Replace Boat Speaker Wires

MAXUM · 05-05-2016, 11:03 AM

If your getting white noise you may not have an inadequate ground too for the head unit. If you are using the factory wiring... it may have a floating ground. I'd try running a temporary ground back to the battery and see if that helps clean up the noise.

Winnisquamer · 05-05-2016, 12:31 PM

Call Matt at Supreme Marine in Gilford and talk to him.. Had issues with my stereo last summer that neither myself or my dealer could figure out (10 speakers,2 amps, 2 batteries and a subwoofer) he talked me through as much of it as he could and then when I finally needed him to come by and button some stuff up I wasn't comfortable with he was there in a day or two.

Dave R · 05-05-2016, 02:24 PM

If all 4 speakers sound the same, odds are very good that the speaker wire is not the problem. If you have your heart set on new wires, run them to the closest speaker first and see if it does what you hope it will. I think you'll find no discernible difference between the 17 year old wires and the finest speaker wires money can buy. Audio frequency electrical signals are not exactly a challenge to transport...

Tinny sound is most often caused by settings in the head unit or improper speaker mounting. If you have played with bass, treble, loudness etc and cannot get the sound you want, the problem may be a lack of enclosure for the speakers. Are they mounted to an enclosed structure or are they open to the cockpit on both sides of the speaker cone? If open on both sides or the enclosure behind them is too big or too small, they will not be able to reproduce bass very effectively. You can fix this by making a properly-sized enclosure for each speaker or by adding a subwoofer and setting the head unit up to send everything below 150 or 100 hertz to the sub rather than the new speakers you just put in.

MAXUM · 05-05-2016, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winnisquamer

(10 speakers,2 amps, 2 batteries and a subwoofer)

Holy stereo batman

Bet that rocks....

Dad sold the C * C · 05-05-2016, 03:54 PM

Yes it does

If it's one of the 2 boats I'm thinking of

8gv · 05-05-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winnisquamer

Call Matt at Supreme Marine in Gilford and talk to him.. Had issues with my stereo last summer that neither myself or my dealer could figure out (10 speakers,2 amps, 2 batteries and a subwoofer) he talked me through as much of it as he could and then when I finally needed him to come by and button some stuff up I wasn't comfortable with he was there in a day or two.

It would seem that a set up like that could get you home if you ran the tank dry.

Winnisquamer · 05-05-2016, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8gv

It would seem that a set up like that could get you home if you ran the tank dry.

Hang a towel from the tower and we're sailing home. Each speaker adds 10hp!

feb · 05-06-2016, 07:41 AM

"If open on both sides or the enclosure behind them is too big or too small, they will not be able to reproduce bass very effectively. You can fix this by making a properly-sized enclosure for each speaker "

I think this is a part of the issue, they are mounted on the sides of the boat with probably 3-4" behind them. I will look at squeezing in an enclosure behind it.

Also, great suggestion to replace 1 wire first and test it.

Thanks for the help.

Dave R · 05-06-2016, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feb

"If open on both sides or the enclosure behind them is too big or too small, they will not be able to reproduce bass very effectively. You can fix this by making a properly-sized enclosure for each speaker "

I think this is a part of the issue, they are mounted on the sides of the boat with probably 3-4" behind them. I will look at squeezing in an enclosure behind it.

Also, great suggestion to replace 1 wire first and test it.

Thanks for the help.

This might help you design the enclosure:

Woofer Size --- Enclosure Volume
4" ======== .25 - .39 cubic feet
6" ======== .35 - .54 cubic feet
8" ======== .54 - .96 cubic feet
10" ======= .96 - 1.8 cubic feet
12" ======= 1.8 - 3.5 cubic feet
15" ======= 3.5 - 8 cubic feet

Aim for the high side of the volume recommendation if at all possible and make the boxes out of something dense. Anything you can do to avoid parallel surfaces inside the enclosure will help too. Parallel surfaces support standing waves and will make the frequency response less flat. Most boxy home speakers avoid this by adding insulation to the inside of the enclosure to stop standing wave forms. Adding it to an irregular box would not be a bad thing. Don't have to go crazy with it.

There are commercially available marine speaker enclosures. Might find something perfect...

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05-05-2016, 11:03 AM	#1
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 244 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	If your getting white noise you may not have an inadequate ground too for the head unit. If you are using the factory wiring... it may have a floating ground. I'd try running a temporary ground back to the battery and see if that helps clean up the noise.

The Following User Says Thank You to MAXUM For This Useful Post:
AC2717 (05-05-2016)

05-05-2016, 12:31 PM	#2
Winnisquamer Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Winnisquam Posts: 408 Thanks: 72 Thanked 115 Times in 73 Posts	Call Matt at Supreme Marine in Gilford and talk to him.. Had issues with my stereo last summer that neither myself or my dealer could figure out (10 speakers,2 amps, 2 batteries and a subwoofer) he talked me through as much of it as he could and then when I finally needed him to come by and button some stuff up I wasn't comfortable with he was there in a day or two.

05-05-2016, 02:24 PM	#3
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,985 Thanks: 246 Thanked 744 Times in 444 Posts	If all 4 speakers sound the same, odds are very good that the speaker wire is not the problem. If you have your heart set on new wires, run them to the closest speaker first and see if it does what you hope it will. I think you'll find no discernible difference between the 17 year old wires and the finest speaker wires money can buy. Audio frequency electrical signals are not exactly a challenge to transport... Tinny sound is most often caused by settings in the head unit or improper speaker mounting. If you have played with bass, treble, loudness etc and cannot get the sound you want, the problem may be a lack of enclosure for the speakers. Are they mounted to an enclosed structure or are they open to the cockpit on both sides of the speaker cone? If open on both sides or the enclosure behind them is too big or too small, they will not be able to reproduce bass very effectively. You can fix this by making a properly-sized enclosure for each speaker or by adding a subwoofer and setting the head unit up to send everything below 150 or 100 hertz to the sub rather than the new speakers you just put in.

05-05-2016, 03:54 PM	#5
Dad sold the C * C Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 273 Thanks: 119 Thanked 62 Times in 40 Posts	Yes it does If it's one of the 2 boats I'm thinking of

05-06-2016, 07:41 AM	#8
feb Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Meredith (Winnisquam) & Nashua, NH Posts: 218 Thanks: 25 Thanked 20 Times in 17 Posts	"If open on both sides or the enclosure behind them is too big or too small, they will not be able to reproduce bass very effectively. You can fix this by making a properly-sized enclosure for each speaker " I think this is a part of the issue, they are mounted on the sides of the boat with probably 3-4" behind them. I will look at squeezing in an enclosure behind it. Also, great suggestion to replace 1 wire first and test it. Thanks for the help.