www.iFourWinns.com

First of all--I need to thank all on this fourm for the advice and knowledge you have posted. I used this a lot to research my boat purchase. On Saturday we traded our 19-foot Maxum 1900 SR for a 2005 FW H230. We have admired this boat for a long time and finally pulled the trigger to move up.

So now that I have the boat--I need to obsess on somehting new. I only have 7 months until boating season to think about my stereo upgrade. The boat came with the standard Clarion XMD3 Head Unit, 4 Clarion CM1605 6.5" speakers, and remotes at the helm and transom. I would just assume keep all the factory stuff (unless everyone on here thinks I'm nuts). I don't necessarily want to spend a fortune. I just want a decent stereo that we can hear while cruising and can enjoy while hanging out and swimming. My initial thoughts are to go with a Clarion APX490M 4/3/2 Channel 720 Watts Maximum Amplifier, add two more 1605's to the cockpit, and add 1 10" Clarion CMSW10.1 Subwoofer. I will also run my MP3 to the Aux on the head unit.

My questions:
Is this whole plan terrible?
Where have folks put the amp on the H230/240 (my head unit is on the port side)?
Where do you put the subwoofer (I think I have seen it mounted under the sink)?
Where to put the extra 2 6.5's in the cockpit (I was thinking under the U-shape sitting facing forward, but not sure about this one)?

Sorry for the long post--I'm still giddy with new boat fever. I look forward to your advice and thanks again for all the good info in the past.

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Norris Lake, Stardust Marina, Andersonville, TN
2005 Four Winns 230 Horizon 5.7L Volvo Gi/DP
2001 Maxum 1900SR 5.0L V8 (Sold)
2011 Nissan Armada Platnum

I have the same boat with the factory "upgraded" system.

Factory sub location below the captain's seat:



Factory amp location in front of the helm:



You're going to get a lot of replies saying to go with anything but Clarion. It all depends on what you want. Can you do better than Clarion? Sure! It's just money. Me, I'm perfectly happy with the Clarion system as it is. I did buy a set of replacement Polk db651's but haven't installed them yet and frankly am in no hurry.

BTW, it's easy to add an iPod input to these boats - see the little round plug near the grab handle:



Separate subject - do you have dual batteries?

Whatever you do, you've got a great boat there... but then I'm a little biased.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Hey, neighbor. I live in Florence, KY.

If I were you, and believe me when I say I've done my fair share of stereo upgrades, I'd stay away from the Clarion stuff. Its serviceable but if you are going aftermarket, I'd pick something else. I think you can stay on budget with much better gear. Just my opinion. The stock locations for stuff as 230Mike pointed out are just fine. I'd copy that.

If you get a decent amp you will not have to add more speakers. Just the sub. Save adding more speakers for last if need be. Get a decent amp and think about swapping out the clarion speakers for something better. Or, go with a good amp first until those speakers are toast.

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Former owner of:
1996 Four Winns Horizon 200 5.8L VP
2006 Four Winns Horizon 260 8.1L VP
2007 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer

Current boat
2004 Sea Ray 290 Sun Sport Twin 350 Mags

Thanks Mike. This is exactly what I needed to know. I appreciate the pictures too. Looks like the sub is right below the shifter? Does the amp get enough ventilation in that compartment behind the helm? Ever had any overheating issues?

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Norris Lake, Stardust Marina, Andersonville, TN
2005 Four Winns 230 Horizon 5.7L Volvo Gi/DP
2001 Maxum 1900SR 5.0L V8 (Sold)
2011 Nissan Armada Platnum

No issues at all for me. The only thing I've had is one woofer start to fail, which I replaced with another one off ebay.

There is no question that JL, Polk, and any number of other brands have better equipment available. IMO it's a matter of how much one wants to pay for another x% of sound quality. Every person has to make that decision for themselves based on how they use their boat, their budget, etc. I've always believed that an open boat is one of the worst acoustical chambers ever invented by mankind, therefore not something I'm interested in dumping another $2K into.

If I were contemplating this upgrade and was on a budget, what I would do is go with a good quality amp of your choice, keep the XMD3 (you can always upgrade that later if you feel it's needed), and swap out the stock speakers for Polk db651's. The speaker swap would be ~$100 and require no fiberglass work, plus the amp and sub, and I think you'd be very happy with the results. But then, I'm pretty happy with the stock upgraded setup, so take my opinion based on that.

Yes, the sub location is just in front of the sink, below and a bit aft of the shifter. Someone here added a sub in that same location and posted some pics of cutting the hole, maybe you can find that or they can post it again.

Cincy can tell you all about routing the cables for the amp, since he added a 2nd one to his 250/260 which is the same boat as far as all this is concerned.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I've done a pretty low-budget upgrade that I'm pretty happy with. I'll do a search for it when I get a minute. And welcome!

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)