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Best 6" marine speaker?

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Curious what everyone thinks the best 6" marine speaker is?

Right now my existing speakers have screws exactly 6" apart - I'm assuming that translates into a 6" replacement speaker. I'd rather not get into cutting a new larger hole, not that I'm terribly afraid doing it, more like I've got kids, a wife, and a job & I'm hoping this won't take that long!!

Once I have the speakers figured out I'd match the amp to them, amp basically needs an input for my phone.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I should mention my boat (4-tec) sits in my garage when it's not being used.
 
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Thanks, but all of the wet sounds speakers on their website are 6.5" or larger.

6" seems to be an odd size - so far I've found these at West Marine for $150; FUSION MS-FR602 6" TrueMarine Two-Way Speakers 9470873 MS-FR602
 
I see your in Toronto. Honestly I wouldn't touch those speakers JUNK. We have 6 speakers and a 10" sub in our 18'6" Larson, full custom stereo. Stock it came with 2 speakers. We are running dual batteries in parallel. Our entire system is Clarion except the 5 channel MB Quart amp and the batteries. In my opinion, I have had a lot of stereo equipment pass through my hands in recent years. I would buy the 6.5" speakers and see what you have to do to make them fit. If you only have 2 speakers in the boat you need them to PUMP. I would be leary of the iphone directly connected to the amp. Put a volume limit on your phone 2 notches down from max. Don't let stupid people touch your system. Be VERY careful with sound quality if your going to run your system hard off your phone.
 
6" diameter bolt pattern is a 6.5" speaker. How big is the cutout? Go with a good amp or any speaker will sound bad with the volume cranked up. Go on wetsounds or JL websites n u can see dimensions for cutout and bolt hole diameter.
 
Thanks for the advise I'm now in a better position.

1. The existing speakers are "Sea Worthy" (stock/came with boat), I'm guessing this is a really poor brand.
2. The cutouts are 5 1/4" and JBL tells me that hole is large enough for their 6 1/2" speakers :thumbsup: yeah
3. For 6 1/2 " speakers, the screw holes are 6 1/2 " apart (for the JBL M6200's anyway).
4. My existing screw holes are 6" apart - but - drilling new screw holes isn't so bad.
5. There is BARELY enough flat surface available on my 2004 4-tec 155hp for the grill of the JBL M6200's measuring 7 3/16" which is basically all the flat surface that's available between the seats where the speakers mount - so it will JUST barely fit.

Any opinion's on the JBL M6200's vs some of the 6 1/2" Alpine speakers?

One other thing, if you call JBL initially you get India, but, once they can't answer your question you get put thru to USA, where an actual knowledgeable person that's not reading for a script helps you.
 
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You are right about the sea worthy...they are only worthy of the garbage can, That size hole should get you just about any 6.5 speaker. Dont worry about the screw holes, that is easy to change. Is yours just like the newer sportsters with the speakers between the seats at head level?

IF so, several other members have replaced speakers on those boats with no problems. One guy did a cool write up. He used Polk UM series speakers, which are very nice quality. If i change any speakers on mine, that is probably what i will buy. Here is a link to that build with nice pics.

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?33018-Audio-Upgrade-Update-Not-56k-Friendly-lol
 
if you have 5.25" cutouts then you should really look in the M650 JL audio speakers. They are 6.55" final diameter and sound awesome. Just get some off ebay for around $260 a pair. If that's too much, then look into some Kickers. Kicker makes a smaller 6.5" too; it's more like a 6" speaker. If you're looking to upgrade, then go with the JL. If you're looking to just replace, then go with Kicker. Good luck either way.

i'm not a fan of JBL, unless they're home speakers, and Alpine is like Sony, good head units, but bad speakers. IMO
 
"only worthy of the garbage can" lol, that's where they'll be shortly.

Yes, my 4-tec is quite similar to the pics you just posted, speakers between the seats about shoulder level.

I'll do some research on the Polks and the M650's.
 
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you should really look into an amp and a sub too. No matter what speakers you go with, if you can't break up the sound and send it to the correct speakers (lows to sub, and high/mids to 6.5") then it won't sound as good as possible. It'd be a waste to spend good money on speakers and not have a clear signal going to them for clear sound to come out. Just a thought.
 
Did some research today. It's impossible to hear marine speakers anywhere (unless the boat show happens to be in town). That said, I like the Alpine SPS-610's (car speakers), the nearest marine equivalent would be the SPS-M600's.

SPS-610 (auto): 75W RMS, 230W Peak
SPS-M600 (marine): 30W RMS, 100W Peak

Not exactly a match, and the auto speakers have a silk tweater whereas the marine ones have titanium. My read is that the auto speakers are better - yet my guess is that it's not a good idea to go with the auto speakers in the boat. If anyone thinks there won't be THAT much difference between the two, or if it's passable to have auto speakers in a boat by all means let me know your thoughts.

I also learned the amp & the head unit are different things :) try not to laugh :drool5:

My existing head unit is JBL. After initially being pumped I learned that JBL head units are actually "prospec" and in fact belong in the garbage along with my "sea worthy" speakers.

The encasement for the JBL is fine though - flip down plastic bubble cover - so I fully intend to go with an automotive head unit. Likely like the Alpine CDE-121 or something like it. The marine head units are at least a couple hundred more & my unit's not really in a place it could get splashed.

Finally, I'm leaning towards just going with the head unit/speaker upgrade for now. While a sub would REALLY be nice, I'm not ready to cut a new hole in my boat yet. Without the sub, the amp would be unnecessary. I believe ***and tell me if you disagree*** that this will still be a major upgrade over my stock (JBL head/sea worthy speakers) setup.

If I go for a sub in future, I may able to hang it off the tower.
 
You will notice a huge difference with an amp on just the small speakers. Most head units don't have enough power to make the speakers function where they sound good, as you push the head unit to its limit, it starts to sound worse. If it was me, I would get an amp that leaves you room to expand. I also wouldn't put anything in that's not marine rated. Even if the head unit is someplace you think will be dry, there is always moisture in the air. Splashing water isn't the worry. Over time auto components will fail. There is no way I would use auto speakers, just the uv rays would destroy them in no time. Just my 2 cents.


Also, where do you plan on buying your stuff at? You can get most stuff at less than half of the retail price on eBay or the Internet.
 
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+1000, don't get anything that's not rated "marine".

you can get a set of infinity for less than $100 and they're ok speakers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/INFINITY-61...940?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c64a4fb9c

Just go with an amp, even if it's a lower watt one. Just 50RMS per channel will sound amazing over the stock set up. Most speakers have a watt range in which they'll sound the best. You could get a 200+RMS 4channel amp + 4 speakers for less than $400. Just keep your head unit until it dies.
This one is 60w per channel at 4ohms and cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KICKER-2010...H_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc45ce7e7&vxp=mtr
 
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Appreciate the advise as always, couple of problems though;

My four-year-old would poke her finger thru those infinitys in no time at all because the grill does not look like it would prevent little fingers. Is there a meaningful "loss" in going with the alpine sps m600s? My primary concern is clarity & bass <insert sub comment here, i know>. Volume is somewhat less of a concern, the boat is quite small as you know. I do love metal though :)

As far as keeping my head unit, my existing head unit does not have a jack for my phone :banghead: where I keep all my tunes. currently I have one of those tiny fm radios that transmits my phone to the head unit, but the clarity isn't that great.

Would that amp hide away in "the spot that the head unit sticks into" (a sort-of-sealed area behind the steering wheel)? Or does it need to breath in the open air somewhere because of the heat sinks?

I'll see if I can find a store nearby where I can hear 6.5" speakers with, and without, an amp.
 
If you are truelly all about sound quality, you need a stand alone amp along with your head unit. If you want the best speakers on the water contact Marc at Liquid Acoustics. http://www.liquidacoustics.com/index.html They are not on the site yet but they have come out with a 6.5" in boat HLCD speaker. Yes I am wiping the drool off my mouth. HLCD speakers are typically used on towers for the ability to throw music a very long distance. Some might say they cant work in close proximity. WRONG! Those same people probably have never even seen nor heard a set of Klipsch Horn home audio speakers. Marc can also hook you up with Marine models of ZED Audio amps. This is the true cream of the crop audio equipment.
 
you could go with the MX650 from JL, they have a closed "traditional" style grill. And they are a lot cheaper then the M650 version
Also, you could just skip a head unit and run your iPhone/iPod/ect to the amp with an inline volume control. That would save you $$ over a head unit. The only benifit of a head unit is the tuner really.
 
Someone will know the answer to this. What's the max depth speaker you can fit in the standard hole positions on a 180 SE?
 
I went with the Alpine SPS M-600's, they fit in the existing cut-outs & there isn't enough surface area for the next step up. The holes don't quite line up but I'll work with that. The silver grate on them matches my seats very nicely. :)

Behind my old speakers was a plastic dish - not sure if it's for sound or splash. Do I need to put that behind-speaker-dish back when putting my new ones in? Only concern is sound, it's not in a "splash" area. I'm thinking they're unnecessary.

No woofer YET, but, I'm thinking I could strap a marine bazooka on the tower.
 
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