Kicker KM6200 and KM6250.2 in boat speakers ???

Anybody running or have an opinion of the Kicker KM6200 or KM6250.2 in boat speakers? They seem that they could be a decent option. I would like to get some reviews from people running them with good amounts of power.

dont think.... just do it you cant go wrong with them.

Although you will not be disappointed in the least with the KM6200 coax's, if you want to step up to the pump, and have a place to locate both the mid and tweeter, go with the KM6250.2's. The have a 1" tweeter, v's the .75 on the 6200's, so you will have brighter highs. This is a great combo when you have a ice hitting sub. If no sub, the 6250.2's have a really impressive mid bass.

I've run from 50W's rms up to 120W's rms, they sound great all the way.

Of the 6 inboat speakers, I will use the 6200 in the bow and in the rear, the 6250.2s will go up by the driver and passenger. I will mount the tweeters in the dash firing up into the windshield.

Mikeski,

For the best sound quality I would place the tweeters in close proximity to the midbass drivers or at least in close vertical alignment if possible. This way the two components will sound seemless versus detached.

Perhaps the Kicker separates have a selectable highpass on their crossovers. If not, you can do a series/parallel attenuation circuit on just the tweeters that will compensate for their positional advantage without rebiasing the passive crossover.

David
Earmark Marine

Hi David,

I was taking your advice from another posting in putting the tweeters up on the dash. Do you suggest additional tweeters on the dash in addition to the coaxials? I am not that worried about the image. The speakers all face each other anyway and they are typically overpowered by the Wetsounds on the tower. I would just like to have some highs when I have a boatload and we are idling into the marina for lunch. I always turn the tower speaks off when I am in and around the marina. I can handle the crossover or attenuation circuit work if they are too bright. I am not sure I have ever heard too bright in a boat... Cars, that's a different story. I run MBQs in my car and truck with the tweet XO set in the -4db setting in both. Different worlds.

Mikeski,

I know which examples you're speaking of, plus, we often use supplemental dash tweeters in boats like Supras and Moombas where all the cockpit coaxials are behind you and lose their brilliance when underway. They're always attenuated to the degree they still contribute but cannot be localized. You won't necessarily notice them until they're gone but when absent they're sorely missed. It's just something that I'm particularly sensitive to and more than most. I would prefer to run hot tweeters down low over less aggressive tweeters up high because reflecting off the glass creates some stridency and, as mentioned before, I don't like the detached sound.

Running coaxials or separates with an additional set of dash-mount component tweeters really works out well if you bring the tweeters into balance and the collective tweeters are in balance with the midbass drivers.

I really like your idea of using the separate components only in the forward cockpit sweet spot where they're truly appreciated. Everything else is just ambiance and midbass fill to the driver. Separates usually have larger tweeters with a lower resonance and smoother response especially through the upper mids. Plus, without the tweeter supporting pole piece of typical coaxials, separates have a rigid dustcap, more surface area and produce stronger midbass output.

So those are my preferences. Taste and perception are subjective and we don't all agree. Since I'm hyper critical and lean towards the purist side I'm often in the minority and routinely yield to the likes and dislikes of the boat owner.

David
Earmark Marine

As always thank you David for good sound advice.

I will probably just swap the front cockpit speakers out for Polk db6501 so the grills match the rest. If for no other reason, this is the easiest solution. For what it's worth, I just noticed the components use a 12db/octave XO at 4khz.

(Message edited by mikeski on December 11, 2009)