Stock Bose Speaker Replacement Options?

[SkuffedKeel]

Hi Everyone!

I recently took possession of my first sailboat, 2004 hull # 137. Currently named Greyfox but I will be renaming her to Senja. She has been well cared for over the years and I am beyond happy.

I am really big into music and would like to replace both the below deck and cockpit (princess seat) stock Bose speakers. At least, I assume these are stock. Has anyone else done this and were you able to find replacement speakers that were a quick swap out using the same mounting system? I prefer to stick to well known audio brands and not resort to no name speakers off Amazon.

I am located in Nanaimo, British Columbia so the cockpit replacements definitely need to be able to hold up to weather, including colder temperatures. I am currently running a Kenwood KMM-X705 stereo but will most likely upgrade to a Fusion MS-RA770 once I have the new speakers in place.

Thank you in advance!

[dedgell]

I have Bose 151 Environmental speakers on my boat, two in the cockpit in Nav Pods under the seats and two in the cabin. These were not “stock” from the factory, but a common speaker and mounting option used at the time.

I’ve owned my 2007 boat since new. In that time I’ve been through three pairs of the speakers in the cockpit. Even though they are designed to be mounted outside they do not seem to hold up over time. About five years is what I can get out of them until the sound quality is noticeably very poor. The Bose warranty is, guess what, five years. This last set was repaired by Bose under warranty, otherwise I’d have moved to a different speaker.

Problem is, Nav Pod only made the Bose speaker enclosure last time I checked. The other option is to mount a box speaker on a bracket under the seats. This is not as clean a look, but I’ve seen it done. Poly Planar makes some very good sounding marine box speakers, and that is what I will probably go with when this set of Bose is ready to be replaced.

[TBOT422]

I too have the Bose 151 SE Speakers on our 2007 C350. In 2019, the cockpit speakers went bad, and I contacted Bose. They somehow looked up the serial number for my speakers and told me they were still under warranty, even though we purchased the boat in 2011 and had never replaced the speakers. So, I would check with Bose. (bose.com) They may replace the speakers under warranty.

Good Luck

[Wisail]

Antonio
JL Audio makes solid marine grade equipment.
Sturdy polyethylene drivers, solid enclosures. They sound great. The stock Bose were in my opinion horrible. I could not
find better drivers to fit the enclosure and work well. And I looked extensively.
These two ways from JL are made for mounting on ski boat towers. I have had them for 4 years now and hit them with direct pressure streams of water many times. I mounted them with one hole through the seat a single (metric?) screw and washer. Used existing Bose wiring. The seating is not affected (especially with cushion installed.
Next level was the 8 inch subwoofer that I installed with a low power amp in the cockpit side wall opposite the shower sprayer. Had to modify the HDPE “shelf” for the seat a bit.
I can turn it up significantly with great clarity and range. Or keep it low with good nuance and not use much power.
I could find the specific components online for you if needed (amp has discontinued).
The inside I used a quality bookshelf speaker with solid mounting bracket. If you want to know more about that message me.

JL speaker

93C6EDEF-B5FF-4627-BFA3-B72F45D5610B.jpeg (255.63 KiB) Viewed 944 times

[SkuffedKeel]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I have the Bose 151's right now and I'm not a fan of them, I'm definitely going to check out JL Audio recommended by Wisail. I wasn't sure how that style of speaker would look but I don't mind it. Thank you for the picture!

[dedgell]

Wisail - I am also very interested in the JL speakers. Can you post the model number, and also a picture of the rear of the speaker showing how you mounted it. I’ve had such bad luck with the Bose that I’m sure I will be replacing them in the not too distant future, and the JLs look like a great option.

[Wisail]

Dedgell


https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/mar ... -vex-93402

You can get other grills. I didn’t hook up the RGB lighting but as an afterthought they might be nice mood lighting if you could control them effectively to not mess with night vision and such.

I don’t have good pics of sub install and boat is stored for winter.
JL also has other mounting hardware but my simple single screw was solid and sufficient.
I’m pretty discriminating and have been very happy with this setup!
I also suggest you get a head unit that integrates with multifunction Display (current or future). I have a wireless remote but having it at helm would be the bees knees
I did have concerns about very large wave breaking over stern and punching out the cone of the subwoofer. I cut a piece of plywood and have a bar clamp that reverses to push. Overkill but prepared.
I don’t have any close up of install and JL had since came up with brackets for flat surfaces instead of tower pipes.
Lastly…JL is THE best in the elements!

FDA03306-43DD-4F94-87A7-69CF4A402BF5.jpeg (70.13 KiB) Viewed 922 times

[dedgell]

Wisail - thank you. Very clean install, the speakers look great. Much better than the box speakers on brackets that I was considering. These are now at the top of my list when I replace my Bose.

[SkuffedKeel]

Antonio
JL Audio makes solid marine grade equipment.
Sturdy polyethylene drivers, solid enclosures. They sound great. The stock Bose were in my opinion horrible. I could not
find better drivers to fit the enclosure and work well. And I looked extensively.
These two ways from JL are made for mounting on ski boat towers. I have had them for 4 years now and hit them with direct pressure streams of water many times. I mounted them with one hole through the seat a single (metric?) screw and washer. Used existing Bose wiring. The seating is not affected (especially with cushion installed.
Next level was the 8 inch subwoofer that I installed with a low power amp in the cockpit side wall opposite the shower sprayer. Had to modify the HDPE “shelf” for the seat a bit.
I can turn it up significantly with great clarity and range. Or keep it low with good nuance and not use much power.
I could find the specific components online for you if needed (amp has discontinued).
The inside I used a quality bookshelf speaker with solid mounting bracket. If you want to know more about that message me.

@Wisail

It sounds like you added the subwoofer after the initial speaker install. How did you find the bass on the JL's without it? I would only be running my system at low to medium volumes, I prefer it more as background noise than front and center, so I'm guessing a sub isn't required. That being said, I still want to have some bottom end.

[Wisail]

Antonio,
I installed the sub at the same time. A ten inche is what I put in. In a previous post I think I said 8”. 8 would work pretty well also. I would imagine they would sound pretty good without the extra lower end. I know JL also has 7.7” and 8.8 inch speakers. I don’t. See the 8.8 working due to clearance. 7.7 might work with better frequency response than the 6.5’s

[SkuffedKeel]

Thank you again Wisail!