Music has been a trustworthy companion of humanity since the beginning and what better can there be than to be able to enjoy music while taking a walk or cooking in the kitchen, taking a shower or even while tearing through the white froth of water while cruising on your boat. However, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to audio speakers. Speakers have evolved to suit the needs and the environs in which they are supposed to function. Marine audio speakers serve exactly that specific purpose which their name indicates. They are meant and designed to be used outdoors in boats or other marine vehicles, an environment which is harsh and humid with the obvious water everywhere.
Typically, people have tried to fit in their car audio systems, speakers and GPS navigation into their boat, which has invariably resulted in a complete ruin of an otherwise good car audio and GPS navigation systems. The cones of marine audio speakers are made of mylar, which are capable of withstanding wet environments. JBL uses polypropylene, which is a rigid material and is capable of surviving moisture and they also use special rubber skirts to cover all the screws used to hold the speaker’s drivers in. Electro Voice even has some marine speaker models which are built up to US Navy specifications. Marine stereo speakers therefore have robust protection against corrosion, have waterproof components and some of them are entirely sealed against external factors, keeping the circuitry housed within completely safe and protected.
There are two main types of marine speakers. Flush mount speakers are space saving in nature and need to be installed in boats by cutting out an appropriate place/hole for them to fit in. It’s important to remember that there should not be any open air space or air path behind the speakers. That will spoil the bass response which is a major component of your acoustic experience. Box speakers on the other hand are pre-mounted in special consoles to offer better protection and to get the best sound out of them. However, they will occupy more space.
Marine stereos would preferably need an amplifier to power them and generate output that can be heard over the noise of the boat’s motor and the splashing of water. You can even add outdoor speakers from Polk Audio and the like from your home audio system to your boat’s setup.
A few points to be considered in conjunction with marine speakers are the power rating of the speakers, the point of installation, whether outside or inside the marine vehicle and the most efficient direction to install them when they are being installed outside. One should also exercise every bit of caution while installing and wiring marine speakers. The connectors and all open soldered wires must be sealed with the proper insulation to avoid corrosion and short circuits from water splashing over them. Using liquid electrical tapes is beneficial. Some of the popular brands of marine speakers amongst others are Bose, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, JBL, Boss Audio, Jensen, Infinity, JVC and Poly-Planar. The JBL MS6200 6.5-Inch 2-Way Marine Speakers are available for almost half the sticker price over at Amazon where many such amazing deals are waiting to be discovered.
Specialty Speakers - Check out more specialty speakers. This Section features speakers from the famous ORB Speakers to Marine Speakers, to Rock Speakers and many specialty speaker types in between! Click below to see more on the specialty speaker that interests you.