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Stereo upgrades

The Hillbilly Barge

The Hillbilly Barge

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Those of you who have upgraded your stereo, what kind of equipment did you go with and if you added speakers other than factory locations lets see some pictures
 
Wet sounds and Rockford make great equipment. JL audio makes some really good speakers as well. I added a wet sounds 10” powered sub under the helm in my old boat,and it was a very good unit.
 
You considering upgrading sound system during purchase phase when choosing factory options or considering doing a sound system upgrade after purchase? This information might also help direct feedback and suggestions.
 
The Hillbilly Barge said:
Those of you who have upgraded your stereo, what kind of equipment did you go with and if you added speakers other than factory locations lets see some pictures
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Any feedback on the the standard system Bennington uses? Or at least what is on the build site. The "All in One Kicker Stereo System (KMC45)"
 
I stayed with a sony Marine bluetooth receiver, WetSounds AS-10 sub under the helm with a built in 500 watt mono amp, WetSounds 8" speakers to replace the factory Sony 6 1/2" speakers in the same locations, just had to cut the opening bigger and a Focal 1500 watt amp for the 8" speakers. I ran 2 gauge welding cable from the battery location in back to under the helm where I located the amp .and the sub box. I did all the work myself and after tuning the amps, the sound is amazing.
 
The Hillbilly Barge said:
Those of you who have upgraded your stereo, what kind of equipment did you go with and if you added speakers other than factory locations lets see some pictures
Click to expand...
Late to the game on this post, but thought I'd weigh in. I'm a big fan of Kicker marine speakers and subs. For the money, I believe they deliver great performance. Undoubtedly, Wet Sounds is one of the premier brands and definitely great gear, but you pay a premium for it. I upgraded my system with the Kicker KMC5 head unit, then replaced the cabin 6.5 inch speakers with Kicker 45KM654L speakers. added 2x Kicker 45KM654L speakers to the rear swim platform and added 2x Kicker 45KM84L speakers on the bow (8 speakers total). For amps, I like the JBL's so I did 1 JBL MA4505 1800W 5 channel amp powering my internal speakers and the Kicker 46CWTB104 10 inch subwoofer, plus the MA704 1000W 4 channel amp to power the bow and stern speakers. The system sounds great and gives good coverage both on and off the boat.
 
You will likely get "more boom for the buck" doing your own upgrade vs ordering your Benny with an upgraded audio package.
However, any optional equipment ordered on your Benny carries the 10 year warranty. That's incredible for audio equipment!
 
Bill N said:
You will likely get "more boom for the buck" doing your own upgrade vs ordering your Benny with an upgraded audio package.
However, any optional equipment ordered on your Benny carries the 10 year warranty. That's incredible for audio equipment!
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I'm not sure about that Bill, I don't really know what is available from the dealer or the cost but my upgrade was about $5500 with another $2000 In lights, USB ports and wireless charging pockets
 
davidard said:
Late to the game on this post, but thought I'd weigh in. I'm a big fan of Kicker marine speakers and subs. For the money, I believe they deliver great performance. Undoubtedly, Wet Sounds is one of the premier brands and definitely great gear, but you pay a premium for it. I upgraded my system with the Kicker KMC5 head unit, then replaced the cabin 6.5 inch speakers with Kicker 45KM654L speakers. added 2x Kicker 45KM654L speakers to the rear swim platform and added 2x Kicker 45KM84L speakers on the bow (8 speakers total). For amps, I like the JBL's so I did 1 JBL MA4505 1800W 5 channel amp powering my internal speakers and the Kicker 46CWTB104 10 inch subwoofer, plus the MA704 1000W 4 channel amp to power the bow and stern speakers. The system sounds great and gives good coverage both on and off the boat.
Click to expand...
I'm sure your system sounds great! Did you do your own installation or have a shop do it? If you did it, how difficult was it to run the power to the helm?
 
Michiman said:
I'm sure your system sounds great! Did you do your own installation or have a shop do it? If you did it, how difficult was it to run the power to the helm?
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I did the install myself (sorta) ;-) After spending hours trying to figure out how to pull the power/ground wires from the helm to the battery compartment, I finally called a friend who has a stereo install shop and asked for his help. He had one of his techs help and they pulled power, ground plus the speaker wires for the bow and stern. It took them about 3 hours to finish that part and they knew what they were doing! Definitely the hardest part of the entire job. After that, it was just a matter of mapping out how I wanted everything to run and then doing all the installs. I still have to build the amp rack so that I can get my amps off the carpet, but I should be able to get that done later today (just waiting for a delivery of the PVC plastic sheets I ordered from Amazon). I set up the exterior speakers on a separate zone so I can control the volume inside the boat independent of the outside. Probably took around 8 hours of time to do everything (including tying the speaker LEDs into the mood lighting already wired into the boat). But I would do a few hours each night (when it wasn't raining) and got it done over a 2 week period of time. I probably saved myself about $500-750 in labor based on local rates so that was a plus, but I really enjoy doing audio install work so (despite a few curse laden tirades that my wife got a lot of humor watching) I had fun doing it too!
 
Bill N said:
You will likely get "more boom for the buck" doing your own upgrade vs ordering your Benny with an upgraded audio package.
However, any optional equipment ordered on your Benny carries the 10 year warranty. That's incredible for audio equipment!
Click to expand...
I bought a used Benny so no option for ordering from the manufacturer. But I like the option of building out a system that fits my exact needs vs. trying to make a system someone else installs work for me. Just personal preference! And I'm a bit of a "music snob" so doing it myself gives me the ability to build the quality sound I know I'll like into the system.
 
davidard said:
I did the install myself (sorta) ;-) After spending hours trying to figure out how to pull the power/ground wires from the helm to the battery compartment, I finally called a friend who has a stereo install shop and asked for his help. He had one of his techs help and they pulled power, ground plus the speaker wires for the bow and stern. It took them about 3 hours to finish that part and they knew what they were doing! Definitely the hardest part of the entire job. After that, it was just a matter of mapping out how I wanted everything to run and then doing all the installs. I still have to build the amp rack so that I can get my amps off the carpet, but I should be able to get that done later today (just waiting for a delivery of the PVC plastic sheets I ordered from Amazon). I set up the exterior speakers on a separate zone so I can control the volume inside the boat independent of the outside. Probably took around 8 hours of time to do everything (including tying the speaker LEDs into the mood lighting already wired into the boat). But I would do a few hours each night (when it wasn't raining) and got it done over a 2 week period of time. I probably saved myself about $500-750 in labor based on local rates so that was a plus, but I really enjoy doing audio install work so (despite a few curse laden tirades that my wife got a lot of humor watching) I had fun doing it too!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I dream of adding an amp to my system but because it goes from storage directly into the lake and then back into storage, it's likely never going to happen for me. I did add a subwoofer, which really helped beef up my six speaker stock system.
 
Michiman said:
Yeah, I dream of adding an amp to my system but because it goes from storage directly into the lake and then back into storage, it's likely never going to happen for me. I did add a subwoofer, which really helped beef up my six speaker stock system.
Click to expand...
Maybe a mobile install guy could go out to the storage facility and do the work for you? I used a mobile guy a few years back on a fiberglass boat when I was injured and couldn't do the install myself. I bought all the material and he came out and did the install for me. Similar set up, just on a fiberglass boat instead of a Toon. He charged me $700.
 
davidard said:
Maybe a mobile install guy could go out to the storage facility and do the work for you? I used a mobile guy a few years back on a fiberglass boat when I was injured and couldn't do the install myself. I bought all the material and he came out and did the install for me. Similar set up, just on a fiberglass boat instead of a Toon. He charged me $700.
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I did the same, bought own equipment and mobile install guy put it in at a storage facility, it wasn't where I stored my boat but he worked out of that facility regularly and they allowed him to use their racks for my boat.
 
davidard said:
Maybe a mobile install guy could go out to the storage facility and do the work for you? I used a mobile guy a few years back on a fiberglass boat when I was injured and couldn't do the install myself. I bought all the material and he came out and did the install for me. Similar set up, just on a fiberglass boat instead of a Toon. He charged me $700.
Click to expand...
I like that idea but unfortunately my dealer won't allow any work to be done unless they do it, which they won't. I don't even have access to my own boat!
 
I just installed the JBL SUBP12AM subwoofer inside the counsel. Yes you lose all the space but with the ski locker for additional space losing it was no big deal. The sound is awesome and there is no need to change out the speakers. I have the Rockford PMX 2 thus a very easy install, basically a plug and play. RCA jacks from sub to the rca jack line from the receiver. then the blue power line hanging from the recv to the sub - simple. Only real work is running the power and ground from the sub to the battery, but that only took about 10 minutes max (fish tape makes it real simple) then zip tie the power/ground to the existing lines. I recommend dual batteries if running a sub and ALSO get the marine subwoofer wiring kit, it comes with 20 feet 8 gage and breaker that needs to be installed by the battery not the sub. Once you have it hooked up turnoff the punch on the receiver and try to eliminate as much base as possible. Enjoy
 
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