5" speakers?

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:56 pm

I finally pulled the boat out of storage today and I have begun working on the several projects that I have been looking forward to. I started with the head unit replacement with the JBL bluetooth unit discussed here (viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12183). I was planning to replace the speakers at the same time. I was surprised to find that they are only 5" speakers (or maybe 5.25"), not 6.5" like I expected. Any of you surprised by that as well? Suggestions for replacement? I was going to put Polk 651db's in but clearly they are too big. The cutout in the boat is 5".

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:21 pm

I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but car audio is not really my forte. I ordered Polk DB 521's for the boat. They arrived today. They appear much smaller than the clarions that were in the boat. I have Clarion cm1602 speakers currently. After removing them and measuring the hole that they were mounted in (which measured 5"), I assumed that I had 5 or 5.25" speakers. I really don't know the speaker measuring standard. Is it outside diameter, diameter of the actual speaker cone, diameter of the mounting hole...? I am now thinking that I need to return the 521's and get 651's. Tomorrow I will check to see if the holes line up, but any expertise you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:25 pm

Actually might have answered my own question. Looks like the DB651's have a 5" cutout diameter (http://www.polkaudio.com/products/db651). Guess I ordered the wrong thing.

captkevin · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:40 am

Polks will sound nice. Ordering some for mine this spring as well.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:41 am

They're 6.5in speakers, the cutout is 5"

Polk DB651 don't sound the best without a pre-amp. The infinity 612m sound better if it's just powered by the head unit. If you got some cash laying around the JL MX650 put all those to shame.

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:55 pm

The problem I am having is that the mounting holes for the clarion speakers are 5.5" in diameter, but the polk db651's are a 6" circle. I could redrill new holes to mount the new speakers, but I should rotate the mounting holes to 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock so that the holes are not drilled so close to each other. However if I do this, the icon/text on the tweeter will be rotated too. Not sure why the clarions used a smaller diameter mounting circle.

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:44 pm

ric wrote:

Polk DB651 don't sound the best without a pre-amp. The infinity 612m sound better if it's just powered by the head unit. If you got some cash laying around the JL MX650 put all those to shame.

Checked out the infinity's. I will not have an amp (at least at this point). Would go with the infinity's but can't pull the trigger on the blue speaker. My boat is pretty neutral colored and i think the infinity's will look out of place. Hoping the polks sound ok with the JBL, only 20 watts RMS, 45 watts peak.

deafwish · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:55 am

The Polk DB651's sound brilliant off head unit amplification...
Ultimately, this is boat audio.
Investing in monitor speakers for recording studios is a wise investment - not so much on boats. :wink:

rpengr · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:17 am

I have the Polk DB651's with no amp. They sound great.

You might be able to rotate the tweeter grill...I'm not sure

ric · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:14 am

I've installed Polk DB651 on the first two boats I've owned, and now I switched to Infinity. They sound more crisp.

BUT

I will be swapping out for the JL MX650 this summer. Their sound is second to none. You guys that say it's just a boat and sound quality doesn't matter have obviously never heard good speakers.

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:17 pm

deafwish wrote:

The Polk DB651's sound brilliant off head unit amplification...
Ultimately, this is boat audio.
Investing in monitor speakers for recording studios is a wise investment - not so much on boats. :wink:

We have the same head unit, so I'm gonna pull the trigger on the 651's. I'm sure the infinity's are great too, but can't handle the blue.

Do either of you recall if you had to drill new mounting holes? If so, did you drill them at the same positions as the original speakers, just a 1/4" or so out?

ric · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:52 pm

Yep usually the mounting holes NEVER line up. Hold speaker in hole, mark new holes with a sharpie, take out speaker and drill new pilot holes. If you're going in vinyl covered wood and not finished gelcoat fiberglass just screw it in, no pre drilling needed.

deafwish · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:38 pm

Another thing to note if you're mounting directly to fibreglass, is to use a small amount of sound deadener (Dynamat/ Stinger) around the mounting area.
This will assist in reducing wave cancellation & increasing midbass.

p.s. Ric, I can only imagine how long your resume is, with all these professional skill-sets you portray that you have. :lol:

ric · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:30 am

Drilling 4 holes and hooking up 2 wires is considered a professional skill in 2014?

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 3:54 pm

ric wrote:

Yep usually the mounting holes NEVER line up. Hold speaker in hole, mark new holes with a sharpie, take out speaker and drill new pilot holes. If you're going in vinyl covered wood and not finished gelcoat fiberglass just screw it in, no pre drilling needed.

Thanks for the replies guys. I am really not concerned about the actual process of marking and drilling, but rather the proximity to where the original holes are. For some reason, the 6.5" clarions have two sets of mounting holes very close together. It looks like the polk speakers will align with the outer holes. This would mean I would have to drill holes about 1/4" from the original holes. I'm drilling into a piece of plastic that houses cup holders and the speakers under the gunwale. Ideally I would like to rotate everything 45 degrees and drill new mounting holes that are not so close to the originals, but the Polk trademark on the tweeter will be rotated too. Up front, I will be drilling into gel coated fiberglass with the same proximity issue. Didn't know if any of you guys ran into that or not. Here is a pic of the original speaker showing the two mounting locations.

www.iFourWinns.com

5" speakers?

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