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Kicker KM8 Tower setup


strada1

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Potentially looking at doing 2 pair in Fluid Core pods.

Wondering what the sound quality and output is like compared to 1 pair of

JL 8.8/Exile SXT9Q/Icon 8.

Not really after the theory behind it more real world experiance.

Use would be mainly short rope (50-60feet at 20mph) and surfing.

Thanks

Darren

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To start with the 8.8 is going to be the largest of the 4 and with the largest tweeter, so it has the most advantage output wise. The next largest would be the sxt-9 fallowed by the icon-8 and KM8, although those 3 are very close effective surface area, so little advantage. Those 3 also use a 1" tweeter. I have not yet demo'd the 8.8 tower version, so I cannot give a comparison sound quality wise. Being JL, you know its likely got great sound quality. Although the KM8 is not a true tower speaker driver, it does quite well in a tower pod. It will handle similar wattage as the Icon-8 and sxt9.

Now thats comparing 1 pair to one pair, but you are looking to compare 2 pair of 8" speakers to one pair of 8" speakers. Well, thats going to be 2X the output, no way about it. The sound quality of the KM8 is great. Well balanced and still good mid-bass even when in a small pod. So 2 pair of KM8 is also going sound good, and twice as loud.

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Thanks for the input MLA. I guess my question was more about the sound quality of a speaker not specifically designed for a pod against those that are.

The reasoning behind 2 pair to 1 is purely price driven, the pricing/demand/selection isn't the same on this side of the pond.

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Any time you put a speaker in a small enclosure like a tower pod, it effects the mid-bass. The KM-8 does loose a little mid-bass in a pod as compared to being installed to a coaming pad. The dome tweeter and cross-over do a great job at not allowing the 1" tweeter to over run the mid-bass driver when in a tower pod. I definitely suggest the KM-8 as a tower setup. Feed it in the range of 200W rms to each speaker and its a solid surf setup.

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Just a tiny correction. The JL Audio 8.8 simply denotes the basket diameter and not the speaker size class. So it is a true 8-inch speaker just like the others.

However, the JL Audio 880 does have a larger tweeter than the others which is also a soft dome. All the others use hard metal domes. The larger soft dome really makes a difference in reaching into the midrange and bridging the gap with the large 8-inch midbass driver, particularly at high output levels. Soft domes are also very smooth and natural on vocals. This speaker will definitely get loud and project even though it is not an HLCD.

I've heard the JL Audio 880 in tower pods and the Wetsounds Icon8 side by side on really big power under equal conditions. They sound different but are both equally impressive in their own way.

And that's the tough part. Opinions will differ but it's unlikely that any one consumer has heard all four speakers under equal conditions.

There's just no substitute for an in-person side-by-side comparison, as difficult as that is to find.

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All good gents. It doesnt really matter on exact sizing as to me they are all aimed at the same market ie largest tower coaxial each has on the market.

The point of difference is that i can get 2 pair of kickers with brackets for less than the supply only cost of one pair of each of the others.

Just trying to get my head around weather it is false economy.

Thanks

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thtrog you wouldnt happen to have a pic of how you have them mounted by any chance. Not really a fan of the mini shelf that fluidcore are doing.

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Thanks for posting that, very similar to what I am looking for. Will probably fab up some mounts to suit.

Now to obtain some funds from the CFO and find an amp locally to drive them....

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

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