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2075GS: MS650B OEM speakers failed

Radioactive

Radioactive

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In doing a routine test on the 2075GS's systems, I found that there was no sound coming from the port bow speaker, and very little distorted audio coming from the starboard bow speaker. On the 2075GS, these are located in 'fishing lockers' on the port and starboard bow (I use them for the anchor, etc.) The OEM radio is an Alpine CDE-9852 AM/FM/CD player.

Anyhow, upon removing the port bow speaker, I found the mylar speaker cone had dried out and disintegrated. The speaker coil was still trying to drive the cone, but there was no cone there to move the air! Similarly, although not as bad, the starboard bow speaker cone had deteriorated and only half of it was left.

These didn't have much identification on them other than "MS650B" on the back. An internet search did not turn up much. I replaced them with a pair of Sony dual-cone, 4 ohm, 6.5" speakers and everything sounded fine again. In fact, probably better than the original OEM speakers provided by Bennigan.

At the end of the season, I'll probably be replacing the other two speakers in the helm and the "L" seat on the tri-toon, since they will most likely suffer the same fate. The speaker grill under the "L" seat already shows signs of cracking from UV exposure. I would have thought these would have lasted longer than this since we store the boat under the playpen cover from September through April.

The fix was not expensive (~$60) and did not take long to replace. Bennington, however, should have provided some service loops in the wires for speaker replacement. The leads were so tight to the OEM speakers that additional wire had to be spliced on to the speaker feedlines to be able to install the new speakers, even though the new speakers had identical push-on butt connectors. Not a very maintenance-friendly design by the boat manufacturer.

RadioActive
 
What year is the toon? Got some pics ??

Sounds like you got it resolved easily, I can relate to the wiring issue though. I wish there was a "standard" connector for all vehicles. Every "vehicle" I work on has a different speaker connector. As you stated, it would be nice to have " a little " extra wiring for down the road.
 
Radioactive, I think those speakers came stock on my boat too. Do these (on the left) look familiar?

Whoops, found a close up of the back of one of the oem speakers on my boat - they are made by Maxxima.
 
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I gotta ask as well, how old is your boat?

The 'service loop' or extra wire is a nice thought, but then you have extra wire hanging around to get caught up in your anchor, PDF's or whatever else you may store in that area. Could you not 'clock' the speaker so the connectors lined up where the originals did?

Now Jim points out that his boat came with the same speakers, so his are now 13 years old, not a bad lifespan for speakers exposed to the elements. Besides, it was not a premium sound system to begin with, so the upgrade will bring you better sound at

a minimal cost.
 
PDF's ???? You keep documents on your boat ??? LOL !!!!!!!
 
Geoffrey, 13 years old? Nonsense, my boat is only a few months over 11. LOL

Radioactive, are you the original owner? If not, I'd think someone did an 'upgrade' at some point.

I do know that on my 2002 2275 RL, the speaker wires were attached to the insides of the seating using screws and plastic clips 6 - 10" before connecting to the back of the speaker. When I upgraded mine, I did have to loosen, reroute and refasten the speaker wires to connect to the replacement speakers I used. I'd call it a very good install, even although slack was not left for a future upgrade.
 
Let's see if I can answer some of these:

Jim_R: Yep, I'm the original owner. I also did not see a picture post in your comments, but mine had no manufacturer shown. No one had done any upgrades. This was directly from the factory. The wires were so tight the speakers would not even fall out when the mounting screws were loosened. There was absolutely no slack at all.

Geoffrey & Brenda: The boat is just over 5 years old. It was purchased in May of 2007. The service loop is a pretty standard thing to do in well-engineered installations, and it can easily be kept out of the way of the anchor. The current cable is tied down with wire clamps and is inside a flexible protective tube, but it could have easily been given some slack. Bennington didn't do us any favor the way it was installed, especially something that would need to be replaced.

SemperFI: I'm sure that by the off season I'll have decided what sort of connector to use for a more permanent installation. Most likely, they will be Anderson Power Poles since they don't have anything that will easily corrode and can be installed in the field. Fortunately, I live and boat on fresh water, so I don't have salt water / salt fog to contend with.

Team Bennington: I understand your comment about the Alpine, but that is what was installed in the helm when it came to me new from the Bennington dealer. We had to wait on the boat to be produced by the factory, so I don't understand where the Alpine would have come from. I picked it up only a couple days after it arrived from the factory.

The Alpine is, by the way, an absolutely terrible receiver. The display is unreadable in sunlight, and the 'user interface' is so impossible to comprehend that we have to keep the instruction book on board to try and operate it. If I post the hull number here, can you look in your records and see what it was shipped with if this Alpine wasn't OEM? The dealer that sold the boat to us is no longer your authorized dealer in this area, but I'm not sure if that was your action or theirs.

RadioActive
 
So let me get this straight, you're complaining about a 6 year old boat? Our 2275 RL is 7 years old ( 07 purchased in 06) and it has an Alpine radio (am/fm/cd) and the same speakers and I don't have a problem with either. That was 2006/2007 technology, a lot has changed since then.
 
I do not believe that the Alpine CDE-9852 is rated as a 'Marine' head unit. Based on the life of the speakers, I doubt they were either. You might consider replacing the head unit as well.
 
Went back and checked...we did use an Alpine stereo head unit from 2006-2008. The speakers were Ultimate, which we still use today (an updated model.) sorry for the mistake.
 
It's ok TB, your allowed a mistake every now & then ..... :D
 
cwag911 said:
So let me get this straight, you're complaining about a 6 year old boat? Our 2275 RL is 7 years old ( 07 purchased in 06) and it has an Alpine radio (am/fm/cd) and the same speakers and I don't have a problem with either. That was 2006/2007 technology, a lot has changed since then.
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Well, yes, I am 'complaining' about the speaker cones disintegrating. They are not even directly exposed to the UV rays of the sun behind their grilles. Plus, we keep the boat covered with the playpen cover from September through March, and with a light weight tarp during the summer. We're also on a fresh water lake, not saltwater. So, yes, I would expect something to last for 6 years under those conditions.

RadioActive
 
Jim_R said:
I do not believe that the Alpine CDE-9852 is rated as a 'Marine' head unit. Based on the life of the speakers, I doubt they were either. You might consider replacing the head unit as well.
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Yep, I think you are correct, Jim_R. Searching on the internet says that the CDE-9852 is a "car" radio and not marine. So, you are correct that probably sooner than later we will be replacing the 'head' unit as well.

TB did some research that showed they did install Alpine for a while, so I guess I am the unlucky guy who got the non-marine units in a marine situation. Thanks!

RadioActive
 
Given that we've now (thank you all!) figured out that this was a TB installed radio, and that it isn't a marine model, and it has a nearly impossible user interface and that anything on the LCD can't be seen in full sunlight..........

What are suggestions for a replacement audio unit that: 1) MUST be a marine rated unit; 2) MUST have a display that is easily visible in direct, full sun; 3) has FM, USB and iPoD (control) interfaces (CD and AM are not needed but if it has them, that's icing); 4) has about 4 X 50 watts of output (roughly); and 5) fits in a 'standard' dash opening?

Certainly some of the crew here has been faced with replacing a radio and has seen the good and the bad of the current crop that is out there. Thanks

RadioActive
 
I haven't seen it in person, but sure like the look of that new bluetooth one coming in my new boat!
 
Oh, and add some Wet Sounds xs-650's!! You'll love them!!!!
 
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