JL vs. Wetsounds

[greenmachine13]

Looking to upgrade the tower speakers ,wondering what everyones opinion on who makes a better tower speaker JL or Wetsounds ? Also the Rev 8 vs the Icon 8.

[jmvotto]

Wetsounds have better towers icon for surfing revs for wakeboarding and cove hanging .

Amps, they are both great, I have had jl amps but not ws .

My signature tells you where I went with the next boat:o

You will get an ear full, hence the image ..

[beat taco]

I would start a new thread Wetsounds vs. Exile, just my .02. Do it!
The Rev isn't a fair comparison here. It will dominate the other two. I've never heard the icons but the JL's are very nice when powered to their max.

[David Analog]

First, the Wetsounds Rev8 to Icon8 comparison.
The Rev8 is an HLCD (horn loaded compression driver) and places long range projection as a priority. The Rev8 is using a ProSound approach as if you were filling a large auditorium or theater with music. The Icon8 is referred to as a surf speaker because it has a direct-radiating, non-horn tweeter, among other differences, with the intention of offering an improvement in near field listening quality. Perhaps more like the construction of a home theater speaker. The Icon8 will deliver at wake range, especially with two pair, but certainly not with the same authority of the Rev8.
The Wetsounds Rev8 is more evolved than the early HLCD tower speakers and it's pretty linear (treats a broad bandwidth with equal amplitude and without a lot of response peaks & valleys) so I have no reservations about near field listening with the Rev8. The Icon8 is a lower cost, value speaker. The Rev8 is the higher cost upgrade.

[David Analog]

JL Audio to Wetsounds comparison.
Although these are the top two build quality speakers, it's hard to get a head to head comparison because these two products are so different. Each is clearly the best at what they intentionally do and they purposely take different approaches. Each has a signature sound that runs consistent throughout most every speaker in each respective line.
A Wetsounds speaker uses metal tweeter diaphragms while the JL Audio uses coated textile (silk) soft dome tweeters. The metal domes tend to accentuate the highs. The soft dome tweeters tend to be more damped with lower resonances, making a bit more contribution into the upper midrange. The Wetsounds are voiced more aggressively. The JL Audio are voiced for maximum smoothness. The Wetsounds is going to be louder in the same size of speaker.
You mentioned two Wetsounds 8-inch options. JL Audio is in the process of releasing the 880 8-inch tower speaker. It has an unusually large 1.2" soft dome tweeter.
I think the above is objective and accurate. The subjective part is which school of thought, that of JL Audio or Wetsounds, you will find to be more attractive to your ears. They sound different and you should listen to both under optimum conditions.

[slipperyrockTKE300]

"I would start a new thread Wetsounds vs. Exile, just my .02. Do it!"

LMAO

[MLA]

For a surf setup, go traditional coax like the 7.7 or Icon-8.

For a wake range setup, go HLCD.

For the best of both worlds, go Wet Sounds Rev-10

Strictly from a sound quality stand point, I think the JL 7.7 edges the Wet Sounds Icon-8, but that comes down to some personal taste. Looking at the entire picture, The Icon offers 3 mounting options and an optional LED ring. With all 3 mounting options, the speaker leads as well as the LED leads are through the clamp and out of site.

For wake range projection, you are best to go with an HLCD, so that points you to the Wet Sounds Rev-8 or the larger Rev-10

Sorry is others felt left out :p

[sandm]

I went through the icon vs rev when buying my last tower speaker setup. I chose icon as surfing is all we do and didn't have a need to be heard halfway across the lake. having had a smaller hlcd setup(bullets-so not really a comparison) I appreciate the musical quality of the icons and they work great for surfing. hanging at a sandbar, they play just fine to be heard at the end of the boat and not 200ft away, which I'm sure our neighbors at the bar can appreciate. rev's sounded harsh to me. a trait I have heard form most horn loaded speakers I have ever listened to. probably the reason I don't care for klipsch speakers.

my .02, I'd do the icon's all day long.


on the topic of subs, I have always chose jl. on my 3rd 12w6 and didn't even consider wetsounds even though the rest of the boat consists of wetsounds. went with what has been tried and tested for me. sure wetsounds make a great sub.
amps, no horse as I picked arc. same basic architecture as ws but lower price since they are not built for marine. no big deal to me as I'm sure they will last as long as I will own the boat.

end of the day, this works for me. David hit the nail on the head when he said go listen to both and make up your own mind. it's hard with marine gear as not many places sell them, but a good weekend road trip is worth the investment considering what marine audio gear cost and how long you might own it.
good luck.

[greenmachine13]

Thanks for all the help ! I think we will be sticking to wet sounds for the new boat as we had rev 8s in our old lsv. They sounded great expect for the annoying buzzing sound when used with the light rings. Thinking of going to an enclosed sub too for the new boat we ran a wet sounds free air sub before.

[viking]

I'd definitely recommend an enclosed sub! Night and day difference.
Also, did you have your LED's power source independent of the stereo bank? Information I've gathered is you can have interference if powered from the same bank. Just a heads up on your new system.

[That Guy]

Hope I'm not taking this thread too far off course....but what are peoples thoughts on the Wetsounds PRO696RS Tower Speakers? They are 6x9's and I think they would would provide more head-room under the tower as well as they are the most inexpensive WS tower speaker option. Anyone have these or have input on them? I've never had a boat with a tower or speakers so this is a first for me. The boat has WS interior speakers already so would like the tower speakers to match.

Other question I had is what are people doing for enclosures/cans/whatever they are called as it doesn't appear on the WS website they come with any?

[David Analog]

The Wetsounds 6X9s are only raw drivers to fit existing pods. A few boat brands have come with really nice pods but were loaded with standard automotive 6X9 speakers. So a good option for those already invested in pods.
The Pro series are not as refined sound quality wise as the newer Rev series. Plus, a round speaker is inherently better than an oval.