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hphp77
01-21-2014, 11:32 AM
I need to purchase tower speakers and amp for my boat. I have 2 questions:

1. What brand is recommended?
2. Do you recommend going with 2 or 4 speakers?

Per http://waterski.about.com/od/marineaudiospeakers/tp/The-Top-5-Wakeboard-Tower-Speakers.htm

Rockford Fosgate M282
Wet Sounds Revolution Series
Wakeworks Bullet Twin
Roswell Vamp Spin Speakers

KG's Supra24
01-21-2014, 11:38 AM
Great winter thread! :D

The main recommendations here are going to be Exile, Kicker and Wetsounds ( in alpha order ;) ).

First, what are you goals? Do you want a projection speaker that allows the speakers to be heard at wakeboard range or something more for surfing and hanging out in the cove?

Do you have a budget in mind? Will you be doing the install yourself?

What boat/tower do you have? 2 or 4 speakers, for the most parts, turns into a budget and aesthetic question. There are speakers on the market these days that have the ability to accomplish your goals with only 2 hanging on the tower.

hphp77
01-21-2014, 11:47 AM
Thanks KG...

1. I would like to project so that they can be heard at WB range.
2. 2k??? and yes
3. OZ tower

MLA
01-21-2014, 11:58 AM
This made me chuckle ;)


and with a bass thump that can project to 80 feet and beyond.

First, decide what your goals are, whether its a dedicated surf setup, dedicated wake range setup or one that does both well.

Traditional coaxials, whether its 2 pair of 6.5" or 1 or 2 pair of 8" will be a perfect surf setup. The larger driver will offer better sound quality and mid-bass extension.

An HLCD will be better for suited for a wake range setup. Smaller HLCD will certainly reach a boarder, but are really aggressive and tend to be harsh for the passengers in the boat because they lack mid-bass. Larger HLCDs offer a smoother balance between projection and mid-bass. The larger the HLCS, then better the SQ, deeper mid-bass extension. This makes them more ideal for those that want a great compromise between surf SQ and wake projection.

Once the speaker selection is made, the amp options will fall in line. Im partial to Class-D amp due to their small footprint and efficiency.

KG's Supra24
01-21-2014, 12:02 PM
You will want to focus your search towards HLCD speakers. 3 of the 4 mentioned in the article you posted were Coaxial speakers and were also on the smaller, 6.5" side.

Popular HLCD options are: Wetsounds Rev series, Exile XM9, Kicker KM (i think), and I believe JL is now offering a HLCD option?

My recommendation: Pair of Wetsounds Rev10's (with RGB) and either a Syn4 or SD2.
Another popular recommendation: Pair of Exile XM9 and a harpoon or XM30.2

I've been happy with my rev10s and syn4 setup. If you look Exile, I'd lean towards the XM30.2 over the harpoon. If you like the look of 4, I'd be interested to know if Sandm can hear his setup at wake range. I haven't heard the ICON series but they definitely peak my interest. I believe Exile now has a similar option as well.

You might find you want to do some work on your in boats and sub once your tower sounds great :D

hphp77
01-21-2014, 12:13 PM
Thanks MLA & KG! I appreciate all your help!

KG's Supra24
01-21-2014, 12:13 PM
Relevant, if you haven't already saved it ....

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?21523-Oz-tower-speaker-wiring

David Analog
01-21-2014, 12:32 PM
Quote, "and I believe JL is now offering a HLCD option?"
JL Audio is not offering an HLCD tower speaker. All future products for this season will have direct radiating (non compression-loaded, non horn) tweeters. However, the new JL Audio 8" (880) tower speaker/pod coming later this year will be a major player at wake range without being an HLCD. You're going to see REAL midbass extension from this tower speaker plus a silky smoothness in the entire response. Part of the reason that this speaker will have incredible sound quality and projection ability is due to JL's new and proprietary coated silk dome tweeter that at a true 1.25" is massive. Again, the tweeter voice coil is 1.25"! And, as a soft dome tweeter it has a very low resonance and can reach much farther down into the midrange in order to correctly bridge the gap between a larger 8-inch midbass driver and tweeter.

hphp77
01-21-2014, 02:54 PM
Anyone have any experience with: Roswell Marine audio?

http://www.roswellwakeair.com/series_rma/tower_speakers_marine_audio_vamp_spin/

KG's Supra24
01-21-2014, 03:15 PM
I'll step out for a bit after this so you can get some other opinions. I'm just trying to procrastinate as much as I can today.

For comparison sake ....

Roswell is a 6.5" and a 5.25" speaker that wants to see 60 watts RMS.
Wetsounds is a 10" speaker that needs to see 300 watts RMS
Exile is a 8"ish speaker that needs to see 250 watts RMS

There is simply no comparison between the group. There is no way to get near the same output. The Roswell is a small coaxial speaker and can't be expected to reach wake range. For the $1k price, there are cheaper, larger coaxials that will accept more power. If you like the "spinning" function ... the other brands offer that via their clamps.

I, personally, can't make the Roswells Vamp make sense as a good tower solution. Especially at $1k.

David Analog
01-21-2014, 03:34 PM
^^^I couldn't agree more with the above Roswell comments. A 5.25" speaker is too small and has no business in a tower application, not to mention why you would purposely use different sizes of speakers. Plus, the drivers they've used over the years have usually been entry-level price-point. I would cut that from consideration.

Here's another option. For less than $1000 you can get two pair of Memphis 6.5" HLCDs. They are produced in the same plant as several other well-known HLCDs. The Memphis loves an honest 100 watts per speaker. Being 2-ohms, you can series the left, series the right, and bridge a 4-channel amplifier into two. A JL Audio XD400/4 is perfect and will produce 400 watts even with a low 12.5 volt supply. That's a pretty good $1250 amp/speaker tower combo.

Or with more budget, I would definitely go the Wetsounds route.

hphp77
01-21-2014, 03:44 PM
KG:

Very good and in-depth response. I will mark them off my list. So now it's between Exile & WS!

Again, thanks for all your help!

JeffCook3
01-22-2014, 01:28 AM
I just recently went with the Exile XM9 speakers with a XM30.2. Hope to get it all in this week. I will let you know how it sounds.

Brianinpdx
01-24-2014, 03:54 PM
Something tells me that Skiers choice is selling a lot of Mojo's this year, because our phone has run off the hook this week with NEW NEW Mojo owners. Jeff - glad we got you hooked up with a tower package that works for you.

HP > if you have questions about Exile PM me or call the office. Happy to answer questions for you on gear or installation help or whatever the topic might be.

-Brian

dusty2221
01-24-2014, 04:16 PM
You're gonna love the 9s with the 30.2. Congrats

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

sandm
01-24-2014, 05:05 PM
sorry kg, late to the party :)

icon8's are OK at wakeboard range, but not what they were meant for. comparing them to my old bullet 6.5's(not even a fair comparison really) and the couple rev10's I've heard, mine are a whole lot more "musical" than the hlcd's at close range and moderate volume levels, but if you want to crank at 80ft, go hlcd and go as big as you can afford.
I was torn between spending the extra cash for a set of rev10's and really decided since I rarely board and 95% surf, the 4 icon8's was the right decision. I may not be the loudest at the sandbar, but I don't experience the harsh highs of the hlcd's.

with that being said, getting enough power to them and ensuring it's CLEAN power is just as important. I don't think the icon's would sound near as good as they do with a smaller amp. I'm using an arc ks300.2 at 2ohms.

JeffCook3
01-25-2014, 01:53 AM
Thanks Brian..

Guys customer service has been top notch. Brian has been awesome to deal with and has responded quickly to all my questions.

Sharpshooter
01-27-2014, 08:12 AM
Jeff, whos doing your install for you