195S Audio Upgrade & Wet Sounds Soundbar Install

[TheArk]

Wasn’t sure if the HMX were going to be noticeably better than the stock HBX though, both driven at their RMS ratings

I had the same concern. I’m no sound/speaker expert, but here’s what I saw that had me convinced the HMX speakers would be a worthy upgrade:

• The OEM Hertz HBX 6.5s have a 88db rating; HMX 6.5s are more efficient @ 89db - HMX produce more sound with the same power input.
• OEM HBX speakers have tweeters mounted on a post that comes up through the middle of the woofer cone, HMX have grill mounted tweeters and an uninterrupted woofer cone - More surface area and stronger design should lead to better low frequency response.

Just running them off the head unit power, it was immediately apparent that the low and mid range frequencies were much improved.

I think the biggest improvement for us wasn’t upgrading the speakers, but adding the two additional cabin speakers - better sound distribution amongst the boat. This should have been the factory configuration for the 195S.

 

[Btsnhos]

When weight, power density, and space savings are critical, I’m on board with lithium. Great for a bit more usefully load / taking a few extra gallons of 100LL in the tanks. I had one in a Buell that made a huge difference in starting performance and I’ll be replacing my BMW GS’s battery with lithium in the near future.

But in the boat … we’re never anchored for much over 90 minutes, so we don’t really need that much reserve capacity. The space savings don’t have much impact and the weight savings aren’t crucial. For us, the benefits of lithium don’t outweigh the increased cost, both initially and over time (when a battery fails or reaches EOL).

I was saying you can’t use the blue seas kit with lithiums since the voltage of lithium is higher than the starter battery, the acr will try to continuously charge the stater battery.