For the audio folk, a question/revelation

[gnc1017]

Derrick,

How much of your setup (install, wire, amps, etc.) did Bennington wire from the factory (and that you still have in place)? For some reason I was thinking you had a totally custom setup, WetSounds WetWire and all.

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

We ordered ours (6 speaker R series boat) with just the head unit (no amps) as we want to do our own amp and subwoofer setup this winter. Not that Bennington doesn't offer good amp setups, they just weren't exactly what we want and we have the ability to do our own. Haven't checked ours with a multi-meter but based on the fader control, the front 2 speakers are front channels and the 2 nearest the helm and 2 between the rear loungers are the rear channel. Since the head unit isn't 2 ohm stable, I would hope they wired them in series and would certainly think they did.

I'm wondering if with all of the different boat and stereo configurations they offer, maybe they always do the rears on a 6 speaker system in series, such that there would be no issues (other than the loss of some power to the rears), regardless of head unit power, 4 channel amp, etc. Now if they did a 6 channel amp on a 6 speaker boat, I would certainly think and hope they would wire them each independently.

I'm not saying it is the best way sound output-wise for those that have a 6 speaker boat and 4 channel amp that is in fact 2 ohm stable but with all the possible configurations, continuous changes in equipment, the fact that these boats are mass produced, etc., I can maybe see why the more consistent way could prevent some build errors and issues. This would of course be at the sacrifice of some power for some configurations that could actually handle it, noting that many wouldn't notice the difference anyway. And for the small percentage of us (keeping in mind their total annual volume) who do really want the true high-end system and it to be 'just right', we typically have the means to make it that way ourselves anyway.

Keep in mind, we only have 1 boat, wired 1 way. So I can't confirm how they build the others. Just wondering if the above may be the case...

Let me say this. Yes I totally understand if you ordered a stock system with no sub/amp option, then they would have to wire it in series as the deck can't handle 2 ohm stable. BUT for those of us that did have the extras ordered, it would only make sense to wire in parallel. 

I understand the do it one way make it easy approach, but when it shows on a build sheet that you have the upgraded audio, it should be run parallel. I realize this could cause a mistake to happen, but these are custom built boats. I didn't opt for the LED cupholders, nor the underwater lights, so they don't run wires to all my cupholders and such. They don't just run wires there, because it's saves the chance of being a mistake. It would be far more proactive to just run + - from each speaker back to the helm into a harness, then do the connection there. If there is an amp ordered it gets this harness with jumpers connecting +'s and -'s, no amp it has jumper connecting + to -. Pretty simple. Before anyone says anything about the extra cost of running back to helm, they already are running a wire from the helm out to each speaker, and the split loom protection is the most costly thing there. They actually could probably save a few bucks by running both mid ship and rear speaker wire out of the helm together out to the mid, then just continue on to the rear.

Let me also say something so everyone is clear, I AM SUPER HAPPY with everything that Gabe and the folks on the build floor did for me! They were extremely easy and eager to help with my requests. I am sure if I had requested that they had configured it differently or ran a pull cord they would have done it for me because they are great people. I just didn't know at the time how they were wired, nor did I even think about it.

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

Derrick,

How much of your setup (install, wire, amps, etc.) did Bennington wire from the factory (and that you still have in place)? For some reason I was thinking you had a totally custom setup, WetSounds WetWire and all.

They wired the speakers, I couldn't get them to run the Wet Wire because it was still fairly new and Tim hadn't submitted it for ABYC compliance, so therefore Bennington couldn't run it because they are an ABYC compliant company. So they were great and ran some pull rope for me to under the helm so I could do it easier. I figured the speakers would be a pain to run afterwards so just had them do that. Once again, I was VERY impressed with Gabe and the crew at Bennington for helping me out with even that as it made the whole process that much easier. Ultimately it was better that way anyway since if they would have run it like I had originally asked, it probably wouldn't have worked out as well as it did since once I got down to doing it I had to change some setups anyway. 

So I guess other than speaker wire, it is totally custom.

 

[gnc1017]

They wired the speakers, I couldn't get them to run the Wet Wire because it was still fairly new and Tim hadn't submitted it for ABYC compliance, so therefore Bennington couldn't run it because they are an ABYC compliant company. So they were great and ran some pull rope for me to under the helm so I could do it easier. I figured the speakers would be a pain to run afterwards so just had them do that. Once again, I was VERY impressed with Gabe and the crew at Bennington for helping me out with even that as it made the whole process that much easier. Ultimately it was better that way anyway since if they would have run it like I had originally asked, it probably wouldn't have worked out as well as it did since once I got down to doing it I had to change some setups anyway. 

So I guess other than speaker wire, it is totally custom.

Ahhh. I was thinking you replaced and rewired everything. I guess now you may have found an excuse to do the rest.

 

[gnc1017]

Don't disagree with you Derrick that it could/should have been done differently. Just trying to look for a reason they did it the way they did, especially with all the attention to detail and quality that is their standard.

I am actually more surprised they don't wire it like Derrick said, bring everything to the helm and do all terminations (whether serial or parallel) there. At least then they and/or the customer would have options without having to pull more wires, unless they wanted different wire anyway, which would be up to those few % that would want to do their own completely custom setup.