How long will non marine speakers last?

[zmoz]

I'm going to be installing a stereo in my boat soon. I've got some really nice sounding Philips bookshelf speakers that the cases are all beat to hell. I was thinking of taking out the speakers to install in my boat. Are they going to be bad really quickly if they get any water on them? Is there something I can do to waterproof them?

[Techno]

I really doubt there are actually "marine" speakers. Just like "marine" radios. Those radios are sold right next to the water proof vaults so why would that be needed?

If the speakers are the plastic or rubbery looking things should be fine. If paper just keep them dry.
To waterproof them mount them so they stay dry when it rains.

Usually 'marine' means a very humid enviroment not always total immersion.

[quickonstep]

btw... the enclosure that you have those speakers in now was designed for those speakers.. and id say that they are not "free air" speakers... how they would be mounted in a boat.. so dont "expect" too much from them once mounted...

Marine speakers DO NOT have a paper cone, but rather a composite cone and baffle.. (more like rubber) They also have a gasket that go's around the mounting of it to keep water from the vc side of the speaker.. My father in his boat has a set of pioneer marine speakers that you can spray directly with a hose and it has no effect on them.. Just rememeber, paper cone i wouldnt install them.. and run some silicone around the lip of the speaker to seal it to the wall.

Jesse

[MirageSmack]

I saw a thread last year, maybe by barefootBob, that had a neat idea. It said to cover the speaker with a nylon stocking, black would look best. If a little water does hit it, it will bead off for the most part.

[speedyfast]

i was thinking the same thing as quickonstep mentioned in the beginning of his post. Those Phillips house speakers may sound good in the cases "enclosures" they are in now but it can almost be guarunteed that once you take them out of the enclosure that they will sound a hell of a lot different and most likely worse. They were most likely designed around that enclosure and to work with it. I would just spring for a set of 70-80 dollar sppeakers if i was you.
and unless they are out fo the way of the elements completely i would go with marine!

[claudius]

as I know there is waterproof and weatherproof speaker ...
.... Check Bose model 151. If You need stronger maybe they have
bigger model. I saw them playing and sitting underwater, just don't know if was salt or not

[88 V-King]

Just get something as rubbery as you can, other than that not much you can do....

[JJB]

zmoz,
I just bought a complete bossaudio stereo system from Electronic outpost....the site has both bossaudio marine and regular stereos and speakers. looking at the specs and composistion of some of the speakers (not the paper cone ones) it seems like the grills are what the main differences are. Most of the marine speakers have plastic grills while the car audio and other speakers have metal grills. Here's the site check them out.

JJB
p.s. there are actually very inexpensive

http://staging.n2biz.com:6011/index.htm

[STVRacing]

All you need is a speaker with a polypropelene, kevlar, or composite cone and rubber surround. The weather wont effect them that much. Paper cones are pretty much out of date even in car equipment. All new speakers that are of any real name brand come with a gasket that goes behind them. The purpose is not water since they are made for vehicles but so that they seal in their enclosure. Thats the most important thing is that they have theyre own enclosure. Mainly that you follow the specs that they come with. Doing this will give you long life out of them with virtually no damage just like a car speker and will last almost as long. Other then weather and occaisionally getting wet. If you choose to amplify you speakers make sure you do something to surpress the vibration. This is the main cause of amplifier failure in boats and cars. The circuit boards crack very easily in areas of high vibration.

[STVRacing]

One other thing. When buying a head unit. Dont go for the "MARINE" unit. Buy a really good one such as an Eclipse. If you are getting a CD Player make sure its one the scans at least 5 seconds ahead of what youre listening to due to skipping from waves. You can have the best equipment but if you put it through a P.O.S. head unit you sound quality will be horrible.

[sho305]

I think it depends on your use also. I'm not going to spend on marine for 15 weekends of use/yr when it is covered the rest of the time, and not run in the rain. I try to use free-air speakers as enclosures are normally heavy and hard to mount in a boat. Anyone tried those light tube woofers in a boat yet?

[JJB]

Mercthunder is right, if you look at the specs and composition of most marine and regular speakers they are the same. It seems like when company's advertise a speaker as "marine" they can rasie the price as such. I had at one time a marine am/fm cd radio with marine speakers ho hum sound.....I now have a car audio system and car audio speakers with more wattage and much better quality sound. You will find a much better selection of radios/speakers in the car audio section and less expensive as "apples for apples" goes. Anyway a little common sense when mounting your radio and speakers will make things last (like anti vibe mount, placement, etc.). Good luck

JJB