Thoughts on Rockfords?

[chpthril]

I was doing an install in an 07 24Ve that my dealer had from thier original stock order and finally sold. It was ordered with speaker holes cut but no components, so the stuck some R/F's in the holes for last years boat show.

After I got everything hooked up and threw the switch, I realized the cabin speakers were never plugged up, so I had to pull them all, fish out the wire, and plug them up :mad:

Now to the point of this thread :o While pulling the speakers out, I noticed that the zinc coated screws are rusting and the painted speaker frame is rusting and corroding. This boat is just over a year old, never been on the water, but has spent some time inside and out while in stock.

No real point here, just posting my observations.

[da.bell]

Humidity will get to anything. :D

[dogbert]

Time for some Wet Sounds :D

Seriously, when I pulled my JVCs that came with my boat, the grills were pretty rusted. I did have stainless screws so no rust there. I'd recommend using stainless screws for speakers.

[spharis]

I like Rockford.

[philwsailz]

The issues you found are not limited to Rockford. No amount of hi-tech coatings can keep plain ole steel from corroding, no matter what the brand.

I keep some woofers that had powder coated frames here at my desk as a reminder.

The best speaker basket material for boat applications is some sort of plastic. Some folks might say aluminum, but I know it can corrode badly in places where the O2 is depleted, or in situations where a galvanic cell is established.

On fasteners, you need to go stainless, but not just any old stainless... 316L is your best material for use above the waterline. Do not assume that any stainless is good enough. There are inferior grades that will rust. The cheap versions of stainless are typically magnetic, by the way... The good stuff is NOT magnetic.

With stainless "wood screws", please take the time to carefully pre-drill your holes. Stainless steel is softer than you think, and it is easy to gall/damage the heads where you engage the screwdriver if there is no pre-drilled hole, or if the hole is way too small.