Looking for help with the next IXFE boat design...

[IXFE]

7 hours ago, Stevo said:

You may have to shave the rear starboard side corner of that box, I had too to avoid moving the kick panel forward 

Yeah, Fman had to shave his a bit.  You can see the white in the bottom right corner.  However, Bunji used the same box and didn't require shaving.  

I don't mind moving the kick panel forward a few inches, so long as the whole deal stays behind the fiberglass wall on the left side.  I'm not worried about carpet interference because I'm installing Gatorstep and they have told me they can make that piece any size I need.  

[Stevo]

4 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Yeah, Fman had to shave his a bit.  You can see the white in the bottom right corner.  However, Bunji used the same box and didn't require shaving.  

I don't mind moving the kick panel forward a few inches, so long as the whole deal stays behind the fiberglass wall on the left side.  I'm not worried about carpet interference because I'm installing Gatorstep and they have told me they can make that piece any size I need.  

I need all the leg room I can get, so I manscaped my box

[isellacuras]

1 hour ago, Stevo said:

1 hour ago, Stevo said:

I manscaped my box

Hehehe  

[IXFE]

9 hours ago, malibuskier2003 said:

Do you have a heater?  I have one and I can say that 9.5" is a deep as you can go without modifying the walkway tube or the box itself.  I will say that building a custom box is not the time/cost saving route.  It does feed the soul of the part time craftsman that really enjoys doing projects instead of sitting on the couch though....

Dave

 

 

No, I stopped ordering the heater years ago for this several reasons, this being one of them.

And believe me, I've done the DIY route before on sub enclosure, and I don't mean a simple sealed box.  Read starting hear and it goes on for five pages.  I simply don't have the time this year, and frankly I don't see the point with a sealed box where you don't need to maximize the space like you do with a ported box that is close to 2x the size.  

Oh, and sitting on the couch is not my issue.  

[Stevo]

8 hours ago, IXFE said:

 

No, I stopped ordering the heater years ago for this several reasons, this being one of them.

And believe me, I've done the DIY route before on sub enclosure, and I don't mean a simple sealed box.  Read starting hear and it goes on for five pages.  I simply don't have the time this year, and frankly I don't see the point with a sealed box where you don't need to maximize the space like you do with a ported box that is close to 2x the size.  

Oh, and sitting on the couch is not my issue.  

I just spent the last 30 min reading back through that thread, probably the best sub enclosure thread on the site. 

[malibuskier2003]

12 hours ago, IXFE said:

 

No, I stopped ordering the heater years ago for this several reasons, this being one of them.

And believe me, I've done the DIY route before on sub enclosure, and I don't mean a simple sealed box.  Read starting hear and it goes on for five pages.  I simply don't have the time this year, and frankly I don't see the point with a sealed box where you don't need to maximize the space like you do with a ported box that is close to 2x the size.  

Oh, and sitting on the couch is not my issue.  

I've read that thread probably 3 or 4 times.  It was a huge help when I did my crazy angle box.  I also understand exactly how long is tied up in building these things.  It's much more cost effective (both time & money wise) to buy them.  I'm fortunate to be in a slightly different position (kids are grown) time wise to facilitate the indulgence of a sub project.  Since I seem to buy a new boat every 15+ years, these projects don't come around all that often.  If I were in your shoes (building one a year) I probably would start buying them too!  

 

Dave

 

[Fman]

4 hours ago, Stevo said:

I just spent the last 30 min reading back through that thread, probably the best sub enclosure thread on the site. 

The new owner had no idea how much work went into that box... he will never appreciate the craftsmanship of it.  That box was 100% legit custom.  Dave, was there a huge bass difference between the Big 12 and Xi 12 DVC?

[IXFE]

52 minutes ago, Fman said:

The new owner had no idea how much work went into that box... he will never appreciate the craftsmanship of it.  That box was 100% legit custom.  Dave, was there a huge bass difference between the Big 12 and Xi 12 DVC?

There's a common theme to these boat builds that maybe people are starting to see.  I'm certainly feeling it anyway.  And that is, the desire to do things a little different each time just for variety sake.  Doing the same thing every year would be boring for me.  

I did the Big12 +Xi2500 amp last year because it was new and I was in the mood to "go big."  It did not disappoint.  In fact, it was maybe a little too much bass, for me anyway.  This will be my fourth Exile sub and if you follow the progression, you'll notice I've come full circle:

• 2013 - Xi 12 in sealed 1.3 cu ft enclosure (custom front firing)
• 2014 - Xi 12 in ported 2.1 cu ft enclosure (custom side firing)
• 2015 - Big12 in ported 2.1 cu ft. enclosure (custom front firing)
• 2016 - Xi 12 in sealed 1.3 cu ft. enclosure (prefab front firing)

Last year the Big 12 hit so hard and so deep, I'm just feeling like I want a tighter, more musical sub this year.  

To be honest, my favorite was the ported, side-firing Xi 12 I did in 2014.  That thing was only powered by the Javelin too (800 watts).  I swear that sub hit as hard as the Big 12 last year (with 2x the power), but sounded better doing it.  

The funny thing about last year's Big12.  I rarely ran the sub volume knob above 25%.  It was just soooooo much bass it overpowered the rest of the system, imho.  I remember Brian telling me it's like driving a Lamborghini... you don't have to drive 200mhp every day, but it's sure nice to know you can!  He also said, "Just run it in chill mode most of the time, then when you see that other guy on the river that you want to just OWN, turn that knob up so he knows you're the king."  That sub was definitely the king of our river last year.  I "owned" more than a few boats by turning that knob clockwise.  

Then....  my wife would scream and I'd turn it back down. 

[DarkSide]

It is awesome having extra "on tap".  Being able to FEEL the bass is a great experience

[ibelonginprison]

4 hours ago, DarkSide said:

It is awesome having extra "on tap".  Being able to FEEL the bass is a great experience

Making someone ELSE feel the bass, now THAT is a great experience.
I'm the same way, I dang near rattle my boat completely apart when I crank it.

[Sparky450]

5 hours ago, DarkSide said:

It is awesome having extra "on tap".  Being able to FEEL the bass is a great experience

Isn't that what having it is all about

I enjoy taking a nice slow cruise at about 11pm, after being on the water all day, and just letting it rip for an hour or so!!

Then the wife will calls and and says WTF!! I hear you 2 Islands away!!LOL. Never get any grief on the Dirty D!

Edited March 11, 2016 by Sparky450

[IXFE]

On 3/9/2016 at 0:29 PM, Fman said:

That looks awesome, one mistake I made was not positioning the xm30's so I can easily reach the adjustments with a small driver.  I can't see the adjustment settings without a small mirror,  just something to keep in mind.  If I ever do another system I will push the xm30's as far forward as possible to make is easier to see the amp adjustments.

 

You know, I've thought a lot about this, and I think you're right, Travis.  The gains on the 30.2's (left side of the amp) will be hard to get to because where they are positioned it will be impossible to get eyes directly on those dials (not enough room in there to get my entire head in front of those amps).  However, the gains on the 20.1 and 15.4 (sub and cabin) will be easier to see & adjust.  So it's really just the tower we're talking about.  

The issue is that I don't really see any other way to squeeze four amps onto one amp board.  I already cheated a little by making it a few inches longer than the factory board, and it barely fits through the opening now.  If I had somehow positioned the amps vertical putting the controls at the top, I'm not sure it would be any easier to get your eyes on them because they'd be so close to the roof of that compartment.  Maybe the diagonal approach could have worked??  Oh well, too late now.  

So I think what I'm going to do is get those dials set as close to "ideal" (if there is such a thing) before final installation.  Then I'll have to use a mirror or go by touch for the final tune.  The good news is once I get it tuned, I'm not the kind of guy who goes back and make changes.  I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of guy. 

[Stevo]

28 minutes ago, IXFE said:

 

You know, I've thought a lot about this, and I think you're right, Travis.  The gains on the 30.2's (left side of the amp) will be hard to get to because where they are positioned it will be impossible to get eyes directly on those dials (not enough room in there to get my entire head in front of those amps).  However, the gains on the 20.1 and 15.4 (sub and cabin) will be easier to see & adjust.  So it's really just the tower we're talking about.  

 

Ahem... Im pretty sure someone else mentioned the same thing.......

[IXFE]

Just now, Stevo said:

Ahem... Im pretty sure someone else mentioned the same thing.......

 

Yes yes, Stevo. You get a gold star too. 

[Stevo]

1 hour ago, IXFE said:

 

Yes yes, Stevo. You get a gold star too. 

^^^^^ you see that @Fman , 

[ibelonginprison]

I can mention people?!? Like... "lol @Stevo "

sweetness.

 

IXFE - holla at me about those spacers. I need in on this action. Might have to reconfigure my stuff this weekend.

[IXFE]

Okay... now I need everybody's input on a different topic.  First world problem alert!!  

Black or White cans on the tower??  Submit your vote!!

All along I've been thinking black because that's just what I've always had and I figured the white tower could use some black accents.  But then I remembered that Exile offers white cans now.  So I pulled the boat down to Exile to test mount each color.  I was also curious to see how Exile mounts speakers to the G4 tower.  Becasue last year I had Rev 8's, I honestly had never seen a G4 with Exile tower speakers yet.  

First one more glam shot of the boat sitting in Exile's warehouse.  

Here's the boat builder pics showing the difference.

Here they are side by side.

Here the are mounted up from various angles.

Here is the mounting post.  Pretty clean and simple.  Bolts right up to the factory holes.  

Finally, regardless of which color I go with, I'm going to paint over the chrome grills using satin black, like this...

 

 

[Stevo]

19 minutes ago, ibelonginprison said:

I can mention people?!? Like... "lol @Stevo "

sweetness.

 

IXFE - holla at me about those spacers. I need in on this action. Might have to reconfigure my stuff this weekend.

@ibelonginprison where have you been? This was sooooo 2 weeks ago

3 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Okay... now I need everybody's input on a different topic.  First world problem alert!!  

Black or White cans on the tower??  Submit your vote!!

All along I've been thinking black because that's just what I've always had and I figured the white tower could use some black accents.  But then I remembered that Exile offers white cans now.  So I pulled the boat down to Exile to test mount each color.  I was also curious to see how Exile mounts speakers to the G4 tower.  Becasue last year I had Rev 8's, I honestly had never seen a G4 with Exile tower speakers yet.  

First one more glam shot of the boat sitting in Exile's warehouse.  

Here's the boat builder pics showing the difference.

Here they are side by side.

Here the are mounted up from various angles.

Here is the mounting post.  Pretty clean and simple.  Bolts right up to the factory holes.  

Finally, regardless of which color I go with, I'm going to paint over the chrome grills using satin black, like this...

 

 

I think black, 

my initial response was white , but black Bimini and black cans accent well

[UpperleftWake]

That is a tough one... really can't go wrong with either but I am going to cast my vote for BLACK.

[ibelonginprison]

That white on white is classy though. 

That's tough man. I'd say white today, and might say black tomorrow. But like ULW said, you can't go wrong. 

[shawndoggy]

1 hour ago, ibelonginprison said:

I can mention people?!? Like... "lol @Stevo "

sweetness.

 

IXFE - holla at me about those spacers. I need in on this action. Might have to reconfigure my stuff this weekend.

 

@ibelonginprisonThis is the idea -- screw in from the back, T-nut on the front, with a threaded spacer as a stand off.  I then also just use those same threaded spacers (with a drop of blue loctite) to hold the amps on the studs.  

Now back to the @IXFE show

[thtrog]

BLACK

[Pnwrider]

White, everyone has black cans. I thought the whole point was to go slightly different each year

 

[ctvandy23]

Thought I would say black, but after looking I say white!

[shawndoggy]

I like the white with black grille.  The only reason I'd pick black would be if the white didn't quite match the white on the tower.