The biggest problem with marine speakers is that they never seem to last very long in an open cockpit. So when I tested out a pair of JL Marine Audio speakers, their MX650 CCX 6.5” diameter coaxials, I wanted to find out if they could live up to real-world angler abuse.
Sure, these 50-watt, 4-ohm, 2.7” deep flush-mounts sound great, thanks to the DMA-optimized long-excursion design. Then again, who cares about all these features if the speakers die after the first blast of a washdown hose? So to start the ball rolling, I put the Rolling Stones on the stereo, jammed it up to 10, and took careful aim with my saltwater washdown. For a solid 10 seconds I sent water streaming right into the face of these injection-molded mica-filled polypropylene cone bodies with synthetic rubber surrounds and crossover features that include solid-state tweeter protection, to prevent tweeter failures due to abuse and to reset automatically. And, my treatment was definitely abusive. But not abusive enough—to simulate more real-world fishing conditions my next move was to swing a three-ounce lead sinker into the faceplace. Crack! It made plenty of noise, but the plastic held firm and didn’t shatter. So I squirted the speakers with nonskid deck cleaner and scrubbed them with a stiff-bristle brush, followed up by another blast of the washdown hose. Still, the sound of the Stones wafted across the bay. A full season later, these things still make it sound like Mick Jagger is crooning from my cockpit. Bottom line: the new JL’s can take a boatload of abuse in the marine environment, and they’ll keep on working.
Price: $280
The Highs: Survived multiple direct blasts from the washdown hose. Nearly a year later, they still sound great.
The Lows: These are flush-mounts only, so if you don’t already have 6.5” cut-outs, you’ll need to chop fiberglass.
Who Wants It: Music lovers ISO cockpit speakers that can get wet without being damaged.
Contact: http://marine.jlaudio.com
