2017 242x stock stereo system!

[Tony Johnson]

Hey guys im new to this forum stuff but needing some help with my stock sound system on my Yamaha, hoping someone else has noticed the same thing with the sound not being as loud as it should be and having to leave it on 90% plus for the wakeboarder to hear it. The looks of everything you'd think it would have much more potential and wondering if there is some different ways I can switch some wires around or adjust the amps to make it louder. It has a pa40004 and a pa50005 amp with two 6.5 wake tower speakers and a 10 inch sub plus the 6 interior speakers but not sure how it's all wired

 

[F.M.]

Welcome to the forum.

Well to start, you need to re-wire the sound bar and rear cockpit speakers. They are wired in series and should have been wired parallel. That will make a very noticeable difference.

The next biggest issue is the sub. It is very weak at 4 ohms. Most people add a second one to the starboard side and wire it parallel to get a 2 ohm load on the amp and that seems to do the trick.

Or you could follow the lead of @jcyamaharider and replace EVERYTHING. Check out his build by doing a quick search. From what I've read, you can hear his 3 states away when it's at 25%.

 

[Tony Johnson]

Do you know which amp is used for the sub and the sound bar? Sorry I don't know much I've looked it over but those harnesses are a pain to trace.

And thank you for the quick response!

 

[F.M.]

There is a harness behind the port side rear cabin speaker. All the wires in the harness are labeled and color coded.

 

[Tony Johnson]

Alright thanks, I'll see if I can figure it out without messing anything else up! Haha I'll let y'all know in a few days if I get a chance to mess with it again.

 

[BigAbe75]

@jcyamaharider has some good pics and info here: https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-242x-stereo-upgrade.15296/

 

[swatski]

Hey guys im new to this forum stuff but needing some help with my stock sound system on my Yamaha, hoping someone else has noticed the same thing with the sound not being as loud as it should be and having to leave it on 90% plus for the wakeboarder to hear it. The looks of everything you'd think it would have much more potential and wondering if there is some different ways I can switch some wires around or adjust the amps to make it louder. It has a pa40004 and a pa50005 amp with two 6.5 wake tower speakers and a 10 inch sub plus the 6 interior speakers but not sure how it's all wired

Definitely check out @Rod5 tricks here, too:
https://jetboaters.net/threads/242x-stereo-how-to-exploit-free-unused-watts.13256/

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[Tony Johnson]

Thanks guys, this has helped me out a lot! I'm sure I'll have some more questions later if I decide to change it up from stock but this will for sure get me started!

 

[jcyamaharider]

@Tony Johnson I really enjoy my stereo and so does everyone else that is on the same........ lake. LOL Seriously things to for sure do is rewire the sound bar like @F.M. said and the sub on our boat is a joke for an IB application. IF that sub was in a box I bet it would be a different story. Also having coaxial speakers on the tower is not going to get out to wake board length, The core 10 will do a good job at surf length when rewired.

 

[Julian]

Here is the wiring diagram post I made on how to wire the tower sound bar to its own amp:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2016-242x-stereo.14132/page-2#post-273146

It makes a HUGE difference to the sound bar when you do this.

That said, if you are trying to throw sound back to a wakeboarder, you might want to look into horn loaded speakers (HLCD) to achieve that end. Their fidelity is lower, but they can project further. Or just buy your boarders waterproof headphones/ear buds!

 

[Tony Johnson]

Thanks again guys, y'all are making this a lot easier to understand I'll check those post out, but I was also thinking about changing the tower speakers to a 12kmted kicker setup, I know that's cheap compared to what y'all are running but they have the (HLCD) and will my factory amp push those fine how it's hooked up? And I have a 2 ohms sub already laying around, if I just change that sub out will that be the same as adding one?

 

[Tony Johnson]

@Tony Johnson I really enjoy my stereo and so does everyone else that is on the same........ lake. LOL Seriously things to for sure do is rewire the sound bar like @F.M. said and the sub on our boat is a joke for an IB application. IF that sub was in a box I bet it would be a different story. Also having coaxial speakers on the tower is not going to get out to wake board length, The core 10 will do a good job at surf length when rewired.

Yeah I wish I could afford to set mine up like yours, it sounds awesome, maybe one day! Lol

 

[jcyamaharider]

I haven't heard those speakers in person but I bet they are no joke. You will need 200 watts ( per amazon ) to power those. I don't know if that is per set or per pod. That will dictate if you will need another amp or not. I know the 4000.4 puts out 125 rms per channel @ 4 ohm.

AS far as the sub you will get more power out of the amp but you will still have the same surface area of sub so I would say it is a try and see thing.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Yeah I wish I could afford to set mine up like yours, it sounds awesome, maybe one day! Lol

You don't have to spend the money that I did to have a great sounding stereo. Buy what you want and build as you go. My wife and I are stereo junkies so that is what gets upgraded on our boat.

 

[Tony Johnson]

I haven't heard those speakers in person but I bet they are no joke. You will need 200 watts ( per amazon ) to power those. I don't know if that is per set or per pod. That will dictate if you will need another amp or not. I know the 4000.4 puts out 125 rms per channel @ 4 ohm.

AS far as the sub you will get more power out of the amp but you will still have the same surface area of sub so I would say it is a try and see thing.

Alright yeah Just cost me a little time so won't be too bad, did you keep your amps in the stock place on that board or move them when adding?

 

[jcyamaharider]

Alright yeah Just cost me a little time so won't be too bad, did you keep your amps in the stock place on that board or move them when adding?

I am running 4 amps now and 3 batteries. I built me a "tower of power" and put it behind the helm. I ran "0" awg OFC wire to a distribution block and 4 awg ofc wire to each amp.

The wires are cleaned up now, I will have to snap a new pic of that compartment.

 

[swatski]

I am running 4 amps now and 3 batteries. I built me a "tower of power" and put it behind the helm. I ran "0" awg OFC wire to a distribution block and 4 awg ofc wire to each amp.

View attachment 71668


The wires are cleaned up now, I will have to snap a new pic of that compartment.

With that servo box it looks like the Tower of Pisa, lol.

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[Tony Johnson]

Yeah that looks good, that might be my winter project this year because I hate where they are at now!

 

[jcyamaharider]

Yeah that looks good, that might be my winter project this year because I hate where they are at now!

If I didn't have to move them I wouldn't have, it was a PITA.