Sorry...have a stereo question for my guys :-)

[toyotafreak]

I know it's kinda lame to start here but hope one of you has some easy answers for me. After 11 years I may be ready to upgrade the stock system. Looking for best value here, just trying to get the basics. I've read up on components with tweets firing up into the windshield, but really just want to replace the four coaxes with six, add an amp for them that will at some point let me block out low lows when I add a sub, and put in a head unit that has both a remote, wireless usb and audio jack. CD would be nice but not absolutely necessary. We have iphones and galaxies. Most concerned with just not picking bad speakers. Have done that with Infinities twice in a row. Don't want wierd low distortions at low volumes. The two stock speakers in the back fire forward from the side cubbies and I think it would be good to add two that fire to the rear. Would be kinda awesome to run all speaks on one side on the same channel, series if possible, and use a 2-channel amp. Okay with giving up front-back fader, but would need like 8 ohm 6.5 coax to get it something above 2 ohms. Not so worried about 'marine' rating for wetness (never get wet) although they do get hot sitt8ng on the side of the house. Do want to add a sub under the helm at some point. Don't expect we'll ever do tower speakers.

Would appreciate anything you're willing to recommend. Thanks!!!

[toyotafreak]

Duh, in parallel...

[ktdust]

Toyotafreak,

Not sure how basic to keep this so if I dumb it down too much, no disrespect intended. Also when it comes to stereos everyone has favourites so this is just my two cents.

If you're increasing the power draw by adding amps I would first look at a dual battery setup.

I would stay away from increasing the number of coaxial speakers and spring for better components instead of increasing the number of speakers. If you have the sound coming from too many points your soundstage loses focus and the sound gets muddy.

If you don't want to distort at low volumes you may want to add a sub straight away. Adding two amps with built in crossovers and a sub may help with your current system while keeping costs down. I would look for a couple 2/3/4 channel amp, about 240 watts/60 watts per channel using four channels. You could use it to feed the four coaxial you have now and filter out the lows to prevent distortion. Use the other one as a two channel/120 watts per channel to drive the subs and filter out the highs and mids. Most amps have built in crossovers to allow you to separate the frequencies.

You could also replace your coaxials with components as they sound quality is much better.

I've always used xtant or Phoenix gold amps, kicker or JL audio subs and mbquart or Rockford fosgate mids and tweeters. You may want to look at kicker solobaric and JL W6 subs as they need minimal room for the enclosures (1 cubic foot for a 10" instead of 2.5cf). Heard good thinks about some of the Hertz and Polk speakers as well but never had them.

If you want to phase the system I would buy subs and an amp first, then tweeters and 5.25 mids. Keep the mids and tweets together when mounting. If you still have money you can look at stiffening caps, separate crossovers etc. spend the cash on speakers as your first priority and then focus on amps.

Hope it helps are at least gets the conversation going.

[toyotafreak]

Thanks very much for the response! For some reason I don't think I saw your response until today :-(

Went ahead and upgraded the head unit to get bluetooth USB and AUX in. Is probably missing a few things, but got a Kenwood KDC-BT558U at Fry's for $139. I know there are better ones out there, but dang it was nice to just remove the OEM and plug this one in - no wiring whatsoever and a nice upgrade from CD AM/FM. Duh. Did not replace speakers, so still running OEM Kenwoods.

I got cold feet on the rest. I was headed towards upgrading the coaxes with Polk http://marine-speakers-review.toptenreviews.com/, Fosgate or Kicker 6.5s. Note all have a solid cone since the tweeter is suspended on the grill. I was hoping to drive these with the Fosgate Punch 600X4 that would give six coaxes 100W RMS each (back two in parallel so amp sees 2 ohms). I thought this would be better than going straight to a sub, in fact maybe enough bass to not have to do a sub at all.

After this weekend though, I believe you're right that the sub should come first. The lower-end system was an all JL deck boat with six 6.5's and one down-firing 12 under the helm (really small box, btw) all fed by a 5-channel JL amp (super super tiny). Think he was in for about $3K. The second boat's system was higher-end, but I left feeling like that's just way too much sound for us. I didn't mind the bass, but two boats down on the beach it was still hard to carry on a conversation, ostly because of mids/highs. I think I could run the components (with lows filtered) off the head unit with a modest sub/amp and be satisfied.

Also...spent some time revisiting Pete's thoughts on battery isolators. Recall his research on the Hellroaring isolator. There's a new one from Sterling http://sterling-power-usa.com/ProSplit-RZeroVoltDropMarineBatteryIsolator-13.aspx that actually reads cooler to me. Either way, about $150 adder that many will say is overkill. Then I talk to a guy that had his system professionally done (with some brand of isolator) and he's replacing Optimas like they're going out of style (two-ish per year for ten years.) I've heard Optimas aren't as good as they used to be, but I've got 11 years on mine. Figure he must be doing something wrong, and if a high-end isolator will keep the batteries safe, I'd definitely prefer to do that.

[toyotafreak]

One more thing. I printed out scale templates of the JL 7.7's and Fosgate 8 coaxials, thinking four or six of those might push some bass. The 7.7's fit in the bow and cockpit cubbies. Holes have to be enlarged, but there is room in all axes. The Fosgate 8s wont fit in either spot.

[toyotafreak]

Kt, you're spot on. We put my son's low-end 12" Pioneer sub (sealed box) and low-end 150W RMS amp where the driver's kick panel was, set the old Kenwood components to cut off at ~100 Hz from the head unit...and it's so perfect! Even at low volumes it's just so much more rich. Can't believe I've waited this long.

Now looking at the Fosgate Punch 300 powered 12" for $200. Good reviews.

Don't laugh, but will carry a spare battery until we get the dual battery setup down the road.

[HCollado]

Derek,

Would you happen to know what the original model Kenwood you took out was?

I still have the original on my '99 and would like to replace it with the model you mentioned above. I want to be sure the one you bought is compatible with mine.

Thanks,

[toyotafreak]

The OEM was KDC-4009. This link shows what the plug and jack look like: http://www.uneeksupply.com/Kenwood-KDC-4009-Wire-Harness_p_15277.html. You can also download the user guide for 4009 or whichever model you have and compare to the user guide of the new one http://www.google.com/url?url=http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/113/113BT558U.PDF&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=gAKvU4W4K4HyoATD44GIDA&ved=0CB4QFjAB&usg=AFQjCNFHf9qpwI3H88KleIIccJ5i69HjEA

[toyotafreak]

After the first weekend, then hooking the sub to it, only found two gaps so far. First, it would be cool to find a head unit that stores all your settings after removing the battery or switching it off at the battery switch. Good news is that the default settings aren't too far off (the old unit sounded bad on defaults). Second, it's cool to have the high pass filters on the head unit, but am thinking the lowest cutoff at 100Hz might be a little too high. Not sure.

Overall, happy with it although there are so many more settings, etc. from back in the day :-) Love 'em and hate 'em.

[toyotafreak]

Also...in an evening of weakness...bought the Fosgate powered sub http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/p300-12 and four Polk MM651UMs http://www.polkaudio.com/products/mm651um off eBay. Sub was $209 delivered and Polks were $331 delivered. Will run the Polks off the head unit for a while (or forever...).

And...will see just how ghetto it is to carry an extra bettery for a while. Thinking it might just be fine considering we only make 4-5 river trips per year. We'll be pulling the two blue tops out of our daily drivers before jumping in the Sequoia and heading out.

[cyclone]

hi Derek,
Funny you should mention the hellroaring isolator, just put it in the SX last week:) I went with conventional batteries, a type 58 in the stock location and a type 24 marine deep cell for accessories, located in the port vdrive storage behind the seat.

I have the polk momo marine speakers, they all still work and sound great, even the 6x9s on the tower that have lived outside for8-9 yrs.

the w6 12 and box that was in the back got wet and the box swelled up, even though I epoxied the heck out of it. speaker and box were wasted. I stll have the 10" w6 under the dash, its plenty, really.