have them fix it and get each pair of speakers on there own channel. What a mess. Sorry man. Jeff and I are on the same page and have been for awhile. When we did the tour we looked very closely on how they were wiring the systems and it's much better now. And it looked like they had the proper amps to do it with. The really crappy part of this is you have a good system and a great head unit. It has separate zones. I would have killed for that. I made my own. They just screwed up on the amps and proper speaker wiring.

[jeffmeag]

Lol, "where is the rest"...I have no idea

Do you have a suggestion as to where the rest is and/or how this "should" be wired? Dealer is new, have not worked with them yet...and of course, they are closed during all this. Don't ask about the old dealer, it's a long story.

Outside of taking it to the dealer and asking if it is covered by warranty, any thoughts on what to do with this next? Is there anyway that I can make it better?

[Big Block Power]

Lol, "where is the rest"...I have no idea

Do you have a suggestion as to where the rest is and/or how this "should" be wired? Dealer is new, have not worked with them yet...and of course, they are closed during all this. Don't ask about the old dealer, it's a long story.

Outside of taking it to the dealer and asking if it is covered by warranty, any thoughts on what to do with this next? Is there anyway that I can make it better?

Honestly if this was my boat I would be tracing all of the speaker wires. See what colors are at each speaker so you have a starting place. I also would replace both amps. Jeff might have something diff to say. But that's my starting point. You need to be able to touch all 10 sets of speaker wire. I hate the wire the factory uses that's why I replaced it all. They use 10 guage power and grd which is also too small. Read up on the JL amp to see what guage they recc using. I bet it's not 10guage.my 2 cents.