Two or Four Exile SXT65's

[jetpilot2002]

I am getting ready to order from Brian and I was planning on just a pair of exile sxt65 speakers and a harpoon amp, thinking that would be enough, but Brian said I should get two pair of sxt65's. How much of a difference am I going to see from one to two pair of speakers. Going to be using these speakers for surfing mostly.

[KG's Supra24]

I like 4 but i say that purely for looks. From my understanding, you will not get double the sound from double the speakers.

[brain_rinse]

4 definitely looks better but you'll have no problem hearing 2 while surfing.

[kaneboats]

Give me a couple of weeks and I'll let you know. I'm down for 2 right now with 2 more on the distant horizon.

[rdlangston13]

i bought for primarily cause i think two looks goofy. and also because im not a good at any water sports in particular so i try to mask my lack of talent with a nice stereo ;)

[jmvotto]

Ed, how is the weight on the obv tower (1 5/8) with four.?

[Razzman]

You could easily do two and it would sound good. More than just looks, four will give you a much better sound field. My two center speakers are pointed straight back, while the other two are angled slightly out. This disperses the sound in a wider range and sounds real good.

[jetpilot2002]

Talking with brian about the stx65's, he told me there are two models, for$ 200 more I can have the mounts that spin and have the quick release option, would that be worth it or do you guys just mount the speakers and don't ever need/want to move them?

[rdlangston13]

that is what i bought. now im question whether or not i shouldnt have just shelled out another 150 a pair and gotten the xm7s? i have not heard the sxt65s yet tho as they have no come in and but it still has me wondering. i know the xm7s throw sound at distance excellently and i know the sxt65s wont be as good since they are not hlcd but just how much of a difference is it???

[rdlangston13]

well i store my boat indoors but i wanted the quick disconnect because i have to fold my tower to store and i didnt want all the weight of the speakers and tower to be sitting on my cover while it was in storage. i also like the ability to rotate the speakers and point them at different angles

Ed, i know the SXT65s are great for surfing but did you ever try to listen to them at a distance? and if so, how did they sound and what are you pushing them with?

[jetpilot2002]

Depends where you live and how the boat is stored... I guess.

When I got mine, if they had that quick release available I would have been all over it.

The Florida sun really did a number on the finish of my early model SXT65's. Cooked the black right off the cans.

However, Exile stepped up and replaced them...but darn it, I still have the non-quick release disconnects.

Some folks on here think using the covers that come with the speakers are adequate for protecting the speaker against any environment, so that kind of makes the additional $200 cost kinda a moot point...I guess.

If the extra $200 is not that big of a deal for you, get 'em. You can always take the speakers off to keep the finish nice and prevent people from stealing your speakers.

If you keep the boat under a roof - don't spend the extra $200

My boat is stored in a storage unit when not in use and I do not have to fold down my tower either. Wonder if I can just buy the covers for the speakers, so I can protect them when I tow.

[Razzman]

They are clear as a bell wayyy beyond boarding distances. I tested mine and they are loud and clear beyond 150'. Trust me on this.

Make yourself a carpeted board or something for the tower to rest on. I did that and never take the speakers off and it doesn't hit the cover.

[Razzman]

My boat is stored in a storage unit when not in use and I do not have to fold down my tower either. Wonder if I can just buy the covers for the speakers, so I can protect them when I tow.

Yes you can, I did for the same exact reason. I leave them on in storage to keep out dust, dirt and spiders.

[cab13367]

They are clear as a bell wayyy beyond boarding distances. I tested mine and they are loud and clear beyond 150'. Trust me on this.

Razz,

Not doubting you at all but I believe you tested them with the boat stationary and you walking 150' behind it on land. This is very different than wakeboarding 75'-80' behind the boat at wakeboarding speed, with all the wind and engine noise.

I tested two pairs of SXT65's and XM7's on the same day, powered by the Exile Harpoon. I surfed and wakeboarded with each setup to compare them in the intended conditions. My conclusion is that the XM7's are a bit louder at wakeboard speed, for sure, but the SXT65's sounded much smoother (less harsh) at surfing speed and for the boat occupants. Plus they are much cheaper (for the non quick release version) so I ended up going with the SXT65's. I tend to surf longer than I wakeboard since surfing is fairly effortless so my priority was surfing and for that, the SXT65's win hands down. If my priority was hearing music loud and clear while wakeboarding, then I would have gone with the XM7's.

Al

[cab13367]

My boat is stored in a storage unit when not in use and I do not have to fold down my tower either. Wonder if I can just buy the covers for the speakers, so I can protect them when I tow.

I would be worried about them being stolen unless you are the only one that has access to the storage unit. The quick connects would be the way to go if security is an issue.

[Razzman]

Razz,

Not doubting you at all but I believe you tested them with the boat stationary and you walking 150' behind it on land. This is very different than wakeboarding 75'-80' behind the boat at wakeboarding speed, with all the wind and engine noise.

Al

Actually "clear as a bell at boarding distances" or similar is the responce i got from those wakeboarding behind it, misquote on my part. We do way more boarding than surfing. Probably 75% boarding/15% tubing/ 10% surfing.

And it is def super clear walking behind it! :p

[rdlangston13]

well good. im sure my neighbors are going to love me testing the sound in the driveway

[kaneboats]

I am dying to piss off the neighbors. It's been their turn for so long.

[Razzman]

well good. im sure my neighbors are going to love me testing the sound in the driveway

OH YEA, that I can attest too! Especially my hispanic neighbors while i'm cranking some AC/DC or such :p

[Razzman]

I am dying to piss off the neighbors. It's been their turn for so long.

Go for it! It's fun! Mine all know for a fact that when the boat comes out for the first time to the driveway it's stereo test time! :p I have a couple new neighbors that need to be indoctrinated as well!

[EarmarkMarine]

Two or four speakers?
Obviously four will be louder. But that might also mean that four can be played more conservatively to attain the same volume and they will be performing with a little less stress and distortion. When coupling more speakers, like two pair versus one pair, the speakers always seem to sum for a little warmer balance. Also, with the rotating collars, you can spread the dispersion for a wider field versus a narrow and beaming effect. Horizontal speaker arrays tend to have really bad off-axis cancellations at the upper frequencies. Fanning them out just a bit can help offset that effect.

David
Earmark Marine

[moombadaze]

well good. im sure my neighbors are going to love me testing the sound in the driveway

yep, feel sorry for the one next to us as theve been good


I am dying to piss off the neighbors. It's been their turn for so long.

now the ones behind us is a different story and i think there your neighbors relatives


OH YEA, that I can attest too! Especially my hispanic neighbors while i'm cranking some AC/DC or such :p


Thinking about a little Guns n Roses or Crue myself

[Brianinpdx]

Hey guys – It’s been fun to see everyone’s take on this question. I think it really comes down to a couple of simple things…

Will 4 be better than two? Yes absolutely.. assuming you have the amplifier to power them properly.

How hard do you want to run your system? Running 4 pods versus 2 will allow you to tame the volume control and still have great dynamic range. This is really a grey area because, yes, you could crank the V all day long, but operating your stereo well within your limits has countless benefits.

Does 4 fill up your tower better? Of course.. Lets face it, all of these tow boats, no matter which brand has some flash to it compared to the other vessels on the water. 4 is a show off factor. I do preach to guys that before running 4 pods, make sure you have some kind of cabin speaker upgrade (amplified atleast) and some kind of subwoofer in place so the tower setup doesn’t dominate the whole damn stereo.

4/2 budget? Ultimately you gotta be your own judge for that one.

To me the biggest reason for the spinning mount / quick disco clamps is if it is important to you to be able to easily put sound on any target and easily be able to remove them at the end of the day to aid in the tower drop, or transportation (i.e. get them away from bugs), or protect against theft. If these things are important to you, there is no better clamping system on the market. Frankly speaking that’s why its patented. But it comes at a cost. If its not important stuff.... save the money.

@RD – your post cracked me up. Dude your getting ready to really hit the fast lane stereo wise. As A side note, If by some chance you want to goto the XM7 then you let me know…but first, get that monster stereo of yours fully operational and have a good listen. I think you’ll be shocked at how good its going to sound.

@ED – weight on the shipping containers should be 21.6 lbs and speakers themselves are 6.8 lbs each. As it applies to the OBV 1.5/8 diameter, putting 4 on it should be fine. But I do think that’s the upper limit weight wise.

@CAB – I appreciate you chiming in on this. You one of very few people I know that actually took the time to really listen to both setups on the water. Guys ask me all the time, whats the difference - at the end of the rope. What I try to let people know is that main difference is in the articulation of the upper frequencies. Bottom line, the HLCD horn projects (XM7). The 1” Titanium Tweeter (SXT65) projects less, but sounds 10x better for people in the boat. Pure and simple, there are trade offs. PS: this is the YEAR I'll make some time to get out on your boat with ya.. I really want my daughter to get hooked. she needs to see your daughter in action. brrr its still cold out there.

@JET – I just saw your followup post. If you want to go fixed mount, I’ll get you some covers. No worries.

@MoombaDaze – operate that volume control responsibly. Remember Karma lurks out there and one day when you’re a geezer, some punk kid will be sitting out side your window blasting some techno funk that sounds like ass. Haha! (something tells me this comment fell on deaf ears? Eh you say?)


All great comments guys. I know a lot of you are busy with upgrades. Will be fun to see the pics.

Cheers,

Brian
Exile Audio

[Razzman]

I'll bet on the latter. So where's the other 101 hats and shirts? :p

[moombadaze]

Brian, I hear ya loud and clear, the ears are still workin just fine, well for now they are....

[rdlangston13]

Brian, I hear ya loud and clear, the ears are still workin just fine, well for now they are....

you see i already have hearing damage in my left ear so i need a loud stereo so i can fully enjoy the tunes

[kaneboats]

ya know last year Kicker Phil sent us Clermont prop testing guys a box of some awesome Kicker T-shirts and hats.

That was pretty cool of Kicker to sponsor our prop testing weekend last year. Wise Chips too.

Unfortunately, we were so busy swapping props, launching and loading boats, recording data, etc. we didn't get many pics. Here's one though:

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee356/kaneboats/IMG_1745.jpg

[moombadaze]

well since you organized that event does that make you lead dork?

proud member of the dorkateers-btw pwi

[moombadaze]

it is a elite group at that ;)

[kaneboats]

You know our motto: "One for all and all for wings n yeungs!"