Stereo and speaker placement

[Ixneigh]

For owners of the M model 26, what kind of tunes you guys have on your boats? I am not one to have high end equipment but I would like a decent radio and a couple of speakers. Is there a popular or common place to mount it in the M model?
Any hints for running the thin gauge speaker wires?

[raycarlson]

i mounted a run of the mill sony marine stereo in the upper compartment to the right of the dagger board,also one speaker right next to to dagger b,and the other speaker directly below in the under seat compartment also right next to the dagger board.i was mainly trying to keep the two speakers in seperate boxes for better sound quality, but who am i trying to kid with dual hearing aids which i dont wear on the boat anyway im probably not the best judge of sound quality

[c130king]

I installed my VHF radio and Stereo in a wooden box above the galley on the port side.



My Dad actually built the box for me. It probably could have been made a little bit smaller. It is secured via two bolts which actually go through the deck. All you can see on the deck is two bolt heads and washers. And they are sealed with silcone sealant. The antenna cable runs through a hole drilled in the liner behind the box to the back of the boat and then down to the area below the aft bunk then out the back through the same hole that all the engine cables run out. Then up the mast arch to my antenna mounted on the arch.

The pros of this set-up is that I don't have to run power cables very far or across the boat. The cons is the speakers. I still don't have the speakers installed. I have them wired up but they just sit in the cabin. I haven't figured out how I will run the speaker wires yet so they just lay out in plane sight...they come out of the back of the wooden box (which does have a bottom screwed in so you can't see those wires...but it has no back right now). Maybe what I need to do is get really long speaker wires and run them aft and then cross over to the other side in the rear of the aft bunk then up to the liner and then forward on the starboard side behind the liner...is there a problem if speaker wires get really long? I am not sure about that.

My stereo is made by Dual and has a USB plug so I can hook up my iPod and play all my iPod tunes. It has a remote control which I can use from the cockpit.

Don't have a remote mic for the VHF...but to be honest I don't use my VHF hardly at all. But if I do I can sit in the entry way and keep my head out looking around while talking.

I don't cook on my galley so no issues with the box getting in the way. But even if I did the box would not be in my way. I leave the galley full aft most all the time and only use the aft bunk for storage of "stuff".

You can see the computer and wires for my wheel pilot...but when the galley is aft this is pretty well hidden.

Anyway, it works for me. I have seen some others with some really neat set-ups...I am sure they will post pictures soon. Or you can do some searches and find them.

Good Luck.


Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[Russ]

Mine was installed by the dealer. It's in the space above the M mirror. I took it further and removed all the foam and make a nice storage compartment in there. Yea, I know, my boat is gonna sink now.

The speakers were mounted, one under the dinete table and one directly accross from it. Works well in there and the wires....well you have to be creative.

I got a pair of cheapo rectangle shaped waterproof speakers for the cockpit and just put them under the dodger area. Then put them away when not on the boat.

--Russ

[pokerrick1]

I just priced a new automobile system for a new Mac and can get two speakers, AM, FM, CD, Sattelite Radio with a remote that works from anywhere and doesn't need direct line of sight installed for about $600 (not including the Sattelite cost of maybe $12/month). In my other Mac the radio was dealer installed above the mirror, and that seemed like a good spot. We had one speaker in the aft berth and the other outside on the entrance wall.

I see no reason to go for a marine approved stereo system when it's going to be inside anyway.

Rick

[Highlander]

I just priced a new automobile system for a new Mac and can get two speakers, AM, FM, CD, Sattelite Radio with a remote that works from anywhere and doesn't need direct line of sight installed for about $600 (not including the Sattelite cost of maybe $12/month). In my other Mac the radio was dealer installed above the mirror, and that seemed like a good spot. We had one speaker in the aft berth and the other outside on the entrance wall.

I see no reason to go for a marine approved stereo system when it's going to be inside anyway.

Rick

Yeh !!
Thats OK if you live in a humidity free area It aint gonna last long in a humid area unless your running a humidifier !!

J
PS We had last summer cabin temp's reaching 55%C with humidity in the upper 65% -75% C. SO IT WAS Casino time ! beer & play the slots !! Sure beat the heat

[DaveB]

You are in High Salt Air were anything on your boat needs protection.
I have Marine sterio system 200 watts I bought on sale from Bass pro Shop for around $150 with 2 speakers 3 years ago and works great. I did run my heavy duty sealed speaker wires (16 gauge...What I had.. instead of the stock).
Don't even think of Auto speakers or sterio system, they have to be Marine.
Speakers are mounted Port and Starboard aft of the front Hatch on my Mac.X and can easy be heard in cockpit with full sound at 1/4 volume, crank it to 1/2 volume and your danceing.
Dave

For owners of the M model 26, what kind of tunes you guys have on your boats? I am not one to have high end equipment but I would like a decent radio and a couple of speakers. Is there a popular or common place to mount it in the M model?
Any hints for running the thin gauge speaker wires?

[Boblee]

Mounted the radio/cd player in the bulkhead above the mirror with one speaker beside and the other speaker beside the cabin steps starbd side which balances out the sw/bd on the port side, works great.
As for humidity most of our touring is in tropical areas and really haven't noticed anything after 5 years.

[seahouse]

While it’s not a canon solution, car speakers can be made more water-resistant with a can of quality silicone spray. Car speakers are made be mounted inside a car door, where rain and water run down, so they usually have shields to protect them, but that’s not perfect, and offers NO protection from humidity. Some speaker cones are paper instead of plastic, so they are less waterproof, but a coat of silicone spray will help that.

The voice coil and terminals, and crossover capacitors, if there are any, can be safely coated as well. The slightly added mass of the silicone on the speaker cone might slightly impair the high frequency response, but the acoustics on a Mac (or lack thereof) are such that I don’t think they’ll be getting THX-II certified anytime soon.

I would also suggest that sound quality might be improved on many of the setups here (eg. one speaker in cabin, one in cockpit) by using the “mono” setting if there is one.

I successfully treated a set of speakers on a motorcycle which were frequently rained on or washed on and they were still working well 10 years later when I sold it. And they were paper – more common in those days (1980’s).

MOST components on printed circuit boards are safe to spray with silicone, but I would not recommend an across-the-board (no pun intended) coating unless you are familiar with, and can recognize parts that should not be coated. If you do choose to spray, be sure that all of the carrier solvent has evaporated fully before you power the circuit up.

Another hint – a dab of clear fingernail polish works well to weatherproof individual connections (soldered or wire) in a circuit that might see moist conditions. Easy, cheap, dries fast, non-conductive, easy to inspect, and works.

- Brian.

[Ixneigh]

Thanks for all the imput. I will let the boat get rained on a few more times to check for leaks and then consider some of the places mentioned. I checked prices today. A cheap marine unit seems to be around 150 bucks. A cheap auto unit is a hundred. Most of them have iPod connections. I don't even bother with cd s anymore.
If I do remove the foam and put the radio above the mirror is it ok to use the wire already there for the light fixture by piggybacking the radio onto it? It would then be activated by the switch for the cabin lights but I don't mind that. I could relabel the switch to say cabin amenities or something.

[Hardcrab]

Easy, already wired power source from the light there or the mast head light; pick your poison and splice away.
The only negative is keeping power on for the radio presets over any length of time.
(We can have alot of presets in the LA area for the good stuff.)

Very minor I know, but still, battery drain is battery drain.
The switch light is prolly 20-30-40 -50 (?) milliamps and the radio preset current is 2-3-4-5(?) milliamps.

I used the dinette light for my radio power source, but if I ever get into that area again, I'll change to pick up the mast light power feed instead and try to change the switch internal lamp to a LED or remove it all together so as to draw absoulute minimum current and keep the presets alive for our average of three weeks between 150 mile visits to the boat.
That will work for us because we rarely have have the mast head light plugged in above deck anyhow.

By the way, we installed both speakers as far apart as possible in the same area with the radio in between.
Agreed, not very much stereo separation, but a very simple wiring job and the music is still heard anywhere on the boat just fine.
I'm into simple, and I'll save my critical listening for the home system.

Speaking of simple, use one of the newer style "swivel head" jig saws to cut the holes, it makes the job simple versus the fixed type standard jig saw, and only a few bucks more, and use a hacksaw type blade. Less ugly cuts in my limited experience.

[David Mellon]

I know I've linked this a hundred times but I am still very happy with my system. After years of use it has proven itself to be ideal. I can easily move the speakers to the deck, roof or even the trailer rails for great sound in a campground. You just need some extra wire. The sound in the cockpit is great and even better in the cabin. I love the control at the pedestal and l can hook up iPods etc as well.

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=691

Plus it still looks great.

[Québec 1]

Easy,
Speaking of simple, use one of the newer style "swivel head" jig saws to cut the holes, it makes the job simple versus the fixed type standard jig saw, and only a few bucks more, and use a hacksaw type blade. Less ugly cuts in my limited experience.

I found my dremel makes a nice cut with no flaking of the outside gel coat. You can pick up a cheap dremel with attachments for 24 bucks these days.
Q1

[Catigale]

Safety glasses a MUST with a Dremel - very high speed rotations means things 'fly off' quickly....they are a great tool for cutting off rusty bolts...

[pokerrick1]

Yessir - - - if you are going to use a Dremel on my boat - - - you are going to have to wear Safety Glasses for sure

Rick