Small Stereo for Pontoon. Need help

[biglurr54]

I need some help with selecting a stereo for a old 16ft Crest II that I am restoring. Previously i have been using a portable bluetooth speaker which has worked great (EcoStone). Its not quit loud enough and it also provides the music at the beach/dock. I am looking for something to keep on the pontoon.

I am going to add a small deep cycle battery (20ah) and isolator for the stereo so I dont kill my starting battery.

I am looking to do an amp, bluetooth dongle or built in bluetooth amp, and 2 5.25 speakers. I am looking for something efficient and slightly louder than the bluetooth speaker (12W x2)

Has anyone tried the Boss amps on their pontoons? Are they loud enough? Are the boss speakers they come with any good?

I would rather not spend a ton on the system but I can buy a good pair of speakers and a good amp if it is worth the investment.

If the cheaper Boss stuff works fine, then i will go with that. Just looking for some people with experience.

 

[gm280]

I have no idea how any of those sound. However, don't equate loudness with wattage. They are two entirely different things. Speakers are rated for X number of db capabilities at X number of watts. And between those two figures you can equate how much you can drive the speaker. Usually, and I say that tongue in cheek, larger wattage amps have a much richer sound capability. So study the amp capability and then buy speakers that match those capabilities the closest. In other words, you can have a 10 watt amp that is extremely loud but sounds like crap (okay sounds bad).

Example, an amp capable of putting 100 watts RMS out, is not necessarily louder then one putting out 50 watts. The volume (sound pressure in db) depends on how the speaker can be driven. If a speaker sound is rated at 102 db at 1 watts / 1 meter, then the most you can get out of that speaker with a 100 watt amp is going to be 105 db at 2 watts, 108 db at 4 watts, 111 db at 8 watts, 114 db at 16 watts, 117 db at 32 watts, 120 db at 64 watts, and about 123 db at 128 watts which the amp can't produce. And as the output wattage increases, the distortion can as well. Notice that for every 3 db of volume pressure, it takes doubles the previous wattage. However, you have to also understand what the speaker is capable of handling. Over driving their wattage capability is going to go very quite, very quickly.

So look for amp/speaker matched for the best sound and volume. High wattage speakers may not drive really well at lower power wattages. It is all a game getting things to work well together with the least amount of distortion you can afford.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I can tell you from experience with my friends Crest II and his stereo. if you want to hear it any distance from the 'toon. buy good quality speakers, head unit and amp.

Bob's 'toon has two 6" 2-way speakers and 2 10" 3-ways powered by a Kenwood amp and receiver. it can be heard clearly about 300' away if needed (1000' on a clear day with minimal ambient noise). I think the speakers, amp and head unit are now about 20 years old. however at the time I think he spent close to $800

the cheaper stuff simply didnt sound good or last. Clarion is border-line cheapest stuff I would look at. Pyle and Boss are simply bottom feeder chinese imports that are of questionable quality and suffer from distortion.

as GM points out, distortion is a big issue.

 

[biglurr54]

i agree with what you guys are saying. I have been looking at speakers and amps and ratings. It seems like I can spend $800 or $100. Ive been happy with the portable bluetooth player so I am having a hard time justifying the $800 system. I dont need to hear the toon that far away. The neighbors dont enjoy my shenanigans as it is! I care more about the sound quality than bleeding ears. My bow rider has Rockford Fosgate care speakers and an alpine 4 channel at 50w rms. I put that in 10 years ago from left over audio equipment from my corvette upgrade. That system is plenty loud and sounds great.

Maybe I will do something similar for the pontoon only get decent marine speakers.

 

[gm280]

Understand that marine speakers are never ever going to sound as good as a home speaker system. In order to get them some what moisture resistance, they are built differently then quality home speaker that don't need any such protection. You have to give up some to get any type moisture protection. And moisture protection doesn't mean water-proof even a little bit. There is always a trade off...