Best Marine Speakers
 

I'm thinking of redoing my stereo. What are the best speakers for a boat? Has anyone ever had DC Gold Speakers?

Best is all relative and depends on budget. Dc gold makes some real nice stuff and so does 100 other companies. It also depends on how you plan to set it up. You need to run amps to power those. What kind of boat? I run right at 90mph and always break stuff so I prefer strength and price over that last 2% of sound quality.

I have 8 DC Golds in my boat and they are fantastic. I have 6 7"s and 2 6x9's. I would put them up against JL or Focal for sound quality. 3 year warranty and 100% waterproof can't be beat.

The cheapest place to get them is http://www.lafayetteradio.com/

I have a 1994 Cigarette TOP GUN. It's engines are very loud. I would try to keep the budget under $7000 for the stereo.

Do you have any SUBS?

I have 2 Alpine 10" free air marine subs. I run 2 Alpine PDX amps. A 4.150 runs all 8 speakers and a 4.100 that is bridged runs the subs.

I probably have $2500 total in my stereo and a lot of labor.

Rockford Fosgate Marine Subs all the way. Mids and highs from Rockford are great too. I also like the polk audio marine 6x9's. I crank my stereo all day w the fosgate amps and they never overheat, draw little power and has superb power to speakers. My .02c

On my Cigarette, I think I may have room for 3 Sets of 9.5" DC Gold and 3 Sets of 7" DC Gold. I think I will use Rockford Fosgate amps. With 3 Sets of 9.5" DC Gold Speakers, I'm wondering if I need subs. What do ya'll think?

I think you would be better off going with 4 pairs of 7's and running them off one amp. Then maybe 4 Free air subs or the 4 9.5's off of a second amp. If you reduce the bass going into the 7's, they can take a lot more power and make a lot more sound in the mids and highs.

I have never heard the 9.5's, but Audiofn once told me that they do not sound as good as the smaller speakers and are a little lazy. I know they will not hit nearly as hard as subs will.

Go with class D digital amps. They make less heat and draw less power.

Thanks for the input. I'm still doing some research. Has anyone heard German Maestro speakers. They are about $500/pair for the mid range with titanium tweeters. I'm still open to all other input on best speakers, amps and subs to get.

Depending on the music you like to listen to would be good place to start with the subs or no subs question.

If you like alot of bass remember that bass is real power hungry amd subs off a second amp would be best for listening a a loud level with alot of bass.

looks like a Babb??

http://www.lafayetteradio.com/html/d...sp?search=1684

Hey is the 6x9 much louder that the 7 ?

I just installed two 10" Alpine marine subs under my rear bench, and four of their 7" marine speakers in the cockpit. Im happy with the sound. I have 2 old school aura amps pushing them.

The 2 subs, and 2 pairs of 7" speakers cost me about 500 shipped from sonic electronix.

I just picked up the DC GOLD line and can help anyone with any marine audio purchases. The other lines I carry ar as follows.

Clarion Marine
DC GOLD
ARC Audio
MTX Marine
Exile Audio
Focal Audio
Kenwood
Pioneer
Stinger
Waves and Wheels install products.


Contact me with any questions.

Kyle 608-320-4580

www.styleonecustommotoring.com

DC Gold took over or bought Babb. they also improved the speakers some. The 6x9's have a little more bass to them than the 7's, but they are pretty close.

I'm going to have to chime in for JL. Been docked or rafted up to several boats around here known for their loud stereos. Mines been about as loud but will never over heat like some of the other guy's. They even comment on how much clearer mine plays at high volume levels. 2 pair of M770 components and two 10" enclosed subs being driven by a M400/4 and a M600/1. Both being class D really helps on the heat and power requirements. Just stick with the better brands and you'll be happy; JLAudio, DC Gold, Focal, ect

Cool. I have one of these thats bad and didnt want to be filling in that big hole http://www.lafayetteradio.com/html/d...sp?search=1684

By the way the 6 1/2 is louder than this 9 1/2

I haven't been on the Lafayette Radio website since last year. The prices have really gone up. I paid $199/pair for the 7's and they are $238/pair now.

The main difference I saw between the DC Golds and Babb speakers is the DCG's use a smaller, lighter, vented magnet.

The 7's are the same size as the JL 770's and use the exact same size cut out also.

I do agree, you really can't go wrong with JL, Focal or DC Gold. Also the digital amps are the way to go.

This is based on my opinion and does not reflect everyone elses.
I went to a stereo shop and heard JL Audio and Alpine. I'm not impressed with either and I hope to find something better. JL had 6 speakers and one sub on one amp. It sounded OK, but NO BASE. I think the Alpine woofer was a little better, but the high did not sound as good as JL, of course Alpine only had 4 speakers instead of 6. I still have not head DC GOLD, Kicker or Rockford Fosgate. It seems that JL and Alpine loose thier clarity when you go high on the volume. They start to sound scratchy. I may be OK with thier High End Speakers, but the SUBS are not going to cut it. Who makes awesome marine SUBS that ROCK!:musik010: I want to feel the base.

If you want hard hitting bass, you are going to have to go with sealed box subs. Get a pair of JL 12" W6's and a 1000 watt PDX sub amp.

Running 2 10" MTX Marine subs powered by a Kicker 700.5 amp and they sound very good. Not competition good, but great for everyday use.

Wanted to chime in to say that DC Gold (Formerly Babb) are the way to go for marine installations as far as I'm concerned. They sound great and they are very efficient so they don't need a ton of power to get loud.

The biggest factor is that they're waterPROOF. You can hose them off if you need to. Most other speakers on the market are water resistant only.

In my U17, I'm running an Alpine PDX-5m driving two DC Gold 9.5s up front, two DC Gold 7s in front of the rear seat and a 10" Infinity Perfect sealed. Really impressed with the Alpine amp as well. My birth sheet says it outputs 100x4 + 360x1. Amazing they can get that much power out of such a small footprint.

Back to the DC Golds, for tubing/rafting in the summer time, I built a cooler stereo using Babbs which is what turned me onto them. 100 quart cooler with a cd player, Crossfire 250 watt amp, battery and two 10" Babbs. It sounded great and worked really well for tubing in the Ozarks. Got wet and never had a problem.

Been running the Polk Audio Momo MM690's and they have held up very well. Have them hooked up to a Clarion APX280M amp along with a set of Clarion 7" speakers. Also run 2 10" Sony Xplod marine sub's hooked to a Audiotek amp.
Upgrading this year and just bought a Alpine PDX-F6 along with 2 pair of the new Polk Audio MM691's. For the price, durability and sound you can't beat the MM series from Polk.
Have never heard the DC Golds so I can't say they are better. I abuse the stereo at the beach for hours and I can say batteries is the big thing to keep everything sounding good.
Plan for set-up this year.
-Alpine PDX-F6 150 watts RMS X4 all digital running 4 Polk MM691's in external boxes to put out on the bow while at the beach. Added the bass control to the amp also.
-Clarion APX280M running 2 pair 7" Clarion's and 2 6.5" Clarion's (2 ohm 115 watts) inside the boat
-Audiotek SuperStock amp running a pair of 10" Sony sub's
Should have everything up and running by next weekend, can't wait to heat that F6 go to work!!!

speakers
 

Im have Alpine pdx amps and infinty Kappas speakers w/o subs and the sound is unbelievable.In my Top Gun at the bottom of front seats i have 6x9 with excellent base and 4 6.5 in front of all seats on sides and my 572/700hp engines are not that loud anymore as I crank up the stereo.SO thats inexpensive and top of the line equipment.

Per AUDIOfn's recomendations.....I just ordered 3 pairs of DC Gold N69C 6x9" and 1 pair N5C 5.25". These are replacements for Boston RX97 that are 10-15 years old (non marine). I already have (and don't intend to replace yet) three 12" subs. All are powered by four Alpine V12 amps. Not sure who makes these subs.

I have 5 1/4's and 6x9's Babbs in the Fountain and have always thought them to be hard to beat.
Just put in 2 sets of JL 7.7's in the cruiser this past weekend. Those can be cranked all the way up and are as clear as can be. I give the edge to the JL's over the Babbs (DC Gold)

depends on budget. I didnt have a ton of money and bought Pyles. Sounds good and have good construction.

1st boat 1 set JL audio VR 6.5 components + 1 set infinity coaxials + 2x 12" W6s custom sealed box powered by 1000/1 and 300/4. This system sounds awesome, but the VRs are not indestructible.

2nd boat 4 x JL audio C5 6.5 + 2 x 12" W6s in a custom sealed box Powered by 1000/1 + HD600/4. The sound quality stays amazing at ludicrous volumes. The HD 600/4 uses the same or maybe even less power than the 300/4

3rd boat 4 x JL 7.7 marine component + 2 x 12" W3 + 1 x HD 900/5


JL Audio is extremely reliable and most of their amps make full power all the way down to 10.8 volts.

+4 on the JL Audio I have 2 12" boxed subs with their own 500W JL Audio amp. 2-JL 6x9's, 4-JL 6.5's on their own 300W. The subs are in the engine compartment and when I crack the rear deck it gets hard to breath at full volume. I actually had my brother in law on the next block tell me he thought his dishes were going to break. I play everything from Eric Kunzel Time Warp to Led Zepplin. This system is amazing, super clean, and the only thing that can play the 33Hz bass in some of the Eric Kunzel pieces.

Need amp HELP!!!
 

I've got 4-8" menphis audio on a JL 360/4 not sure they have the power they should ??? & i just put 4-8"Rockford Fosgate in the rear . Is there any amp out there that would push all 4 of the RF any suggestions ???

I would combine those eights and run them at 2 or 1 Ohm. That will perk them up. As far the other yOu really can't beat jl. The new marine amps are great. I would use the 500/1. Also are these in boxes or free air. If they aren't in boxes 8's aren't very deep.

Ended up reaplacing these subs after all! They were Alpine.

Never seen 6x9's in JL. Are they new?

I've got four 5 1/4's and two 10" Babbs (DC Gold) in my Cig (along with two 6 1/2 Kickers) that I've been pounding the chit out of for the last 7 years. They haven't broken and still sound great!!!

Don't forget to consider premium outdoor speakers from mfrs like Klipsh, Boston Acoustics and Bose if you have room. Great for raftups and beach parties etc

Update:

For some reason the 2 6x9's Babbs have both took a dump. Never knew they were bad till I pulled the amps out to install in cruiser, and hook the Babbs to the HU with no amps. At low to mid volume they both are scratchy and low volume. At full volume they seem to clear up, for the most part. Odd that both went out and not the 5 1/4's.

Will probably replace them with DC's just to keep the same grill look at my 5 1/4s.

On the bright side, the JL's have been tested and tested again all last summer w/o missing a beat.