hI,

We are now ready to take care of the little things that make the difference and the radio is at the top of the list!  We have no idea where to start as we've never heard of the marine brands before (new boaters ).  We don't want anything luxurious but something that we will enjoy and have for awhile.  Don't want the "show case" speakers, but want the quality sound.  It currently has 4 speakers, I believe Maxxima is the name on them, not sure if they work but they look good.  BTW, it's a '96 210ccr.  Thanks for any suggestions you may have.  If you can suggest who to get them from that would be great too.

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Steve and Ruthie

You'll get alot of different opinions on this subject so I'll start off with mine.

 I replaced all my 6 1/2" speakers with Infinity 602 M's. 

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?search=infinity+602&i=108602M

They sound amazing and can take alot of power.  Alot of folks here prefer the Sony 1620's but the Ininity's can take more juice and only run about $10 - $15 more per pair.

I wouldn't buy from Crutchfield because they are pricey but just do a search online and you can find them for a pretty good deal.  I bought all my stuff from www.techronics.com but I can't find those speakers on there now?

As far as head units go.  You don't have to go with a marine stereo.  I'm still waiting to replace my factory installed Sony with something and it probably won't be marine.  But if you do go that route, any of the big names will work.  Sony, Alpine, and Clarion all have pretty nice marine radios with different features.

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I have had excellent luck in a marine environment using Pioneer head units.  Just make sure your speakers are of a polypropylene material and not the 'cardboard' stuff.  An amp will give you crisper sound, also.

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Un-Civil-ized 2002 230BR, MX6.2 BIII on a Prestige Trailer. Moonstone/Amethyst with silver diamond graphics

Ryan Nicosia:

You'll get alot of different opinions on this subject so I'll start off with mine.

 I replaced all my 6 1/2" speakers with Infinity 602 M's. 

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?search=infinity+602&i=108602M

They sound amazing and can take alot of power.  Alot of folks here prefer the Sony 1620's but the Ininity's can take more juice and only run about $10 - $15 more per pair.

I wouldn't buy from Crutchfield because they are pricey but just do a search online and you can find them for a pretty good deal.  I bought all my stuff from www.techronics.com but I can't find those speakers on there now?

As far as head units go.  You don't have to go with a marine stereo.  I'm still waiting to replace my factory installed Sony with something and it probably won't be marine.  But if you do go that route, any of the big names will work.  Sony, Alpine, and Clarion all have pretty nice marine radios with different features.

I'll second what Ryan said about Infinity; I have four 602Ms in our boat, as well as a Perfect 10 subwoofer, and they're great. I got the 602s off of eBay, and I bought the sub from Crutchfield because they were having a buy one, get one free sale. (Kept one sub, sold the other.) Shop around for the best deal. I run a Clarion marine head unit (which I also got off of eBay), and I like Clarion because it's incredibly easy to hook up additional items like satellite tuners and iPod interfaces to the HUs. I didn't spend a fortune, but still ended up with a system that's plenty loud and sounds good.

Good luck!

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'00 202 BR
'08 Silverado 4X4

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition...

Here Here on the Infinity 602's.  I got 2 pair off ebay at $74.00 per pair, smokin' deal!  I also put in a 600 watt Pioneer amp I got from onlinestereo.com.  It was $129.00.  My stereo really pumps and although I don't have a sub (yet) I still feel I get great sound from my system.  By the way, I still have the factory installed Sony deck and so far I have no issues with it.

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Garth Bachman

Here's a writeup of my system install.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~103290~PN~1~get~last#493210

The only thing I have left to do is upgrade my head unit to something with 3 preamp outputs, Ipod interface, and wired remote.  Just waiting for the funds to be available so I can get everything I want.

I've got 6 of the 602's in my boat wired to a couple 12 volt relays so only 4 of them are on at a time.  When we hit a switch on the dash the 2 in the bow shut off and the 2 in the back of the boat turn on for when we are at the beach backed up in the water.

Got an Infinity Reference 4 Channel amp powering the 6 1/2 speakers and a Profile AP1000M powering my Alping 10" Dual Voice Coil sub which thumps.

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You don't need marine equipment unless your boat sits in the rain uncovered and your equipment gets wet a lot.  I have had very good luck with the Sony Xplod stuff.   As said earlier, just make sure the speakers have polypropylene (plastic) cones and not paper cones.

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1999 202BR MISS "B" HAVEN
Platform by swimplatforms.com
Samson Wakeboard Tower

This all depends on your budget and audiophilenuttieness  . .   I like to tell folks to step back and take a look before they spend a penny. I have been through a number of installs and seen a number of folks (past life) spend a lot more money than they should have because they add to and change their system. A planned system never costs more money.

A great example, MANY peeps add an amp for their speakers and then decide they want a sub. In many cases they did not use the proper gauge power wire and now have to start over. Or worse yet they risk a fire by using underrated power wire.

If you KNOW you will be happy with a some speakers and a new head unit. You will be happy with just about any decent quality stuff. At the lower end of the spectrum you can't tune enough to make much of a difference with off the shelf products.  I personally would look at marine or high UV rated speakers. Most marine apps have UV protection and help protect the speakers from the sun. BTW, if you look at most marine rated stuff - they cover up the drivers pretty well for this very reason.   Most folks are worried about moisture . . .but the biggest issue is the "surround" being chewed up by sun exposure. In most freshwater applications moisture is not the “biggest” issue.

My prefs are Alpine for the power/signal and Polk & Image dynamics for the speakers and subs. Alpine has great ipod interface. Polk has some decent speakers for the lower end budget (they have higher end also). Image dynamics is on the higher end and more pricey, but their subs are amazing!  True audiophiles would say my equipment choices are low to middle of the road, but in a boat you can only tune so much even with very nice equipment. At home I would use brands most folks have never even heard of.

Polk makes a good coax called the Polk MM650 - soon to be discontinued so you can find some great deals. These are high UV and carbon fiber cones.  

Plan ahead then spend wisely.

 

MMC6500 

 

 

 

Notice how the drivers are nearly impossible to see on the Infinity. This does affect your SQ as well.

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

Check out these IDs they are convertible. They can be components or hybrid coax. The tweeters can be mounted on the mid bass driver or else where. I have a set of these in my Tundra.

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/products.php?Family_Id=7&Product_Id=34

The material used to make them is super high quality - composite multi layer Rohacell / Nomex cone 

 

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

Steven

I'm  am a newbie to the Crownline forum. Boat oldie to boating. I have a Pioneer in my 266 LTD. But when that goes out will swap to one of the Aquatic AV models. By far this has been the best REAL MARINE stereo for me. I have one in my bass boat and has worked great for 2 years. It is built in a sealed stainless steel enclosure with no vent hole to let in moisture. When the Pioneer goes out on my LTD it will have an Aquatic AV installed.  Some dealers close to you might carry them. Or you can get it online and have it shipped to you. I have put a link on here from Aquatic AV and also from Marine radio direct. Hope this helps you out.

http://www.aquaticav.com/

 http://marineradiodirect.com

 

Ryan Nicosia:

Here's a writeup of my system install.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~103290~PN~1~get~last#493210

You made your red wire a ground???  Dork! 

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Steve Kroesen
Apollo Beach, FL
Kroes Nest

That's what I had to work with.

You powered your speakers and sub with one amp??  Dork!

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Ryan . . .wow we have the same boat! I did not even realize it. I never paid attention to your model just the pic.

Check out my install:

http://picasaweb.google.com/robsatx/StereoPICS

btw any plans on a tower?

Oh yea, you may want to put some mylon spacers between the amp and carpet. This will help BIG time. Nice job on your install. Looks like you took your time and enoyed the fiberglass.

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Limited Edition 230BR 8.2Liter/502CI (GSI Volo Penta) DP-S

LAKATION

Project(s) Completed:
2000 Watt Stereo Systerm
Swimplatforms.com

Coming Soon:
Wakeboard Tower and Speaker Setup
Custom Graphics

Nice setup you got there.

I don't have any plans on adding a tower.  We don't do much watersports. 

Good tip on the spacers, I kinda rushed the amp install because it was hot out and I need to get back in there and make things look nicer.

 Did you loose your ice chest storage with the sub in there?  That's one thing I didn't want to give up so I made a custom enclosure that I put behind the divider wall in the drivers side bow storage area.  Same place where you have that crossover mounted.  I took that wall out and put my box in there firing up.  THen put the wall back in.  There is a ton of space between that wall and the little cuddy storage area where you have the amps.

This is as I was measuring / building the enclosure.  You can see the indention in the floor where that wall was. 

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It works for me on my cheap ars budget!  I was going to ask my dorky stereo buddy to help me install a new amp...but I am a little scared he might hook the positive to the ground now thinking that red goes to negative and burn everything down thinking he was working on his boat!

Watch what you say...might forget where i put my Oil Boy, DP Prop Wrench, and sweet little oil pumper deal! ;-)

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Steve Kroesen
Apollo Beach, FL
Kroes Nest