Outdoor speakers

[MarieAntoinette]

We are currently in the process of building a 45' sailboat and would like to install two 9" speakers in the cockpit. Could you tell me which would be the better marine speakers for this purpose?

[sailingdog]

You mean 6" x 9" speakers, rather than 9" diameter round speakers? I would recommend that you install 6" diameter speakers and do so behind deckplates, so that you don't have two 6" diameter openings that could possibly endanger the boat in a capsize or if the cockpit gets pooped.

[Cruisingdad]

Marie,

I had Bose installed on my last boat (outside, all weather) and have Polyplanar now. The Bose sounded much better. Never had a problem with them. Go Bose.

- CD

PS Now won't I feel odd when I find out the Polyplanars are made by Bose!! If so, don't tell me. Ignorance is bliss.

[sailingdog]

CD-

Actually, the Bose marine speakers are made by Polyplanar... But the Bose label plate improves the sound quality, due to the specialized acoustic alloy it is made of.

[camaraderie]

The Bose is bad...it just does not suck as much as the poly planer!

For a 6.5" round flush mount speaker (the largest)...get an Infinity Kappa 602M




For a box type speaker get a Polk Atrium45


Either choice is about $150 for quite nice sound without going nuts on the price.

Crutchfield has both...Circut City has the Polks, BoatersWorld has the Infinity's as well.

[haukebo]

If you really like your music....
Go to a wakeboarding supplier and get yourself a set of big speakers that those speedboats mount on their arch... They seem to be well designed for outdoor exposure. And for some reason this group of boaters puts a premium on good sound!

[sailingdog]

Cam-

Are those marinized???

[camaraderie]

Dawg...The Infinities are...the Polks are simply outdoor weatherproof...but I imagine you might need to clean the terminals once in a while.

[sailingdog]

Hmm... might need to order them... have to check the toy budget first though.

[capecodphyllis]

Originally Posted by MarieAntoinette

We are currently in the process of building a 45' sailboat and would like to install two 9" speakers in the cockpit. Could you tell me which would be the better marine speakers for this purpose?

Will you be using the speakers to monitor VHF, listen to music, or both?

I installed a 7 x 4 inch Alpine center channel speaker [designed for in-dash installation in a car]. It offers absolutely superb VHF voice reproduction and is also great for music - especially vocal music. Sure, you lose the very high highs and the very low lows, but what you gain in the middle is much better than ANY marine stereo speaker pair I've ever heard. Also, it seems to be extremely efficient because it's capable of high volume with a tiny amp. (low power consumption = mucho important)

Just a thought. Here's the link. (You could get 2 if you must have stereo).

Alpine SBS-05DC In-dash center channel car speaker at Crutchfield.com