Tower Speakers

[Coach]

Originally posted by Jeff T
Very informative. Thanks a bunch. For very solid sound, would you think it would be necessisary to have 4 pro 80's, as opposed to 2? I'm not sure the 485 would fit on my tower because it is far from flat:


Thoughts?

My basic though is a pair of Pro 80's will be more than enough is powered correctly. 2x 200 RMS. So why am I going with the 485's and Pro 80's. I plan on having he pro 80's turned around facing forward most of the time and in the afternoon when we decide to ride the 485's will still be able to pump out the music to the rider while turning down or off the ro 80's. I all depends upon your useage. I tend to play DJ when we are at our campsite so I want more sound that can travel and I want to hear the music while riding. I have been behind a few boats that have tower speakers but you can barely hear them while riding and everyone in the boat is going deaf. The HCLD's will get more music to the rider.

[Matt Garcia]

Originally posted by Coach
I have had extensive e-mail conversations with both Tim at Wetsounds and Duane at NVS. I thinks both guys have great products and stand behind them 100% with great customer service.

I agree. I had an email conversation with Tim today at Wetsounds to address some of my issues. I am looking at some Pro 80s but my dilemma is that they make them only in white and black. He gave me a few options and let me know they are testing some chrome versions.

I have heard the Pro 80s in person and they are outstanding.

[Jeff T]

Thanks for the info. Black will work for me perfectly!

[Coach]

Well after much debate I ordered the Wetsounds today. I got one 485 and a pair of Pro 80's in White. The main selling point is the ablity to easily move the speakers from a forward facing to rear facing position. I like the looks of the the NVS 1010's more but the funciton of the Wetsounds won out.

[spharis]

Originally posted by Coach
The P series fusion are sweet looking and in terms of aesthetics the fusion are the best looking out there. I guess I am looking at function over the look. The P series are using a better quality Diamond Audio speaker than the T-series.

The P series use the current D6 line of mid and comp. The T series are using the older M series, that Diamond no longer makes. The M3's are comparible to the the D3 series of Diamond drivers. They are a step below the D6's that are in the P series, but they are still very capable. I ran Diamond for a while, amps and comps, but had a problem with the comps blowing without being driven to anywhere near RMS. They sound good, but I never did really care for the build quality.....they just kind of looked and felt cheap.

Will Fusion sell just the enclosure? I really like the way those look, then you could add whatever driver you wanted. Crystal Mobile Sound haas some awesome stuff out in component, and there is a 6" woofer from Digital Designs that sounds very good.

[spharis]

Originally posted by Coach
Well after much debate I ordered the Wetsounds today. I got one 485 and a pair of Pro 80's in White. The main selling point is the ablity to easily move the speakers from a forward facing to rear facing position. I like the looks of the the NVS 1010's more but the funciton of the Wetsounds won out.

Good choice......Nothing beats the spread and range of a horn tweeter in open environments......like houses, or outside. They are able to produce sound more accurately heard by the human ear in the lower frequency ranges than a dome tweeter can. Usually the killer on those is the price, but with marine audio, price is usually always a killer.

The only thing I don't like about horns is how clean and crisp they are. Its almost too much sometimes, and gets fatiguing....to the point where you just want to turn off the radio. Luckily the openess off a boat may help with that. I would never put horns in a car.......my ears would bleed.

[Matt Garcia]

Originally posted by Coach
Well after much debate I ordered the Wetsounds today. I got one 485 and a pair of Pro 80's in White. The main selling point is the ablity to easily move the speakers from a forward facing to rear facing position. I like the looks of the the NVS 1010's more but the funciton of the Wetsounds won out.

Congrats. That is going to be LOUD!

What is the total weight of the setup? One thing I get a little nervous about is having heavy speakers and four boards all on the tower.

[Coach]

Originally posted by Matt Garcia
Congrats. That is going to be LOUD!

What is the total weight of the setup? One thing I get a little nervous about is having heavy speakers and four boards all on the tower.

The weight will be close to 90 lbs. The one nice feature of the wetsounds is I can take them down easily to trailer the boat. There will be some weight up there, but the tower shouldn't have any problems.

[dcsnowwake]

I just installed a 485 on my RZ2, and i have 2 80's coming for the side....this winter were going to get some moto green carbon fiber for the speakers to accent them....Ill take pics of the 485 this afternoon on the rz2 so you can get some Ideas.....and yes its on the z tower too.
still waiting for all my amps to come in so no sound yet, but dropping the rz2 in the water here in the east at Lake anna, the private side where its still 80 in the water (thank you power plant)....ill give you my impressions of the ride next week.

[Jeff T]

Originally posted by Coach
Regardless of what HLCD or brand. I think what some are trying to say and maybe where you have gotten the understanding is that it will put music to the rider and not as much in the boat is that there are different dispersion patterns of the horn flare. More horizontal dispersion with less vertical dispersion. So the sound projects wide out to the flats (left and right) and not top and bottom. Which is what our PRO 485 has. I personally feel the 485 is the only speaker that achieves the results you are looking for. It has amazing off axis response. If you just look at the flare on others. You will see that they look almost square. They are more directional too. Losing the off axis response. Very important as you don’t ride right behind the boat. The PRO 80 has a round flare. So it has an all around wide flare. So the sound patterns are wide but will spill over into the boat a little more than the 485

I am picking up a single set of pro80s. I hope that it will be enough...I don't know as I have never heard them in person. I plan to push them at approximately 200-225 RMS. I was out looking at the boat last night with a friend (we will be doing the install) and we started discussing placement on the tower. Being that I'm originally only getting two speakers and they supposedly disperse horizontally more than vertically, is it better to place the speakers more toward the middle of the tower, which will at the highest point, or more toward the outsides of the tower, which will be lower? Also, I worry about drilling holes and then deciding in 6 months that I need to add 2 more pro80s or something.

(sorry..I don't have a good stern picture)

[Coach]

Tim,
E-mail or Call Tim White at Wetsounds. He will give you the low down and recommend the best speaker placement.

[Moki]

Coach,
I have read many of the discussions on wakeside, it changed my mind away from Fusions. For me, the top two competitors are Wetsounds and NVS. I only wanted a two speaker setup, so it was the pro 80s vs. the NVS addictions. I really like both, but in my mind, here is how I categorized them:

Pro 80s
Pros
Lighter
cool design of grill
appears to be more marine proof
cheaper
easy to put on and off

Cons
Only available in white /black plastic
many mentioned that they are bright, especially up close

Addictions
Pros
10 in speaker
handles higher RMS watts
Chrome metal enclosure
secure hook
Look good
many mentioned, including Duane, that they are warmer sounding and sound good even directly behind the boat.

Cons
Cost more
No quick release

Because I want to wakesuf as well, I didn't want a speaker that would blast me out right behind the boat. The addicitions are loud, but they are not annoying. I enjoyed wakesurfing behind them on on Talltigeguy's boat. Yet the 10 in speaker does an excellent job of projecting warm sounding music out to a boarder.


I did read about the test between all speakers, the problem with the test is that they were only running a 100 watts, so with a 100 watts the Pro80 will be louder because the 100 watts is closer to its suggested RMS. So the test proved that the Pro 80 is more efficient with a 100 watts than the NVS. A better test would have been to run them both at their suggested RMS. Lastly, this test does not cover which speaker really sounded better. The Pro 80 could have been the loudest by may have sounded too bright for many people, but speakers are really a personal opinion.


I think that coach is going to have an awesome setup with the wetsounds, particularly with the two Pro80s and 1 485. Since I am only comparing the Pro 80s alone with addictions. I think that they are both well designed and well built speakers, but I have heard the addictions on the water and like their sound. I also like that they have a bigger cone and are able to handle more power.


Thanks for everybody's input, especially you coach.

[talltigeguy]

I have a friend that has a pair of Wetsounds 485's and they sound terrific. Couldn't go wrong with either.

Moki,

I turn up the volume for surfing to about 20 on the head unit. For wakeboarding usually up to 27-28. The difference is huge. So I am not sure exactly what you mean about being 'blasted out from behind the boat', they can just be turned down. I have been surfing when the wife turned the music too loud, and it hurts to surf that way.

The Addictions will require more power and a more expensive amp. I run a PPI PCX4125 and have about 375 Watts going to each speaker. I found the amp cheap on ebay for $350.

[Coach]

What my plan is to control the volume in my boat is the PAC Controlers on each amp. I will have control of my cabin speakers volume, tower speakers volume and sub volume. This will allow me to control how much each area gets with a simple turn knob located just below the speed set. The other item many of you will like is this

www.h2owaves.com

It is a remote contol that is good up to 300 ft. Tige Water Sports found the company and is now doing them as part of the stereo package.

[Coach]

http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/c...es/remotes.htm