Subwoofer question

dwna1a

dwna1a

Well-Known Member
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Apr 23, 2012
5,980
James River
Boat Info
88 Weekender 300 "Seahorse"
Engines
Twins 350
This winters list has started and I’m getting my ducks in a row. Number two and three on my list is a amp and subs.
How do I determine the size amp I will need? Also I’m looking at JL 8” subs, do you put one on each side of the boat or is that over kill?

Id like to order these today if possible. The guys at BOE say they can get them
 
@Wylie_Tunes is the guy to answer this, but location is important, you don't want to cancel your bass out by putting them in conflicting places. btw, i had an 8 in my 268, loved it, should of went with the M6 and it would of been plenty.... currently have 1 M6-10" that does pretty good
 
Chris-380 said:
That shows what i think (imo), you want the subs facing the same direction if possible, not aimed at each other from across the boat
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That's how mine are set up. One is in the starboard wall facing port, at the knees of the captain at the helm, and the other is under the helm bench seat, also in the starboard wall facing to port.
 
Mine would have to be in the two cabinets facing each other. They are low in the cockpit. The depth of the sub is a mounting issue.
 
yobub said:
That's how mine are set up. One is in the starboard wall facing port, at the knees of the captain at the helm, and the other is under the helm bench seat, also in the starboard wall facing to port.
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You happy with that? That’s what I am thinking i should do on my 380
 
I have only one 12" JL sub. Can't imagine needing two subs.
 
dwna1a said:
How do I determine the size amp I will need?
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Start with choosing the driver(s) it will power. Next, ignore the peak wattage numbers the marketing teams uses for advertising. Focus on the RMS at the given driver impedance.

If the woofers are contributing to the same area, multiple woofers should fire the same direction ideally. If the area is separate by, say a lounge/bench seat, then treat them as independent listening areas.

Depending on the above ^, id rather have a 10 or 12 over a pair of 8's, even thou two 8's is more surface area. The larger woofer will net you deeper bass extension.
 
Wylie, JL no longer has the 8” so I will need to find something different. My cockpit area is wide open and there’s not to many areas that have the depth needed for the back of the woofer. The back bench seat was removed, so nothing there to work with. I trying to stick to the JL so that all the speakers look the same.

would one 10” work?
 
Chris-380 said:
You happy with that? That’s what I am thinking i should do on my 380
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Sure, expensive, but it sounds great. Our cockpit has two 8" subs as described above, and then has JL 5 1/2" speakers on each side of the arch (port and starboard) and then two JL 6" speakers in the arch facing downward. These are driven by two JL amps that are under the helm bench seat. Then we have a pair of 6" in the transom facing rearward, and a pair on top of the arch in cones facing forward.

We are set up on a Fusion 755, 4-zone. The cockpit is one zone, transom and arch speakers another, main cabin another, and v berth another. I just found a pair of fusion amps behind the sofa that (I think) drive the cabin and v berth.
 
I have two 12" JL 12W6-V3s in a center-ported box. The box size is at a height that acts as a nice third seat in the rear starboard corner to go with the OEM bench. It's admittedly overkill, but sounds amazing. The subs are pushed by a JL RD1500/1 and wired down at 1ohm for 1500W to both subs.

The mains on the deck are two Polyplanar MA6800 pointing inward under the base of the radar arch, below are Morel components. The mains are pushed by an Xtant X604 at 600W, so 150W RMS per main speaker.

Yes, you can see ripples come off the side of the boat if you want, but it's usually at a comfortable listening balance. I have a bass knob wired to the bottom of the dash by my light dimmer, so I can mix the bass level easily.
 
dwna1a said:
Wylie, JL no longer has the 8” so I will need to find something different. My cockpit area is wide open and there’s not to many areas that have the depth needed for the back of the woofer. The back bench seat was removed, so nothing there to work with. I trying to stick to the JL so that all the speakers look the same.

would one 10” work?
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Could you do one 10" in a sealed box in the back corner somewhere? It wouldn't be integrated into the body of the boat, but you can tuck it away in a corner and that would put out a good amount of bass. Look into the JL 10W6V3. You'll want a good amount of power, 300W RMS at 4ohm at least, 600W RMS would be best.
 
I think to give everyone I’m asking for help that a photo of my cockpit would help.
 
We have a Single 10" M series, 2 pairs of 8.8 and 2 pairs of 7.7 M series. Running JL 600/6 X 2
I believe it was set up that the 8.8's and 1 pair of 7.7's run off the first 600/6 and the sub and 7.7's split the other amp.
it does sound amazing in my opinion, loud but very tight sounding. I think the single 10" does a great job with the help of the 8.8s
 
dwna1a said:
would one 10” work?
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Tough question. Your desire for bass will play into it. The location of the woofer, the woofer itself, the alignment type (enclosure) and wattage to the woofer. Many people are very happy with a single, moderate woofer, as its enough to fill in the missing program material thats left out with no woofer. Then, some are more on the bass-head side, and like a more commanding bass stage. So a single IB 10 with 200-300 watts rms is not enough.

In the end, its easy to turn down the bass, harder to turn it up beyond its capabilities.
 
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