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Audio System upgrade

roperdan

roperdan

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Can anyone give me the specific details of what audio components are included in for the 2020 R bowrider RTFB with the Kicker subwoofer upgrade. Yes know it has the Rockford Fosgate PMX-2 head unit, 6 speakers and a kicker subunit. However I'm looking for specific model numbers for each of the components (speakers, amps and sub). I am not impressed with the system and am trying to figure out if there is a way to upgrade at a reasonable cost without tearing out the entire system. Perhaps adding an amp or replacing the amp, or rewiring so that the rear firing speakers are on a separate zone (instead of the subwoofer on the other zone). Knowing the model mumbers woudl give me a better idea where I am starting on the range of equipment I have and how wasteful it would be to tear it our versus upgrade only some of the system.
 
roperdan said:
Can anyone give me the specific details of what audio components are included in for the 2020 R bowrider RTFB with the Kicker subwoofer upgrade. Yes know it has the Rockford Fosgate PMX-2 head unit, 6 speakers and a kicker subunit. However I'm looking for specific model numbers for each of the components (speakers, amps and sub). I am not impressed with the system and am trying to figure out if there is a way to upgrade at a reasonable cost without tearing out the entire system. Perhaps adding an amp or replacing the amp, or rewiring so that the rear firing speakers are on a separate zone (instead of the subwoofer on the other zone). Knowing the model mumbers woudl give me a better idea where I am starting on the range of equipment I have and how wasteful it would be to tear it our versus upgrade only some of the system.
Click to expand...

A note of caution.... most are "unimpressed" with the boat systems because they are comparing to the way car/home systems sound. Most of that difference can be summed up by saying: indoor vs. outdoor are a whole different can of worms. Most of the difference is due to the bass/low midrange not being reinforced by the room/cabin. It makes the speakers sound "thin"

Now, this likely isn't the case, and is more likely folks are used to "heavy" bass and outdoors that is missing due to no reinforcement.

How to fix this... well, you can't without spending a ton, and annoying the crap out of everyone around ya... ;)

Lots of bass/subs, and amps for the mains. the speakers likely aren't the highest fidelity models out there (more distortion than the best), but because of speaker placement you may not notice a ton of improvement moving to better drivers.

I'd be curious to hear about your experiences as you move forward though. Not a lot of folks documenting exactly what upgrades and what the outcomes were. A simple idea that isn't usually implemented is to make sure the crossover is enabled when you have a sub. make sure the bass below 80-100 Hz is only going to the sub and not the main speakers, as this reduces distortion by a factor of 10 or so.

Good luck! keep us posted! (and make sure any replacements you look into are marine rated! Otherwise, they'll work, and die rather quickly....)
 
After you get deets of your equipment, but before doing any equipment swapping, make sure all settings, possible switches, and wires are set properly. I seem to remember some with the Rockford sound upgrades saying it was often off on the newer boats depending on 1-2 aspects of set up being wrong, and once resolved, the sound quality improved immensely. Ideally, it is something like that.

Also, if you get info from people, be mindful of the year of their boat and build. I would suspect that over decent stretches of time the specific equipment is changing as newer versions of the sub, speakers, head unit, etc are released or utilized in some aspects of the build. May or may not impact and trouble shooting you try to do. Good luck!
 
I took my boat to Micky Shore (car and boat audio store). They were appalled when they heard my system--literally shocked that it sounded so horrible. They unhooked the Kicker Amp and adjusted the dials and pushed some buttons and the system literally became TWICE as loud and much, much better. I went ahead and upgraded four of the Six Kicker speakers to Rockford Fosgate M1s and Replaced the Kicker subwoofer with a 12" Rockford Fosgate M2 mounted into the fiberglass unit directly across from the helm. I was able to keep the current amp and head unit so the entire upgrade with labor was about $1300. However, the point is that if your system underperforms, it MAY simply need the amp settings tweaked. It was actually pretty pathetic that the boat came from the factory with settings that completely hobbled the audio system.

BTW, I am also having them rewire the sub and rear firing fastback speakers so the PMX-2 unit will control the volume of the rear speakers instead of the subwoofer. I think it will be more useful to be able to change the volume of those speakers (and turn them off) as opposed to being able to adjust the subwoofer volume. Instead, I will just have the subwoofer volume tuned for best output and I will not be able to change that, which is fine by me...
 
When they rewire your speakers, have them install a small 1/2" rotary knob by the stereo head unit that just controls the subwoofer level. That's what I did on mine. It comes in very handy due to different songs/sources having bass levels that vary wildly. Pretty simple to do for an experienced shop. It's commonly done in vehicles with separate subwoofers.
 
So here are the details... The stock audio components for the 2020 Bennington R bowrider 24' RTFB include the following:
AMP ONLY (AMP/SUB KICKER PK) 40KXM800.5
SPEAKER, SUBWOOFER 43CWR104
SPEAKER, KICKER, SLIM, 6", RGB 46BKM614TRL
Head unit is the Rockford Fosgate PMX-2

This is important... If you are like me and didn't know much about boat/car audio you may not be aware that there are settings hidden under a panel on your amp. Those settings include gain dials that are adjusted with a screwdriver and basically turn up and down your maximum volume. Obviously, you want it adjusted for maximum volume WITHOUT distortion. The settings will depend on your speaker wattage, Amp wattage, how many speakers you are hooking up (using bridge mode or not) and of course the Ohms rating (resistance) of your speakers.

The factory settings that came with my boat had the gain turned down way to low and the system was only outputting about half of the volume it was capable of. You don't necessary need to have those settings adjusted by an audio professional if you are willing to download and read the manual, climb into your helm, disconnect the amp from the wall and then turn the dials yourself (with someone else listening as you make the adjustments). But at Micky Shore they only charged me about $90 to do this (I did trailer the boat to their store). Of course, they also convinced me to buy some upgraded equipment that I probably didn't need once the system was finally tuned correctly!

480x360-left.jpg

1682556053614.png
 
roperdan said:
So here are the details... The stock audio components for the 2020 Bennington R bowrider 24' RTFB include the following:
AMP ONLY (AMP/SUB KICKER PK) 40KXM800.5
SPEAKER, SUBWOOFER 43CWR104
SPEAKER, KICKER, SLIM, 6", RGB 46BKM614TRL
Head unit is the Rockford Fosgate PMX-2

This is important... If you are like me and didn't know much about boat/car audio you may not be aware that there are settings hidden under a panel on your amp. Those settings include gain dials that are adjusted with a screwdriver and basically turn up and down your maximum volume. Obviously, you want it adjusted for maximum volume WITHOUT distortion. The settings will depend on your speaker wattage, Amp wattage, how many speakers you are hooking up (using bridge mode or not) and of course the Ohms rating (resistance) of your speakers.

The factory settings that came with my boat had the gain turned down way to low and the system was only outputting about half of the volume it was capable of. You don't necessary need to have those settings adjusted by an audio professional if you are willing to download and read the manual, climb into your helm, disconnect the amp from the wall and then turn the dials yourself (with someone else listening as you make the adjustments). But at Micky Shore they only charged me about $90 to do this (I did trailer the boat to their store). Of course, they also convinced me to buy some upgraded equipment that I probably didn't need once the system was finally tuned correctly!

480x360-left.jpg

View attachment 34171
Click to expand...


good info... and most importantly is all the switches. those set various filters and crossover settings. having any of those set incorrectly will be much more of a detriment to sound than anything. especially if AMP2 is set to the shown position of BP, and you hook those channels to speakers instead of a sub. essentially, it sounds like boats leave the factory without the "sound crew" doing a rundown and adjusting the settings properly from time to time.

I suppose my own system should get a once over from me even though I don't have a sub or external amp.

Must. Fight. Upgrade!


:p
 
I kind of figured it would be the kind of an issue. Glad it was easily resolved.
 
I have my boat back from Mickey Shorr now. They upgraded 4 of my kicker speakers to Rockford Fosgate M1 speakers. (The M2 speakers required more power than my original amp could give and it would have been much more expensive to go with those speakers AND a new amp.) I also trashed the Kicker sub and installed the Rockford Fosgate M2 12” sub mounted in the fiberglass of the co-captain console. It stocked out about 2” into that hallway between the two consoles on the Bowrider which is a bit more than I would liked but it is what it is. The sound it definitely better than the original system (even after it was tuned correctly). In particular, the bad response is better both from better speakers and of course the better subwoofer. I did not upgrade the rear firing “fast back” speakers because I respect my neighbors! They also added a dial for the subwoofer. So now the sub volume control on the PMX-2 controls the volume on the rear speakers allowing me to shut them down, and a new dial on my dash allows me to volume control the sub. The entire upgrade was about $1400.
 
Unishot said:
When they rewire your speakers, have them install a small 1/2" rotary knob by the stereo head unit that just controls the subwoofer level. That's what I did on mine. It comes in very handy due to different songs/sources having bass levels that vary wildly. Pretty simple to do for an experienced shop. It's commonly done in vehicles with separate subwoofers.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion. I did this and it works very well. :)
 
roperdan said:
I have my boat back from Mickey Shorr now. They upgraded 4 of my kicker speakers to Rockford Fosgate M1 speakers. (The M2 speakers required more power than my original amp could give and it would have been much more expensive to go with those speakers AND a new amp.) I also trashed the Kicker sub and installed the Rockford Fosgate M2 12” sub mounted in the fiberglass of the co-captain console. It stocked out about 2” into that hallway between the two consoles on the Bowrider which is a bit more than I would liked but it is what it is. The sound it definitely better than the original system (even after it was tuned correctly). In particular, the bad response is better both from better speakers and of course the better subwoofer. I did not upgrade the rear firing “fast back” speakers because I respect my neighbors! They also added a dial for the subwoofer. So now the sub volume control on the PMX-2 controls the volume on the rear speakers allowing me to shut them down, and a new dial on my dash allows me to volume control the sub. The entire upgrade was about $1400.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing!
 
Great feedback for others. Glad you had a some system specialist option nearby too.
 
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