Often our favorite boats are the ones we hear well before we actually see them. True, sound does tend to carry across the water. However, when your pontoon has more than 35 speakers on board, you’re clearly on a different playing field compared to the average guy at the sandbar.

For years JC TriToon Marine has been teaming up with VOKOL ACOUSTICS, a division of ASA Electronics, on some amazing projects. However, its latest endeavor might just be its best yet as the pairing continues to raise the bar on marine audio.

JC TriToon VP General Manager Joe Sparks worked tirelessly with the creative people at VOKOL to develop a new high-end and dynamic sound system called VeriTune VSI (VOKOL Sound Immersion). VOKOL has partnered with a couple of high-end fiberglass boat builders on similar projects, but this is the first system of this kind to be incorporated into a pontoon and a great match for the high-end JC TriToon luxury brand.

“VeriTune VSI is the ultimate in marine audio luxury and it’s where innovation meets perfection,” says Joe. “It is engineered for discerning audiophiles and delivers unparalleled sound clarity and depth. It creates an immersive audio experience that turns your pontoon boat into a floating concert hall.”

Configuration Flexibility

For VOKOL, the pontoon platform gives its engineers more flexibility with the layout and where speakers can be added.

“With the fiberglass application, if it wasn’t designed ahead of time, your options are limited and you’re basically just filling holes,” explains ASA Electronics VP of Marine Division Matt Wood. “However, with a pontoon there are quite a few advantages when it comes to layout; you can truly get creative with the unusable space on the deck.”

Teaming Up

Joe and the JC TriToon team are thrilled to be partnered with VOKOL on this project and couldn’t be happier with the relationship.

“It became very clear to us as the project progressed that by aligning ourselves with VOKOL we had the best and most qualified team for this project,” says Joe. “On the surface it looks like a simple setup: a bunch of speakers (up to 44 speakers on some systems) and some towers. What you don’t see is the hours and hours of testing, quality control, cabinet building, tooling, and wiring harness development required to obtain the level of quality desired. Not to mention the hours spent by VOKOL’s audio engineering team and Boston Acoustics to meticulously work with laptops to dial in the proper configuration for each speaker in each boat system for the optimal sound quality and clarity.”

VOKOL was just as happy to be working with Joe and the Indiana-based pontoon manufacturer.

“Joe is very progressive and he likes to push boundaries,” says Matt. “He’s first to the market with new ideas. The collaboration was clearly there and we were able to start with a clean slate so we weren’t just filling holes from an existing layout.”

Adds ASA Electronics Sales Manager Mike Landis, “Joe has innovative ideas and he’s willing to adapt. His open-mindedness and forward-thinking allowed us to push boundaries.”

Testing Grounds

The VeriTune VSI system was paired with a JC TriToon SportToon 26TT, with the speaker count reaching nearly 40 speakers. VOKOL worked with Boston Acoustics engineers to create a complete experience like no other.

“There are no dead spots on the entire boat,” says Mike. “High, low, even for the captain the sound is crystal clear wherever you’re at. Working with Boston allows us to create sound the original artist intended and this system really brings the music to life.”

Building Relationships

One of the constants Joe has observed over his many years in the marine industry is the very relationship-driven industry.

“With these relationships with base suppliers, designers, sales, engineering and purchasing, people know the needs, desires, expectations and capabilities of each other,” explains Joe. “That makes it possible to align the right products with the right people for the best results.”

This process is what led Joe and JC TriToon to VOKOL.

“They knew that in the high-end marine audio world you go big or you stay at home,” adds Joe. “With our fully integrated Fusion Audio System we thought we had gone as big as we possibly could, but then we introduced the VOKOL and the VeriTune system and that took “big” to an entirely new level.”

Competitive Advantage

It can be hard to stand out to consumers shopping for a new boat, and this could be JC TriToon’s biggest advantage with this specific model.

“A system like this can be a real differentiation from competitor boats,” says Matt. “Audio is a major way to tell the story of how you’re different from other boats. Our innovation separates us. It enhances the experience and makes boating even more enjoyable.”

For JC TriToon it wasn’t just about standing out from competitors, but also about providing a quality sound system its customers will appreciate.

“The ability to control zones was critical and we get this with the exceptional Fusion head unit,” says Joe. “From that base, VOKOL started adding layers of sound. Over the course of the years, we had tried or seen all of the known industry methods to get the sound level raised off the floor level such as using directional wedges, recessing speakers into the seat backs, and numerous other attempts. The VOKOL VeriTune system immediately made all of those other methods obsolete.”

A Rewarding System

With projects of this complexity and size it’s natural to question if the effort was worth it, but for Joe the answer was a resounding yes the first time he powered up the complete system. “You can walk the length of the boat and have the same clear, concert level sound anywhere on the boat at all volume levels. And there is plenty of volume to go around,” says Joe with a smile.

When the system was dialed in, JC TriToon reached out to several dealers including Mike Lange of Spend-A-Day Marina in Central Ohio.

“Our Ohio dealer appreciated and valued the offering of our quality high-end sound system,” concludes Joe. “We did a review of the VOKOL VeriTune system on our 26-foot SportToon with arch and every person involved was blown away by the system and agreed VOKOL and VeriTune have taken marine audio sound and clarity to an entirely new level. It’s fun when it works and this works!”