replacing tower speakers

[WolfpackRider]

Thanks all for the responses! I found a seller on Amazon with the KMS67's and went ahead and ordered them.

Trayson - Good call on just pulling the wire mesh out. That worked.

[jcornell26]

Thanks all for the responses! I found a seller on Amazon with the KMS67's and went ahead and ordered them.

Trayson - Good call on just pulling the wire mesh out. That worked.

WP, I know I'm digging up an old post, but how did you like those KMS67's? Thinking of picking up a pair.

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[WolfpackRider]

I'm somewhat mixed on them. I think they produce great sound (though I'm no where close to an audiophile). However, they don't get the sound to someone at wakeboard distance behind the boat the same way my old speakers did. I have to crank the volume enough to get it back to a wakeboarder that it's rather overwhelming in the boat - it pretty much cuts out any conversations in the boat. If I set the volume to what sounds like the level I used with my old speakers (from the perspective of in the boat), you can't even tell it is turned on from the end of the rope. It's that big of a difference.

I've actually been meaning to come back here to ask if there is anything I can do to direct the sound behind the boat better. Does anyone have any ideas on that with this same set of speakers, i.e. not changing the speakers themselves, but changing the configuration, mounting, etc?

[MLA]

@wolfpackrider.

Seems clear that the KMS67 are getting the tunes out to the rider, as intended, but with an amount of volume filtering down into the cabin at said volume level.

In part, you are experiencing a typical 6.5" HLCD. They lack mid-bass near field, so they seem a bit overwhelming in and around the boat when cranked up for the rider 75ft back behind the boat. There some things to possibly minimize this:

Tweeter setting: Is the jumper on the 0 or 6 dB? The 0dB is more tame.
Tuning: is the amp cross-over tuned too high, reducing the production of mid-bass.
Aim: with boat loaded for boarding and riding at its attitude, how are the speakers aimed? Are they parallel with the floor, adding to the volume in the boat, or are they more parallel to the water, pointing more out to the rider?
Adding in the extra mid-bass driver to add more mid-bass.

[trayson]

I'm somewhat mixed on them. I think they produce great sound (though I'm no where close to an audiophile). However, they don't get the sound to someone at wakeboard distance behind the boat the same way my old speakers did. I have to crank the volume enough to get it back to a wakeboarder that it's rather overwhelming in the boat - it pretty much cuts out any conversations in the boat. If I set the volume to what sounds like the level I used with my old speakers (from the perspective of in the boat), you can't even tell it is turned on from the end of the rope. It's that big of a difference.

I've actually been meaning to come back here to ask if there is anything I can do to direct the sound behind the boat better. Does anyone have any ideas on that with this same set of speakers, i.e. not changing the speakers themselves, but changing the configuration, mounting, etc?

Also, do you have some kind of zone control? Being able to dial in the tower speakers separate from the cabin speakers and sub is crucial for a balanced listening experience with a rider in tow.

[WolfpackRider]

MLA and Trayson - thanks for the responses.

I'll check on the tweeter jumper setting and the amp crossover. Good call on the speakers being parallel to the boat floor or the water. I'm pretty sure they are parallel to the floor. I'll check that the next time we're out as well.

If I remember correctly, I have the tower speakers connected to an AUX out that corresponds to the front (bow) speakers so I can use the fader to decrease the volume in the main part of the boat. But, I'll add that to the checklist of items to tweak.