JL M880etx pods above the bimini

[Slurpee]

Well after putting the tower speakers up in the normal place on the tower I had some criticisms.  First was reflective.  I swore I wouldn't put up tower speakers again.  I apparently lied to myself.   Second, I did not like them below the bimini.  The sound is too close to the cabin and the bimini just acts to trap it in there.  In short I could hear it too well in the boat and not well enough behind the boat without risking sleeping on the couch.

My old Sunsetter with the Titan tower had all the speakers above the bimini and I loved the sound.

So I went back to an old idea.  Mouse ears.  I've always liked the idea, but could I make it look good?  Nope.  One pair of speakers does look like mouse ears.  So now I have two pair.  And it looks much more stacked out.  Reminds me of my old tower.  Props to Odin at Earmark Car Audio in Plano for the new toys.  Always an excellent resource and sounding board.

It sounds exactly like how I want it now.

If anybody wants to do this style of mount to their boat I advise you to PM me for a whole freaking long list of tips and tricks I learned along the way. None of it was as easy as it should have been.  Having said that, the next time I do this it'll not even be a one day job.

A local upholsterer put the holes in the bimini for me and hemmed them for $250.  Basically 3 hours of shop time and supplies.  Another hour would have added zippers so I could slide the bimini over the speakers when removing it.  But she didn't have them in stock and I didn't want to wait.  I've only taken the bimini down twice in 2 years anyways.  No big deal.

Amp for these is an SD2.  Preamp is a JL TWK88 DSP.  I have this idea of time delaying the R and L based on which side of the boat you're surfing.  We'll see if it has any results at all.  I give it 50/50.  But oh they sound so GOOD!

Oh, and just for grins I cleaned and sealed the Stainless Clamps with CG Jetseal.  And I polished the pods with MarineNanoShop's SiO2 Polish and put on two coats of Liquid Crystal Armor HD 9H ceramic coating.  Getting up there to clean those things isn't going to happen often so I figured I'd get them nice and protected while they were new and loose.  That stuff has been magic on my surf boards, wakeboards, and paddleboards keeping the looking good.  I need to get around to doing the boat.  So this was the first step.

On a side note, the JL clamps are the cleanest best put together clamps I've ever dealt with.  So nice.  Only thing missing is a quick release, but not important for me.

Edited June 9, 2018 by Slurpee

[David]

What a great solution!

[Nitrousbird]

I never loved the look but fully get the functionality.

How about some more pics of your dock - I'm in love!

[Slurpee]

1 hour ago, Nitrousbird said:

I never loved the look but fully get the functionality.

How about some more pics of your dock - I'm in love!

https://flic.kr/p/JoWf8F

 

https://flic.kr/p/JoWffz

Well thanks.  Here you go.  About the only thing not in the photos already was the hoists I have for the Maui Matt and SUPs to get em up out of the way and the hammock for the over the tower boat cover.

[05hammerhead]

On 6/9/2018 at 11:50 AM, Slurpee said:

https://flic.kr/p/JoWf8F

 

https://flic.kr/p/JoWffz

Well thanks.  Here you go.  About the only thing not in the photos already was the hoists I have for the Maui Matt and SUPs to get em up out of the way and the hammock for the over the tower boat cover.

Love it.  I see a wishing well in the first pic.  Think I can get that from you as yours appear to have been granted. 

[05hammerhead]

On 6/9/2018 at 11:50 AM, Slurpee said:

https://flic.kr/p/JoWf8F

 

https://flic.kr/p/JoWffz

Well thanks.  Here you go.  About the only thing not in the photos already was the hoists I have for the Maui Matt and SUPs to get em up out of the way and the hammock for the over the tower boat cover.

Just need one of these in the rafters.

[TimbrSS]

Mouse ears for life! I think it really does help put the sound in the right place, and gets the speakers out of the way, especially nice on the shorter illusion tower. I agree it would be nice to have zippers/ Velcro to allow Bimini over speakers, but i also only have taken Bimini down a few times a year.

[Setter2016]

I have a 2016 LSV25  with a G4 tower that came from the factory with 4 Wet Sounds Rev 8s in the tower.  In order to get music to my wakeboarder, I would have to kill everyone in the passenger compartment with a loud stream of music.  So I installed an aftermarket FAE in my Malibu, moved to a bigger Wetsounds amp for the tower speakers and added a Wetsounds equalizer for more control  which helped some, but the loud music complaints continued.  My prior boat was a Mastercraft X-10 with awesome sound for the wakeboarder (please don't hate me for having a Mastercraft).  A significant difference was the 4 tower speakers were above the bimini, not below it as was the case with my Malibu.  Because we were getting so many complaints about the loud music in the passenger cabin (especially from the wife), I had my 4 Rev 8s moved to the top of the G4 Tower and had two holes cut in my bimini with zippers added to allow my bimini to open and fit over my  4 tower speakers.  Because the bimini still stretches tight, you cannot see the 4 Rev 8s and there is much more clearance under the boat tower (I am still trying to find a way to close the speaker holes in the bottom of the G4 tower).  Regarding the sound, it is heaven to the wakeboarder, to the surfer and to the occupants in the passenger cabin.  Honestly, I am not a stereo person, but I believe by moving the tower so far forward and placing the tower speakers under the bimini, the sound said speakers omits bounces off the bimini, floods the passenger cabin and never really gets to the wakeboarder.  Now, I can turn up the tower speakers, turn down the interior speakers and flood the wakeboarder with sound while allowing my passengers the ability to hear the music at a great level, have a conversation while watching and not get a headache while doing so.  I hope this helps.  

Daniel

[shawndoggy]

19 minutes ago, Setter2016 said:

I have a 2016 LSV25  with a G4 tower that came from the factory with 4 Wet Sounds Rev 8s in the tower.  In order to get music to my wakeboarder, I would have to kill everyone in the passenger compartment with a loud stream of music.  So I installed an aftermarket FAE in my Malibu, moved to a bigger Wetsounds amp for the tower speakers and added a Wetsounds equalizer for more control  which helped some, but the loud music complaints continued.  My prior boat was a Mastercraft X-10 with awesome sound for the wakeboarder (please don't hate me for having a Mastercraft).  A significant difference was the 4 tower speakers were above the bimini, not below it as was the case with my Malibu.  Because we were getting so many complaints about the loud music in the passenger cabin (especially from the wife), I had my 4 Rev 8s moved to the top of the G4 Tower and had two holes cut in my bimini with zippers added to allow my bimini to open and fit over my  4 tower speakers.  Because the bimini still stretches tight, you cannot see the 4 Rev 8s and there is much more clearance under the boat tower (I am still trying to find a way to close the speaker holes in the bottom of the G4 tower).  Regarding the sound, it is heaven to the wakeboarder, to the surfer and to the occupants in the passenger cabin.  Honestly, I am not a stereo person, but I believe by moving the tower so far forward and placing the tower speakers under the bimini, the sound said speakers omits bounces off the bimini, floods the passenger cabin and never really gets to the wakeboarder.  Now, I can turn up the tower speakers, turn down the interior speakers and flood the wakeboarder with sound while allowing my passengers the ability to hear the music at a great level, have a conversation while watching and not get a headache while doing so.  I hope this helps.  

Daniel

Need pics!  Did you drill and tap new holes in the G4 from the top?

[Fman]

@Setter2016I would really like to do something like this, my fear is astheticly I am not sure it would look great and how difficult it would make the bimini to deploy and retract. 

Also, can you still fold down your G4 when towing? This is an awesome feature of the G4, I don't have one bug on my tower and it cuts back on the wind drag.

[Setter2016]

Guys:

I am going to Lake Tahoe in a few days and I will take pictures of my G4 setup.  I did not do the actual install myself, but I believe the installer drilled and tapped new holes on the top of the G4 tower.  The cost to move the speakers from the bottom to the top of the G4 tower was $500.00.  The cost to modify the bimini to fit over the speakers on the top of the G4 tower was $400.00.  I do not tow with my G4 tower in the down position.  However, I will try to put the tower down to see if the speakers on the top of the G4 cause any problems.  Before the tower speaker change, bimini could be opened by 1 person if he or she knew how.  Now, opening and closing the bimini is a 2 person job.  I am contemplating taking the bimini back and having 2 more zippers added to make opening and closing the bimini easier. I do worry that more zippers will make me lose the tight, stretched fit.  I will try to post pictures in a week.

Daniel