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And, now I know where my first upgrade will be.

Chrisbert

Chrisbert

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Never heard of Q Marine speakers, but at least they are 6.5"; assuming Bennington cut the hole to 6.5".


QM-650 is the model they put in.


ill likely update to the Sony mx100 head and for speakers... need ideas.
 
read the following thread:


I put in Polk marine speakers and I'm happy .. if I decide to go more next step would be amp and subwoofer.
 
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Thanks Royal.  Looks like the sony head is working out well for folks, and Polk, JL, etc. (any of the higher end) speakers are the ticket.  Now I need to do this project before it hits 100F here. 
 
It's not too hard,,,, I had to buy some butt splice connectors,  cut and crimp some wires but the stereo install was pretty painless.  As far as speakers, I had to drill a few small screw holes for the new speakers mostly to align the "Polk" name on the speakers horizontally.  If you get speakers without any "name" on the front of them that wouldn't be a problem.  I didn't think about that before I bought them.  Yeah, understood,,,, not too much fun laying on your back under the console working when it's 90 out and it's 120 under there with no air flow!
 
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royal4 said:
It's not too hard,,,, I had to buy some butt splice connectors,  cut and crimp some wires 
Click to expand...

Noooooooooooo butt connectors on a boat unless they are heat shrink type ..... the wiring will corrode over time from the moisture intrusion. Do yourself a favor. Get a small bernzomatic soldering torch. I just soldered my wiring for Simrad on the boat with this and they work great. 2 seconds to heat wire, hit with solder, little heat shrink, done !! Easy peazy!! It's a compact butane torch. I've done a ton of wiring with this torch. One of my favorite things to do. 
pACE3-1244721enh-z7.jpg
 
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I can agree with that advice, I usually solder/heat shrink most  things I work on.  For some reason I didn't think to do it with these connections. I was probably in a hurry to try out my new toy.  On the bright side, it'll probably be replaced/upgraded long before they corrode.
 
Thanks y'all; great advice.


I wasn't able to find much info on my existing speakers.  Q-Marine / QM-650 doesn't return much on google.  Do we know if they are 4 ohm impedance?  Figure they are since that is the fairly common standard.
 
Chrisbert said:
Thanks y'all; great advice.


I wasn't able to find much info on my existing speakers.  Q-Marine / QM-650 doesn't return much on google.  Do we know if they are 4 ohm impedance?  Figure they are since that is the fairly common standard.
Click to expand...

You can figure out if they are 4 or 8 using a cheap multimeter. The impedance is AC resistance but if you measure the resistance with a multimeter it will be about 70% of the rated impedance since it is measuring DC resistance.  For example an 8 ohm speaker will measure in the 6 ohm range and a 4 ohm speaker will be in the 3 ohm range. Hope that helps. Also most speakers have the impedance stamped on the back somewhere. 
 
That's what I had, replaced them just this spring.  I put in the JL Audio, they were the same size, just needed new holes to make horizontal.  Stock Sony head unit.  A good upgrade for sure.  Pic in gallery.
 
You can buy the butt connectors with the heat shrink built-in.
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
If looking for a great soldering iron for a reasonable price, get this TK950!  I have it and love it. It can handle some thicker gauge wires with no problem! 


http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/trakpower/tkpr0950.html
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Only problem is you still need power with those. With the butane, it so portable. I've done wiring in my jeep in driveway, no ext. cords, no fighting wires, no worry where I set it down, etc ... It's instant heat, it will solder battery terminal lugs, use for heat shrink, etc.  The only time I use an iron now is for pinpoint use and even then I have a butane pen with an adapter. Oh, I have another cheapie torch from Harbor Freight too, and it's fueled by disposable lighters. Thing works great. 
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
Only problem is you still need power with those. With the butane, it so portable. I've done wiring in my jeep in driveway, no ext. cords, no fighting wires, no worry where I set it down, etc ... It's instant heat, it will solder battery terminal lugs, use for heat shrink, etc.  The only time I use an iron now is for pinpoint use and even then I have a butane pen with an adapter. Oh, I have another cheapie torch from Harbor Freight too, and it's fueled by disposable lighters. Thing works great. 
Click to expand...

Maybe I need to get the soldering tip. I have the same torch, but no tip so never tried it. 


I originally got the TK950 for my RC car. Since my boat sits in my driveway, having power is not a problem. 
 
Got word from Crutchfield that my JL's are going to arrive today.  Can't wait to get them installed.


The only area I have concerns with is the speaker next to the second helm chair.  At first glance, it didn't seem obvious how to get to the back of it.
 
cwag911 said:
You can buy the butt connectors with the heat shrink built-in.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but they still don't give you a nice thin connection. I've done bundles of 10 wires, and the connections are almost same thickness as original wire. With these, it doubles the thickness. They are good for quick n easy waterproof connection, but I prefer thinner wire bundle.
 
Chrisbert said:
The only area I have concerns with is the speaker next to the second helm chair.  At first glance, it didn't seem obvious how to get to the back of it.
Click to expand...

Not too bad.... I can't remember in detail.  I think I pulled the cup holders and then had to reach down inside and unscrew the entire assembly from the floor and wall?   I do remember taking the screws out of the speakers was a pain because the plastic wrapped around the threads.  It was the hardest of the 4 but doable.
 
royal4 said:
Not too bad.... I can't remember in detail.  I think I pulled the cup holders and then had to reach down inside and unscrew the entire assembly from the floor and wall?   I do remember taking the screws out of the speakers was a pain because the plastic wrapped around the threads.  It was the hardest of the 4 but doable.
Click to expand...

Thank you.  I'll approach it from the cupholders and see what I can see.
 
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