Alpha Z tower questions with big sound

[talltigeguy]

If I were to get an RZ2, I would plan on swapping out the Alpha Z for a Samson or other tower for 2 reasons.

1. I am tall and the Alpha Z is pretty short. Busting my head on the tower is no fun. Although in this case, since it is chin high, I should see it easily.

2. I like my loud music and so do my kids. My friend with a Malibu Illusion has some pro 60's on there and the speaker sounds like it is right next to the driver's ear. We never turn them up on his boat because we would essentially have to be in the bow to stop it from making our ears bleed. I don't have to be the loudest at the lake...but I wouldn't settle for 3rd place, either. A double up or pair of 485's would suit me fine.

The questions for the forum are this: We talked briefly in another thread that Tige says that the tower is somehow especially mounted so that it transfers the energy down to the boat itself and not just on the gunnell. Does that mean you can't just unbolt it, fix the gelcoat and slap a new tower on? We might get our answer with good pics of the tower install in Ragboy's thread, but I was hoping someone might already know.

Am I correct in assuming that big speakers are going to be very painful for anyone in the main cockpit area with this tower? Ragboy likes his music loud and seems to be OK with the Alpha Z tower...can you let me know if that is a real concern?

The topics are hot on my mind after 2 mechanical failures on my X45 this week.
The trim tab mounting plate broke. The dealer says 'Oh yeah, we don't make those out of alluminum anymore'.
The fuel pump went out. It appears that most anyone who has run their boat low on gas or out of gas has the fuel pump burn up because it depends on the gas in the tank to cool it. Huge thread on TMCowners about it.

[Nobody]

[QUOTE=talltigeguy;428496]If I were to get an RZ2, I would plan on swapping out the Alpha Z for a Samson or other tower for 2 reasons.



I think if I bought an newer tige I'd do the same.
Alpha Z looks cool but very unpractical for LOUD music.

[dom w. forte]

When I have been in the boats on demos, I havent found them to be any louder then they were with the old tower

[Duncan]

We keep the music very loud (ToP, pair Pro60s, pair MB-8s) and the proximity does not cause a source loudness issue for us. As a driver with my head near the starboard Pro60 and MB8 my problem is exactly the opposite -- I cannot hear the stereo at the same relative volume as the rest of the boat. People sitting on the back bench are low enough compared to the speakers that another foot should not make a difference.

And of course, the WS420EQ allows balance between the cabin and tower. I often crank the cabin speakers up to have a more enveloped sound but not necessarily because the tower is too loud.

[Jason B]

The tower is attached to the gunnel, therefore, the gunnel will take the brunt of the tug. They would have to completely reengineer the entire boat to make it transfer the weight any differently---and they didn't (or didn't advertise that they did) they just changed the tower to the Alpha Z. So to my understanding, changing out the tower might involve bracing it from underneath in the new tower mount locations, but should be doable for sure.

[BLACKLIST]

Isn't there rumors of Tige offering a taller version Alpha Z? Anyone else heard of this?

[Tanner]

Tall....

1. You can order the boat w/o the tower. Save the cash instead of removing it and trying to sell it.

2. In the event you keep the tower and want loud...Me and Tim had serious discussions before the Alpha Z was released, about how you could mount a pair of 485's to the top of it. We were both bouncing ideas off of each other. We both had 2 viable options. This would raise your sound stage at least another 12-18". Not alot, but it would put you about normal tower height. Should you choose that route, get with me and I can help you out there.

[Guapo]

This is my first boat with a tower, so I don't have anything to compare it to; however, since the bimini covers the tower and the speakers, I've felt that it gets uncomfortably loud in the cabin to make it loud enough for the rider to really hear it. The regular towers that I see have the speakers above the bimini which I would think would balance things out a bit. Again, I may be way off here...

[wallacmc]

I'm not sure where the speakers are located on the illusion, but keep in mind that the alphaZ turns toward the stern, and two of the speaker mounts are on that part of the tower, after it has turned back toward the rear. Since the Illusion keeps coming forward, I'm thinking that may be where the sound issue on a malibu comes from, especially since the lower part of the original Illusion and Alpha Z are nearly identical. The alpha Z may be better in that respect.

[talltigeguy]

The tower is attached to the gunnel, therefore, the gunnel will take the brunt of the tug. They would have to completely reengineer the entire boat to make it transfer the weight any differently---and they didn't (or didn't advertise that they did) they just changed the tower to the Alpha Z. So to my understanding, changing out the tower might involve bracing it from underneath in the new tower mount locations, but should be doable for sure.

From the Tige website:
"While other towers are attached directly to the deck, the unique Alpha Z mounting design is engineered to transfer the tower load to the main structure of the boat. This results in a more rigid foundation and accounts for the Alpha Z’s outstanding stability and unyielding strength."
http://tige.com/performance/Alpha_Z_Tower
Wondering if that means it is somehow mounted differently than the usual bolt on to the gunnell. Hopefully Ragboy will get pics.

Isn't there rumors of Tige offering a taller version Alpha Z? Anyone else heard of this?

That would sure be nice. here is me with an Alpha Z tower - courtesy of Dingleberry:



And here is me with a new Centurion tower:

Tall....

1. You can order the boat w/o the tower. Save the cash instead of removing it and trying to sell it.

A new one is probably out of my budget range. But a used 09 would probably be there, or maybe a leftover someone is eager to part with.

This is my first boat with a tower, so I don't have anything to compare it to; however, since the bimini covers the tower and the speakers, I've felt that it gets uncomfortably loud in the cabin to make it loud enough for the rider to really hear it. The regular towers that I see have the speakers above the bimini which I would think would balance things out a bit. Again, I may be way off here...

The bimini does nothing to prevent sound penetration from a loud HLCD speaker, it is the arch backwards that puts the speaker more towards the back of the boat and helps so that the dispersion pattern downward does not quite make it to the people in the boat.

[Guapo]

The bimini does nothing to prevent sound penetration from a loud HLCD speaker, it is the arch backwards that puts the speaker more towards the back of the boat and helps so that the dispersion pattern downward does not quite make it to the people in the boat.

That's great info...thanks

[ImaPigDog]

I have the Alpha Z and have the Pro80x and MB-8. I put the Pro80s on the rear (more centered) mount and the MB-8s on the forward (outside) mount. We usually do not try to project out to the rider but occasionally we do. I also have a WS-420 so I will keep the in-boat speakers down (but turn up the subwoofers a little). It is definitely loud but would depend on the tolerance level of those in the boat (and the music being played).

I am 6'2" and have a couple more knots on my head due to the Pro80s.

You could always swing by Norris Lake, TN in a few weeks and check out a few different setups.