Wet sounds rev 8 v exile xm9

[KG's Supra24]

Oh man ... this argument has taken us all the way to their vs there.

[beat taco]

[MLA]

Oh man ... this argument has taken us all the way to their vs there.

Wye knot, the only to trying to stay on topic, are catching flack from one particular camp.

[MLA]

Oh yes, the WW fender ball thread.

I know just about everyone here gets the exile emails, so you've got the see the humor in the spelling and grammar.

[liquid_acid]

From my personal experience, both sound great. I don't think you can go wrong. What sold me on the exile xm9's was the clamps and the overall look. I like that I can easily remove the speakers when it's in my driveway or spin them right around when parked on the island. I know WS has the swivel clamp. I just liked exiles overall look and design better.

I just purchased two pairs of the xm9's as well as two pairs of the sx65m's. I currently have the ws420sq and love it.

I still can't figure out why people get so fired up about this topic. Happens every time. It even came to attacking grammar and spelling.

.....what I want to know is when is the wetsounds A-Link being released!?

[KG's Supra24]

I still can't figure out why people get so fired up about this topic. Happens every time. It even came to attacking grammar and spelling.

A feeling of indebtedness is my guess.

Price being the same, I don't see any arguments for Exile > Wetsounds. Most of the forum members can, but won't, tell you they didn't pay MSRP for Exile.

[csm]

The grammar/spelling stuff is all in good fun. I appreciate the audio guys input on the forums, as they have helped me debug multiple issues.

Back to the topic, here is what I've found, which is in no way comprehensive. I purchased my boat used, and it had all Exile when I bought it, so I haven't had to make this decision yet.

Pros/Cons of the XM9:
- I'm not an audiophile, but to my ear they sound great, and one pair is louder than I'll ever need.
- As mentioned, the customer service is fantastic, as I'm sure WetSounds service is as well.
- I agree with the comments about the guitar style connector. I'm not a fan. It's convenient to attach/remove the speaker, but I've had issues with the connection that the guitar style makes. I occasionally have to rattle the speaker around a little.

WS420 vs. ZLD:
- I've owned both, and for pure functionality, you can't beat the WS420.
- I find that when the boat is underway, the WS420 is harder for me to manipulate, especially the outer rings. The rubber coating on mine also eventually degraded. I'm not sure if the newer version still have a rubber coating on the knobs, but mine all started tearing off, which I found annoying.
- If I had to choose again, I would still choose the WS420. It just does everything you need, and the mic is also awesome.

[David Analog]

You really cannot rationally argue with someone, anyone over what sounds best to them or what looks best to them, or who they feel comfortable doing business with. You can only express your own opinion on these matters.
Sometimes people draw comparisons between their favorite and another product that they do not own, and really know little about. That's a source of irritation.
Unless I am drawn into some other tangent, I like to talk about actual design and build quality differences. Those things aren't necessarily a dealer breaker or maker either way. But they are things that I would recognize that others may not. Whenever something new came out, when I was once involved, I would open it up (at least one product from any given series) and dissect it, in as much detail as possible. Been doing that with everything for as long as I can remember. And I have always been very vocal about what I found to manufacturers, yes publically, but to an even greater degree privately. Sometimes that 'push' in the form of critical feedback makes for better products. And it definitely has in this category.
After owning Class D amplifiers does anyone really want to return to Class AB?
Initially ALL HLCDS sounded absolutely awful. It didn't matter if you had a Wetsounds Pro60 or an Exile XM7. Although they sounded a little different, and not as different as owner's opinions would suggest, they both sounded equally bad and either 6.5" could hurt you. Because of the 'push back' products got better and today both companies have discontinued their 6.5" HLCD offerings. From a production standpoint, it costs little extra to make an 8" versus a 6.5". Both companies now make an 8-inch surf speaker also.
Many of these changes originated from these forums more so than any other source.

[David Analog]

Quote, "It's convenient to attach/remove the speaker, but I've had issues with the connection that the guitar style makes. I occasionally have to rattle the speaker around a little."

I've seen this a lot with both Sampson and Exile tower speakers. In fact, the Cobalt dealer used to call frequently with this issue on OEM Sampsons.

There can be several issues going on here. A phone jack consists of a 'round' post making contact with a spring loaded (actually sprung steel) 'flat' blade. 'Flat' against 'round' makes very little surface area contact. So there is little room for error. This is compounded by the fact that the last/outer contact point is a full inch away from the base of the 1/4" post. Any ultra small fractional error that causes the collar to be under stress or uneven stress will multiply in distance down the 1-inch post. This is further compounded by shock and vibration. You may notice that it isn't long before the male post chrome is worn away exposing the copper layer underneath.
Here are a few issues that can help you with the Exile collars and connections.
*If you are mounting to a tower where the tube is beginning to go into a bend or radius. This makes the round tube a bit out-of-round. A small positional shift could make a difference.
*If the installer didn't apply equal torgue to both bolts that close the collar. So check and see if the overlapping collars inner and outer pieces have the identical front and rear gap.
*Take your speakers off the tower when trailing a long distance at higher speeds.
*Remove the collar and reverse it. This can temporarily mitigate the problem and maybe buy you another season without the intermittent chatter.

[David Analog]

A feeling of indebtedness is my guess.

Price being the same, I don't see any arguments for Exile > Wetsounds. Most of the forum members can, but won't, tell you they didn't pay MSRP for Exile.

Well, that's unfortunate. Because members don't have to pay MSRP for Wetsounds or JL Audio products either.
Wetsounds has a different business model. They have a much large dealer network and they depend on those dealers.
So Wetsounds does not openly and aggressively discount on a direct-to-consumer basis.
Also, most Wetsounds and JL Audio dealers adhere to their franchise agreements and do not advertise the products below MSRP or MAP (minimum advertised price). That doesn't mean you can't get the same forum, zone, and system discounts. You can get the same discounts.
You can also get the best installation and fabrication assistance, enclosure design assistance, trouble shooting assistance, and system tuning assistance from people who are infinitely better versed in these practices.