The sister of a repeat marine audio client recently contacted us about an audio upgrade for her Caravelle boat. She initially just wanted a radio and some speakers, but after discussing the benefits of an amplifier and a subwoofer we came up with a complete package for her.
Kenwood Marine Radio Upgrade
To give the client the ability to stream audio from her smartphone through her new audio system, we added a new Kenwood radio. To ensure many seasons of audio use, we used one of the marine radios Kenwood offers. We installed the radio in the client’s existing marine radio cover kit.
JL Audio Marine Speakers
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The rear speakers were spaced out a bit so the underseat storage compartments weren’t compromised. -
The JL Audio coaxial speakers feature woofers and tweeters in one speaker. -
The rear speakers light up the back half of the boat. -
The front speakers add just the right amount of sound and light to this system.
The cornerstone of a great-sounding marine audio system is great-sounding set of speakers. For this Caravelle audio system we chose the JL Audio MX series speakers. To add a little more excitement when the sun went down, we used the speakers that feature blue LED lighting. We added a set of speakers in the front, in the factory locations. The rear speakers required a bit of spacing to fit properly. We fabricated some plastic spacers from HDPE to give the speakers a perfect fit.
Subwoofer Upgrade
Clients often don’t initially understand the many benefits of adding a subwoofer to their marine audio system. We like to educate them on how a subwoofer makes a big difference. Adding a subwoofer ensures that the audio is tonally balanced. Without a subwoofer, and audio system is missing the lowest octaves of sound. Another benefit of a marine audio subwoofer is that it allows us to filter more of the bass from the speakers, thus allowing them to play louder and cleaner. The marine audio subwoofer we used in this Caravelle was a JL Audio MX series subwoofer.
MX Series Amplifier
Powering the system in this boat is a single 4 channel JL Audio amplifier. We used two of the channels to power all four of the speakers. The remaining two channels were bridged to power the JL Audio subwoofer. We have used the JL Audio MX 280/4 in many applications like this and has found it offers tremendous bang-for-the-buck.
Awesome Caravelle Audio System
With the new gear installed, we went through the process of adjusting the radio and amplifier. We made sure the gain control was properly matched to the radio for maximum performance. We carefully adjusted the crossovers to make sure the system would sound its best at any volume. When the client picked up the boat she loved how loud and clear the system played. She was excited to be out on the water with it and see how the lighting looked at night. At Pinnacle Autosound we are marine audio experts. Stop by, call or contact us today to find out more about making your boat sound better.
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