The staff at Pinnacle Autosound was recently contacted about upgrading the audio system in a NauticStar center console boat. With the help of a friend, the new boat owner’s wife was planning the surprise upgrade. After reviewing the options for the system the client booked a time for us to work on the boat.
Speaker Upgrades
The boat came equipped with a pair of speakers and an Infinity marine radio. We determined the radio would be fine for the source unit but knew the speakers would need an upgrade. As with most of our marine installations, we turned to JL Audio for the speakers. The existing speakers were upgraded with MX series coaxial speakers.
The over head console roof had two molded spots for speakers, but none were installed by the factory. We added an additional set of speakers to this location. The wiring was routed with the help of the factory installed chase cords. We made sure to return the cords to their proper locations in case any future wires need to be ran.
Subwoofer Addition
We are often asked about why subwoofers are important on boats. Subwoofers not only help to add excitement to the music, they also help reduce the strain on the speakers to reproduce the lower octaves. This results in a system that will play louder and cleaner. Both great things! For this system we added 2 JL Audio M series 8″ subwoofers. The subwoofers were installed just forward of the console on each side of the hull.
Center Console Audio Amplification
The factory Infinity radio originally powered the boat speakers. This would not be enough power for our new upgrades, though. To bump up the power for the new speakers and subwoofers we added 2 JL Audio MX series amplifiers. These amplifiers are made to survive the abuse of a marine environment. A four channel model powers the speakers, while a mono model powers the subwoofers. The amplifiers were mounted on a panel that our technicians fabricated from HDPE plastic. HDPE is the plastic used by boat manufacturers for many of the covers and doors.
Great-sounding Marine Audio
Once the system was installed our technicians took their time to properly setup the amplifiers. The sensitivity controls were set to match the output of the radio and the crossover settings were adjusted for maximum performance. The result was an incredible sounding audio system that will please even the most discerning boater. If you are interested in learning more about the audio upgrades available for your boat, give us here at Pinnacle Autosound a call or contact us online.