Upgrading Speakers!!!

[automaticj5]

My first upgrade on the boat -- it still has its original 2004 speakers and I just purchased 6 - Polk Audio 651UM 6.5" speakers, with the future expectation to add to more and a couple subs....

I am also thinking of getting the Speaker LED's to add some light at night...

Question is -- It has the original head unit and control on dash -- do you think this is worth upgrading?

Thanks!

 

[automaticj5]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

I am actually looking at the Kenwood KMR555u head unit with the Kenwood KCA-RC55MR..

 

[doyall]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Don't know enough about current head unit to opine about it, but in any case I would look at auxiliary amplification.

 

[TimBobCom]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

If you are still using the 2004 era head unit I'd go ahead and replace/upgrade it at the same time. Unless you have a damaged speaker, you probably won't notice a HUGE difference by just swapping the speakers out. Also, as doyall mentioned, an external amplifier will do wonders for the sound (it's the next thing I do to mine if I keep it much longer.)

 

[automaticj5]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

That will be next steps! Add amp for speakers and an amp for 2 subs and replace head unit...

I imagine the new speakers will be much more clear with a lot less distortion?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

That will be next steps! Add amp for speakers and an amp for 2 subs and replace head unit...

I imagine the new speakers will be much more clear with a lot less distortion?

Those are some very good speakers! I added 6 of those this spring to my boat also, replacing some old crappy kenwood and sony speakers. World of difference. Much louder, much cleaner.

Anyway, what type of boat, what type of subs? How are the speakers layed out? You MIGHT be able to power it all with a single 5 channel amp if you plan things out. In my case, I've got 4 main speakers in the passenger area, those are powered off 4 amp channels. The 2 speakers up front are running off deck power, and the subs are 8 ohm subs that are paralleled together to run to a single sub channel on the amp. In my case, power is a big concern as I've got an outboard. (aka, no alternator) Minimizing the # of amps was important, and going with a class D 5 channel amp was a no-brainer.

 

[KnotConnected]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Agreed. Distortion coming from a lack of power when you're overloading the system is just as common, if not more than, exceeding the RMS rating of the speakers. External amps would do wonders. If the OEM head unit doesn't have the ability to go RCA out for your amps, then I'd certainly think about swapping it out. Newer aftermarket HUs with remotes on the transom can be handy for when you're on the water, too.

 

[automaticj5]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Yeah that was the thought for the kenwood HU and controller.

I have a 2004 rinker 250 FV... 4 speakers up top and 2 in the cabin..

I mnow the speaker swap won't take long but the HU swap, amp add and adding controller will be a little bigger project

 

[Slide]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Definitely add an amp! Those speakers are serious business and you won't get a tenth of the performance they're capable of without an amplifier. I just set up a 4-speaker system with the same Polk Ultra Monitors and I installed a Polk PA D5000.5 5-channel amp. Later we will add a 12" Polk dual voice coil sub so we can run the sub channel at 2 ohm. Highly recommend the Polk class D amps, they are great pieces of hardware and are very small.

 

[automaticj5]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

So will that amp run all your speakers and your sub?

 

[Slide]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Yes, it has a 5th channel specifically for a subwoofer. I chose a dual voice coil sub because of space concerns but you could also run two subs in parallel on that channel. The system sounds fantastic. It does underdrive the Ultra Monitors by quite a bit (they can handle a lot more power) but honestly, if you fed them the full 100w RMS you'd blow your eardrums out.

 

[automaticj5]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

Ok so this is probably a dumb question - but I don't know a ton about amps and system... So the 5 channels... I imagine you hook 4 speakers up and 1 sub? Or as you said you could do 2 subs... So for me - I have 6 speakers in my boat. I just wouldn't run 2 of them thru the amp?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

I laugh when people say that you will always get less performance without an amp. The only time you need an amp is if you drive the speakers hard enough that the present receiver's amplifier starts to distort. If you play the stereo and mid volume levels, you will never be able to tell the difference.

Hook up the new speakers and see how they sound. If you play your music very loud then maybe you might need one.

 

[Slide]

Re: Upgrading Speakers!!!

I laugh when people say that you will always get less performance without an amp. The only time you need an amp is if you drive the speakers hard enough that the present receiver's amplifier starts to distort. If you play the stereo and mid volume levels, you will never be able to tell the difference.

Hook up the new speakers and see how they sound. If you play your music very loud then maybe you might need one.

That's literally true, you always get less performance without an amp. Internal receiver amplifiers are not very powerful and prone to early distortion. You also must have an amplifier to run a subwoofer, which is a critical part of a quality audio system. If you just want some background tunes that's fine and dandy but there are plenty of people who really care about high-quality audio.

OP - you can run more than one speaker/subwoofer on a channel. They will be wired "in parallel," meaning the power the amplifier provides is divided evenly between the two speakers on that channel. When speakers are wired this way they also present lower resistance (measured in ohms, that's why each speaker has an ohm rating), so the amp can deliver more power. Two 4ohm speakers wired in parallel present a 2ohm resistance to the amp; as long as that channel is stable down to 2ohms you can safely run those speakers.

This is also why people run multiple subs on a single-channel monoblock amp; lower resistance = more power. Any decent sub amp will be stable down to at least 2ohms, so you can run two 4ohm subs off of it.