Latest Exile Convert

[cab13367]

Well, you can officially count me in amongst the many who have joined the Exile empire. I replaced my Polk tower speakers in aluminum cans with Exile's new SXT65's and replaced my Kicker ZX700.5 with the Exile Harpoon (500W RMS x 2 @ 2ohms) and the new Exile SM600.1 marine rated monoblock amp (600W RMS x 1 @ 2 ohms). I already had the custom Exile sub enclosure loaded with an Exile 12" sub.

Below are some pics. Note that there are no wires showing whatsoever (other than at the pivot joint on the front leg). I even re-ran the wires to the tower light so it's hidden as well. I want to thank David at Earmark for the idea to do this. I love the clean, factory look!

As to sound, I am extremely pleased with the SXT65's. The Polk's were fine for floating and swimming behind the boat but when surfing, you could hear them but just barely, making it difficult at times to even tell what song was playing. 70W per speaker is simply not enough to overcome the engine noise when surfing and that is the max the Polks could handle so a bigger amp was not the answer. And you can forget about hearing them while wakeboarding.

The SXT's are not HLCD speakers so they don't project quite as well as the XM7's but they come close. BUT, they can take a lot of power and the Harpoon delivers 250W RMS to EACH speaker so you can easily hear them while wakeboarding. However, they really shine at surfing speeds - you can hear them loud and clear and they are don't sound harsh at that distance like the HLCD's do. I am all about sound quality vs quantity so for me, the SXT65's are the ticket. They sound loud and clean and smooth up close but since they can take a lot of power, they can also be easily heard while wakeboarding.

Thank you Brian at Exile for some great products!

Now for the pics. Sorry for the quality of them - I will take some better pics when the weather breaks and I can get the boat on the water.

SXT65's
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_0774.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_07672.jpg

No wires! The speaker wires run from the front to the rear tube via the center oval cross tube. I still need to get a couple of plugs to cover up the holes.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_0751.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_0753.jpg

[cab13367]

Since I am running 1000W RMS to the tower via two pairs of speakers wires, I ran high quality 12 gauge wire to be sure the wires would not be a bottleneck. All connections were sodered and heat shrunk.

This is at one of the inside speakers. The SXT65's come with high quality, tailor fit, neoprene protective covers.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_0742.jpg

This is at one of the outside speakers.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_0745.jpg

JL Audio M6600, Exile Harpoon, and Exile SM600.1
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_07592.jpg

SM600.1. This was a ten second exposure - it's not easy hand holding the camera still for that long!
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20Pics/IMG_07562.jpg

[viking]

Looks Great! Only problem is we can't see your reflection in the pics now :)

[cab13367]

Looks Great! Only problem is we can't see your reflection in the pics now :)

I see that as a positive :)

[Razzman]

Welcome to the club Al, Looks real good!

Hey how is the sound of the sub now with the 600.1 amp? I'm thinking of doing the same, dumping my ZX700.5 but i'd have to add a 800.4 & 600.1 to the arsenal. I already dumped the ZX650.4 for the Harpoon as well.

Also, are you running all three amps on two batts? I'm thinking i'll have to add a third batt to keep it all up to speed.

[mmandley]

Looks realy sweet Al ill have to drop in for a beer and close up inspection =)

[cab13367]

Razz,

I'll hold off commenting on the 600.1 until I can get the boat down to
Exile to get everything tuned.

Yes, running all 3 amps off one batt. I do have an onboard smart charger and charge the batts after every outing so at least I know I am starting out with a
fully charged batt each time. I think i'll be fine as I don't run the stereo very hard for very long when we are floating. We'll see.

[cab13367]

Looks realy sweet Al ill have to drop in for a beer and close up inspection =)

Come by any time. BTW, as Keenan was helping me pull wires thru the tower, he said, "Dad, our boat is becoming more and more like Mr. Mike's". :)

[you da man]

Are you just running one starting and one stereo battery?

[cab13367]

Are you just running one starting and one stereo battery?

Yes, that's correct.

[cab13367]

Welcome to the club Al, Looks real good!

Hey how is the sound of the sub now with the 600.1 amp? I'm thinking of doing the same, dumping my ZX700.5 but i'd have to add a 800.4 & 600.1 to the arsenal. I already dumped the ZX650.4 for the Harpoon as well.


Razz,

I've not had a chance to take the boat down to Exile yet but I did set the gain just now and the sub pounds as hard as I dare it to and I have the gain set at about the 1:00 position right now. With the 700.5, I had the gain up almost all the way. I still need to properly set the crossover and the subsonic filter but I am going to wait until I can get over to Exile and have them do that.

Al

[thesack]

Looks great Al. Love the murdered out look of the SXT65s. Hmm might have to murder out my XM7s.

[Brianinpdx]

Al -

Looks really nice. I know you have a ton of work into your setup. What nobody knows about Is. He did three different installs, trying first 1 pair of xm7's, then adding a second, and re-powering his setup, and then pulling the whole tower setup down and trying out the sxt's for another complete trial.

This was a lot of work, but ultimately, I'd say Al is damn informed now about the differences between HlCDs and direct radiating design sound performance and tonal construction / projection. Al, in the end, all I can say is, "Told ya so...". I knew you would be hooked on the sound of these speakers. I'm glad you took the time to really dial your setup the way you wanted. That's what's important.

The important question is, what's the wife say?

-Brian
Exile Audio

[Brianinpdx]

Holy crap - do you really have 5 valet circuit breakers in that setup? Is that some Photoshop trick? Dude! that's got win some kinda award!!!!!! Whoa!

-Brian

[cab13367]

Al -

Looks really nice. I know you have a ton of work into your setup. What nobody knows about Is. He did three different installs, trying first 1 pair of xm7's, then adding a second, and re-powering his setup, and then pulling the whole tower setup down and trying out the sxt's for another complete trial.

This was a lot of work, but ultimately, I'd say Al is damn informed now about the differences between HlCDs and direct radiating design sound performance and tonal construction / projection. Al, in the end, all I can say is, "Told ya so...". I knew you would be hooked on the sound of these speakers. I'm glad you took the time to really dial your setup the way you wanted. That's what's important.

The important question is, what's the wife say?

-Brian
Exile Audio

Yes, I didn't go into all that last night as I was pressed for time, but Brian was extremely accommodating in letting me try different setups so that I could make an informed decision. I acutally started out one day on the water with 4 XM7's on the tower, listened to them wakeboarding then surfing, then switched them out for 4 SXT65's while on the water, then wakeboarded and surfed again so that I got to compare them back to back on the same day. In the end, the XM7's were really not that much louder at 75' but the SXT65's sounded much better closer in than the XM7's. Plus they cost quite a bit less than the XM7's :)

Ya, you were right on about me liking these SXT65's. As far as the wife, Brenda gives the SXT's the thumbs up as well.

BTW, I always thought that my Polk db651's were smooth sounding speakers but after comparing them to the SXT65's, the SXT's are smoother still. So there might be 3 pairs of in boat Exile's in my future ...

[cab13367]

Holy crap - do you really have 5 valet circuit breakers in that setup? Is that some Photoshop trick? Dude! that's got win some kinda award!!!!!! Whoa!

-Brian

Is that what you call them - valet circuit breakers?? I followed Razz's lead on that one and got resetable breakers instead of fuses. And I'm glad I did cause I have to open the ones coming from the ACR every time I plug in the onboard charger so that it doesn't combine the charging current. It's a lot easier to push a button than to pull a fuse :)

[jmvotto]

Al, great looking new setup, you certainly uped the ante....:D

[Razzman]

Ed, i have mine pointing slightly up so that when the boat is in boarding/surfing attitude the speakers are pointing somewhat on a level plane. Make sense? That way whether boarding or surfing they're directionaly pointed at the rider. The nice thing about the SXT65's is that even like that they still produce a nice sound field for chilling in the cove or whatever.

[cab13367]

Ed, i have mine pointing slightly up so that when the boat is in boarding/surfing attitude the speakers are pointing somewhat on a level plane. Make sense? That way whether boarding or surfing they're directionaly pointed at the rider. The nice thing about the SXT65's is that even like that they still produce a nice sound field for chilling in the cove or whatever.

Mine are set up exactly like Razz - aimed slightly up so that they are about level when boarding/surfing.

[you da man]

question for you guys...

when your standing on your swim platform, where are your speakers pointing?

I'm 5-9 and mine are pointed directly at my face.

I noticed yesterday, when surfing, I'm pretty much at the same level as the platfrom.

to me, the speakers are louder at a distance than they are when I'm surfing.

Just curious if they should be pointing more to the sky or perhaps even down more.

Ed, is the tower on the Outback shorter than the XLV or is it the extra freeboard of the XLV make the XLV tower taller? I know Exile and Bullet have the lowest hang height of the tower speakers, just wondering because I'm 6'00" and can easily walk under my Bullet 770's. Learning something new everyday about the differences in the Moomba models

[moombadaze]

Al, awesome work as always. I really have not been in this section much but thats changing.

How hard was it getting the speaker wires in the rear tower cross member? Is there a reason to not install on the forward cross tube?

I waiting for mine to arive :)

[Razzman]

The biggest reasons I can think of would be with tower speakers you want the sound projecting out and not in the cabin. With them on the forward bar you'll get more in the cabin for sure.

Also you might have clearance issues with your bimini on the forward tube. I know mine are real close to the bimini, in fact i have to manuver the bimini around a bit when putting it up. But then i do have a custom bimini too.

[cab13367]

Al, awesome work as always. I really have not been in this section much but thats changing.

How hard was it getting the speaker wires in the rear tower cross member? Is there a reason to not install on the forward cross tube?

I waiting for mine to arive :)

Thanks daze. It took a little bit of work to get the speaker wires to the rear cross member. Just takes some patience.

Razz is correct on the bimini interference - if I mounted the speakers on the front cross member, I would not be able to open the bimini.

Which Exiles did you get?

[moombadaze]

2 pair's of the sxt65's

[moombadaze]

I have 2 holes on the underside of my front tube from the 1st set of speakers- just trying how to make it work without making anymore holes. Never thought I would be stepping up to 4 Exile's

[moombadaze]

think I'll start off with the wireing like yours and some zip ties

[mmandley]

Ill post the pics of mine. I had the KMT6s originaly and then went with the XM7s and i had the same issue. I wanted a mostly wire less look but didnt want a dozen hoels in my tower.

The way mine is installed as of right now is the wire jumps from the front tube to the rear tube. The 4 XM7s are wires together inside the rear tube. Then you only see 1 wire from the front tube to the rear tube for each set. Yes in the OB tower this is harder because its smaller but it can be done as i have already installed a boat with that tower also.

Marked and drilled the tower for the left side as in the image.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/Towerspeaker003.jpg
Marked and drilled the tower for the right side as in the image.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/Towerspeaker002.jpg
Mounted the clamps and you can see i spliced my lines right to clamps. Both speakers are wired together inside the rear tube.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/Towerspeaker004-1.jpg
Heres a shot looking up at the tower. You will still see wires but not that many.

When you sell the boat sure there is the aspect of will the new buyer want the holes, but the better aspect is sell the tower set up with the boat and make your money back.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/Towerspeaker005.jpg

[mmandley]

No there is only 4 holes in the rear cross bar.

This wasn't a post to be advantage / disadvantage it was to show another option other then having as many wires visible as you have on your install.

[moombadaze]

Ed, Mmandley, thanks for the photo's -its giving me some idea's

[mmandley]

No Ed, on the rear tube there is only 4 holes. 1 under each clamp for the wires to go threw from the clamps. The jump wire from the front tube to the rear tube is not drilled into the rear tube. It go inside the clamp from the side and connects inside the tube.

[mmandley]

OK let me try to get your understanding here.

In the clamps as with all Exile series tower speakers the wire comes from the center of the clamp and designed to go right into the mounting tube. So you drill the hole in the tube directly where the clamp goes.

Now on the Clamps for boats with tower diameters my size i have more room and there's a small air gap in the clamp where it connects to the tower.

On the Smaller OB size tube diameter in order to make it fit the tower boar they had to shave all this extra material off so the clamp is much smaller and literally flatter.

This is why you have no air gaps big enough for a wire.

There is no special wire connection threw the side of the clamp or anything its simply i have a larger tower bar so there's more room in the clamp when it closes over my tower.

[Razzman]

OK let me try to get your understanding here.

In the clamps as with all Exile series tower speakers the wire comes from the center of the clamp and designed to go right into the mounting tube. So you drill the hole in the tube directly where the clamp goes.

Now on the Clamps for boats with tower diameters my size i have more room and there's a small air gap in the clamp where it connects to the tower.

On the Smaller OB size tube diameter in order to make it fit the tower boar they had to shave all this extra material off so the clamp is much smaller and literally flatter.

This is why you have no air gaps big enough for a wire.

There is no special wire connection threw the side of the clamp or anything its simply i have a larger tower bar so there's more room in the clamp when it closes over my tower.

Yup my clamps are the same way as Mike's. As I already had a hole in rear of the forward tube next to the cross brace for the wires to enter the fiberglass speaker box I just drilled a duplicate hole in the rear tube and jumped the wire between the tube, you don't even really notice it. I've got some of the aluminum finish wire wrap to cover it with and it virtually disappears and blends right in.

As for drilling the holes and resale I could care less. Besides if i sell the boat the speakers are staying on it anyway so nobody will even see them. I'll just get the latest and greatset from Exile for the next one! :p kinda moot point though as this boat won't going anywhere for years to come.

[rdlangston13]

mike, did you soder all of your connections?

[mmandley]

Not the ones in the tower. I used heat shrink on those. I only soldered the stuff under the dash of the boat.

Heres a Teaser for you though. I was talking with Brain at Exile last night and looks like im going to be changing 1/2 my stereo out again lol.

Ill start a new post once i get back from vaca and such.

Hint to the upgrades,

New Amps racks something more custom looking then i have now.

6 Pack on my tower instead of the 4 pack i have now.

New Sub amp even bigger then what im running.

[cab13367]

Finally got the boat out this weekend for the first time this year and took some decent pics of my Exile tower set up. Love the clean, wireless look (the tower needs a cleaning though).

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_3001.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_3025.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_2999.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_2998.jpg

[cab13367]

And here's a couple of the sub:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_3012.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_3014.jpg

And a profile pic of the boat.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/Boat%20pics%20-%20public/IMG_3031.jpg

[kaneboats]

Really looking good, Al. I'll get there one of these days.

[cab13367]

Really looking good, Al. I'll get there one of these days.

Thanks kane. I have so much weight on my tower now though that it's becoming increasingly difficult to put it up and down by myself.

[moombadaze]

I have so much weight on my tower now though that it's becoming increasingly difficult to put it up and down by myself.


I hear you on that, and I have help too