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Tower Speaker shopping


jwl019

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I know the speakers I have narrowed my choices down to have been discussed at great lengths, so I am just needing some help selecting the right options so I can get a better cost comparison between the two to see which I want to go with.

I want either brand mounted as high up away from my ears on the tower as possible while driving.  So which mounts work best. For now just thinking about one pair of speakers and later on maybe a 2nd.

Do I need to replace the factory speaker wires in the tower? I think it is 16awg in there now iirc.

I have narrowed down to the Rev 10's or some Exile XM9's.

Right now I have an older Syn2 amp that I need to send in to get the right channel checked out, it just quit last outing unfortunately. If mine can be used as a core, a replacement will run me $175 plus shipping. Would it run another set of Rev 10's later on or would I be better off going ahead and upgrading amps now? If upgrade, which amp? Have seen the JL 750 and other Wetsounds amps recommended in a few threads.

Wetsounds cart if no additional amp purchased and I pay the roughly $200 for mine swapped or refurbished. Are these the mounts I need to get the speakers up high? Are the swivel clamps necessary or do fixed clamps work fine on the side of the tower? Anything else I would need?:

http://store.earmarkcaraudio.com/Xcart/product.php?productid=17490

 

Exile cart, I would go with an Exile amp to push them. I would probably go ahead and get an Exile sub too to replace my Wetsounds sub so my sub matches, that adds to the Exile cost a little.Screenshot_20180629-183742_Chrome.thumb.jpg.e0c3c431cd11073fdef843e74da1f66f.jpgScreenshot_20180629-183731_Chrome.thumb.jpg.817d20852e98ea619d83c6d4dc8051cf.jpg

Prices shown do not include any paid member discounts (if any are offered, haven't gotten to that point yet). I am just trying to make sure I am looking at the correct equipment for now.

As far as demos, I am going to try to swing by Earmark in a couple weeks while passing thru the area to see what they have.

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1 hour ago, minnmarker said:

Where do you want the sound?  Wakeboard distance, surfing, or floating on matresses?

Basically, all of the above. We have been doing a good mix of things this year so far, wakeboard/surf/ski/slalom/kneeboard/floating/tubing

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I have one pair of Exile XM9's and only did the single mount (against Exiles recommendation) because I knew I would not be adding a second pair.  Sure wish I would have listened.  I'd like to be able to mount the speakers higher up on the second post of the double mount to get them up higher.  I have heard the bimini may block some sound when mounted up there so I keep telling myself "it's ok".  Since that doesn't address your concerns at all (other than get the double mount for sure which it seems you would be), I will be getting Surf 9's next time around.  The XM9's are loud AF but they are a bit harsh (same with the Rev10's) but that is because they are designed to project sound to the long line.  I will compromise volume for SQ next time.  I don't think you will have any added benefit to changing out the sub other than aesthetics.  IMO, that would be pointless, just to match but that's your money to spend.  I cant speak to your broken amp from wetsounds but I do know that Exile has a great warranty program along with a great "stand behind their product" program.  Might be worth checking with wetsounds to see if they have any loyalty program for broken amps out of warranty.  If not, jumping to Exile would be good move.  As to amps, of course wetsounds and exile are great.  JL and Arc Audio are also excellent contenders.  My .02 from a non stereo guru.

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I have a pair of rev10’s run by an sd2 on my axis a20. We mostly surf but i also wakeboard almost everytime we go out. I have no complaints about surfing behind a set of rev10’s and well rev10’s are made for wakeboarders. The best thing you can do with revs or any set of hlcd is to throw alot of power at them. The sd2 puts 400 watts to each speaker. They like power. I have always bought all my wetsounds stuff from creativeaudio.net. I cant find anyone cheaper and right now you can by an sd2 for 600 bucks. Thats crazy cheap.  I chose wetsounds over exile simply because i had more knowledge of the brand and its what people were recommending too me. If looks are a concern i do think the wetsounds stuff looks better. 

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10 minutes ago, isellacuras said:

I will be getting Surf 9's next time around.  The XM9's are loud AF but they are a bit harsh (same with the Rev10's) but that is because they are designed to project sound to the long line.  I will compromise volume for SQ next time.

I do have some Exile gear and have been pleased with them too. I have the Javelin, ZLD, and the bluetooth adapter in my boat and a Javelin in my truck.  In all the posts I have read comparing the speakers I ran across yours about the amp and the issues at the year marks. I have no doubt their customer service is exceptional.

I was originally thinking the Surf 9's would be sufficient in the Exile line up. I am just concerned that at wakeboard and slalom speeds further back, one pair of Surf 9's or Wetsounds Icons might not be enough.

My Pro80's hurt my ears driving when the volume is cranked up, which is why I think the double mount will be nice to use the upper location just to get it a little further away from me.

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It’ll still hurt your ears. It’s only going to be inches further away. Be realistic. If you turn it up loud enough for water sports to hear it clearly it’ll be monster loud in the boat whether 20” or 28” away from your head. It might even be worse for you. Because now it’s also further forward and you’re in the radiation pattern of even higher frequencies.  Being below the Bimini just makes it even that much more uncomfortable reflecting sound into the boat. 

Yes. Putting it up higher also let’s the bimini snuff the sound to the rider. A noticeable amount. Whether enough for your concern is purely subjective.  Go try it with a bimini removed on someone’s boat. The high frequencies the hlcd are so good at projecting are directional and easily reflected. The solution is of course more and more power or remove the bimini.

....Or mount the speakers different. I went that route with two pair over the bimini. That way it’s loud and clear to the rider and the bimini acts to protect the cabin occupants ear drums. I get to stay in the Texas shade and happily married. If that’s interesting here’s my thread below to give you a couple pics  

Tower speakers over the bimini

Edited by Slurpee
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8 minutes ago, Slurpee said:

It’ll still hurt your ears. It’s only going to be inches further away. Be realistic. If you turn it up loud enough for water sports to hear it clearly it’ll be monster loud in the boat whether 20” or 28” away from your head. It might even be worse for you. Because now it’s also further forward and your in the radiation pattern of even higher frequencies.  Being below the Bimini just makes it even worse reflecting sound into the boat. 

Yes putting it up higher also let’s the bimini  snuff the sound to the rider. A noticeable amount. Whether enough for your concern is purely subjective.  Go try it with a bimini removed on someone’s boat. The high frequencies the hlcd are so good at projecting are directional and easily reflected. The solution is of course more and more power or remove the bimini.

Or mount the speakers different. I went that route with two pair over the bimini. That way it’s loud and clear to the rider and the bimini acts to protect the cabin occupants ear drums. I get to stay in the Texas shade  

Tower speakers over the bimini

I really like your tower speakers mounting above the bimini and on top of the tower.  No speakers to contend with while walking in the boat and directing that sound away from your ear drums.  I had XM 9s on my last boat and now have Surf 9s.  The Surf 9s are a little easier on the ears but they are still loud.  If I could go above the tower on my G4 it would be my first choice just have to figure out if it is possible.

How difficult is it to remove the bimini with your tower speakers up there?  Or is the bimini always deployed on your boat now?

Edited by Fman
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47 minutes ago, jwl019 said:

I do have some Exile gear and have been pleased with them too. I have the Javelin, ZLD, and the bluetooth adapter in my boat and a Javelin in my truck.  In all the posts I have read comparing the speakers I ran across yours about the amp and the issues at the year marks. I have no doubt their customer service is exceptional.

I was originally thinking the Surf 9's would be sufficient in the Exile line up. I am just concerned that at wakeboard and slalom speeds further back, one pair of Surf 9's or Wetsounds Icons might not be enough.

My Pro80's hurt my ears driving when the volume is cranked up, which is why I think the double mount will be nice to use the upper location just to get it a little further away from me.

IMO you definitely need 4 surf 9s powered properly to project well enough for wakeboarding distance.  They won't project as good as the xm9s but good enough to hear while riding 65-70' back.  There is noticeable better mid bass and less harshness on the ears with the surf 9s over the xm9s.

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2 minutes ago, Fman said:

IMO you definitely need 4 surf 9s powered properly to project well enough for wakeboarding distance.  They won't project as good as the xm9s but good enough to hear while riding 65-70' back.

Would the one 30.2 amp be enough then?

If I was really good at installing I might would try installing the XM9's up top and get the Surf 9's on bottom and figure out a zone control strictly for the tower to be able to select the ones I wsnt for whatever activity we are doing. That would be way out of my capabilities I bet.

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32 minutes ago, Fman said:

I really like your tower speakers mounting above the bimini and on top of the tower.  No speakers to contend with while walking in the boat and directing that sound away from your ear drums.  I had XM 9s on my last boat and now have Surf 9s.  The Surf 9s are a little easier on the ears but they are still loud.  If I could go above the tower on my G4 it would be my first choice just have to figure out if it is possible.

How difficult is it to remove the bimini with your tower speakers up there?  Or is the bimini always deployed on your boat now?

My bimini is nearly always deployed even in storage. Only comes down for trips to dealer. The original plan was to put zippers on each hole so I could open it up and pull it over the speakers.  In the end we didn’t bother.

It’s not horrible. JL doesn’t make QR mounts. But it’s just two easy bolts per speaker to disconnect them from the mount. And the speaker wire bullet connectors of course. Exile or WS clamps probably have QR options that’d work. 

It was way more work with my old Pro80s and Pro485 removing them. 

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I was having a similar debate between one pair of rev 10s or two pair of surf 9s earlier this year. Price point was going to be similar. I don’t wakeboard much anymore and after talking to several people, I settled on the surf 9s with a single xm30.2. It would be easy to add a second amp down the road, but it’s good enough for me. As far as the comment on wetsounds looking better, I’ll take the surf 9s with blacked out grills any day. 

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19 hours ago, jwl019 said:

Would the one 30.2 amp be enough then?

If I was really good at installing I might would try installing the XM9's up top and get the Surf 9's on bottom and figure out a zone control strictly for the tower to be able to select the ones I wsnt for whatever activity we are doing. That would be way out of my capabilities I bet.

To answer your question I have 4 surf 9s with two xm30.2 amps wired at 4ohms.  However, last year one of my xm30 amps took a dump and exile sent me a new one.  I did not have time to install it so I just swapped my RCA cables over to the one xm30.2 amp.  Honestly I cant tell much of a difference at all between one and two amps.  I still have not installed the other xm30 yet.  So to answer your question I do believe one xm30 is adequate.  When you order 4 surf 9s or XM9s on a new MB it comes with one xm30.2 not two of them.

Edited by Fman
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3 hours ago, Fman said:

So to answer your question I do believe one xm30 is adequate.

Thank you sir! Good to know for sure, was wondering how all the amps would fit on the stock amp rack if needed two. My Javelin had to be turned sideways since it was too long to fit from the top of rack down to where my pos/neg blocks are.

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On 6/29/2018 at 7:52 PM, jwl019 said:

Do I need to replace the factory speaker wires in the tower? I think it is 16awg in there now iirc.

This will mostly depend on the amp wattage you choose to go with, but the likely answer is yes. 

Not sure that this has been mentioned yet. You are looking at a 10" HLCD from one brand and an 8" HLCD from another brand. Thats not an apples to apples and ill say that even if you were looking at the 8" and 10" HLCD from the same brand. This is like comparing a 10" sub woofer to a 12" sub woofer, a half ton p/up to a 3 qtr ton p/up. a 5.7L V8 to a 6.2L V8. Brand does not make a difference here, size does. 

Comparing an 8" to a 10", the 10" has roughly 50% more surface area then an 8" driver. Even powered with the same amp wattage, the larger speaker is going to play louder, deliver more mid-bass and play deeper mid-bass. Again, this a size thing, not a brand thing. A large 10 HLCD, although its primary function is for wake range projection, still sounds very good near field, due to the larger woofer and more surface area. it adds balance to the powerful compression tweeter. 

Although your current, or one of similar wattage, will power a 10" HLCD, although not to its full potential, but you still gain the benefits mentioned above. It will do fine to power any 8" HLCD, even 2 pair. So fixing or exchanging the amp should still be a consideration. However, it might be worth it to go with an upgraded amp, especially if you go with a single pair of 10" HLCD. it would be nearly plug n play since the amp is coming out anyway due to a bad chnl. A bridged 4 chnl can deliver 400W rms to each pod. That will certainly push them nicely. Its also no larger then your current 2 chnl that needs to come out. Space should not be an issue. 

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