Boat's stereo system

[bigrush]

Hi i just purchased a boat and it currently has a Rampage head unit (35w x 4) and had 4 5.25 speakers. I upgraded the speakers to Rockford Fosgates 2-ways, but it still doesn't sound very clear or loud. I would like it to be loud, so should I change headunits, or would it be better to run a amp to the speakers. Whatever is the cheapest, I just want the speakers to be loud enough to hear over the engine. thanks

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[alti98 10+ year member]

What size is your boat?

Ive never been in a boat where u can hear the speakers over the engine.

and ive been in 5-6 different peoples boats.

im guessing youd need something like tower speakers.

 

[bigrush]

It's a 21 footer (River boat, Open bow)

It seems like so much work to get a good system in a boat. What is the most economical way to get a loud system, I don't necessarily mean bass.

 

[Expy2000]

Ditto on hearing over the engine, on our fountain we went through many makes but the speakers that did the best job were Planet Audio marine speakers. @150 watts each.

 

[DJ FADE 10+ year member]

amp them. find out what rms those new rockford 2 ways can handle and then buy an amp that matches. in my boat i have an alpine head unit, with diamond audio all the way around.. 4 on the tower, 4 in the boat.. and theyre all powered by external amps. add a sub/amp and that will make it louder too. you dont need to change headunits to get it louder, you just need more power to the speakers. that headunit is probably only putting out 8-12 watts per speaker. if you have any other q's, let me know! hope this helps.

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

Replacing stock speakers with aftermarket ones will almost ALWAYS make it less loud. Stock speakers are very efficient and meant to be able to run off the limited power your stock deck puts out. Aftermarket speakers sound ALOT better, but, in turn, are alot less efficient and need more power to get loud.

Remember that loudness is a function of power and speaker efficiency.