1999 2200i Stereo from scratch

[Trenal]

Recently purchased a 1999 2200i that has zero stereo equipment, so I am looking for affordable suggestions on a start to finish setup. I'm talking from batteries to receivers. I have a Metcraft tower that I'm not opposed to replacing if it doesn't efficiently handle tower speakers.

I have been perusing the site all day and looking at different products, most likely I'll go with the Clarion CMD7 w/ MW1 remote as I have always been happy with Clarion units in my vehicles.

If anyone has some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Bryan

[chpthril]

I like the Clarion marine head-units and remotes as well, so good choice. But, the days of needing an AM/FM/CD units as a source unit are gone. With peripheral devices such as Kicker's ZXM-RLC Dual-Zone controller or new PXi50.2, Wet sounds WS-420 EC, or other other EQ/Line drivers, you dont need a head-unit if all your music will come from an MP3 player.

Battery bank: IMO, every boat needs dual batteries. How large the stereo bank needs to be will depend on the amount of current draw and how long you want it to play with the engine off. Its also a good idea to plane on an on-board charger and wiring in an ACR (auto combining relay).

Tower setup: This area gets divided into 3 basic types....surf/party-cove listening, wake-board listening, or both. Knowing what your goals are will help us to point you to some different options.

In-boat system: A nice well-rounded in-boat system, IMO, will include 2-3 pairs of mid-bass speakers and a sub, and all being respectably powered. For in-boats, I highly recommend a true marine speaker. For a sub, a non-marine can be used, but the install location and a few other things need to be taken into consideration. Sub surface area rules in most cases, but proper location and sub box will beat out the biggest sub in the wrong box any day. Same with amps. Marine have their advantages, but are not a must in a typical fresh-water use trailer boat.

[Trenal]

Thanks for the suggestions. I planned on going with a two battery setup with the Prosport 12. For the in-boat system I plan on 2 pair of speakers (mid-range) and a single sub. I'd like to have at least two speakers up on the tower for wakeboard and cove listening. If you could suggest some good performing affordable gear I would greatly appreciate it. I don't want to be the guy with the $4000 stereo in the $12000 boat =).

Thanks again for your help.

[wired1236]

I know you said you want the MW1 remote and that is nice to have but also, if you can find one, you can get the MF1 which is the smaller RF remote that you can use from 100' away, unfortunatly, they are discontinued. I had to go to an Alpine stereo in my case (which is a better unit anway), just more $$$$.

[chpthril]

I know you said you want the MW1 remote and that is nice to have but also, if you can find one, you can get the MF1 which is the smaller RF remote that you can use from 100' away, unfortunatly, they are discontinued. I had to go to an Alpine stereo in my case (which is a better unit anway), just more $$$$.

To my knowledge, the MF1 is still a current-production model, so not discontinued.

But, the down side of the MF1 is that its not LCD, so yo do not have the Ipod/MP3 control as compared to the MW1 on the transom and the CDM7. You would be giving up that level of control at either the helm or transom.

[chpthril]

Thanks for the suggestions. I planned on going with a two battery setup with the Prosport 12. For the in-boat system I plan on 2 pair of speakers (mid-range) and a single sub. I'd like to have at least two speakers up on the tower for wakeboard and cove listening. If you could suggest some good performing affordable gear I would greatly appreciate it. I don't want to be the guy with the $4000 stereo in the $12000 boat =).

Thanks again for your help.

I would consider stepping up to the Prosport-20. Heavily depleted batteries need a kick in the arse so to speak, when you first start the charge. The PS-20 will give you this. A good rule of thumb is a charger that puts out about 10% of your banks amp/hrs.

For a 4 mid-range/ single sub system, I would suggest a 10", unless you like a lot of hip-hop. A moderately powered 10" will give you nice balance by filling in those lower notes without overpowering the in-boats.

For the tower, is that 2 speakers or 2 pair?

Now, here's where the fun begins Do you have any local marine stereo shops that you can Demo? Or maybe some other boat buddies that you can listen to their setup? Stereo sound quality is like ones taste in beer.......if i'm buying, I'll buy what I like, but wouldn't pass on a cold one that you bought. Every speaker designer has their own signature sound, so you need to listen to what you can and see what your ears like.

If you came into my shop, I would demo for you, and in reverse alphabetical order, Wet Sounds, Kicker, Exile and Alpine.

other brands worth a mention: Lots of peeps like the Polk in-boats speakers. They can be found cheap. JL in-boats, subs and amps.

For a tower setup that is going to sound smooth near-field, yet project out for wake-board distance, here are a couple that need to be demo'd. Pretty close to being in the order of cost.

Kicker KMT60 and ZXM450.2

Kicker KM6500.2 Tower system and IX500.4

Wet Sounds Double-Up and Syn4 amp

Wet sounds REV-10's and Syn4 amp

Exile XM9 and Harpoon amp w/throttle box.

Chapter-2 is on amps, we'll cover that tomorrow

[ptige]

Chpthrl, if my boat already has two batteries with a off-1-both-2 switch, and if I installed the Prosport 20 plus charger, wouldn't it be better to NOT have an ACR? The Prosport already provides 2 outputs and is supposed to load balance. Not sure what happens to the Prosport if the battery switch is in the both position. Right now when I charge my batteries manually I put the switch to both and just clamp the charger on one battery. Thanks.

[Trenal]

There is a a few local stores who sell Kicker, Polk and JL Audio. The Wet Sounds stuff is out of my price range for this project, but I will definitely take a listen to the others.

Thanks again.

[NICKYPOO]

I have the same boat and went with the Polk for the in boat speakers. I also went with a 10" sub (RE). I used to run tower speakers but, not anymore. There has been many advancements in tower speakers since then and if you really want to hear the music while wakeboarding, you may want some. I don't wakeboard anymore and really don't need to blast out the entire lake or my rear seat passengers. With a direct drive boat, the people in the back really get blasted out because they are much further back as opposed to V-drive.

A proper 10" sub set up will hit plenty hard for whatever you listen to. The big thing is mounting location. It needs to be in the cabin if you want to hear it. The only good place to mount it is in the helm. This is tricky with this boat as it has very limited access. I was able to design a proper sealed box that fit through the access door in the walkway. If you are planning a ported box, it gets much more involved.

[NICKYPOO]

Don't forget about the FAE! Best stereo upgrade ever, not to mention the elimination of exhaust fumes. It's really bad in a D-Drive.

[Trenal]

Nickypoo,

Thanks for the information, I hadn't really considered the back seat passengers until you brought it up. This has me thinking I'll put everything else in first and if I decide I need tunes while wakeboarding then I'll throw tower speakers in. I will look into the FAE as well.

[chpthril]

Chpthrl, if my boat already has two batteries with a off-1-both-2 switch, and if I installed the Prosport 20 plus charger, wouldn't it be better to NOT have an ACR? The Prosport already provides 2 outputs and is supposed to load balance. Not sure what happens to the Prosport if the battery switch is in the both position. Right now when I charge my batteries manually I put the switch to both and just clamp the charger on one battery. Thanks.

In most cases, the battery dual-bank chargers do not create any charging issues when brought into parallel through an ACR or VSR. But, you can always use a switch to interrupt the ground circuit of the relay coil. This basically turns off the ACR/VSR during charging.

[chpthril]

There is a a few local stores who sell Kicker, Polk and JL Audio. The Wet Sounds stuff is out of my price range for this project, but I will definitely take a listen to the others.

Thanks again.

Dont be too quick to count out any brand due to price. If having clear, audible music at the end of an 80ft tow rope, then you have to step up into the HLCD (Horn Loaded Compression Driver) arena. Regardless of brand, this puts you in that higher price bracket. There are more and less expensive options within that playing field, but it is a higher priced group due to the technology.

Nickypoo,

Thanks for the information, I hadn't really considered the back seat passengers until you brought it up. This has me thinking I'll put everything else in first and if I decide I need tunes while wakeboarding then I'll throw tower speakers in. I will look into the FAE as well.

Nick does bring up a valid point about blasting the rear passengers with the higher volumes for the wakeboarders. This is typically due to, or more exaggerated by, a few things: 1) Speaker type - a traditional coax speaker is a design that is intended to radiate out in a wide direction. So with a coax speaker on the tower, you tend to get a lot of volume in the face of the rearward passengers with the volume turned up. The horns (in the HLCD's) do not radiate out, but rather project. So the the HLCD's will not be quite as loud for the rear seated passengers. Tower height - The higher the tower, the less the impact on the rear passengers will be. Tower location - the more the tower the located toward the rear, the less the volume is filtered down into the boat.

The last thing is whether or not the system has the ability to control the volume (or fade) between the in-boats and tower zones. If the entire system is playing at the same volume level, then its actually the in-boats blasting out the passengers, not the tower speakers.

[NICKYPOO]

Dont be too quick to count out any brand due to price. If having clear, audible music at the end of an 80ft tow rope, then you have to step up into the HLCD (Horn Loaded Compression Driver) arena. Regardless of brand, this puts you in that higher price bracket. There are more and less expensive options within that playing field, but it is a higher priced group due to the technology.



Nick does bring up a valid point about blasting the rear passengers with the higher volumes for the wakeboarders. This is typically due to, or more exaggerated by, a few things: 1) Speaker type - a traditional coax speaker is a design that is intended to radiate out in a wide direction. So with a coax speaker on the tower, you tend to get a lot of volume in the face of the rearward passengers with the volume turned up. The horns (in the HLCD's) do not radiate out, but rather project. So the the HLCD's will not be quite as loud for the rear seated passengers. Tower height - The higher the tower, the less the impact on the rear passengers will be. Tower location - the more the tower the located toward the rear, the less the volume is filtered down into the boat.

The last thing is whether or not the system has the ability to control the volume (or fade) between the in-boats and tower zones. If the entire system is playing at the same volume level, then its actually the in-boats blasting out the passengers, not the tower speakers.

All excellent points. Like I said, my tower speakers are old (6x9 Polk). A new, purpose built tower speaker will go a long way. Mine just sounded like crap when turned up and ended up being too annoying.

[ds@earmark]

I always like to see an ACR supplemented by a switch. The two battery banks are used very differently, age different and are put into storage at different levels. So I would want the individual banks of my dual bank charger to profile and condition the two banks independent from the beginning bulk phase through the final float phase plus the continuing maintenance cycle. While it won't harm the charger there is no good reason to circumvent the isolated functions of a dual bank charger.

David
Earmark Marine