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View Full Version : New tower speakers .What do you guys recommend .



Mitcheyb
09-23-2017, 07:56 PM
Going to upgrade my tower speakers and a sub any recommendations on speakers amps and subs .Been looking at the jl tower speakers .

MLA
09-23-2017, 09:43 PM
to make it a true upgrade, need to know what you have now, as well as the amp driving them. Next, are you looking for wake range projection, surf/party cove, or the best of both worlds with the least amount of compromise?

Does the boat currently have a woofer? If so, what model/size/coil configuration and amp? Describe the enclosure setup? What model and year boat?

Mitcheyb
09-23-2017, 09:58 PM
Boat has a set of Roswell tower speakers now with Roswell amp .Also has amp for interior speakers and they sound pretty good .Looking for better sound off tower right now when it's up it distorts some .Does not have any sub in it at all .Guess I'm looking for a good sound to surf and party to If that makes since without dropping huge money in it .

MLA
09-23-2017, 10:28 PM
Ok, based on past forum post, it looks like you have a 2016 mondo? Im guessing you have the 6.5" roswell pods that are loaded with Focal drivers. Distortion can be anything from a blown speaker to amp settings to your music source. In other words, swapping speakers and you might still end up with that same distortion.

So, assuming you do have the 6.5" Focal, an upgrade would be moving up to an 8" speaker pod like the JL 8.8, Wet Sounds Icon-8 or Kicker KM8. Amp wise, I dont recall Moomba moving to Roswell amps, is if by chance a Kicker? Maybe the KX200.2? Is it silver with a red light strip or black with the rectangle roswell logo? Knowing the amp plays into whether or not it would be beneficial to upgrade amp, or maybe it could be re-purposed to the woofer.

Woofer wise, id suggest a 12" and you will likely need to build a custom enclosure for it. Amp will depend on woofer choice, enclosure design and what becomes of the current tower amp.

Mitcheyb
09-23-2017, 10:43 PM
Sent you a pm .

KnoxMojo
09-23-2017, 11:33 PM
You can see in my signature what I am running. But how I got there is the question. For me, it was finding a brand that I had faith in, which was Wetsounds, Jl, Exile and Kicker. Then I searched for the best bang for the buck that I could afford, some pieces I bought used, other components new. All the companies offered great prices and I couldn't have gone wrong with any of them. The last and most important step was a proper install and tune. Without that last step, the rest of this adventure is pointless. No matter what you go with, dive in, by happy, turn it up and don't forget to upgrade your cabin speakers to keep up with your awesome new tower speakers and sub!!!

lsupcar
09-23-2017, 11:36 PM
http://www.bulletspeakers.com

pat6969
09-24-2017, 12:18 AM
Check your crossover points as a first place for tower speaker distortion. Too low of a setting will make your tower speakers flap like a sub and distort. Most amps have a built in crossover and if you add a sub you should set the towers at about 90hZ - 120hZ (depending on rolloff slope) and your sub the same. That will clean up your towers considerably. The sub will provide the low end.

Mitcheyb
09-24-2017, 11:17 AM
how would the exile tower speakersand amp be .Also doesn't the moomba come with kicker cabin speakers ?.Man I didn't know getting a good system was so hard .Thanks in advance for all the help now I just gotta figure out what way to go .

MJHSupra
09-24-2017, 11:21 AM
You can see in my signature what I am running. But how I got there is the question. For me, it was finding a brand that I had faith in, which was Wetsounds, Jl, Exile and Kicker. Then I searched for the best bang for the buck that I could afford, some pieces I bought used, other components new. All the companies offered great prices and I couldn't have gone wrong with any of them. The last and most important step was a proper install and tune. Without that last step, the rest of this adventure is pointless. No matter what you go with, dive in, by happy, turn it up and don't forget to upgrade your cabin speakers to keep up with your awesome new tower speakers and sub!!!Who did your local install?

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KnoxMojo
09-24-2017, 03:24 PM
I have a buddy that is an engineer at Yamaha help with install, then had another engineer friend that is big into stereos help me tune it. Running all Exile, the guys at Exile helped with some fine tuning on the amps as well. Going with all the Exile, they also give you a 2 year warranty on everything.

Yes, the boats come with kicker cabin speakers, but they are the base model and only handle around 60 watts, Wetsound and Exile are around 100 watts each.

I'm running the XM9 towers, which are a half step above a Rev8 and at least a step below the awesome Rev10...running them off the 30.2 amp. My Exile cabins are running off the Javelin. If you are wanting the best of Exile without doing your cabins, a set of towers and a sub running off the 5 channel javelin would be pretty nice.

If Wetsound would have been in my budget, that's what would have been in my boat. But I pieced it all together for around $2k...

MLA
09-24-2017, 03:36 PM
I'm running the XM9 towers, which are a half step above a Rev8

Actually, this is quite incorrect. The xm9 and rev-8 are both 8" speakers. Do a search on this site and you will find pictures posted of the raw drivers with a ruler placed across each. Although the xm9 has an effective cone area dia that is 5/16" wider then the Rev-8, this equates to nothing for the end user. IIRC, the Rev-8 did have a larger compression driver and larger voice coil mid-bass driver. THIS actually makes a difference.

KnoxMojo
09-24-2017, 04:30 PM
I never said anything about size, I was simply referring to how I feel they sound and perform as I've been on boats with Rev8, Rev 10 and the Xm9....so nothing I said was "quite incorrect"... I fully know the differences as I have done my research. So I'll stand by my statement, I feel the xm 9 is better than the rev8 but not the rev10.

MLA
09-24-2017, 04:49 PM
The xm9 has: Smaller pod, smaller voice coil, smaller compression driver, longer parallel walls on the horn flare.Inferior clamp and speaker wire connection, cone material. Glad you are happy with the sound, but the xm9 is not in any way, a half step above the rev-8.

KnoxMojo
09-24-2017, 04:56 PM
All that and the Xm9 still sounds better...good luck selling your wares on here, I'm just offering the guy real world experience, not trying to sell him anything...I never once pot put down WS, but you couldn't help yourself to knock Exile first chance you got....

MLA, what model Moomba or Supra do you have?

russellsmojo
09-24-2017, 08:25 PM
Exile or any other brand. Such a fun debate. Over and over and over. OP you really need to figure out what you want to spend. There is always something better and more expensive. 6 towers is better than 4! I have had exile and jl. Both great. Buddies have wet sounds which are also great.

Just when you think man I have a great system some dude at the beach or cove will blow you away. So you better be happy with your purchase or you will be a victim.


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Mitcheyb
09-24-2017, 08:53 PM
Thinking of going with kicker km8’s and a sub at this time .Some of these speaker prices are crazy just like the boat prices .

KnoxMojo
09-25-2017, 06:53 AM
Buy once, cry once is what's been said on here time and time again...you'll like those kicker km8s, make sure to throw enough power at them and crank the tunes!

TrueKaotik
09-25-2017, 08:44 AM
Thinking of going with kicker km8’s and a sub at this time .Some of these speaker prices are crazy just like the boat prices .

Marine audio can be expensive when you want more than the factory was doing in 2007 BUT don't dismiss a proper tune by a professional, this is what makes the product shine.
What is wrong with your current woofer? It should be a Kicker 10", If nothing is physically wrong with it you can add a proper enclosure/tune for the factory woofer and it will improve the SQ/output. The woofer is not properly executed from the factory which makes most people think it's the product that sucks and it's not. Now if you want more output, a bigger woofer or better bass response after you know it's been tuned to the best it can provide, upgrade. Replacing a woofer of the same size and power handling without doing anything but a swap out will not yield the results you may think is going to happen.
Tower speakers are like the rest when it comes to equipment replacement, it's really what sounds good to you or what you want to sacrifice for price. You basically have two styles when it comes to tower speakers, You have coaxial and HLCD to choose from. You chose a coaxial so, Two KM8's will be louder than the current pair of 6.5" coaxial's that are on it now. They will want double the power of the current speakers though so a amp replacement will be needed. Also, remember you will need a proper professional tune or it will sound as bad as they currently do.

PuraVida
09-25-2017, 10:21 AM
I have the factory Roswell spin speakers, 6.5" and 5.25" drivers with the kicker 200.2 amp. They were clipping out at low power because I blew one of the 5.25" speakers. Checked the Roswell site and can't find a replacement speaker. I would like to either replace the blown speaker or replace all the speakers and keep the same cans if possible. Any recommendations? Attached is the blown speaker. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170925/ff021c013e90a1d5962f162debb2f065.jpg


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MLA
09-25-2017, 11:28 AM
@PuraVida

I bet if you called Roswell or one of their dealers, you find that a replacement driver is likely available even though they are not listed on the web site.

With that said, Ive never been a fan of mixed speaker sizes, especially wired together on the same amp chnl. You always end up tuning to the smaller speaker. If I was going to spend any money beyond a single replacement driver, I would remove the pods and go with a single pair of larger speakers, rather then buy 4 aftermarket drivers to go back in the existing pods. In addition to the already stated reason, you would likely end up having to go with automotive grade drivers in order to have a matching 6.5" and 5.25".Not many marine 5.25" speakers.

Catman
09-25-2017, 09:42 PM
Call the dealer and let them worry about the replacement its under warranty

jmvotto
09-25-2017, 11:10 PM
Polk makes marine in 5.25 and 6.5 on the db series

MLA
09-25-2017, 11:32 PM
As long as you are referring to the new series DB and not the retired DB's. Not much "marine" about them.