Sound systems - Anybody install a subwoofer?

Ralph Johnstone · Aug 25, 2014

Nothing to do with Functional Sailing .............

jonelli said:
I know this isn't going to be for some of you... This has nothing to do with functional sailing...

............... where do you get that idea

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Not going anywhere unless the sound system works on my boat first. Worry about the other things second.

Sorry I can't offer any hard data on power draw when using sub woofers. I can offer that when I installed my latest tuner and amp unit, it was rated at 10 A. Sooooo, I dutifully wired it from the panel for a 10 A draw with a 5% drop. After all that, the load is 0.8 A at full volume.

I don't know how you could calculate the draw other than buying the equipment, connecting on a bench, and measuring the load. If it's unacceptable, repackage and return.

Now don't you wish you'd saved the packaging

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Doug4bass · Aug 25, 2014

Yup.....I have. One in my C270, and the other in my C385. Both identical installations. Power amp with a 10" sub. Both installations sounded magnificent.
No worries on the power draw unless you chose to watch a concert.......then watch out!!
For those who think subs are just for volume, you are wrong. They are for tone. Take it from this bass player.

Stu Jackson · Aug 25, 2014

I bought a Blaupunkt powered subwoofer a handful of years ago. I got it from Crutchfield, the car audio folks. When on high volume with my Sony car system, the whole shebang draws less than 3 amps, four speakers - two down, two up and the subwoofer. Works great.

I still recommend NOT putting speakers down below on different sides of the boat, but rather fore & aft, think about where you sit down below. If they're on the sides, you're always out of whack with the balance. Our settee is to port, the U shaped table is to starboard, the speakers are fore & aft on a high shelf to port, so I get great BALANCED (left & right) sound when I sit at the table for dinner or the settee for lounging. The subwoofer's in the middle.

centerline · Aug 26, 2014

Stu Jackson said:
I still recommend NOT putting speakers down below on different sides of the boat, but rather fore & aft, think about where you sit down below. If they're on the sides, you're always out of whack with the balance. Our settee is to port, the U shaped table is to starboard, the speakers are fore & aft on a high shelf to port, so I get great BALANCED (left & right) sound when I sit at the table for dinner or the settee for lounging. The subwoofer's in the middle.

I agree with this....

our boat has interior speakers and cockpit speakers. the balance is fore and aft rather than port to starboard which is a much better configuration, and the fader balances the interior to the cockpit... sometimes on a quiet anchorage with other boats, we want to shut the sound off to the cockpit, and there have been times that I wanted more sound in the cockpit but less for someone snoozing in the v-berth. so with the way its wired up, its an easy adjustment to make.

Jackdaw · Aug 26, 2014

Hard to go wrong with the Fusion MS-AB206. It is designed for marine use; with a built-in 4-channel Class D digital amp for very low power draw. Conformal (sealed) PCB is weather-tight. Also powers your sats with the same amp.

http://www.fusionelectronics.com/marine/products/subwoofers/ms-ab206

Doug4bass · Aug 26, 2014

jonelli said:
Good to know about the current draw. I've only installed one car amp in one of my vehicles, but never worried about draw since the motor is running all the time when I'm using it. I was originally thinking about using the self-powered under-seat car subs as the easiest solution. I could also turn the two existing 6" car speakers that the PO cut into the cabin (one under breaker panel, and one above the closet pointing aft) into woofer-only low end sources, but they don't really have good back-boxes and aren't good for low end for multiple reasons, but they are better than nothing I suppose. How big of an amp did you use and where did you put the subs?

I also installed 2 6" speakers in a friends boat to act as a sub due to limited space
Hard to tell the diff between those and a 10" sub. Used your caps. Remember, bass is non-directional.

Maine Sail · Aug 26, 2014

I installed the predecessor to that sub on our boat this past spring. Of course it had been sitting in my shop for over a year.... Decent sub, low current draw and sounds adequate.

Fusion Subwoofer Installation

Jackdaw said:
Hard to go wrong with the Fusion MS-AB206. It is designed for marine use; with a built-in 4-channel Class D digital amp for very low power draw. Conformal (sealed) PCB is weather-tight. Also powers your sats with the same amp.

http://www.fusionelectronics.com/marine/products/subwoofers/ms-ab206

centerline · Aug 26, 2014

jonelli said:
I think we're talking about two different things here.
There IS still "fore and aft" being a front and rear faded speaker output, a pari down below (L/R) and a pair (L/R) in the cockpit.
Down below I want the TV to be center so will put a speaker port and starboard.
Stereo imaging for music down below is not important. But even if I kept speakers only on starboard side as they currently are, there are still not many places that you are in the middle, so it really doesn't matter.

if you are referring to what I wrote in my previous post, you are correct that we kinda are talking about two different things here. my reply has nothing to do with subwoofers.

there are many people who read these posts and get ideas blossoming from them, so in talking about wiring speakers on either side of the boat to get a good sound, I was only stating what I, and apparently the previous owner of my second boat discovered to be the best for the needs of a fairly basic sound system on a boat (and it seems that some others have also learned this long before me).... I have wired my 34 in this manner and it works great.

as for the TV sound, my needs/wants are different then yours and I only need the sound coming from the tv, as even with my impaired hearing it is plenty loud and I dont need the "surround" effect, as the tv is a very seldom used component on my boat anyway. but the stereo gets a lot of play time

and you are correct in what the stereo unit offers, and it will create listenable sound no matter what layout you wire the speakers in but when you have a set of speakers outside the boat that you dont want on all the time, yet you want the best sound balance (stereo effect) throughout the system, especially on a boat, for simplicity with full function it DOES make a difference in how the speakers are wired to the unit.

but if you want to go more complex with more components wired in, it can be done that way also.
my main point is, wired with some forethought in mind, there is an affordable way for anyone to use the controls already built into the stereo unit to take advantage of the best sound quality for the layout of the area that it is installed in, without buying other expensive devices to do it.

you lose a lot of sound quality with speakers on different tracks that are too close to one another, or speakers that are directly facing one another because the sound waves can interfere with one another.

fortitude · Aug 27, 2014

We like our system. 24 hour nature in stereo, and great conversation at low volume. Your systems are probably good, I think mine is priceless. Our two cents.

Doug4bass · Aug 27, 2014

jonelli said:
I knew one of those comments was coming!!! lol

One thing on the blutooth stuff. I have a Fusion deck which is supposed to be wireless to your other "stuff". (According to the yard). Wasnt compatible with anything I owned. Droid, ipad, etc.
Had to install a router. Double check with Kenwood.

fox islander · Aug 27, 2014

...whatever you end up doing remember to keep all of it, especially those speaker magnets away from your autopilot compass.

Jackdaw · Aug 28, 2014

Doug4bass said:
One thing on the blutooth stuff. I have a Fusion deck which is supposed to be wireless to your other "stuff". (According to the yard). Wasnt compatible with anything I owned. Droid, ipad, etc.
Had to install a router. Double check with Kenwood.

Two things:

All Fusion decks are Blue Tooth COMPATIBLE, with a fusion BT-100 or 200 add-on. If you didn't have the $30 add-on, then you will have a problem. Our Fusion BT-100 reliably connects with every iphone, ipad, and android device we have.

You say you added a ROUTER to solve a BT problem??? BT does not use routers. Thats Wi-Fi hardware.

If sounds to me like you need to get personally smarter about the technology, or get a 'yard' you can trust.

Sound systems - Anybody install a subwoofer?

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