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Installed powered sub today

Ha ha. Yeah, it’s a beast :)
For the price, sound, ease of install, and general quality it’s pretty hard to beat.
 
Super easy install. I'm only using about 10% of it's capability, which is plenty for me. Just enough to fill out and sound spectrum and have a rich, warm, balanced sound. After I dropped my wife off at the beach where she parked, I called her just as she got to her car and asked if she could hear it. By the time I thought to call, I could barely see her. I turned it way up, and she could hear it. I was probably a half mile away.

$140 used with parts missing from Amazon. Even at the full $195 price, this is a great item.
 
Baja 252 said:
I have full under-skinning including the bow wave tammer, so I guess under the back seat with the batteries is the best (easiest install). I will have the stern radius seats so I'll have to wait to measure and see if the 12" sub will fit.
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Baja, I also have the stern radius seats. Did you ever check to see if the sub would fit? I looked at the seat by the batteries and I don't think I can get that 12" in there. Just wondering what you did, if anything yet?
 
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good powered subwoofer that will fit in the SSRX with the stern (and bow) radius seat configuration? The Rockford Fosgate PS300-12 nor the P300-10 will seem to fit. My seats are only 10" high below the seat. Has anyone used one of the Bazooka type powered subs? Any suggestions that might fit? I'd prefer not to put under the helm to avoid any chance of rattling as some owners have experienced. I'd prefer to place closer to the batteries if at all possible. Thx for input.
 
I have heard the powered 10” in a hatchback car before and thought it sounded pretty good. I think it’d be fine.
 
DanielG said:
Baja, I also have the stern radius seats. Did you ever check to see if the sub would fit? I looked at the seat by the batteries and I don't think I can get that 12" in there. Just wondering what you did, if anything yet?
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Our boat is on order, hopefully we will get it in late Aug. No good to hear the sub won't fit, I was planning on doing this.
 
Baja 252 said:
Our boat is on order, hopefully we will get it in late Aug. No good to hear the sub won't fit, I was planning on doing this.
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I order the Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Punch Subwoofer on Monday and received it today via Amazon prime. The 12" version was really too big to fit anywhere unless I put it under the helm. Instead I measured the seat opening that was right beside the batteries in the rear starboard side. I thought I could maneuver it in there and it ALMOST fit. :eek: Unfortunately, it would not fit there. However, having the Stern Radius floor plan, the reclining seat back in that same row of seats, lifts up. I noticed a panel on the outer back of that seat just behind the captains chair. I looked in and saw it unscrewed and removed super easily. The 10" sub went right down in the hole and I was able to even stand it up on it's side taking up less room so I now have room for some other things in there. The wiring was SIMPLE and that bass thumps SO GOOD!!! I also just noticed another price drop tonight on Amazon for this. At the time of this post it was $170 on Prime.

https://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-P300-12-Subwoofer-Enclosure/dp/B007AQ2W2Q?th=1

I also found a killer deal on 2 pair of Kicker 6.5" speakers ($99/pr also on Amazon prime) that should arrive tomorrow. I am going to replace the stock QM-650 speakers with these new ones. Even if I left the stock speakers adding the 10" sub was perfect for my boat. The punch is just right!

Thanks for all the help on here with the suggestions. :D
 
DanielG, thanks for the update! The 12 was too big for me as well so it was nice to hear that the 10 is a worthy substitute! I may do this yet, myself!
 
Go for it! It's super easy and sounds great! You'll be all smiles when you do :D
 
Thanks for the update DanielG. I plan on doing the sub upgrade.
 
I put in the Kicker 6.5 speakers today. WOW! What a difference!!! I'm so happy I did that. So for $380 I have 4 new speakers and a 10" sub combined to make one kick @ss stereo. I wired one of the LED wires straight to the speaker and so when I crank it and the voltage hits the speaker line I even get some LED action. Headed to the LAKE!!! Turning up some Little Big Town song "Pontoon" (as well as some Boston, Motley Crue, Areosmith and more). :cool::D
 
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Sounds awesome Daniel. More I read of people adding subs into their speaker system, the more intrigued I am. Enjoy the tunes Daniel and keep boating brother.
 
DanielG said:
I put in the Kicker 6.5 speakers today. WOW! What a difference!!! I'm so happy I did that. So for $380 I have 4 new speakers and a 10" sub combined to make one kick @ss stereo. I wired one of the LED wires straight to the speaker and so when I crank it and the voltage hits the speaker line I even get some LED action. Headed to the LAKE!!! Turning up some Little Big Town song "Pontoon" (as well as some Boston, Motley Crue, Areosmith and more). :cool::D
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So let me get this straight, with a powered sub you don't need an amplifier? I assume you got power for the sub from the battery that is in the corner seat for the sub. I would think that you would have a switch to turn it on and off, or does it not draw power if there is no music??? Picked up sound from the speaker in the helm? Pics would help!!!
 
I haven't installed one (yet) but it's my understanding that the sub includes its own amplifier and gets its signal from the nearest speaker by splicing into the speaker wire. Not sure exactly how power is switched on/off, but the idea is to avoid the hassle of fishing wires from the helm to the battery when the bottom of the boat has the underskinning.
 
They most likely have a sensing circuit so they will automatically turn on when they detect the signal from the speakers. Then turn off after a delay when no signal is coming in. Not much different than the amp signal wire used from the deck. They certainly make installs easy if you've got a power source and speaker close by to tap in to.
 
Jim Rampello said:
So let me get this straight, with a powered sub you don't need an amplifier? I assume you got power for the sub from the battery that is in the corner seat for the sub. I would think that you would have a switch to turn it on and off, or does it not draw power if there is no music??? Picked up sound from the speaker in the helm? Pics would help!!!
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Jim,
No you do not need an amp with a Powered Sub. It pulls power from the battery and signal either from one speaker or the stereo head itself. I chose to pull from one of the outputs on the Kicker KMC1 in my boat.
This video does a great job explaining the switches on the Subwoofer and how it works.
Basically there is a switch that is called AUTO TURN ON. This thing couldn't be any simpler. I have had a stereo guy tell me that for the money this is one of the best Subs he's seen considering all the functionality and features it has.
I would post pics but it's pouring down rain right now. I'll try to take some this weekend or either find you some pictures online. Watch the video and it should explain a lot.
 
Daniel, where did you order the wiring from?
 
Jim Rampello said:
So let me get this straight, with a powered sub you don't need an amplifier? I assume you got power for the sub from the battery that is in the corner seat for the sub. I would think that you would have a switch to turn it on and off, or does it not draw power if there is no music??? Picked up sound from the speaker in the helm? Pics would help!!!
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All you need is a power cable, ground cable, and a signal wire (either from a speaker or rca cable to head unit). The amp turns itself on when it detects signal (music) in the rca cable or the wire spliced into an existing speaker. It also shuts itself off when no signal is detected. Easy as pie :) (Disclaimer: I'm not exactly sure if pie is in fact easy as I've never actually made one). The main advantage of using a speaker wire for signal instead of RCA cables is then there is NO WIRES that have to be ran to the head unit.
I recommend installing it close to the battery unless there's a good ground close by as the shorter the ground cable is the better.
I'd also recommend deciding on a location and then measure length you need for power and ground and then go to a car stereo shop and they have it bulk and can give you the exact length needed. If you buy a regular amp install kit you'll likely get 20' of power cable but probably only 2' of ground cable as in a vehicle you ground to chassis. I used 8 gauge cable.
 
I thought boats should not ground to the “chassis” as this creates an electrical path (albeit 12V) through the boat structure which could cause electrolysis? Correct me if I’m wrong as I’m not the brightest bulb on the tree....
 
On my boat and Daniels the battery is in the back right corner in the radius seat, I plan on putting the sub in the reclining section of the lounger on the same back side behind captains chair. The distance from battery to sub is about 4'. My thought is I would just use the red power wire in the kit with black tape on the ends for the ground as the ground cable is going to be too short. I know of no other way to ground other than the negative battery terminal on a boat. I still need to run wires from the sub to the speaker or the radio as there are no speakers in the back of this model. The head unit has RCA output for right & left speakers which are just about as close as the speaker in the right side of the helm. I have been convinced that this is actually (or seems) very simple to do.
 
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