Cockpit speakers?

[IH82BL8]

My cockpit speakers are shot. WM offers several choices at reasonable prices, many say "waterproof", but there's only one set advertised as "cockpit speakers" and they are several times more expensive than the others. Will each of these pairs suffice for cockpit speakers, or do I need the more expensive ones?

Thanks.

 

[Maine Sail]

My cockpit speakers are shot. WM offers several choices at reasonable prices, many say "waterproof", but there's only one set advertised as "cockpit speakers" and they are several times more expensive than the others. Will each of these pairs suffice for cockpit speakers, or do I need the more expensive ones?

Thanks.

I hate to even suggest this, because Poly Planar speakers do sound like crap, but your next speakers will ALSO get "shot"...

Because of this we use only Poly Planar speakers in our cockpit and suffer through the sound quality. Their design has not changed in nearly 25 years and companies like WM, Sony, Kenwood, Alpine, Clarion etc. change their speakers look, shape and cut out size almost yearly. They rarely if ever keep the same hole and bolt pattern. I get asked to swap out a LOT of exterior speakers and the only time it is an easy job is when Poly Planars are involved.... Ever try increasing a 5" cut out by just 1/8"...????:cussing::cussing:

With Poly Planar you buy the next set and they fit the hole perfectly... Now that I have said this Poly Planar will go and change the design next week......

 

[Donnie Griffin]

I Mounted my speakers in the bunk area at foot level and have had good results. I purchased my speakers off e-bay and have been very happy with them with the exception of uv damage to the finish, They did not stay white but a couple of years.

 

[Tim R.]

I opted for small box speakers that I mounted using brackets at the base of the binnacle guard facing diagonally aft. They sound ok. Our cabin speakers sound much better so i usually fade them so that they provide more low end. Our cockpit never had recessed speakers and I did not want to cut a hole and run into the size problems like I had some many times before.

BTW, the WM speakers do have pretty good sound and if you buy their extended warranty they will replace them when they do rot out again. I would say any of their speakers they claim are waterproof would be acceptable. No need for the cockpit specific speakers. Both will eventually die.

 

[Maine Sail]

Tim,

Your speaker set up is pretty cool. Any possibility you have the data speeds to upload a picture..?

 

[Pat]

About 15 years ago we replaced our original cockpit speakers with the Poly Planer Platinum speakers with steel grates which have served us well to this day...They sound relatively good w/adequate base, but the big deal is the steel grille's eliminate people putting their hooves thru the grille....Prior to the poly's we had to replace them a lot due to the foot deal...They are slightly more expensive but worth the difference in bass,
overall frequency response and the steel grilles. The cut-out is 5 inches in diameter, but 7 inch platinum's are also available. Pat

 

[Skipper]

As an audiophile-osis survivor, I can say that I no longer suffer from the huge expense of audio perfection. However, I cannot abide outright bad sound. The solution on sailboats has been to install high quality bookshelf speakers in the cabin inside a cabinet or on a shelf, movable to face aft towards the cockpit. They may not be "marine" but inside the cabin they do just fine for as long as I've ever owned the particular boat. Medium volumes fill the cockpit with pleasing sound.

An improvement to this is to mount very small waterproof speakers in the cockpit, to increase midrange and treble. I think this is what Tim does; I'm only expanding on it. The beauty is that if small enough you can put them in a coaming box out of the weather (mostly), and the deflection also takes out some of the harshness of mediocre speakers. When moored nobody else in the harbor\anchorage wants to hear it anyway, so the subtleness of the hidden cockpit speakers is a plus, yet it adds clarity when underway.

 

[kito]

As an audiophile-osis survivor, I can say that I no longer suffer from the huge expense of audio perfection. However, I cannot abide outright bad sound. The solution on sailboats has been to install high quality bookshelf speakers in the cabin inside a cabinet or on a shelf, movable to face aft towards the cockpit. They may not be "marine" but inside the cabin they do just fine for as long as I've ever owned the particular boat. Medium volumes fill the cockpit with pleasing sound.

An improvement to this is to mount very small waterproof speakers in the cockpit, to increase midrange and treble. I think this is what Tim does; I'm only expanding on it. The beauty is that if small enough you can put them in a coaming box out of the weather (mostly), and the deflection also takes out some of the harshness of mediocre speakers. When moored nobody else in the harbor\anchorage wants to hear it anyway, so the subtleness of the hidden cockpit speakers is a plus, yet it adds clarity when underway.

Same here. I have small bookshelf speakers that I can relocate on the cabin bulkhead facing the cabin doors when I'm in the cockpit. No need for waterproof cockpit speakers that sound bad and are usually in the way. At anchor I can run them through the hatch and set them on the deck if I want. Don't laugh but I have some old modified Radio Shack LX-5 bookshelf speakers that sound amazing with their Lineaum tweeters.

 

[woodster]

wasn't Philsails suggesting some exciters or some thing like that in loo of speekers IIRC maybe he will chime in and tell us more.....best i remember the required no holes in the fiberglass just glue them in on the back side

 

[WayneH]

I think it just depends on where your speakers are mounted. If they are surface mounted, you are probably going to be stuck with "what fits". If they are box speakers, you can change them out as you wish.

I personally would just go with the waterproof models and not the cockpit speakers. But I'm cheap.

When we decided to replace our box mounted trash from the PO, we went with surface mounted Poly Planars that were very small diameter. Just in case we ever get pooped and the speakers blow out, we don't have 4X6 holes pouring water into the boat.

 

[Tim R.]

Tim, Your speaker set up is pretty cool. Any possibility you have the data speeds to upload a picture..?

Not right now. Driving back from RI with a new Highfield RIB on the roof of a rental car!

Should be back in Tennants later with a good signal. I will post a photo then.

 

[kloudie1]

Wait a minit ! I thought we were discussing cockpit speakers, not Loo speakers??

 

[woodster]

Wait a minit ! I thought we were discussing cockpit speakers, not Loo speakers??

Kloudie ya think thats bad i just went back and reread my post and found that i can't even spell speakers

 

[Jackdaw]

I've seen too many kicked-in grills of cockpit mounted speakers to voluntarily drill two big holes back there. So on the litle boat we went with small rail mounted speakers. WM throws these babies on sale twice a year or so.

Sounds OK, and out of the way. Only two small wire holes on the transom.

 

[kloudie1]

Woody, Laughing.. just poking fun. couldn't help it.

I use these:
http://www.westmarine.com/marine-speakers/west-marine--compact-waterproof-box-speakers--1193119
I put some RCA plugs in the forward cockpit cubbies. The speakers fit inside the cubbies, behind the fiddles, and sound OK.. They can be easily removed and put inside.

 

[woodster]

Woody, Laughing.. just poking fun. couldn't help it.

yes i know its great to be able to laugh at one's self..

.when i was a kid about 10 years old they would call me Woody WoodPecker and it would make me so mad and when i got older i used it as a logo in some of my ventures.......

 

[Maine Sail]

Not right now. Driving back from RI with a new Highfield RIB on the roof of a rental car!

Should be back in Tennants later with a good signal. I will post a photo then.

What happened to yours?

 

[Dunlookin]

Speaker Options

I purchased my speakers from WM. They have a bracked that I attached to the underside of the stern rail seats. That location keeps them out of the severe weather and adds an additional measure of protection.

The speakers are attached to the brackets by plastic "wing-nuts."

Be really, really, really careful when you are attaching the "wing-nuts." They do not float....

Don't ask me how I know that bit of trivia.

 

[wufibugs]

Got a pair of inexpensive standard 8" round "waterproof" speakers with white grills and mounted them in the aft locker. Protected the speakers from the stuff in the locker using plastic bowls. On the H31 there is access for a wire run from the locker to the cockpit instrument panel and then following the wire run for the pedestal. It's a long haul to the radio mounted at the Nav station. In the salon I have 4 speakers (6X9) so I can choose between salon, cockpit or both. That way helm/watch can have some music while those in the salon can sleep or watch TV, or we can all rock out big time. I can also choose to kick in the amp to improve sound quality. I'm not quite sure how much draw the amp would impose on the batteries since up to now I've only used it when on shore power.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I've seen too many kicked-in grills of cockpit mounted speakers to voluntarily drill two big holes back there. So on the litle boat we went with small rail mounted speakers. WM throws these babies on sale twice a year or so.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd go this way. I now cringe when I realize that I'd made two big 5 inch round holes in my cockpit. We used the cheapo WM speakers, replaced them a few times so far, but the sound has been pretty good.

Haven't been pooped yet, though.