Ideal tower speaker set up

[oktige]

The boat I'm purchasing doesn't have any tower speakers. The dealer ordered it without them to be able to sell a boat a little cheaper. I would like some opinions on the ideal set up for tower speakers. 4 rev 10's, 4 rev 8's, 2 10's & 2 8's? I had a 3some on my RZ2 and I really liked the way it sounded. I was talking to chpthril about it via private message and he is out of room so he isn't getting messages... lol

[talltigeguy]

You can't do a threesome if you have an Alpha Z tower, so 4 REV 10's is all you can get if you are doing a new Tige. Clearly the best setup for an Alpha Z unless you are going to do some significant modification to add other types of speakers. I have 4 REV 10's and don't think I could be much happier.

Can you even get Exile speakers that fit on an Alpha Z? Those are generally the other most recommended brand of tower speakers out there.

[Z1Fan]

Careful of the head room , you might be wacking your head lots, even when you try and sit in the driver's seat , I have none on mine because of that very reason !

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[chpthril]

An exile xm9 is an 8" HLCD, so it would be comparable to the Wet Sounds Rev-8 in terms of surface area, but thats about it.

The Rev-8 has less hang height, then xm9, but about the same pod displacement. The Rev-10 is far more surface area than the xm9, with just a little more hang height and more pod displacement as well. This really makes the xm9 Rev-10 an apples to oranges comparison. The xm9 has a smaller voice coil, compared to the Rev-8's 2.0. This = more power handling and better sound quality. For those that have heard the xm and Rev series side by side, you know the SQ from the Rev series is the new bench mark for HLCD's

[Z1Fan]

What boat yuh getting ? If it's an RZR watch out !!low tower height already

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[oktige]

Yes I know you can't get a 3 some. That's just what I've had in the past on my 07 RZ2. I'm getting a z3

[Z1Fan]

Nice choice of boat!!! Listen to chptril , he knows his stuff and remember to keep an eye on headroom !!!.

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[ddutcher]

I had the threesome set up on my last boat and it did rock but I went with the ICON 8's as we surf more and couldnt be happier. They sound so much better in my opinion and can be heard while wakeboarding. The price was nice too. I had them painted to match the Green Pearl on the boat.
Boat Photos 001.jpgBoat Photos 002.jpg

[Z1Fan]

Hey those look great, and seem closer to the tower then the wetsounds !!

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[Bedwards]

I debated all the winter over what to go with on my Alpha Z. Icon 8's or Exile Surf 9's? I ended up going with Exile. Not because of sound or quality or looks. Mostly because the Exile has a detachable/swivel mount. I didn't want my $900 speakers in the weather all season. And if you wanna point them a different direction its done in seconds. Not to mention the speaker, amp, wire kit was $500-$1,000 cheaper than the Wetsounds. Exiles even come with covers. I think Wetsounds wanted like $100 per set. I am happy with the Exiles and the customer support is great. Brian will respond to your email at all hours of the day. Im sure I would have liked the Icons but couldn't see paying the extra $$$ for roughly the same setup.

[oktige]

Thanks for all the help guys! the input was helpful

[chpthril]

For those that are not aware, Wet Sounds does offer a direct-mount swivel clamp option for all their tower speaker options. But here is one unique feature the Wet Sounds TC3-S has over the exile. The TC3 not only allows for the speaker wires to pass through the clamp, but it also allows for 4 additional wire conductors for their optional RGB LEDs. So all 6 conductors are hidden in the clamp, not visible, and the swivel/disconnect feature is retained. The speaker wires are 12ga tinned marine wire that makes connection using a male/female terminal as opposed to a plated brass head-phone post that uses a single-point spring contact.

Going by Wet Sounds MSRP, a single pair of Icon-8 TS3-S, Suitz-8 and Syn-2 would be $1594.75. Given the R & D that goes in to the Wet Sounds products, I would expect there to be a difference in MSRP. Purchasing through a local authorized, I dont why your actual out the door purchase for this package would be less.

I do not see that exile offers an amp install kit with lengths that would work for a Tige, but Wet Sounds does. I can also tell you that there is a clear difference in the amount of copper in the Wet Wire, compared to the T-Spec (Metra's V-6 series for the standard and V-8 for the pro) cable that exile sells. This definitely adds to the weight difference, thus the cost. The Wet Wire is every bit a top-shelf premium cable, compared to the exile offerings.

Icon-8 hang height = 9-9/16
sxt9 hang height = 10-1/2

So the Icon has less hang for a speaker in the same class size. You will find the Rev-8 also has a lower hang height then the xm9, which is the same pod as the sxt9. The Rev-10 is only an inch more hang height, but is a far larger speaker then the xm9.

Having had experience with both brands, and seeing inside at how both products are designed and built, I put the Wet Sounds build quality heads and shoulders above the exile.

Customer service: Wet Sounds has a huge dealer network. This allows you to not only see and demo the product prior to purchase, but gives you more than one avenue for designing, planning, installing and tuning of your new system. Your local dealer will be the first point of contact, and a face to face one at that.

[ddutcher]

I purchased covers as well but went through SpeakerSox.com. They carry covers for virtually every speaker on the market and they were shipped to me within two days. The cost is $59.00 per pair and the material is as good if not better than the WS covers. I went with the extreme version which uses a thicker material for 8 bucks more per pair. You can leave them on while playing music as well. I could not justify the price from WS for covers that fade quickly over time if left in the sun.

[Travism]

I have a z3 and just put a second set of Rev 10's on with the syn2 amp and it sounds incredible with lots of head room in the middle.