Tower speakers

[jsta281]

So as spring gets closer I know tower speakers are going to be something I need to address. My 2009 206 has what I assume is the standard system with the sub in the walk threw area. I have a Titan 3 tower no speakers.

My first question is if I add tower speakers do I need to add a second amp? My second question is what size should I be looking and what should I expect to pay? My third question is how many it seems the new thing is 4 speakers.

I see tower speakers on eBay and it is crazy the variance in price. The local dealer her tried to sell me some tower speakers for a ridiculous price and then I found what appeared to be the same brand Style speakers on eBay for a fraction of what he wanted.

I am not a complete noob when it comes to stereo equipment but it has been a few years and never for a boat.

[Quinner]

If your goal is the skier to hear the music you need to spend some bucks. NVS are great however not sure they are still out there, Wetsounds seem to always get great reviews from owners, beyond that not sure what else is out there that even compares. User Mikeski did a nice write up a couple years ago on 2-3 different tower speaker brands if you can find that thread, he is extremely knowledgeable.
Definitely going to want an amp dedicated to the tower speakers. There should be a backer board on the hull where the existing amp is, should have enough room for an additional amp to mount there as well. Tower wiring is your next challenge, ideally you would come up through the front port side foot into the tube up from there, would have to see your tower though as IIRC it is not an FCT.
You will also want to run a dedicated (fused) power & ground from the battery to the amp. I opted to run those up starboard side around the bow and then back to the amps as that required no new holes and kept everything completely concealed.
If you move forward on this feel free to email me any questions as there are other details you need to consider like rubber grommets, wiremold, etc.

[Quinner]

Back in 05' Spent over $1000 on the speakers and around $300 for a +/- 850w amp, prob another hundo on wiring and misc, install was free (my labor)

System rocks, music is loud and clear 100' back at barefoot speeds, not too overwhelming in the boat at the same time. Your neighbors will hear your music clearly so careful what you play, lol

Quick release mount or a means of making them easily removable can be very important, these always come down overnight and do not want them up there when slaloming as they are heavy and as you prob know, less weight the better on the slalom wake. When you trailer it's nice not having them up there for that either.

[jsta281]

I'm not sure I am ready to thow down 1500 bucks so the person at the end of the rope can here it, I will have to watch for deals.

Thanks for the reply at least I know what I need if I'm going to pull the trigger.

[jsta281]

I had no idea good speakers were that much money, maybe what the dealer offered was a less ridiculous then I though but I'm sure thee were not speakers with horns. Question, if the stereo is plenty loud for my old ears in the cabin then Is the only real point to the tower speakers so the rider can hear? And if so I suspect any speakers that don't have a horn like a wet sound are not likely to carry out that far right? So it does not seem to make much sense putting speakers up there unless they are horns to project to the skier boarder right?

[Mikeski]

Hi Jsta,

One of the first things you need to determine is how you want to use the tower speakers. If you just want to have them and augment the boat system then the stock speakers are fine. If you actually want to hear them at the end of a rope then you are going to need to step things up a bit.

Assuming you want to hear them at the end of the rope... Kicker makes an entry level tower speaker system that won't break the bank too badly. NVS is no longer in business. Exile is around and has some loyal customers too. My money went to WetSounds and this would be my recommendation today. Check with the factory to see if they have any used or refurbished speakers (or check with David from Earmark). Plan to push anything you put up there with at least 250 watts each. If you chose the Kickers you could probably get some of the little PPI phantom amps to complete the inexpensive tower system. If you can find a deal on a pair of Wetsounds, I would recommend a minimum amp like a Syn 4 or Arc KS 300.4.

Keep in mind there is a diminishing return with tower speakers. Twice the cost never translates into twice the sound, more like twice the cost provides 20% more sound. It's easy to go crazy but hard to go simple.

[Miljack]

Another option are the Kicker "components" designed to replace most "stock" factory 6.5" coaxs in aluminum cans mounted on the tower. You can pick up some standard coax "tower" speakers, and install the Kicker components, and follow Mike's reco on the amps...

[CradGen2]

My money is with Wetsound. I have a 1000.1 for the XXX sub, SYN 4 powering (6) XS 650 for the interior speakers, and (2) syn 2 one for each Pro 485. Also make sure you look into batteries. Lots of stories on this form about powering stereos. We'll just say I can be heard and I only have the gains turned up to 40%. The sign wave on my oscilloscope never peaks giving me a clear sound. Yes you can hear it 70' behind the boat load and clear while boarding.

Also not mentioned below is Wetsounds WS 420. Personally I think this is the best investment I made in my system. Also I have friends that installed the WS on their stock/slightly mod system and it completely cleaned up the sound. Not to mention you can turn the cockpit speaks down while the tower rocks.

More then likely going to sell my black Pro 485 pair and order a par of white REV410 (newer). The main reason I'm going to sell is because I need white for the new boat to match the tower.

As stated you can spend a ton of money of systems. I did, but I love it. Plus I never have to hear music I don't like. I just turn mine up over everybody elses. Kidding. Spend the money now. I put my system in my 2008 210 in 2010. I made it modular, so when I sold the boat in 30 minutes I have the old out and one hour later the original back in connected. I left 4 sets of RCA cables in the boat, but no worries. I will reuse the 4 amps all the wiring (for the most part) and tower speakers.

[Jeepcrashing]

As mentioned above Spend some $$$ and you'll get all the enjoyment you can handle. I revamped my stereo system last winter with a budget in mind and installed:

Reused - Factory Head Unit
JL Audio 600.1 amp (Kicker 10" subwoofer)
JL Audio 600.6 amp (6 Rockford Fosgate Boat speakers)
Wet Sounds SYN4 (Pair of REV10's on the tower)
Wet Sounds WS420 Equalizer (a must have when using multiple amplifiers)

Although my head clearance is tight with the REV10's being mounted on the rear tube, IMO I thought it looked better. Regardless of where they're mounted they are just large speakers. Good luck in making your choice, there's lots out there.....



2004 ANTE 216