Rockford Fosgate Marine Speakers: M2 vs. M1 vs. M0

In November 2019 Rockford Fosgate introduced their new line of marine grade speakers. The lineup consists of three different levels of speakers, M0, M1, and M2. M0 is the entry level model while the M2 is their top of the line offering. With these new speaker lines, Rockford Fosgate has resdesigned their speaker grilles and also added their ColorOPtix RGB LED technology. Outside of the re-style and the addition to the LED lights, nothing has changed versus the Prime RM0 (M0), the Prime RM1 (M1), and their Punch PM2 (M2) series speakers from before. In addition to updating the speakers, Rockford also re-designed their marine grade subwoofers to match with the M1 and M2 marine subwoofers.

The M0 speakers are only offered in a 6.5" size. The M1 speakers now come in both a 6.5" and an 8". The previous generation RM1 speakers were not offered in an 8" so there is a product line extension. The M2 speakers are offered in a 6", a 6.5", an 8", and a 8" horn tweeter.

When it comes to grille options for Rockford Fosgate marine grade speakers, the options vary by the series. The M0 and the M1 are only available in an open-style, 6 spoke design and you can choose either black or white girlles. The Rockford Fosgate M2 speakers come with 2 different grille styles. They come with the open-style, 6 spoke design and they also include a stainless steel insert that can be installed on top of the open grille for a closed style grille similar to the previous generation of Rockford marine speakers.

As of right now, the matching tower speakers have not been released for M0, M1, and M2. Rockford Fosgate is not going to make matching tower speakers for M0. The matching mini-cans for the M1, and M2 will be released later in 2020.

Both the M1 and M2 speakers have matching the subwoofers. Both the Rockford Fosgate M1 and the M2 come in dual 2 ohm and dual 4 ohm voice coils. Both the M1 and M2 subwoofers have grilles that will match the speakers and the M2 subwoofers include the stainless steel mesh overlay as well. The M1 subwoofers are available in 8", 10", and 12" diameters but the M2 is only available in a 10". The M1 and M2 subwoofers come with with Rockford's ColorOptix RGB LED technology and integrate seemlessly with their RGB LED controller.

With the Rockford Fosgate marine speakers, as the number increases, so does the power handling. M2 can handle more power than M1, which can handle more power than M0. The Rockford Fosgate M0 is their entry level speakers and the 6.5" model can handle up to 65 watts RMS. Both the 6.5" and 8" M1 speakers can handle up to 75 watts RMS. The 6.5" M2 speakers can handle 85 watts RMS and the 8" model can handle 125" RMS. The horn tweeter version of the 8" M2 can handle 150 watts of RMS power. As you go from M0 to M1 to M2, the RMS power handling doesn't change that drastically, especially in the 6.5" size. What does change though is the tweeter material and the size of the tweeter.

Speakers have efficiency ratings which tell you how loud that speaker plays at a certain distance given X amount of power. It is usually done as 1 watt per 1 meter. This number tells us how loud those speakers are going to play when power is held constant. If I give each speaker 50 watts of power, one speaker has a SPL rating of 89 dB, the other has an SPL rating of 92 dB, the speaker with the SPL rating of 92 dB is going to play louder. However, speakers are subjective and louder is not always better, but you can always turn the volume down. This number just tells us how efficient those speakers are. The 6.5" M0 speakers have an SPL rating of 90.5, the M1 speakers have a sensitivity rating of 89, and the M2 have a sensitivity rating of 89. For the 8" speakers, the M1 have a rating of 89dB, the M2 are 90dB, and the horn tweeter M2 speakers have an SPL rating of 93. With the 6.5" speakers, they are all roughly the same in terms of their efficiency. For the 8" speakers, you can see that the M2 horn tweeter speakers are significantly louder and more efficient than the regular 8".

As you'd probably expect, as you go up from M0 to M1 to M2, the tweeter materials and sizes change. The 6.5" M0 has a .5" LCP balanced dome tweeter. The 6", 6.5", and 8" M1 speakers have a 1" LCP balanced dome tweeter. The 6", 6.5" and 8" full range M2 speakers have a 1" aluminum alloy tweeter. The larger the tweeter, the louder the music will play. The aluminum tweeters in the M2 are going to cut through the engine, wind, and water noise better than the LCP tweeters used in M0 and M1. The larger tweeter in M1 is going to sound better, play brighter, and play louder than the .5" tweeter in M0. Now to the good stuff. The 6.5" and 8" M2 speakers have a 1" PXNX tweeter which is a proprietary material to Rockford Fosgate. They don't tell us what the exact material is, but it is 3 dB louder than the previous aluminum alloy tweeter while also sounding smooth like a soft-dome tweeter.

We recommend using an amplifier for all marine speakers because a boat is a loud, noisy, open-air environment. The more power you give your speakers, the louder, clearer, and with less or even no distortion. However, if you are powering speakers directly off of your head unit, you can use either M0 or M1. The M1 will sound pretty decent off of deck power. The M0 will not as bright or loud. The M2 speakers require an amplifier to hear what you are paying for.

The Rockford Fosgate M1 and M2 speakers come with RGB LEDs integrated into the grille and they use Rockford's Color Optix system for the RGB LED controller. The Rockford Fosgate ColorOptix RGB LED controller can support up to 8 speakers or subwoofers. The RGB LED system is designed to be plug and play. First, you purchase the Color Optix controller. Next, you purchase the cables you needto run from the controller to each speaker. Then, you can use Rockford's RF Connect app to control the lights via Bluetooth from your iPhone or Android device. You can select from over 30 different scrolling color options or select a static color from any color on the color wheel. The Color Optix system is the easiest option to connect RGB LEDs in the industry. It is IPX7 rated and uses Deutsch/Amphenol element ready connectors for a plug and play solution. Plus one end into the controller, the other end into the speaker and you are good to go. No splicing, soldering, terminating, etc.

If you are debating between M1 and M0, I think it is worth spending up for M1 vs. M0. When using an amplifier, the M1 will sound really nice and play plenty loud if you like to cruise and you don't care about other people hearing your music. The M2 will blow away the M1 when powered properly. If you like "melt your face-off" loud, go with the 8" horn tweeters. With the Rockford speakers, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for the cheapest, "decent" speakers on the market and you don't care about LEDs, go with M0. If you want it to sound good but you are on a budget, M1. If you want it loud and you want it to sound amazing while cutting through all the ambient noise, the M2 speakers deliver. If you are looking for amp recommendations, the Rockford Power Mini amplifiers are probably the best value for marine-grade, raw power output.