Imagine you’re enjoying an awesome day out on the water on your boat.
The sun is shining, the water is calm (or wild… whichever you prefer), you’re loaded full of appropriate food and drink and you are surrounded by people you enjoy.
But there is one thing that is still missing…
Tunes!
No one will argue the fact that music makes the best of times even better (on or off the water).
But before you grab your rechargeable/ portable speaker (which is guaranteed to either fall into the water or get destroyed when it gets wet), you should understand the difference between marine and non-marine sound equipment, because yes, marine designed and built sound equipment is an actual and distinct thing.
Several factors go into making marine equipment water worthy.
First, not surprisingly the sound equipment you take on board your boat needs to be waterproof, or at the very least water resistant because if you have any illusions about your boating audio equipment (whether we’re talking speakers, amplifiers or whatever) NOT getting wet you’ll quickly find out the hard way that that is extremely unlikely.
Marine sound equipment is designed to be waterproof/ water resistant in part due to the fact that they have sealed or enclosed gaskets.
On top of this, marine equipment is often be made using either stainless steel, aluminum or specially treated plastics since these materials help reduce the inevitable higher levels of corrosion water bound sound equipment experiences (regardless as to whether your boating is on fresh or salt water).
But it doesn’t just stop there.
High quality marine equipment will also be made to offer enhanced UV resistance due to the fact that it will likely be exposed to much more direct sunlight than its non marine counterparts (there typically isn’t a lot of tree shade one can find in the middle of a lake or river).
Another factor that differentiates marine sound equipment from it non-marine counterparts is that it is also typically designed with specialized noise or vibration resistance.
The reasons for this are obvious.
Boats create very different audio demands for sound equipment and if this isn’t accounted for in its design and performance characteristics, it will result in a greatly reduced (and disappointing) listening experience. Marine equipment is often built to compensate for these factors by including features such as larger cones, increased power handling, or optimized tuning for better sound.
So there you have it. When it comes time to equip your boat with sound equipment make sure it is of the marine quality.