Hi all, i am interested in installing a Cd player in our sailboat, has anyone done this and have suggestions for speaker placement? thanks!
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Port and Starboard
Every boat is different, but if inside, down in the basement, usually on each main bulkhead facing aft into the salon. Or, if it makes sense, on each side of the companionway facing forward. If in the cockpit, possibly on the verital surfaces (each side) between your butt and feet (behind your calf) or on the inside of the transom P&S. But, it all depends on what is on the other side, how deep the dead space is, how you can run wires, etc. Measure twice and cut once as they say. Speaker boxes (which help the sound) on brackets might be easier to install, but might also stick out too far. And they are nice if you don't feel comfortable cutting a big hole in a major bulkhead, etc. In the cockpit have it high enough so if you get pooped or your scuppers clog, you won't take on water through the speaker holes because they are too close to the cockpit floors. Lots of things to think about and that is a good thing to do before cutting away and then resenting it.
Every boat is different, but if inside, down in the basement, usually on each main bulkhead facing aft into the salon. Or, if it makes sense, on each side of the companionway facing forward. If in the cockpit, possibly on the verital surfaces (each side) between your butt and feet (behind your calf) or on the inside of the transom P&S. But, it all depends on what is on the other side, how deep the dead space is, how you can run wires, etc. Measure twice and cut once as they say. Speaker boxes (which help the sound) on brackets might be easier to install, but might also stick out too far. And they are nice if you don't feel comfortable cutting a big hole in a major bulkhead, etc. In the cockpit have it high enough so if you get pooped or your scuppers clog, you won't take on water through the speaker holes because they are too close to the cockpit floors. Lots of things to think about and that is a good thing to do before cutting away and then resenting it.
Get one with a remote control;
You can conveniently change stations and lower and raise volume while sitting in the cockpit. Ours is a Sony automotive unit installed in the cabin under the chart table. We have two box 3way speakers in the cabin (front) and two water proof 5" speakers in the cockpit (rear). You can play them all or front and back independently. It is worthwhile improvement as the quality of the sound will beat any boom box hands down.
You can conveniently change stations and lower and raise volume while sitting in the cockpit. Ours is a Sony automotive unit installed in the cabin under the chart table. We have two box 3way speakers in the cabin (front) and two water proof 5" speakers in the cockpit (rear). You can play them all or front and back independently. It is worthwhile improvement as the quality of the sound will beat any boom box hands down.
CD player? are people still using them?
We quite with cds two years ago. The wife (music is her dept)uses her Ipod and has all her musicial library on it. It holds over 30,000 songs.Enough for me.Get a stereo that has the ipod connector on the face and you'll never regret it. We got Kicker marine speakers for the cockpit and just love them. Get the remote with your radio.I see you are on fresh water, so you can buy a car stereo,they perform just fine.Enjoy Keep it up, Ctskip
We quite with cds two years ago. The wife (music is her dept)uses her Ipod and has all her musicial library on it. It holds over 30,000 songs.Enough for me.Get a stereo that has the ipod connector on the face and you'll never regret it. We got Kicker marine speakers for the cockpit and just love them. Get the remote with your radio.I see you are on fresh water, so you can buy a car stereo,they perform just fine.Enjoy Keep it up, Ctskip
Speaker positions and more things to ponder
Bill gave you real good advise. Think a lot before cutting. See what works before you commit. I never liked the "near the calf" spots because it drastically comprimises the high frequency response. Having a tweeter at your feet is not the best solution for good sound (great spot for a subwoofer though). Most speakers are meant to be mounted near ear level... real tough to do in most cockpits. I ended up with 2 way marine box speakers mounted with brackets on the coaming behind the rear seats. The brackets allow the speakers to be rotated up to get the highs closer to ear level. The holes are small and easily repaired if the situation changes, and they also allow removal and storage of the speakers when you store the boat. The downside is, at least in my H31, if someone sits next to me, the sound source is effectively muffled because it faces their back. It dosent happen all that often. The next best solution would be flush mounts on each side of the companionway bulkhead (assuming youi have double walled, hollow bulkheads), but you need to be sure the depth of the speaker works and that you can get a wire to it. On my boat one side of that solution is taken up with nav gauges. I also recommend a remote, wired, or wireless if you will be in a sightline to the radio itself (min is down below... so I needed wired unit). One last thing to think about is satellite radio. If you dont mind paying the $12/month (Sirius even has a special for boats where you only pay during the season). If you think you might want it, get a head unit that is satellite ready for the service you want. On a boat, satellite radio is a wonderful thing. Clear reception, fantastic selection, no commercials, sports & talk. I have Sirius because they carry all NFL games and a fair portion of NHL games (not to mention a dedicated Stones channel). I can listen to the Bills and sail... Shangri La... now if only I could get the Bills to start winning. XM does for baseball what Sirius does for Football if you're a Cards fan look into it.
Bill gave you real good advise. Think a lot before cutting. See what works before you commit. I never liked the "near the calf" spots because it drastically comprimises the high frequency response. Having a tweeter at your feet is not the best solution for good sound (great spot for a subwoofer though). Most speakers are meant to be mounted near ear level... real tough to do in most cockpits. I ended up with 2 way marine box speakers mounted with brackets on the coaming behind the rear seats. The brackets allow the speakers to be rotated up to get the highs closer to ear level. The holes are small and easily repaired if the situation changes, and they also allow removal and storage of the speakers when you store the boat. The downside is, at least in my H31, if someone sits next to me, the sound source is effectively muffled because it faces their back. It dosent happen all that often. The next best solution would be flush mounts on each side of the companionway bulkhead (assuming youi have double walled, hollow bulkheads), but you need to be sure the depth of the speaker works and that you can get a wire to it. On my boat one side of that solution is taken up with nav gauges. I also recommend a remote, wired, or wireless if you will be in a sightline to the radio itself (min is down below... so I needed wired unit). One last thing to think about is satellite radio. If you dont mind paying the $12/month (Sirius even has a special for boats where you only pay during the season). If you think you might want it, get a head unit that is satellite ready for the service you want. On a boat, satellite radio is a wonderful thing. Clear reception, fantastic selection, no commercials, sports & talk. I have Sirius because they carry all NFL games and a fair portion of NHL games (not to mention a dedicated Stones channel). I can listen to the Bills and sail... Shangri La... now if only I could get the Bills to start winning. XM does for baseball what Sirius does for Football if you're a Cards fan look into it.
So many people put their speakers
on the left and right sides of their main bulkheads. That makes sense "intuitively," but not necessarily for listening purposes. Think about where you will be when you are sitting and listening. Our boat has a relatively traditional interior layout, settee to port, dinette and table to starboard. If I put the speakers on the bulkhead, then whatever side of the boat I am sitting on will place me closer to one speaker. We chose to place our (box) speakers on the shelving over the port settee, with one speaker forward near the bulkhead and the other speaker aft near the nav station. That gives us great stereo coverage both at the settee and especially for sitting around the table. I agree, think before you cut any holes, and in our case, we cut none, avoided the "obvious," which for us wouldn't have worked, and came up with a solution that provides the best speaker coverage. Stu
on the left and right sides of their main bulkheads. That makes sense "intuitively," but not necessarily for listening purposes. Think about where you will be when you are sitting and listening. Our boat has a relatively traditional interior layout, settee to port, dinette and table to starboard. If I put the speakers on the bulkhead, then whatever side of the boat I am sitting on will place me closer to one speaker. We chose to place our (box) speakers on the shelving over the port settee, with one speaker forward near the bulkhead and the other speaker aft near the nav station. That gives us great stereo coverage both at the settee and especially for sitting around the table. I agree, think before you cut any holes, and in our case, we cut none, avoided the "obvious," which for us wouldn't have worked, and came up with a solution that provides the best speaker coverage. Stu
Box Speakers and iPOD
My Stereo on our C-30 is mounted down in the cabin out of the weather. I bought a CD-MP3 - AM-FM unit and put it next to my AC/DC panel. The unit came with a wireless remote control so I could control everything from up-top. I also ran an input from the AUX up to the cockpit for my iPOD to plug into....best thing I ever installed on our boat! The speakers are as follows: I bought 4 box-speakers from Westmarine for $85 a pair. I mounted 2 down in the cabin and the other 2 I mounted on the metal hand-rails in the cockpit. At first I was hesitant to do so but I drilled holes in the metal tubing, ran all wiring INSIDE the tubes so you don't see anything but the speakers. Nice because I could remove them when not on the boat. They really look awesome and I could angle them anyway needed. ROb
My Stereo on our C-30 is mounted down in the cabin out of the weather. I bought a CD-MP3 - AM-FM unit and put it next to my AC/DC panel. The unit came with a wireless remote control so I could control everything from up-top. I also ran an input from the AUX up to the cockpit for my iPOD to plug into....best thing I ever installed on our boat! The speakers are as follows: I bought 4 box-speakers from Westmarine for $85 a pair. I mounted 2 down in the cabin and the other 2 I mounted on the metal hand-rails in the cockpit. At first I was hesitant to do so but I drilled holes in the metal tubing, ran all wiring INSIDE the tubes so you don't see anything but the speakers. Nice because I could remove them when not on the boat. They really look awesome and I could angle them anyway needed. ROb
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