Fusion Stereo Upgrade

[scross]

Dave,
Just curious if you went with the Polk Audio Atrium 4, 5, 6 or 8 speakers for the cabin. Or a mix? Looking at upgrading the cabin Fusion speakers but unsure how big would be too big.

 

[dbsea]

Dave,
Just curious if you went with the Polk Audio Atrium 4, 5, 6 or 8 speakers for the cabin. Or a mix? Looking at upgrading the cabin Fusion speakers but unsure how big would be too big.

Atrium 4, 2x in the salon and 2x in the forward stateroom. I had to modify the bracket in the salon port speaker due to the flybridge stairs cutout. I wouldn’t go any bigger than the 4 in any case. They sound fantastic!

 

[Cutwater28GG]

what external speakers are folks upgrading to?
my fusions in the cockpit sound awful.

 

[scross]

I’m planning on upgrading to the JL Audio M3 6.5” speakers. Had them in the cabin of our R-25 Classic for 5 years and they were great!
Pretty average mounting depth at 2.78 inches compared to 2.125 inches for the stock Fusion speakers. If it’s too tight I just use some Ocean Breeze 1/4 inch marine spacers.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

what external speakers are folks upgrading to?
my fusions in the cockpit sound awful.

The reason the for the poor sound of the Fusion speakers in the cockpit of my 2012 R27 is because there is no speaker case or backing behind them. The speakers in your boat may have the same problem. If that deficiency could be resolved, I think the sound would improve greatly.

 

[scross]

CaspersCruisers,
Interesting! The JL Audio speakers are just the opposite. They need a relatively large area of open space behind them to allow for full “long excursion woofer” movement. They recommend at least 2 cubic feet of open space behind the speakers for best sound quality. The ones I had in my cabin were exposed to the full cabin volume.

 

[dbsea]

what external speakers are folks upgrading to?
my fusions in the cockpit sound awful.

I got these Kicker 6.5” Marine speakers (4 in total, 2x cockpit, 2x bow) and I’m very happy with them. I got the 4” version for the flybridge as well…

Kicker 45KM654 6.5 Inch Marine Coaxial Boat Speakers with Black and White Grilles, Pair, 4-Ohm, 195 Max Watts https://a.co/d/7mxrudz

 

[scross]

Just finished the install of the Polk Audio Atrium 4 speakers in the cabin of our C-28. They are a significant improvement over the stock Fusion MS-BX3020s! Thanks for the recommendation Dave!

PS: Discovered that the stock Fusion MS-BX3020 had such bad base. The Fusions were designed for use with Fusion's MS-AB206 subwoofer which my boat doesn’t have. The frequency response of the MS-BX3020’s is 200-20,000 Hz. The frequency range of the Polk Audio Atrium 4 75-25,000 Hz. Those numbers explain a lot!

 

[scross]

Well the JL Audio M3 6.5 speakers are not going to work in the cockpit of my C-28. The speakers are just too deep for the available space even using a 1/2 inch spacer. The depth problem is worse on the starboard side.
Went to the Kicker 45KM654 6.5 inch speakers instead. The Kicker’s are enough shallower to work with the 1/2 inch white Starboard spacer from Ocean Breeze Marine Accessories. By-the-way, the stock 4 inch Fusion MS-FR4021 speakers are 4 ohm speakers.

 

[dexmot74]

Finally upgraded the cockpit and bow speakers to Kicker 45KM654 on my 29S. Definitely better sound then the stock fusion speakers.