Speakers for illusion X advice

[MalibuMichael]

I suspect this topic has been overkilled in the past.  I'm new.  I have an '05 23lsv.  I want to replace the speakers on the Illusion X tower that are on the boat.  I am looking for something 8".  Any recommendations other than wetsounds or Exile (budget)  Also what about universal mounts for the tower?  I want to keep the stock locations......it seems that Exile and wetsounds are the only companies that have mounts to match the stock locations.  Any pictures, suggestions would be appreciated!

[wdr]

Keeping budget minded. I have a friend who has the RF 8” can speakers with a “good amp” on his tower on his I/O and I was surprisingly impressed with them. On that tower the mounts are going to be the biggest challenge I imagine.

[macdaddy]

I would check on ebay and do a search for Illusion tower speakers and see what you come up with.  That's where i get all of my stuff for my illusion. I will bet you will find something there.  

 

Mac

[shawndoggy]

One pair or two?

[minnmarker]

If you want speakers just for surfing (not wake board) try something like this.  It has 6.5 inch speakers.  Put it on the rear ski pylon and it's closer to the surfer (better sound) and does not blow out the ears of the passengers.

In fact, this one (pods and mount and wiring) is for sale.  Sitting on my office floor.  I liked them so much I built another set with 8 inch pods and speakers.  Easy to remove.  Stores in a rear compartment.  Connected to boat wiring with Neutrik stereo jack.

[MalibuMichael]

one pair shawndoggy

Edited November 15, 2019 by MalibuMichael
wrong info

[shawndoggy]

What’s the goal for the speakers?

In boat / swimming and floating

surf tunes

wake / ski tunes?

with only one pair, if you want to hear them behind the boat surfing (and especially wakeboarding) I think you are going to need HLCDs. One pair of direct radiating speakers (like WS icon 8s or exile surf 9s) would be barely enough, and probably a little disappointing. 
 

if you make the decision to go HLCD, given you are only running one pair, I wouldn’t rule out the rev10s because of their significantly better mid bass than the exile or WS 8” hlcds. You’ll be able to hear all of the hlcds behind the boat, but the rev10s will sound better in the boat IMHO. 
 

if you aren’t worried about behind the boat performance a single pair of the direct radiating 8s Will be fine. 

[MalibuMichael]

I think you may have talked me into coughing up the cash and putting some rev 10s on the tower.  I alos know they will mount directly to my tower with the WS mounting adapter. 

You think those would travel (given the proper amperage) to a wakeboarder?  I have turned down exhaust, so its a bit quitter back there. 

 

 

[shawndoggy]

27 minutes ago, MalibuMichael said:

I think you may have talked me into coughing up the cash and putting some rev 10s on the tower.  I alos know they will mount directly to my tower with the WS mounting adapter. 

You think those would travel (given the proper amperage) to a wakeboarder?  I have turned down exhaust, so its a bit quitter back there. 

Well powered and properly tuned, heck yeah.  

The fixed mounting position of the IX tower is a bit of a disadvantage.  The speakers are level while the boat is at rest, but that means when you are pulling a rider and the bow is up, they are pointing down rather than back.  I don't think there's really a way to mount a swivel mount to an IX tower though (to "tip" the speakers up 10ish degrees).  So there's that.  You can mount to the rear hoop using clamps, but you probably want to avoid that.

But put those speakers on an SD2 or an arc audio KS 600.2 or a JL Audio 750.1 (yes, you'd be running mono, but you really cannot tell) and they will definitely rock out.  They will definitely be loud enough to cause brain damage to those sitting in the back of the boat.

[MLA]

48 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

I don't think there's really a way to mount a swivel mount to an IX tower though (to "tip" the speakers up 10ish degrees)

There are direct-mount swivel options available. The Illusion X hole patterns is the same as the swivel base's mounting pattern. 

[shawndoggy]

17 minutes ago, MLA said:

There are direct-mount swivel options available. The Illusion X hole patterns is the same as the swivel base's mounting pattern. 

That's good info.  It has been a long time since I was messing with an IX tower. 

[Fffrank]

Also -- there are plenty of online "dealers" for WetSounds that will offer you discount over MSRP.  They won't advertise it but if you call/email and ask them for a better price they'll usually offer one.