Radio and Speaker upgrade...worth it?

FightinIrish

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Hi all,

I am new to the forum and am in the process of building my first dream boat. This forum has been extremely helpful! We boat in the Finger Lakes in NY. So far have decided on a 23SSRCX, Yamaha 150SHO w/ SPS, smokey granite w/ golden emerald accent, blackout, extended aft deck, ski tow bar, and a few other upgrades but can't decide on the sound system upgrades. Does the "standard" non-Rockford PMX2 radio have bluetooth/USB connectivity? And are the regular speakers sufficient, aka will I be wishing I had just paid for the Kicker speaker upgrade? (with all of the quality portable bluetooth speakers that exist these days).

Thank you so much for your help!
 
Unless you’re a true audiophile or cruising 30 plus all the time, I would spend my money elsewhere. Speakers and stereos are easy to come by and easy to replace if your fairly mechanical/electrical capable.
 
If anything, I’d probably upgrade with aftermarket speakers and install an amp.

Even a crap stereo with a good amp and speakers can sound pretty darn good.
Truthfully my “radio” sucks (KMC10) but streaming with BT and it’s like night and day.
 
^ this.

Although, spending the money on the audio upgrades gives you 10 years of warranty on those items, which you won't get with self-installed equipment. Gotta weigh the pros and cons.
 
You have an excellent question. As mentioned above you would get the 10 yr warranty if you upgrade at time of build. Looking at the Design Center for the model boat you selected that upgrade is only $243 for the 4 speakers. That is only $60 extra per speaker. That might be worth it as good aftermarket speakers will run $100+ on up and you get the warranty. If you want to jam at a sandbar or while swimming there is no upgrade package that adds speakers to the boat so you may need either a custom set up or just get a good Bluetooth speaker to set on the rear deck. The Kicker amp and sub is $980 which seems like a fair price by the time you factor in labor for install and equipment and you still get the 10 years on it. Of course if you want real loud or lots of bass custom is the way to go. You could always do the speaker upgrade and see after a year what your opinion is then upgrade if necessary. Just depends on what you are going for. I wish they offered an upgrade package with more/exterior speakers. I bet it would be popular!
 
Many of us have had good results with installing the Rockford Fosgate powered sub. Do a search of that as well as "installed a powered sub today" for a lot of information on the subject. I installed the 12" and am extremely happy with the improvement it made in my otherwise stock Kicker system.
 
Hi all,

I am new to the forum and am in the process of building my first dream boat. This forum has been extremely helpful! We boat in the Finger Lakes in NY. So far have decided on a 23SSRCX, Yamaha 150SHO w/ SPS, smokey granite w/ golden emerald accent, blackout, extended aft deck, ski tow bar, and a few other upgrades but can't decide on the sound system upgrades. Does the "standard" non-Rockford PMX2 radio have bluetooth/USB connectivity? And are the regular speakers sufficient, aka will I be wishing I had just paid for the Kicker speaker upgrade? (with all of the quality portable bluetooth speakers that exist these days).

Thank you so much for your help!
Doesn't look like your bluetooth/USB question was answered.....my 2017 22 SSRCX has a round Kicker dash head with kicker speaker upgrade option and it sounds decent with a little bass. Yes it has bluetooth as well as a USB port mounted on dash. I open Spotify on my iphone and play music through bluetooth, and it connects easy and works reliably. The volume controls are + and - buttons which work ok but a volume knob seems to be preferred by many people which some of the newer units on market have. Here is pic of my helm. The USB port is the round rubber port that is next to radio head half covered by steering wheel. I assume new Benningtons would all have bluetooth capability with base system. I personally would spend the money on bigger motor and electrically assisted power hydraulic steering. You can always upgrade stereo system. I LOVE my power steering. Makes aggressive driving like towing kids on toys a kick in the butt! Boat feels sporty with SPS and power steering. Also get a dash GPS speedometer.IMG_4432.jpg
 
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FightinIrish, We just built a new boat this past year and went with the standard Kicker KCM45 Media Center that I think you are asking about. As jhill mentioned It has Bluetooth / USB capabilities and we also play everything from our phone or tablet. We did upgrade the speakers and have thought about adding the sub mentioned in the forums. This is the spec sheet for the standard head unit we have;
 
I think you will be fine with the Kicker head unit (KMC45 now?) The basic Kicker speaker upgrade doesn’t appear to be much more money, and would be worth it. I find even my kicker speakers a bit inadequate from time to time, so I certainly would not want to have less. If you feel the need for the amp (I have heard Michiman’s radio, and his amp upgrade with his Kicker speakers does make a very nice improvement to sound clarity and volume level).

The most cost effective speaker upgrade is going with the Kicker speakers at purchase, but adding the Rockford Fosgate amp mentioned above by Michiman. There are good “how to“ threads in this forum to save money vs going all in on sound system at purchase. I know once Michiman agrees to install one for me pro-bono while I watch and hand him beers, I am all in on that upgrade. ROFL :p

And like others have said, if you have room in the budget, the upgrade to the 175 SHO is not much. To me, that would be a worthwhile for the different gear ratio and hole shot improvement, as well as the cool looking motor cowl. If you can spring for it, but this idea is more costly, the power assisted steering is awesome, particularly if you will be doing any tubing or skiing.
 
Thank you all so much for the replies. I forgot to mention in my first post that I am definitely going with power assist steering.

Seems that speaker upgrade is worth it, Kicker head unit is probably fine. Not looking for anything crazy loud. We really only listen at the sandbar while swimming. Thanks for the links and pictures. I guess I could always add the powered sub later, seems like plenty of direction in other threads on that.

150 SHO vs 175 SHO. I've read many threads stating that 150 is plenty with the SPS for virtually all water sports, etc. I'm going with the SHO simply because the motor cowl looks cooler in my opinion. My dealer made it seem that the 175 SHO was "no man's land" (either go 150 or 200) and that the 150 SHO was a "newer generation" (I think these are the words he used) than the 175 SHO...any truth to any of this? For a couple hundred bucks, to me, why not go higher HP?

Thanks again.
 
Thank you all so much for the replies. I forgot to mention in my first post that I am definitely going with power assist steering.

Seems that speaker upgrade is worth it, Kicker head unit is probably fine. Not looking for anything crazy loud. We really only listen at the sandbar while swimming. Thanks for the links and pictures. I guess I could always add the powered sub later, seems like plenty of direction in other threads on that.

150 SHO vs 175 SHO. I've read many threads stating that 150 is plenty with the SPS for virtually all water sports, etc. I'm going with the SHO simply because the motor cowl looks cooler in my opinion. My dealer made it seem that the 175 SHO was "no man's land" (either go 150 or 200) and that the 150 SHO was a "newer generation" (I think these are the words he used) than the 175 SHO...any truth to any of this? For a couple hundred bucks, to me, why not go higher HP?

Thanks again.

The more HP, the more retained value. Always.
Spend a few hundred bucks now and you'll likely still make it back (and probably more) after 5, 7, even 10 years if you ever decide to sell. Buyers see the HP and tend to go from walk to jog to run the bigger the number gets.

EDIT...
Forgot to add: make sure they include the Reliance SDS 14.5x15 in your deal, since it's the preferred prop for the Yamaha 2.8L series.
 
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My dealer made it seem that the 175 SHO was "no man's land" (either go 150 or 200) and that the 150 SHO was a "newer generation" (I think these are the words he used) than the 175 SHO...any truth to any of this?

You're dealer is either uneducated, or he's lying because he has a VF150 in stock that he want to move. Either would make me consider a different dealer.
 
I know once Michiman agrees to install one for me pro-bono while I watch and hand him beers, I am all in on that upgrade. ROFL :p

We kind of got COVID'ed this past year but I'm all in for getting one installed for you in 2021!
 
You are too kind Steve. Too kind. 2020 certainly is a year to remember - and for too many of the wrong reasons. I was just pulling your leg and seeing if you’d catch that comment. Ha,ha.
 
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