Illusion tower or Switchblade ... what cha think?

[MoneyPity]

When I tore up my Tige E-Series Tower I went with a Sampson based on some of ragboy's comments and other comments on various sites. Since I only have the
20V I thought the Switchblade would look out of scale to the boat so I went with the Razor w 1 mounting plate for the lights, 1 wake board rack and 1 slalom rack and the Sampson Bimini. I have a set of PRO 60's on it and it has no wobble it's more stable than the stock and so far no blessed rattles. I needed a tower that would be easy to raise and lower and the Razor does that well. The Bimini also is easy to put up and take down.

When raising the tower you feel the weight of the speakers until you get to a certain point and then it is easy to get up. The one thing I need to figure out is how to get my Pro-60's to point straight backwards and not at off angles. Mine was an insurance replacement and overall I am happy with the Razor vs stock. It Razor seems rock solid for my needs and I would think the Switchblade is to. Speaker mounting is the key concern.

The tower is setup to use Samson Speakers with their quick release and how they integrate with their mounting plates.

[ragboy]

Yes, I had the 2007 Tige Bimini, which was a nightmare. The designer of that, should have been shot. The samson bimini quick and simple.

[MoneyPity]

x2

[dogbert]

Ok so some of you all know about the power line that snapped my tower last week.

Since I'm making the power company buy me a new tower, I might as well get a sturdy one.

Samson thinks my tower is gonna sway with the 485's. I've always liked the looks of the Malibu illusion, and so I gave the malibu dealer a call. I can pick up the illusion for cheaper than the switchblade. And it's gonna be rock solid... just difficult to mount the 485's to.

I'd be happy w/ either one. I'm short, so height doesn't concern me. And I never lower my tower. What do you guys think.

Maybe time to bring back the Tigebu.

I'd go with the illusion. I'm tall and I'd pic that tower/bimini combo over the samson....sorry ragboy (your tower does look sweet, tho).

[kko]

so im curious why is the alpha z not a choice.You say you have the 485 problem worked out.That would be the only issue that would keep me from getting it.The alpha z folds so much easier than the illusion.From my personal experience with both the illusion and alpha z (we sell Tiges and Malibu) i prefer the alpha for looks and ease of putting it up and down.
I have never seen a samson in person but i like the ones i see and if it where my boat i go with it because i dont like the height of the other 2 just their look.Good luck.

[Jason B]

Alpha Z

[talltigeguy]

The other thing to consider is that the 485's on the malibu tower are going to be very far forward in the cabin. You can plan on evacuating almost all the rear cabin when you turn them up. With my buddy's Illusion, the pro 60's are right next to the driver's ear on the stock locations. I suspect where you plan to put them will be even worse.

The top of the Samson tower is very similar on both the razor and switchblade, note in this pic that a pod of speakers is going to face outward and will be skeewampus higher towards the center.

This is Money pity's razor, note the angles of the rear bar:



I spoke to Scott at Samson when I was considering it, and he thought that part of the stability of the tower would be compromised if they straightened out that bar for me, and he strongly discouraged it. If you straighten it out and it works great, let me know. I even had a buyer set up for my X45 tower when I finally decided I could not do it.

For now, I think I am going to put my old Tyrants up on the tower and see how I like it. If I get enough moola for my MC speakers, I might do a threesome with a single 485 and a pair of Pro 80's. Who knows what I will do.

[Tanner]

The reason I wasn't considering the Alpha Z is b/c I didn't like the way it looks on the 24Ve's... so I'm assuming the same will go for the 24V in my case. I LOVE how it looks on the RZ's and Z1. It also looks good on the 22Ve. Just something about it doesn't fit on the bigger boat IMO.

[turbonine]

The reason I wasn't considering the Alpha Z is b/c I didn't like the way it looks on the 24Ve's... so I'm assuming the same will go for the 24V in my case. I LOVE how it looks on the RZ's and Z1. It also looks good on the 22Ve. Just something about it doesn't fit on the bigger boat IMO.

It looks too short on the 24.

[ragboy]

The speaker placment that tall mentions is a big deal. The placement on the samson tower was only about 6 inches farther forward then my old. And you can get blown out at the back of the boat, when you are playing them loud enough for the rider to groove. I think it would be obnoxious to get those big 485s that far up front, as far as sound goes, but hey, you may like that.

[Tanner]

It looks too short on the 24.

Exactly!

[formandfunction]

I think the sampson looks better.

[ragboy]

OK, I see the 485s on the bu illusion. Now, if this is your thing, then go for it. But looks more like the boat Huggy Bear would be driving around.












not my thang.

[G-MONEY]

I don't get it...many of us from what I have seen and heard have some unreal systems with just 2 485 for 4 pro 80's or 4 pro 60's ect... How much louder do you really need to be? No one I know boards at 1000ft back.

[Tanner]

LMAO.... I'm only talking about a set of 485's and a pair of MB8's! No need for all that!

I have no clue why you'd need all that.