LaurencetheAdventurer
Well-Known Member
So I am sure this is far from perfect, but well over 6 plus hours of intensive research supported by AI, generated some interesting details I have not seen addressed. I used 4 popular brands that had more information available, but the conclusions should work for any similarly designed subwoofer. The attached is a highly summarized data points of youtube demos, feedback on installations I could find for a pontoon, technical details, all processed through dozens of questions processed through Gemini AI - the data made sense from a technical view, and seemed to align with experience. IMO. The conclusion I reached:
A down firing subwoofer is the best option for a pontoon when installed inside a space opened to a wood boat deck (helm or swingback), noting the vinyl flooring has little effect. A preconfigured, sealed or passive system, will provide better performance as compared to the same sized traditional IB (infinite baffle) or open air system, without losing large amounts of storage space. Of course a highly customized, multi-sub system installed through the seat base walls is best, when money and the storage in those spaces is not a factor. The sealed system provides better quality bass, the passive system provides louder bass.
From here - you have to read through the 9 page, attached. I could spend days summarizing better....but I think I have the data I need to move forward. Down fire, forward fire, sealed vs passive, noisey vs quiet environments, are all important variables, and it seems placing a sub INSIDE the roto-mold seat base is the least optimal (YET the new Bennington RF subwoofer is designed for exactly that install!?!?).
A down firing subwoofer is the best option for a pontoon when installed inside a space opened to a wood boat deck (helm or swingback), noting the vinyl flooring has little effect. A preconfigured, sealed or passive system, will provide better performance as compared to the same sized traditional IB (infinite baffle) or open air system, without losing large amounts of storage space. Of course a highly customized, multi-sub system installed through the seat base walls is best, when money and the storage in those spaces is not a factor. The sealed system provides better quality bass, the passive system provides louder bass.
From here - you have to read through the 9 page, attached. I could spend days summarizing better....but I think I have the data I need to move forward. Down fire, forward fire, sealed vs passive, noisey vs quiet environments, are all important variables, and it seems placing a sub INSIDE the roto-mold seat base is the least optimal (YET the new Bennington RF subwoofer is designed for exactly that install!?!?).
