Customer “I want a thumping system, louder than an Ibiza closing party to play my bangers”
Technician “How much do you want to spend?”
Now, we all want a serious stereo to play our “bangers” and, judging by the number of stereo upgrades and installs done over the least 2 or 3 seasons I would say it´s a high priority for a lot of clients and probably the number 1 upgrade (even more than navigation electronics).
I have been part of installations from simply replacing the head unit for a more more modern one, usually replacing a radio cassette player (remember those!) or a CD player (remember those!) for a stereo with Bluetooth capability, and then, at the other end of the scale, subwoofers and speakers with lights, amplifiers and more thump than the canons of the 1812 overture!
You can take you stereo installs from mild to wild, if I am honest most people want Bluetooth capability and a lot of the stereos are now mechless (no mechanism for CD) just streaming and an AM/FM radio. Today we are going to concentrate on more basic systems typically found on smaller boats, although the same principals apply to larger installations.
So, Whaddya got?
Start by spending no money, as always I am penny conscious, honestly, if you have a relatively modern unit with Bluetooth, check it all works, you can connect to the system easily and the speakers all work and sound okay, turn up the volume and play a variety of different music and make sure there´s no distortion, look at the owners manual or set up menu for the stereo and you might find a few tweaks of the settings for the different tones, bass, midrange etc. The stereo will be exactly what you wanted and it cost you nothing, result!
Use technology
In a world where everything runs on some sort of software, why would the stereo be any different? At the time of writing, the most popular brand of stereo we see on boats is Fusion, they belong to the Garmin group of companies. There is good reason they are very popular, they sound great and there are models and accessories for every budget. The important point here is technology, more specifically an app. I cannot tell you if other brands of stereo have their own app, the Fusion Link app works by connecting to the stereo via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, it allows you to alter the tone of the music, give the stereo a custom name to find it easier and control the stereo from a phone.
Possibly the most useful function is DSP (Digital Signal Processing), not all stereos have it, you download the current settings from the stereo to your phone, you can then tell the stereo where it is located (open air, cabin etc.), what speakers and amplifier are connected and then send the settings back, the stereo will then audibly sound better, it makes a huge difference.
Streaming across the deck
Install a Bluetooth module, its not a difficult job, although not always costs effective but, if you are happy with the stereo installation you have then upgrading with a Bluetooth module will modernize your system and give you unlimited music via streaming services. You could have a permanent installation or use a USB audio device which can be removed and used on other devices.
Head strong
The head unit is another name for the stereo itself. If the stereo is inside the boat and well protected then a car stereo will do just fine. Regular car stereos are made to size a size called DIN, so replacing the old unit with one of an equal size is easier, please note than some marine stereos are not made to a DIN standard size and so you will likely end up having to make a cover plate for the hole of the original stereo. The good thing is that car radios follow a wiring color code and most boat installations I have seen respect this.
Speak to me
Replacing broken, damaged or way past their best speakers is a great way to improve the sounds, unless you are changing the speakers inside a cabin or other covered and protected space I would definitely recommend using marine speakers, they will simply last longer. If you are replacing very old speakers, do take some measurements before buying new ones, things have changed over time and it looks to me as though speakers have got bigger, so the old six inch units have largely been replaced with 6,5" ones, often the holes where the back of the speaker sits into are large enough but some might the hole size increasing, measure the depth carefully too, I have seen a few speakers installed where they sit too far out because there was not enough depth to fit them, it looks and sounds awful.
If the speakers are going into upholstered panels, the panel might need removing to enlarge the hole and fix the upholstery back in place to make the whole job look seamless.
As with everything, you can spend a lot or not, I have seen a whole lot of off brand marine grade speakers over the years and, I cannot think of a single one that has sounded decent or lasted more than a couple of seasons, something to consider.
Upgrade the speaker wire
A lot of older boats, had very fine (0.5mm2 to 0.75mm2), parallel speaker cable, which when they were built was probably okay. Today with more demanding stereos with better sound it is worth upgrading the wire. For higher demand systems with larger speakers and/or longer cable runs, thicker cable is better, such as 2,5mm2, for most applications, 1.5mm2 is perfect. Take the time to route the speaker cables away from other electrical cables if possible, this will help minimize the chances of interference heard through the speakers. When you replace the speaker wires, also use quality terminals for the ends of the cable.
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L-R: Sony amplifier installed in dry location and JL Audio Bluetooth module |
Amp it up
Even a basic stereo system consisting of a head unit and four speakers can sound substantially better when played through an amplifier. Installing an amplifier is not too difficult a job, the most important thing is location of the amplifier itself.
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Twin Fusion amplifiers |
Amplifiers can generate heat, when they get too hot they will go into a protection mode. Amplifiers usually require a substantial set of power cables, bear this in mind, the cables will need to be run to the amplifier directly from the battery or battery switch, a breaker or fuse will need to be installed in the positive power cable. You can get dedicated marine amplifiers, the idea is that they should be able to withstand the elements better than a conventional car audio amplifier, if you have a larger boat or a place to keep the amplifier away from water as much as possible, then a conventional amplifier would work well. Upgrades, adding an amplifier to your boat stereo.
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