HLCD speaker for the 2004 tower speaker pods

[CumberlandXstar]

I bought 4 pairs of the XS-650's and going to just put a pair in my current speaker pods. I think that this will be such an upgrade over the Clarions that it will get me to next summer when I sell the boat.

[CumberlandXstar]

Got down to my boat this weekend and tried to install the speakers in the factory locations. I started on the tower pods, but the speaker grills are thicker so the factory screws do not work. So I need new screws before I can install the tower speakers.

Moved on to the inboat speakers and found that on 3 of the speaker holes have a little fiberglass that needs to be trimed. So I need to do a quick trim job and they will be in.

Tried the stereo and my amp crapped out over the winter, so will need a new 4 channel amp also. Any recommendations on the amp?

[CumberlandXstar]

Here is a picture of how the hole in the fiberglass did not match up with the hole on the trim ring. There were 3 of them that needed to be trimmed, but the one at the drivers footwell area needed the most trimming by far. Here it it.



I also ordered a new 4 channel amp and paid for rush shipping to have it for the weekend. I forgot it when switching cars to drive to the lake and didnt get to hear how they are going to sound. Will finish it up Memorial Day weekend and get some pictures.

[nickespi]

Keep me updated on your switch. I'm about to replace my tower speakers and don't know what to go with. Are you by chance, in TN?

[mlawler34]

I think I am doing the wetsounds 650's too. I have a large crack in the cone of my sub so that is taking priority at the moment.

[CumberlandXstar]

I used to go to UT so I lived in Knoxville for 4 years and bought my boat there. I live in Ohio but keep my boat at Lake Cumberland in Southern Kentucky.

I will have it all installed next weekend for Memorial Day and I will let everyone know what I think about the speakers.

[CumberlandXstar]

Everything is all installed and working well. I went with the Clarion XN3410 amp http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...c=1&zmap=33984

It seems to have the correct amount of power to run 4 sets of the XS-650. The amp runs 4 channels at 4 ohms at 90 watts. The RMS on the speakers is 4 ohms at 100 watts.

The speakers are really clear but need to have the bass turned down to keep them from bottoming out when turned up loud. I have some more tweeking to do to get it the best it can be. I would rate them a little under the JL audio speakers on performance. They don't have the mid range that I fell like other speakers have. I am happy with them but would like just a little more out of them.

I docked up with 2 of my buddies and they both have 4 rev 8's on the tower and I just saved my battery because its not even close.

[wetsounds1]

cumberland,

the amp will do 165x4 at 2 ohms so you are netting about 80 watts a speaker. This should be good power. The XS-650 can handle a ton of power. But you should be good with what you have.

So one thing to check is the amp settings. The XS-650 have a ton and I mean a ton of mid bass punch. In our demo boat we have 5 pairs, 4 pairs off a SYN-4 and the bow off a SYN Micro. We do demo's with the subs off just to show people how much punch they have and many times people think there is a sub playing.

So if your speakers are bottoming out like you say. Something is not set up correctly.

One of the things you want to check first is the head unit. Make sure it is set flat. It should not have bass up or down or highs up or down. All should be in the middle. Also, if using an ipod or mp3 player, make sure that eq function is set to off or flat as well.

1)Unplug all the RCA’s. Turn all the gains down.

2) Turn the radio up to find the maximum volume. Set the system with the head unit volume at 80 to 85% of max. This is the loudest the radio should go. Radios will create distortion the higher the volume is turned up. Which will create distortion on the output signal before reaching the amps. So find a safe easy to remember volume. If the head unit is 35. Max should be 28 to 30. If the head unit is 40. Maximum should be 30 to 35 and so on.

3) Once you have found the maximum volume set point. Turn the radio back down. Use a test CD that you are familiar with. Or your ipod with good downloads.

4) Plug in just the RCA’s for the in boat speakers. Set the high pass crossover at around 80HZ to 100HZ. Also make sure you have the switch on 2ch or 4ch input and not 2ch BB which is bass boost. So both should be on HP and stereo. Also make sure the button is on X1 and not X10

5) Turn the radio up to the max safe level found in step 2.

6) Slowly turn the gain up until you hear the speakers distort. Slowly back off the gain from that point a small amount until you hear the speakers play as loud as they can with no distortion.

7) Note that you can adjust the high pass and low pass filters to tailor the sound to each boat. As you can set the high pass higher to get more volume but at the expense of losing some low end mid bass.

Once you have it set, you should be getting the volume you want and the mid bass punch. Remember that a speaker reproduces what it is fed. So if it is sent a clipped signal, it will reproduce a clipped signal.

Tim
Wet Sounds

[AZX9]

Nice information!

I've noticed my tower speakers are either series or parallel as I only have two sets of speaker wires going to my amps from four speakers both on the tower and in the boat. So eight speakers total on a four chanel amp. I have the older clarion that is 50x4 continuous rms. What is the wiring configuration that MC would use and would it produce a 4 ohm or 2 ohm load? I'm interested in the xs-650 but really want some separates to fill the current holes of the clarions.

[CumberlandXstar]

Heading down this weekend. Going to try and tune in the stereo the best I can.