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Another stereo upgrade- DONE!
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Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:49 am ]
Post subject:  Another stereo upgrade- DONE!
Well, not to be out done by Cougar I'm starting down the road of yet another stereo upgrade. ;)!! This is actually my second one in just over a year. Actually, the first just involved adding a second clarion amp to run the stock sub. But at the time I decided to upgrade all of the power, ground and speaker wires so I have a nice foundation for this project which is much more extensive.

I don't have access to the pics I've taken so far so I'll update later but here's the scoop.

Gutted all 4 clarion 6.5 component speakers, the 2 clarion amps and the clarion sub. Sticking with the CMDA4 headunit.

Ordered:

1) JL Audio M770-ccs component speakers w/ sport grills.

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2) JL Audio 10 inch subwoofer.

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3) One JL Audio 300/ 4 channel v2 amp.

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4) One JL Audio 250/mono v2 sub amp.

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5) Bass knob

I was told I would be perfectly fine going with non-marine amps in that helm storage. They tell me that those amps will be perfectly matched for these components and will literally blow me away. Everything should be ready to be picked up next week. Then, let the cutting begin!
Author:  cougarcruiser [ Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Holy jesus Cincy... you just took it to the next level!

The components will sound AWESOME with that much power running to them... And that sub is only meant for 150 watts or so -- you'll have some great.

I LOVE IT!

Question - do you have enough room inside the helm to mount both amps? are you going to fab up some sort of amp rack?

And what are you thinking of doing with power/ground and such? Going to run 0 guage? Distribution blocks and the works?

Something else you might consider... I noticed that the sound is amazing with the sub in the main part of the boat, but the bow lacks the bass a little. I have seen pictures of a 260 where a guy added a 2nd sub in the bow... down toward the floor in the very front (middle). You might think about adding that second. That would be CRAZY!

I love it!

PICS are a must.
Author:  cougarcruiser [ Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Sorry for the double post.

When you put in this level of quality... I noticed that the biggest shortcoming of my stereo is now the head unit.... I don't know how the Clarions are - but with my Sony maxed out on volume - I still have some headroom with the speakers. I know that each input on the amp has their own "gain" level - and I have turned them up enough that I know here a little electrical "hiss" -- not whine -- when no sound is coming through.

I am not getting into different head units with the satellite radio, remotes, etc... that's more than I want to bite off on this boat.

I'll tweek settings a bit more after the speakers "break in" -- and yes - they do have a break in. They should start sounding "warmer" after 10-20 hours of playing.
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
I definitely wanted to get it right this time. I was told the clarion head unit is good enough to keep. Until they come out with something way better it will suffice. I questioned them on the wattage for the sub and he was on the phone with JL rep and they said it can safely handle power up to 250. Its rated conservatively or something. But, that's kinda why I went with the local shop so if there is ever an issue, he'll set me straight since I went with his recommendations.

There should be plenty of room to mount them end to end. I already measured and it should be a cleaner fit then my two clarion amps which left little room to make adjustments.

Last year I ran new 4 awg power and ground directly from the batter with 2 distribution boxes at the amps splitting it to 8 awg. This time, I'm going to look into running the power off the battery switch so I can control which battery its pulling from.

I think I saw that sub install somewhere but I don't think I could do it. Not yet at least. I wonder if its possible to dial the front speakers to draw a little more bass?
Author:  cougarcruiser [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Hey Cincy - what's the latest? Did your items show up?

You going to spend this weekend enlarging holes? You can get the specs on the size of holes from the JL website if you don't want to wait for the template? Or - you can do the re-wiring part?
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Not here yet. I think it will be here early next week. Fortunately, I don't need to do any re-wiring since I took care of all of that last spring when I put a second amp in. Additional rca's, new speaker wire and new power and ground. That's going to make this job a lot easier. I might pull those templates from the web and start mapping that out. Weather is supposed to be nasty so we'll see.

I did however carpet my mounting board for the amps. It had a bunch of holes in from the old amps. Plus, I thought it would be better for condensation.

Here's a link to a post I did for that project.
http://www.boatingabc.com/forums/ubbthr ... board.html
Author:  Jim_R [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
I am surprised that you are swapping out the clarion amps. I can certainly appreciate the gains you'll get from the 7" JL speakers and new JL subwoofer. Is the watts per channel or the harmonic distortion specs of the new amps that much better than the clarions?

BTW - nice job on the carpeting of the starboard. That's just how FW does it.
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Hey, Jim. What I've learned after extensive discussion with two local stereo shop guys who came highly recommended from friends is this. Regardless of what the specs "say" the clarion amps can do compared to the JL's there is MUCH more to the story. There are significant differences in the make up of these amps which basically means "the JL's will eat the clairons for lunch" as one guy put it. They simply provide much more power and they do it more efficiently with more advanced technology. Please don't ask me to explain the details!! It was waaay over my head. They also are rated at those watts at lower voltages which is a huge difference. I have to believe there is a good reason they cost 3 times as much as the clarions. Bottom line, even if an amp is rated at 80 watts, not all 80 watt amps are created equal.
Author:  230 Mike [ Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
It has to do with basic component quality and efficiency in design. Similar to electric motors, where you can have two, 120v 3,450rpm motors. One will draw 14 amps continuously under no load, and the other will only draw 6. And one will run hot and have a comparatively short lifespan, and the other will run nearly 24x7 in an industrial setting and last for years.

So I totally get the differences. But I'm still happy with my Clarions :) .
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Yep, the clarion amp is absolutely fine and provides a nice boost to the music at "normal" and even upper level listening. It, and the 6.5's, just got taxed during extended periods of peak output. They simply were not up to the task of providing the high end volume for long periods of time that the crowd sometimes demands. :) (and yes, I'm mindful of the tranquilty lots of people seek while boating so as not to be in the wrong area to enjoy the music!)
Author:  Jim_R [ Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
I get it. Looks like the JL Amp specs are better too - less THD, and greater frequency range. Couldn't find power consumption specs, but hey, it's not like you're trying to conserve energy here. :twisted: Bet it will sound great!
Author:  230 Mike [ Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
I think for me it has more to do with the fact that anytime we're on the boat we've got at least two kids talking and so forth; we use the stereo a lot but don't listen to it seriously. If we still have this boat when the kids are gone, it'll be about time to do a project like this, and by then I'll be able to just copy what you guys did :mrgreen: .
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
Ok, some initial matters have been taken care. (I'm told my gear should be ready for pick up tomorrow). So, last week I took my starboard for mounting the amps out and carpeted it. I like the look of it a lot better.

Before. (After 2 amp install but before finished wiring).

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After.

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I will probably bore a hole in that board in the lower left corner so i can run all of the wires through it to the amps from the back side instead of the around the edges. It was a tight fit with those heavy gauge wires. I think it will look a lot cleaner.

All of my wiring is ready except running the power to the battery switch instead of one battery.

Tomorrow I'll mark and tape off the holes for the speakers including the tweeters.
Author:  Cincy Aquaholic [ Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
My gear came today!! :mrgreen:

Holy carp this is some serious equipment. I simply can't get over the look and feel of this stuff. I almost hate to hide it behind fiberglass. Even the tweeters are a work of art. I was surprised to see the little switchable colored badges. Kind of neat. I can't wait to get it all hooked up. Here's some pics.

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I'm really happy how these will look on the carpet.
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Subwoofer. Wow is thing massive.
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Components and tweeters. I will probably do surface mounting of those like the clarions were.
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Seems like my biggest chores will be cutting the new holes and then filing the holes on the old tweeter locations. I really wish those weren't there. That will test my gelcoat repair skills.
Author:  230 Mike [ Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Another stereo upgrade
HAhahahahahhaha you said teeters
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