The marine speaker market offers several types and styles of units, each of which have their own uniqueness and niches. your choice will depend on the size you'd like to see covered, the ambient noise-level of the environment, and whether the speaker will be sounding off foreground or background music.

If you are replacing an existing pair of speakers, there would already be a cut-out hole which will considerably narrow down your search. If you will be cutting a new hole for new flush mount speakers, you'll want to first measure the area. When considering the space, remember to measure the depth of space behind the speaker as well, since there needs to be enclosed air space behind and around the speaker. Also, since larger speakers typically tend to give better sound, it would be wise to find the largest space possible.

Let's have a closer look on the various models and their purposes and specifications.

In-Wall/In-Ceiling/Flush-Mount Speakers

Flush-mounted speakers typically come in two formats: in-ceiling and in-wall, and are utilized in two scenarios, background/foreground music reproduction and in surround sound applications. The flush-mounted speaker is either visible with a grille, or in special circumstances totally invisible with a thin coat of plaster hiding the speaker itself.

In-ceiling or in-wall speakers are those sound-offs you install high above. Designed to sit recessed into the ceiling or wall, respectively, these speakers sit flush mounted  and offer a sleek and minimalistic look. As is the case with most other speakers, or any electronic product for that matter, there are several models, offering a range of features and  quality.

These "In"-speakers used to be of secondary quality, but they've managed to come a long way and the ones you'll find in our store are of super quality.

A prime plus for In-ceiling speakers is space efficiency. Being recessed into the ceiling, they don't take up any of your boat's precious living space. Additionally, they'll never be in the way, and there's no wiring running across and through.

For whatever reason, in-ceiling speakers tend to be round in shape, and they'll usually come with paintable grills, while in-wall speakers will come in various shapes.

Since it's virtually impossible to know in advance exactly how the in-ceiling speakers are going to sound, bass and treble controls will come in handy. They allow for tweaking the sound to suit the space and your ears even after having installed the speakers.

Another good thing to have is a powered subwoofer, which will boost the low frequencies and provide you with more realistic sound.

Dual cone Speakers

Dual cone speakers These speakers use an inexpensive design in which a small whizzer cone attached to the center of the woofer reproduces high frequencies. Dual cone speakers do not deliver as broad a spectrum of sound frequencies as some other types of speakers.

Dual cone speakers have only one driver or sound output source, but use two different cones, one larger and one smaller. The larger cone is geared towards mid-range and low frequencies, while the small cone is used for high frequencies.

One of the attractive features of dual cone speakers is the price, which would usually be lower than many of its peers in the speaker spectrum.

Coaxial Speakers

Sometimes referred to as two- or three-way speakers, coaxial speakers use multiple drivers for handling different frequencies. The way a coaxial speaker is configured is that the tweeter, which handles high frequencies, would usually be placed in the middle and surrounded by a woofer responsible for mid-range and low frequencies.

Your typical coaxial speaker consists of the woofer and one tweeter, while the more advanced, three-way coaxial speakers include an additional tweeter - though four- and five-way speakers with additional tweeters are also available. Additional tweeters are meant for increasing the sound quality and depth.

People are attracted to these type of speakers because they're pretty inexpensive, easy to install, and also don't give a hard time with balancing, thanks to the fact that all its sound comes from one single point, versus other types of speakers which have their sound distributed over many places.

Component Speakers

Component speakers, as suggested by the name, consists of more than just one speaker, and qualifies to be called rather a "speaker system." Component speakers separate the woofers and tweeters, and in many instances will include a subwoofer for low frequency sounds.

As a component system, the high and low frequencies are handled by completely separate speakers, which boosts sound production through a crossover device that requires each speaker to reproduce only its own block of frequencies. As you'd expect, this offers the best sound reproduction.

Component speakers will usually come setup in marine box speakers, but you'll also find flush mount component speakers available with a separate woofer and tweeter.

Subwoofers

Designed to handle bass frequencies and are used for producing higher volume of sound. This comes in handy when playing music on the boat, which tend to be loud and noisy enough for the best speakers to put up a struggle in trying to keep on doing its job properly. You want to consider adding an amplifier, which have the ability to increase the signal and maintain the sound clarity, in conjunction with the speakers. On top of that, an amplifier will help preserve the condition of the speakers, so they are not constantly stressed.

Unless you are looking for thunderously heavy bass, you probably won't need a subwoofer. Quality coaxial or component speakers alone can give you nice deep bass response without threatening to shatter your windshield.

Should you decide on getting a subwoofer, make sure that your system is equipped with a crossover, which should be situated somewhere between the head-unit and the subwoofer. The job of a crossover is to split the frequencies so the ones sent to the subwoofer are the low frequencies. Some amplifiers come with crossover so you can run a full range line output from your head unit to the amp and then the amp will only send the low frequencies to the subwoofer. Last of all, most single unit powered subwoofers have a crossover built right into them.

Keep in mind that subwoofers need plenty of power and you'll probably have to get them separate amplifiers. Powering a subwoofer with a standard powered speaker channel will probably not provide you with the performance you are looking for.

That's essentially it! If you're not sure what suits your boat or fits your need, reach out to us and we'll guide you through the process.