Thread:

Best Head Unit, Amp and Speakers

I know that in general stereos and boats do not go very well together especially for the long term. But, what are the best components to use?

Something completely waterproof?

i dont think there is a "BEST", but there is a lot of great products out there.

for head units, the clarion marine CMD5 is bullet proof.
for amps, i like the alpine pdx line-up, or the jl.
for speakers, the jl marine for the sound and the memphis for the price.
but ive used a lot of different product that is very good also.

Polk also has great speakers for the price.

The Alpine 7" marine speakers sound real good for boating applications and they are waterproof.

JL Audio is hard to beat, they even have a line specificly for marine use.

clarion makes a good marine head unit
Alpine is always a good choice for amps,
Check out the MTX marine speakers, i think you'll be impressed.

this is very personal, kinda like a boxers or briefs kinda questions.

Headunits - Alpine
Amps - (boats I like something thats got the best bang for the buck) Elemental Designs
Speakers - (see clause above) CDT, Resonant Engineering, Elemental Designs

Anyone heard anything on the Kicker marine subs?

What about running the Kicker solo barics in boats?

I've been poking around just trying to get decent audio equipment for a decent price

Originally Posted by Outdrive1

Even at 2v they sound better than the Pioneer to me.

Better get those ears checked out.

Originally Posted by Outdrive1

and the Utopia line is as good as it gets.

Even at around $4000 per pair, they are still just "mid level" speakers. Check out some Rainbow Reference series components. They start at $7k and go up to about $11k per pair.

Originally Posted by Outdrive1

Head units IMO:
Clarion Marine, easiest to use, affordable, lots of features like front input, water resistant, easy to use remotes. Easy to see display. Not the best sounding, no sub control, not a lot of adjustments but some users want simplicity.

Pioneer, I don't like the layout, they are difficult to use the controls. Try to adjust anything using the center button and push it the wrong way, you have to start over. Best bang for the buck IMO. Hard to read display in the sun. Have had to warranty more of them than any other deck, they are not water or corrosion friendly. Nice remotes. Great ipod control. The higher end decks have 4v outputs, and tons of adjustments. Internal crossover (greatly improves sound quality).

Alpine. It's what I run. They cost more, sound better though. Easy to use, but I've had tons of them and I'm used to the layout. Sub control is easy to adjust. Until recently they didn't have wired remotes. That has changed, biggest knock in the past for me. They also have a new rf remote that works up to 100 feet, it's awesome. Internal crossovers, tons of adjustments. Even at 2v they sound better than the Pioneer to me.


For amps, JL makes stuff as good as you want, and they make a great marine line. Even their entry level stuff is great.

MTX has gotten a ton better, and their entry level stuff is cheap and works good.

Clarion makes some amps, haven't used many, but I did put some in my sons truck. They were cheap but they sound pretty good.

Subs...........JL has the best subs IMO. There maybe some others that are good, but you won't find a hands down better product on the market. The high end stuff is really pricey. The entry level subs, W1's are ok, the W3's are fantastic. In the marine line, the free air sub is actually pretty decent for free air. They also offer a sub for an enclosure now that's comparable to a W3.

Mids........Well that's a whole mess of worms. I personally like Focal, and the Utopia line is as good as it gets. It's exotic and expensive but it sounds like no other mid.
Since nobody can afford the Utopia's, Diamond Hex series is really nice. Most brands have an upper end line that's comparable to everybody else's upper end line. So it comes down to price and what the shop you're using installs and sells.

The JL marine mids are a great speakers also. I don't really like the car mids from JL, but I love the marine stuff from them. It's easy to use, sounds great and is really durable.

MTX has a marine line, the grills are ugly. Bang for buck however, they rock. They are 1/3 the price of the JL stuff but make a lot of noise. Good stuff for the entry or mid level buyer. Their free air subs sound better than the JL subs too, the grill is just bigger and uglier than the mids.

Clarion's marine speaker line is entry level to say the least. I wouldn't use them with anything other than a stock deck.

the new clarion m475 has front rear and sub out with nonfade vol adjust, you match that up with a decent line driver you got yourself a winner. i run the cmd4a in my boat, its very very easy to use even in direct sunlight. and the most user friendly head unit. as far as mids there is a lot of good stuff but not every one can afford even $400 a pair. if you want loud and bright commin in at $150. a pair go with memphis ma6, if you want a fuller sound they have the ma8 for only $180. IMO the jl 7.7 "coax" (still a component, the tweet is molded in the grill not a true coax) you cant get any better in a marine line. the focal 165 k2p is hands down my favorite speaker in the open market but way too expensive commin in at $1200 a set. i am really impressed with the jl entry level amps, great sound and very power efficient.