Audio upgrade complete and I'm thrilled

[alfie623]

My buddy and I spent all night installing the new M502 HU, JL M400 amp and JL MX650 speakers and I'm over whelmed with how much better the boat sounds. I may never leave the garage!!!!

For anyone on the fence like I was about adding the amp to your older boat, take it from me it's totally worth it!!!!

Here was the old stuff out and new stuff ready to go in.

[JMLVMI]

Did you cut off the old wiring harness? Any pics of that? I'm about to do this in my 195.

[alfie623]

I don't have pics but still have all the old parts so I can take a pic of something specific if you would like. As far as the harness, the boat is wired (and well labeled) for the radio connections and the radio has a specific plug and harness; these were spliced together with crimped butt splice connectors. I cut the connections and stripped the boat side wires and a used new weather sealed butt splice connectors to install the new radio's harness.

The only wire on the new radio harness that I couldn't find a dedicated wire in the boat harness was for radio dimming when the nav lights were used at night. I ended up using a stake on connector on the anchor light wiring side of the nav lighting switch.

[waterlogged882]

..........

[alfie623]

I didn't add a sub but it's next on my list. As with most of my projects this started out with the detachable face on my old head unit giving me grief when it would jiggle loose and turn the radio off, that prompted a new head unit which was going to only cost me a couple hundred bucks..... Four months later I've got over $1,000 invested in parts and pieces because my radio would cut out every now and again.

It's all good, I just need to figure out where to mount the sub.

[ncskier]

Very nice! Is the single control knob on the M502 easy to use?

[ncskier]

..... Four months later I've got over $1,000 invested in parts and pieces because my radio would cut out every now and again.

This forum is a really bad influence on me too.

[JimN]

My buddy and I spent all night installing the new M502 HU, JL M400 amp and JL MX650 speakers and I'm over whelmed with how much better the boat sounds. I may never leave the garage!!!!

I hate to break it to you, but it won't sound the same when it's in the wide open spaces. That's where you'll want to balance the levels, not in the garage.

[alfie623]

Very nice! Is the single control knob on the M502 easy to use?

At first no but after you figure it out it's ok. I like that it's one single knob and once I'm used to it I'll be ok but I don't expect passengers to be able to figure anything other then volume up and down which is turning the knob.


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[ncskier]

At first no but after you figure it out it's ok. I like that it's one single knob and once I'm used to it I'll be ok but I don't expect passengers to be able to figure anything other then volume up and down which is turning the knob.


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Have tried the Bluetooth streaming from your iPhone yet? I'd be interested to know if you can control volume, etc from it also.

[alfie623]

Have tried the Bluetooth streaming from your iPhone yet? I'd be interested to know if you can control volume, etc from it also.

Yes, I've streamed and you can use the volume control on the phone to control the sounds but only up to the level that the radio is set to.


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[JimN]

At first no but after you figure it out it's ok. I like that it's one single knob and once I'm used to it I'll be ok but I don't expect passengers to be able to figure anything other then volume up and down which is turning the knob.


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Just label that knob 'MORE'.

[Traxx822]

Just label that knob 'MORE'.

I like that.

We just labelled our ignition: Watch em dance/ lose their pants (for each side of key function)

OP: Going from those Clarions to power supplied MX's is like going from a golf cart to a Polaris RZR. Congrats.

I wanna do this to a friends boat.