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Cockpit speakers

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/27/2005 : 04:28:08

On my 82 I bought 5.25" Polyplanar round flush mount speakers. They worked very well and the locations were ok too except that as I worked the outboard I tended to "hip" the speaker grill on that side. installing them was ok too if you don't mind large holes in your boat.

I wanted to try something different with the 89, I still bought Polyplanar 5.25" speakers, but I bought the box version. I also bought a pedestal mountable teak caddy that I put on my inside bulkhead so it left the rail clamps available to me for the speakers. I am awaiting my muse to decide how I will run the wire, but I want these to be removable as a criteria for the termination scheme.

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 11/27/2005 04:31:11

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2005 : 08:57:00

Hi Frank, the only up side to your first installation is that the boat hull asks like a big Bass Reflex cabinet and so the speakers will produce deeper bass. Most people do not listen to music so intently that they would notice, but I have been into speaker design so am somewhat of a fanatic when it comes to my sound systems. p.s., is Semper Fi you '82 or '89?

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djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2005 : 09:01:11

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djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2005 : 09:02:53

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2005 : 12:29:02

Semper Fi is the 89. The bass is very enhanced with the internal installation and everything not tight rattles. Even the locker latches must be closed and rattle free. The boost is way beyond the low end of the Fletcher Munson compensation curve and is not attenuated by volume changes. The signal to background noise ratio with outside speakers makes it so the bass effect is hard to discern under sail but it is noticeable at the dock on a quiet day. (It is unpleasant in the quarter berth!)
Psyco-acoustics is fun, when I was young and had a decent hearing range I studied up a little on sound reproduction. I did not go much beyond what was available in white papers from Klipch, Acoustic Research, Macintosh, and Altec-Lansing. Here is a nice white paper on speakers.
http://www.yorkville.com/default.asp?p1=6&p2=17&p_id=26
While speakers are a lot like boats, there is a place for every design, I tended to like sealed, low efficiency speakers like the Macintoshes with high dampening super amps driving them. While low frequencies tend to be omni-directional, wave forms in a closed room still must contend with reflections and therefore cancellation and amplification of waves. The sealed enclosure made the bass as directional as possible and added the actual sound pressures to the sonic effect, you could feel the air being pushed by the woofer which enhanced the acoustic effect. Horns always seemed to be the best for out of doors where distance from the source is an issue, but a properly installed Klipch corner horn system in a proper listening room was quite an experience.
The bottom line is that in the cockpit of a boat under sail I think shooting for the midrange is appropriate and these little speakers should make my "Rat Pack" music sound ok.

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djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2005 : 13:41:10

Hi Frank, My current system at home is one EV Patrician VI subwoofer cabinet with a K33 driver from the Klipschorn. The Edgarhorn Straight 80hz midbass horns with Altec 515B drivers, Edgarhorn 350hz salad bowl horns with Altec 288c drivers, and Fane super tweeters. I built a first order Butterworth crossover and am driving the three speakers with a 300B tube amp and am driving the Patrician subwoofer with a crown D-150 IIA. The system will blow you away. The only drawback is that it is so clean, you will damage your ear drums (no kidding) before you realize it is too loud. As far as my 25 is concerned, the Jensen CD player with the two flush mounts in the cockpit and two cubes in the cabin will do just fine......but I am thinking about putting in a subwoofer......I am hopless. Cheers. p.s., I had Klipschorns for years. They are great speakers.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.