prv
Well-known member
When we bought Ariam, she had a pair of smashed-up speakers in the sides of the cockpit. I put the damage down to charter use, and replaced them with new ones.
Despite reasonable care, during the first season the starboard one got broken, the second season the port one. The location is just too susceptible to being leant on, kicked, and elbowed, but there's nowhere else that would be any better, at least not with space behind for mounting. Also, during the occasional boisterous passage when the top of a wave might land in the cockpit, I was acutely aware that apart from a flimsy cone, a flush-mounted speaker is really just a big hole in the fibreglass.
I decided that this winter I was going to glass up the holes (you may remember a thread about how to get a seamless finish on the gelcoat). We don't use the speakers all that much, so if no holes meant no speakers, then so be it. However, I was planning to try out a pair of transducer speakers to see if I could get the best of both worlds.
Well, today I glassed up the big speaker holes (gelcoat tomorrow) and installed two of these on the inside of the cockpit coaming nearby:
.............
( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281366153847?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT )
They work really well!
I didn't want to try turning them right up and subjecting everyone in the boatyard to Brad Paisley at maximum volume, but at normal listening level they sounded just as good as the conventional ones to my untrained ear. Neither bass nor top-end are noticeably lacking, and the sound is crisp and clear.
I mounted them using thickened epoxy. The transparent plastic disc unscrews, so I glued this in place on its own and let it set hard. Then screwed the working part back on and soldered the cables. It's important that the plastic disc is mounted absolutely rigidly in order to transfer the vibrations accurately - if it can rattle against the surface you'll get a loud buzz instead of the proper sound, and I imagine if you mounted it using silicone or sikaflex the rubberiness would absorb the high frequencies. Rock-hard epoxy/microfibre mix is ideal.
This is such a better way to do cockpit speakers. No big holes or vulnerable plastic grilles, just sound coming from seemingly nowhere (if you put your fingers over where the transducers are you can feel a slight vibration). The piece on the inside is fairly small, robust, and waterproof - mine are in a coaming void where they're safe from harm anyway, but if you had them in a locker these would survive much better than an open-backed speaker as often seen.
Just thought I'd let people know.
Pete
Despite reasonable care, during the first season the starboard one got broken, the second season the port one. The location is just too susceptible to being leant on, kicked, and elbowed, but there's nowhere else that would be any better, at least not with space behind for mounting. Also, during the occasional boisterous passage when the top of a wave might land in the cockpit, I was acutely aware that apart from a flimsy cone, a flush-mounted speaker is really just a big hole in the fibreglass.
I decided that this winter I was going to glass up the holes (you may remember a thread about how to get a seamless finish on the gelcoat). We don't use the speakers all that much, so if no holes meant no speakers, then so be it. However, I was planning to try out a pair of transducer speakers to see if I could get the best of both worlds.
Well, today I glassed up the big speaker holes (gelcoat tomorrow) and installed two of these on the inside of the cockpit coaming nearby:
( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281366153847?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT )
They work really well!
I didn't want to try turning them right up and subjecting everyone in the boatyard to Brad Paisley at maximum volume, but at normal listening level they sounded just as good as the conventional ones to my untrained ear. Neither bass nor top-end are noticeably lacking, and the sound is crisp and clear.
I mounted them using thickened epoxy. The transparent plastic disc unscrews, so I glued this in place on its own and let it set hard. Then screwed the working part back on and soldered the cables. It's important that the plastic disc is mounted absolutely rigidly in order to transfer the vibrations accurately - if it can rattle against the surface you'll get a loud buzz instead of the proper sound, and I imagine if you mounted it using silicone or sikaflex the rubberiness would absorb the high frequencies. Rock-hard epoxy/microfibre mix is ideal.
This is such a better way to do cockpit speakers. No big holes or vulnerable plastic grilles, just sound coming from seemingly nowhere (if you put your fingers over where the transducers are you can feel a slight vibration). The piece on the inside is fairly small, robust, and waterproof - mine are in a coaming void where they're safe from harm anyway, but if you had them in a locker these would survive much better than an open-backed speaker as often seen.
Just thought I'd let people know.
Pete
