08 Nautique 211 stereo

So my friend has a 2008 air Nautique 211 team full throttle package. Boats in perfect condition but the stereo sounds like crap! Its Nautiques stock stereo which consists of 6 Polk in boat speakers, 1 12 in Polk sub and two tower speakers (actuality 4 tower speakers but two were never wired properly). The issue is that only half of the sound is playing (like if the balance was set to one side) but out of all the speakers. And when we crank it up the tower speakers will cut in and out depending how loud the song itself gets. I'm guessing that its the two amps and they are either not wired properly or not tuned correctly. Both are clarion marine amps: the large one powers the in boat speakers and sub. The smaller amp Powers the tower speakers. I'm gonna post pics of the amps and hopefully that gives you guys a picture. Thx!

TOWER AMP

IN BOAT / SUB AMP

DC,
There is no shortcut. Someone wll have to roll up their sleeves and begin the diagnosis process starting with voltage and working their way through it systematically in order to isolate and confirm the causes.
The factory Nautique has some good equipment that is poorly put to task. After you fix the reliability issue you should:
Add a 2-channel amplifier to the tower. And perhaps upgrade those speakers.
Re-configure the existing power, take the bow speakers off radio power and run external amplification since you will have two extra channels available.
Increase the supply wire from the batteries to the amplifiers.
The sub enclosure and venting of the port compartment may need some attention.
Re-tune (crossovers and gains) the entire system.
You might be shocked at the transformation using most of the existing product.

David
Earmark Marine

You are right the Nautiques are not strong in the stereo department . David at Earmark Marine is a good one to listen to. Look at the boost box while you are at it possibly the greatest add on since zero off.

Thx guys, I had the feeling this was the route he would have to go since it sounds really bad. Thx David for commenting on this, I've seen your expertise in forums concerning stereos. Now knowing the facts I'll let him know what will need to be done to get this fixed.
@hunter what exactly is a boost box?

A boost Box is a small component the connects to the head unit and controls the volume of the stereo. You set the volume when stopped then when you accelerate the volume goes up when you stop it goes back down. Just another thing the driver doesn't have to deal with set it and forget it.
http://watersportinnvoations.com

Originally Posted by david_e_m

DC,
There is no shortcut. Someone wll have to roll up their sleeves and begin the diagnosis process starting with voltage and working their way through it systematically in order to isolate and confirm the causes.
The factory Nautique has some good equipment that is poorly put to task. After you fix the reliability issue you should:
Add a 2-channel amplifier to the tower. And perhaps upgrade those speakers.
Re-configure the existing power, take the bow speakers off radio power and run external amplification since you will have two extra channels available.
Increase the supply wire from the batteries to the amplifiers.
The sub enclosure and venting of the port compartment may need some attention.
Re-tune (crossovers and gains) the entire system.
You might be shocked at the transformation using most of the existing product.

David
Earmark Marine

David, I have the same exact factory system incl 4 tower speakers on my 210. Would be grateful if you could outline the correct tuning procedure and for any tips/advice. Thanks!

Bevan,
Here are the most basics of the basics of system tuning.
Crossovers: Starting with the highpass section. It takes four times the excursion for a speaker to reproduce one octave lower at the same amplitude. So obviously at that rate you will eventually hit the wall in both the speaker and amplifier abilities. Limit your tower speakers and in-boat coaxials to a bandwidth where they can reproduce the music cleanly. This will produce more output. The lowpass subs should be symmetrical in frequency and output at the crossover intersection with the highpass in-boat coaxials in order to sound musical.
Gains: You want unity gain at every point and component in the signal path. That means that every component beginning with the source unit and extending to the amplifier should reach their maximum clean potential simultaniously. This will produce a lower noise floor and the highest dynamic range. Your system will also operate more efficiently. And you may limit your amplifier gain to protect your speakers from distortion.
When setting up your system you should have good voltage, well-recorded & dynamic program material that covers the entire music range and that is somewhat busy (a CD is best but if its an MP3 file make sure its a clean download with no equalization), (it may not be your favorite music to be ideal for system set-up), all tone controls, EQ and Bass Boost flat.
Our basic system set-up is a multi-page draft plus an advanced version. Its not something that I can get deep into here. But these are the basic principles.

David
Earmark Marine

Speaker wires are probably OK but I would replace the power wires to the amps and rewire the deck power. The 211 Nautiques of this vintage were having issues due to undersized amp power wires causing lots of voltage drop. I have a 211 so I understand the boat pretty well. Is it a signature or team edition (keyed ignition or keypad)?

Team edition, full throttle package, and yes out has a keyless ignition