stereo upgrade wetsounds on a double up tower

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

Was at the Dallas boatshow all day so I'm just getting around to your question.

In the bridged mode for both front and rear, per the input configuration switches, you will only need RCAs to the front channel inputs.

Two of the six in-boat speakers will occupy two channels. Four of the six will be wired in parallel on the other two channels. Which two speakers will have their independent two channels and which four speakers will share two channels will depend on the speaker placement. For example, if the placement of four particular speakers determine that their output in respect to the listening position is relatively equal then these four speakers will share two channels. The two speakers that have either the most positional advantage or disavantage will be isolated on their own channels. This way you will be able to use the amplifier's front and rear input gains to level match all six speakers as close as possible during the tuning process. Another and different approach could be to parallel the four cockpit speakers and isolate the two bow speakers. This way you could add a Pac LC-1 to control the bow speakers independently on the fly, especially if and when you have children sitting up there and you want to keep the volume lower in the bow. To decide which approach is best or which to prioritize you might wait and survey the situation once you have determined the location of the additional two coaxials.

 

David E.M.

Edited February 13, 2011 by DavidEM

[h20king 794]

Thanks Dave that is what I thought but was not sure so I waited to hear from you before I installed the amps. Since the amp for the pro 485's only needs one set of RCA's this will just be a plug and play install since all the wiring is already in place. As for the extra set of coax I don't have any in the bow but I am considering adding one to the kick panel in front of the driver and one under the observers seat so all the sound is not behind me.If you have a better suggestion for the location of the extra set of speakers I am open to ideas.What size speaker wire do you recommend I use for the pro 485's ??? thanks.............H

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

Four conductors of 12-gauge is a must.

I like the idea of getting some fullrange sound up at the front of the cockpit, especially for the driver since the observer is faced more towards the existing speaker locations. Its easy to mount this into the underdash facade. However, if you have a subwoofer enclosure within that compartment then it would really help to acoustically isolate the rear of the coaxial from the front radiation of the sub with a rearside pod in one form or another. If the woofer/enclosure is sealed against the facade then its not the same issue but you would still want something in place that would counter a facade that is open over the top if that's the case.

From your description it sounds like the two front cockpit coaxials that you would be adding are the ones to have on their own channels.

 

David E.M.

Edited February 13, 2011 by DavidEM

[h20king 794]

Dave so your saying since I have a sub box hidden behind the kick panel with the woofer pointed at the driver and the port on the box facing the center of the boat that a coax in that location would need its own box of some sort built into the back of the kick panel since that area is open at the top to isolate the sound from the sub???the other location I was considering was putting the driver side coax in the seat base directly behind the driver pointing foreword but am unsure what position would give the best results as I have never mounted speakers in unequal positions for the sake of imaging thanks for the help.................H

you can see in this pic the two choices I have for the passenger side mounting location and the location behind the driver I am considering

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

It wouldn't hurt to see a photo of what you have going under the dash. That way I could give you some better defined answers.

The forward portion of the starboard bench seat console will work and may be the best available alternative as it turns out. But, it still places the very directional mids and treble to the rear of you which is the very issue that I would be trying to overcome. Forget about a soundstage in an open boat. Just go for a position that gives you some improved articulation from at least one side up front.

I think I saw that you have HP650s now. If that's the case then don't overlook the HP770 coaxials for the new locations. Matching grills and bigtime midbass.

 

David E.M.

[h20king 794]

Dave I'm thinking position 1 in the pic on the passenger side for one speaker and will go with what you advise on the drivers side.You are correct I currently have four bullet 650hp coax in the boat now and love the idea of using the 770hp coax for the extra set.Here is a couple pics of what I have going on under the dash.The sub is anchored to the floor then the facade mounts a couple inches in front of it so the sub can not be seen...............H

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

I hope the sub encl. is elevated off the sole with a few pads so that drainage can flow underneath. If not, do so. Now I can see that your sub is not coupled or sealed against the facade which is fine because it will freely vent over the top of the facade as I'm assuming the facade is not sealed at the top. You can usually squeeze a coaxial in the upper outside corner of the facade and still clear the sub enclosure. In this case its imperative that the back of the coaxial is totally encased so that its both acoustically isolated front to rear (given the short proximity to the opening over the top of the facade) and isolated from the considerable pressure coming from the sub's output. This keeps the coaxial from becoming a sympathetic radiator for the sub. Keeping the sub from modulating the coaxial will tighten up the midbass/midrange.

 

David E.M.

[RVR-RAT 269]

last ones

 

 

Wow!!! Awesome :thumbsup: Does anyone know if those would be to heavy for the G-force tower? I have skylon defcon IV now that are fairly heavy but not a combined weight of 66 lbs The reason I ask is because my tower has broke once already.

[Carter13 69]

Wow!!! Awesome :thumbsup: Does anyone know if those would be to heavy for the G-force tower? I have skylon defcon IV now that are fairly heavy but not a combined weight of 66 lbs The reason I ask is because my tower has broke once already.

 

You answered your own question by stating that your tower has already broken.

My G-force tower sways enought with my single pair of 80'S up there and I know it could not take any more weight PERIOD.

[h20king 794]

I would have to agree with carter if your tower has broke before I would say no way could it handle the 485's they are very heavy and very large.I would have to guess that most towers don't even have enough room for two of these monsters as they just barley fit my double up. I must admit they are much bigger than what I had imagined them to be.Thanks Again Dave any ideas where a guy could just buy a basket cover to enclose the rear of a 770hp coax.....................H

[RVR-RAT 269]

You answered your own question by stating that your tower has already broken.

My G-force tower sways enought with my single pair of 80'S up there and I know it could not take any more weight PERIOD.

Thanks Carter for your input. I'm not sure if my tower broke just from the speakers I have up there now or from the long hauls to the river and Lake Nacimiento on horrible freeways.I imagine it may be a combination of the two. I can see my tower in the rear view mirror from the the motorhome just getting worked as I head down the freeway. I appreciate your opinion, and you saved me the cost of those tower speakers. Any ideas what would work well up on the tower?? Thx

[WakeDoc 471]

Something else to consider on long hauls it to remove the speakers/weight fromt the tower. Does not take that long to take them off and saves the wear and tear on the tower. When we had the Wet Sounds 485's on the last boat, we just had to pop off the speaker wire plug, take off four nuts on each speaker and store them under the observers seat. H20 has the new clamps which now have four screws, two on each clamp, they stay in place until you remove the hard wear, slide them to one side and they are free.

[RVR-RAT 269]

Something else to consider on long hauls it to remove the speakers/weight fromt the tower. Does not take that long to take them off and saves the wear and tear on the tower. When we had the Wet Sounds 485's on the last boat, we just had to pop off the speaker wire plug, take off four nuts on each speaker and store them under the observers seat. H20 has the new clamps which now have four screws, two on each clamp, they stay in place until you remove the hard wear, slide them to one side and they are free.

Thanks wakedoc it's a matter of taking 4 allen bolts out just never did it, but after hearing feedback and experience i will quit being lazy and pop them off!! Thx

Edited February 14, 2011 by RVR-RAT

[RVR-RAT 269]

I would have to agree with carter if your tower has broke before I would say no way could it handle the 485's they are very heavy and very large.I would have to guess that most towers don't even have enough room for two of these monsters as they just barley fit my double up. I must admit they are much bigger than what I had imagined them to be.Thanks Again Dave any ideas where a guy could just buy a basket cover to enclose the rear of a 770hp coax.....................H

Thanks......H

[h20king 794]

Doc thanks for the post.During instillation I noticed that the allens were not going to face each other so thinking clean install I spun them so they both face the inside essentially locking the speakers to the clamps.Guess I will have to spin them the way you mention above so the speakers are removeable.................H

[h20king 794]

Dave while I am doing the upgrade I am also installing some LED speaker rings and cup holder rings.I have looked at earmarks and others and have the inside figured out but my question is my pro 485's have a beveled grill I under stand that because of the weight of the woofer the ring must be mounted between the grill and speaker.Question is how does the ring look with the grill ??? I would think it would look funny up close due to the shape of the grill.Also how difficult is it to open the speaker housing and run the power wires inside?? and are there extra pins on the quick disconnect to wire them to ???thanks...............H

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

The midbass drivers are massive and heavy. WetSounds has an intelligent design where the motor structure rests within an internal cradle. This way the speaker is supported by something more than four #8 screws into an ABS mold. So we feel very strongly that the factory mounting scheme should not be altered in any way and that any light ring should be positioned over the speaker and behind the grill rather the the conventional method of behind the speaker. This keeps the motor structure fully seated in its cradle. A portion of the light ring is recessed within the pod. With the substantial size of the speaker it really isn't noticeable that you've extended the grill out. The WetSounds 'SpeakOn' connectors have two of four poles that are unused and are perfect for the extra lighting. Definitely prerun a single 18/2 up the tower, split it and route it into the speaker pods via the existing connectors so that the addition will be a breeze. You can also run a single 18/2 around the perimeter of the entire boat. With the super low draw of LEDs this will support an endless number. All you'll have to do is tap on with each additional light fixture. Sometimes you might want dual circuits so it doesn't hurt to run a second 18/2 around the world.

 

David E.M.

[h20king 794]

Dave I already have the entire perimeter of the boat wired so I will just be taping in for the cup holders and interior speaker rings and plan to run the extra wire to power the tower lite speaker rings on a separate circuit.To wire the 485's do I need to disassemble the entire housing???Also what makes one ring better than another?? should I be looking for the most amount of lites per foot?? and which style gives the best effect frosted or polished?? sorry about all the questions...................H

[DavidEM 1]

h20king,

You only need to remove a midbass driver to have full access for wiring.

Please contact me via email for the details of what differentiates one product from another. There are some things you'll want to know.

Thanks.

David E.M.

[Wiggles 2]

Dave I already have the entire perimeter of the boat wired so I will just be taping in for the cup holders and interior speaker rings and plan to run the extra wire to power the tower lite speaker rings on a separate circuit.To wire the 485's do I need to disassemble the entire housing???Also what makes one ring better than another?? should I be looking for the most amount of lites per foot?? and which style gives the best effect frosted or polished?? sorry about all the questions...................H

 

 

Hey H,

 

When you say your just taping in what are you using to do it, a connector or you actually soldering them into the loop.

 

W