Exile build in my 2013 Wakesetter VLX...

[IXFE]

I thought I'd share some details and pictures of the Exile build for my 2013 VLX.

A little background... In my last VLX I had Malibu's RF Sound Pack 3 + Rockford Fosgate 12" sub. I added 4 Exile XM9's on the tower (powered by Harpoon amp). The tower sounded GREAT, but I was never overly thrilled with the Rockford factory system. It sounded pretty good, but it felt "out of balance" in relation to the tower. In particular, the 12" sub just could not keep up.

So for this boat, I wanted the same tower setup, but decided to try and balance the cabin out by doing it all in Exile. I ordered the boat with only Sound Pack 1, and upon delivery promptly dropped it off to have the new Exile system installed.

Here's the setup:

• Cabin: 4 pair (SX65m) cabin speakers and a Exile amplifier (XI800.4)
• Sub: 1 XI12 DVC Subwoofer and 1 XI1500.1 Amplifier
• Tower: 2 pair XM9'S (rotating spin clamps) and a HARPOON amplifier
• EQ: Zone Line Driver (aka ZLD)

My goal from cost perspective was to do this system (incl. installation) for same price as it would cost from the factory. In other words, I wanted a better than factory system for the factory price. I'm happy to say that I achieved that!

The installer has been sending me pics, so I thought I'd share.

Edited June 15, 2013 by IXFE

[teamerickson]

I love you!

[Cdoogles]

Love it. I have the same system in my MXZ and it rocks!<br /><br />Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2<br /><br />

[Bawshogg]

Awesome! I was over there yesterday and we went over a few things on your boat. Should be pretty amazing compared to a factory setup.

Funny thing...... When you spend alot of time around a BiG series 15, those 12's look like toys.

They sound great , just from a visual standpoint.

[Murphy8166]

I really like the colors you went with on the boat and everything is factory looking and clean with the Exile Stereo. Did he send you any pictures of the Amp Rack - Would like to see them, please

Nice work!!!

[IXFE]

Here are a few more pics, incl. amps.

[shawndoggy]

git that boat on the water! summer is short!

[edsvlx]

Colors do look hot

[Lance B. Johnson]

That is sooooo nice.

[MalibuTime]

Looks awesome. Make sure to check that no water can get in up there under the corner of your windshield . That would not be a good day for your amp on that front wall.

[Cory]

That looks amazing. Do you have any pictures of the sub-enclosure before you installed it? Did you custom make the enclosure? I'm thinking of making a custom enclosure for my 12" sub. Just curious what shape of box you ended up using. Did you make a new kick panel, or just place the original kick panel in front of your enclosure?

Thanks.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Cory

[board brained]

awesome.............

[Batty]

looks awesome mate.....do the xm9's bolt straight to the tower or do they require a bracket like the wet sounds rev 8's/10s?

[Fman]

Awesome, time to hit the water! Gotta shoot for the 100 hour mark!

[BlackBluMalibu]

Great looking boat and awesome stereo!

[tnsatbhs]

Looks awesome! Did you have the installers make the sub box?

[SoDakSooner]

Wow!!!!

[IXFE]

looks awesome mate.....do the xm9's bolt straight to the tower or do they require a bracket like the wet sounds rev 8's/10s?

Sorry I took so long to reply. To be honest, I forgot to check this thread. I don't spend much time on this forum... mainly I just check the Boat forum.

To answer your question, the XM9's require an bracket to mount up to the G3 tower. Exile makes these and they are a perfect match to the black "crinkle" finish of the G3 tower.

I actually just got a video from Exile that they made using my boat that I will post in a different thread which explains how to do the install on the G3 tower.

[IXFE]

Looks awesome! Did you have the installers make the sub box?

Yes, the installer made the box. I know they were less than thrilled with Malibu's location for the heater core. It takes up a lot of room under the helm. So they could not make the box as big as they wanted to. Oh well, I am so thrilled with how it sounds and how hard that sub hits, I don't have any complaints.

[snowrider]

Those colors are awesome. Congrats

[Bawshogg]

They also changed the location of the hole in the floor that all the hoses comes through. really F'd up the sub box space. On the 09's the hole was pushed further back into the footwell and the helm wall was not at such a hard angle towards the bow.

Sure would be nice if one of these boat builders would design in at least 3 cubic feet easliy obtained under there.

[IXFE]

I got some pics of the box itself for those interested in tackling this on their new Wakesetters.

I don't have exact dimensions, but I'm told it is 1.2 cubic feet, completely sealed. You will also notice that it was cut stair stepped in order to maximize the usable volume and not interfere with the steering cable.

As I'm posting this up, I just had an interesting thought... in choosing my Exile componants I was tempted to go up to a 15" sub. If I had done so, I'm not sure it would have fitted given the tight space Malibu gives us under the helm. I'm no expert, but isn't a 1.2 cu. ft. box already on the small side? Wouldn't a 15" sub have required a much larger box? I wonder what folks do in this case. I know Brian at Exile told me that he's seen some guys relocate the factory heater core. But I suspect there are other things in the way.

Edited July 3, 2013 by IXFE

[Cory]

It looks like they kept the original kick plate, mounted the sub to the enclosure behind the kick plate, and the speaker bezel was mounted over the original kick plate. Is this correct?

Edited July 3, 2013 by Cory

[Atmbuilds]

Can I ask what you paid I just bought a 2013 vlx myself if not I understand

[Burt77]

If I remember correctly a sealed 15 really wants 1.7 ft3.