Thanks for the detailed response. I just bought a Sony Deck (MP70) little
expensive but it was a gift. It's the front two speakers i'm concerned
about they are underneath the left and right seats in the bow, basically the
rear are covered by a plastic cone type enclosure, but they aren't
extremely tight against the carpet covered storage compartment, i really
don't want to chalk or silicone for the reason you mentioned. I think i'll
take my chances and just try to keep em dry. I was debating between
Clarion's and Infinity Kappas (depending on how good of a deal the kappas
were). As for the rear I'm not concered they shouldn't get directly wet
unless i spray em with a hose.

thanks again for the info,

-matt


"Ryan R. Healy" wrote in message
...
"Matt" wrote in message
...
So really as long as they don't use paper components i shouldn't have a
problem? What about the other parts of the speaker? The two front are
positioned in the bow where it's possible they might get wet / splashed.


Matt,

You should have no problems with non-marine speakers. I have quite a few
speakers on my boat, all non-marine Clarion, and never had a problem. I
went with Clarion because they are not the cheapest, not the most
expensive
and a decent balance between quality and value. Two speakers in the rear
of
the boat are encased in carpet covered speaker boxes. They have all
gotten
some degree of wetness over time and I have not had any problems. One
even
got directly hosed with a hand-held water gun ... still no problems.

I operate only in fresh water. If you are boating in salt/brakish water,
your mileage may vary. To be honest, I have not seen any main-stream
stereo
speakers that contain any paper in a number of years. As with anything
though, keep in mind that the marine environment is pretty harsh on
anything
(heavy chop, vibration, water, etc.), and any speaker will likely not last
as long as one operated on dry land it's entire life. Most higher end
speakers (such as the Clarions I have) will likely give you quite a bit of
use before they need to be replaced.

If you are really concerned about moisture, the back half of the speaker
is
the part you would want to protect. A small bead of waterproof caulk
around
the interior perimeter of the speaker and the bulkhead of where you are
mounting the speaker will keep most water splashes from getting to the
rear
of the speaker. The drawback however will be a more difficult time
replacing the speaker when that time eventually comes.

For what it's worth, my system is a 1000 watt system with Kenwood deck,
Eclipse AMP and a variety of Clarion speakers (4x4's and 4x6's). The AMP
was screwed into the inside of a storage compartment that is used for
lifejackets. 2 additional 4x6 speakers were mounted in carpeted speaker
boxes and screwed to the gunwales on each side of the boat back by the
rear
lounge. Incidently, Kenwood decks are among the best for shock/skip
resistance, but I still get some CD skipping while in heavier chop.

-RH