G23 vs New Xstar vs M235

[fearocks]

I’d definitely wait for a 2020 on either option. The Gen2 plus with position sensing is a very nice upgrade on the new MCs. I got the new upgraded stereo on my 2020, as well as doing 4 8.5s on the tower. The additional speakers in the boat, bigger tower speakers (when selecting 4), and new DSP program, make a huge difference in the stereo for 2020. The passenger stereo/lighting/heat remote display is a nice addition as well.

Did you go with the Klipsch 8.5's, or something else? How does the 2020 setup compare to the G23's JL? The Premium Sound for the '19 X24 was highly disappointing, so is the Premium Plus for 2020 night and day, or would it be better to go aftermarket right from jump street, if I go with the X24?

[Wayward]

Did you go with the Klipsch 8.5's, or something else? How does the 2020 setup compare to the G23's JL? The Premium Sound for the '19 X24 was highly disappointing, so is the Premium Plus for 2020 night and day, or would it be better to go aftermarket right from jump street, if I go with the X24?

I guess it really depends on your expectations. On my X24, I used matching Klipsch 8.5s for the second set of tower speakers. In 2018-2019 they didn’t offer 4 8.5s on the tower. You could get 2 8.5s, or you could get the T85 pods, which consisted of 2 7” speakers, and a horn driver for each pod. Either way, I didn’t find that the weakness was the speakers. It was the amplification.

On the 2020, they have added the option of doing 4 8.5s and a bigger amp for the tower speakers. It is much louder than any of the 2018-2019 stock setups, but it isn’t louder than the setup I installed on the X24. That said, I don’t find that I desire the tower system on my 2020 XStar to be any louder than it is. It has been a couple years, but I don’t remember the system in the G23 being any louder than what I have in my Star.

In Boat- The 18-19 Klipsch system had better clarity and overall sound than my G’s, but definitely not as loud. The bass level was definitely lower than what I would have liked. The rest of the system was fine for me, as I don’t really love blasting the music to extremely high volumes when I am in the boat. Nonetheless, the improvements for 2020 seem to have doubled the bass (new amplifier tuning and dsp program on the 11” subs, plus the addition of 2 8” mid-bass drivers), and the in-boat volume levels seem to have been increased quite a bit as well. I actually leave all of my zone control levels at 75%, except the tower, and use the master volume with those settings. Anything higher than that is way too loud in the boat.

I’m not sure I can honestly answer your question. I think you’d have to see for yourself. I certainly know a lot of guys with newer MCs have ordered the boat without tower speakers and installed rev10s after the fact. Even just 2 rev10s with a proper amp will absolutely destroy the JL or Klipsch tower systems in volume level and projection. Thing is, they don’t sound as good, especially at shorter distances.

I think that is why the Klipsch system hasn’t bothered me much. Clarity and low distortion matter to me also. While my G23 studio elite systems were really nice, and sounded fantastic up to about 70% volume, the sound clarity drops off at higher volume levels. So, while it is louder, it really sounds like poo at those volume levels. I noticed the same in my buddy’s new Supra SL. I was like “Man, this system cranks, but sounds like crap when it is cranked”.

Basically, MC decided to limit the Klipsch system to a volume level that it can maintain its clarity. I know that cranking the Klipsch system to 100 still produces clear and undistorted sound. I also know that cranking the stereo in a G to full volume produces very distorted and crappy sound. So, is the G system better? If the G system at only 75% is as loud as a cranked X24, but is also at the max volume level that it can maintain its sound clarity, does it matter that it can go louder? To some people, yes. To some people, no. I can’t stand when the sound quality goes to crap, so I never ran my G’s stereo at higher volumes anyway. In short, I do think the studio elite system is better than the 18-19 Klipsch system, but not by much for my use. I don’t think it has any advantage over the premium plus setup in the 2020s. But, if you are unsure, just get a VXi600, and a pair of rev10s, to make your riders ears bleed. The in-boat setup in 2020 is equally as good, and doesn’t need an upgrade anymore IMO.

[fearocks]

I guess it really depends on your expectations. On my X24, I used matching Klipsch 8.5s for the second set of tower speakers. In 2018-2019 they didn’t offer 4 8.5s on the tower. You could get 2 8.5s, or you could get the T85 pods, which consisted of 2 7” speakers, and a horn driver for each pod. Either way, I didn’t find that the weakness was the speakers. It was the amplification.

On the 2020, they have added the option of doing 4 8.5s and a bigger amp for the tower speakers. It is much louder than any of the 2018-2019 stock setups, but it isn’t louder than the setup I installed on the X24. That said, I don’t find that I desire the tower system on my 2020 XStar to be any louder than it is. It has been a couple years, but I don’t remember the system in the G23 being any louder than what I have in my Star.

In Boat- The 18-19 Klipsch system had better clarity and overall sound than my G’s, but definitely not as loud. The bass level was definitely lower than what I would have liked. The rest of the system was fine for me, as I don’t really love blasting the music to extremely high volumes when I am in the boat. Nonetheless, the improvements for 2020 seem to have doubled the bass (new amplifier tuning and dsp program on the 11” subs, plus the addition of 2 8” mid-bass drivers), and the in-boat volume levels seem to have been increased quite a bit as well. I actually leave all of my zone control levels at 75%, except the tower, and use the master volume with those settings. Anything higher than that is way too loud in the boat.

I’m not sure I can honestly answer your question. I think you’d have to see for yourself. I certainly know a lot of guys with newer MCs have ordered the boat without tower speakers and installed rev10s after the fact. Even just 2 rev10s with a proper amp will absolutely destroy the JL or Klipsch tower systems in volume level and projection. Thing is, they don’t sound as good, especially at shorter distances.

I think that is why the Klipsch system hasn’t bothered me much. Clarity and low distortion matter to me also. While my G23 studio elite systems were really nice, and sounded fantastic up to about 70% volume, the sound clarity drops off at higher volume levels. So, while it is louder, it really sounds like poo at those volume levels. I noticed the same in my buddy’s new Supra SL. I was like “Man, this system cranks, but sounds like crap when it is cranked”.

Basically, MC decided to limit the Klipsch system to a volume level that it can maintain its clarity. I know that cranking the Klipsch system to 100 still produces clear and undistorted sound. I also know that cranking the stereo in a G to full volume produces very distorted and crappy sound. So, is the G system better? If the G system at only 75% is as loud as a cranked X24, but is also at the max volume level that it can maintain its sound clarity, does it matter that it can go louder? To some people, yes. To some people, no. I can’t stand when the sound quality goes to crap, so I never ran my G’s stereo at higher volumes anyway. In short, I do think the studio elite system is better than the 18-19 Klipsch system, but not by much for my use. I don’t think it has any advantage over the premium plus setup in the 2020s. But, if you are unsure, just get a VXi600, and a pair of rev10s, to make your riders ears bleed. The in-boat setup in 2020 is equally as good, and doesn’t need an upgrade anymore IMO.

Thank you, I appreciate your detailed response! We tested the 19/20 Premium Audio with the T85 pods w/ horn drivers. When I think of loud, I think of the M235's Wetsounds; that thing was loud and had a lot of bass, but the clarity just wasn't there. I too can't stand when audio breaks and the Wetsounds broke like a China Cabinet with a bull inside. What I liked about the G23's system was that it sounded nice inside and had bass, and equally as important, she could not only hear the music behind the boat, but also feel it. To give an example, in the G23, she not only didn't complain about hearing the music, but she could also tell exactly which songs I was playing, whereas in the M235, although she never complained about being able to hear the music, it was indistinguishable; with that being said, we never had to crank up the G23 to 100%, so I never tested the volume at max. The issue with that is that we tested on a calm weekday with little activity; if it were a busy weekend, we might have needed to crank up the volume and then I might not have been so impressed.

Our experience with the X24 was that it was extremely clear inside the boat and the sound never clipped; the flip side to that is that I did get to test it at 100% because she kept complaining about not be able to hear the music and forget about feeling it. Inside the boat, at that point, was ear-bleeding loud treble, where we kept having to turn down the volume for our own comfort, leaving her with nothing at all. My preference would be to achieve the clear highs of the Klipsch, the distinct lows of the JL, with a balance of volume both behind and inside the boat without any cracking at all. I see that Mastercraft is looking to address the lows with their new 2020 Premium Plus Audio, however haven't had an opportunity to test it and it also looks like Nautique is adding new amps to their setups, which may possibly be used to address their clarity issues at high volumes, like you mentioned, again, something I probably should have tested, but didn't think about it at the time. If I do go with the X24, I'd hate to order the Premium Plus, only to have to rip it out the day after and go aftermarket, however I'd equally hate to go aftermarket from jump street, only to find out that the Premium Plus would have sufficed and lose all that money on the aftermarket upon resell, or trade-in.

What had you switch from the X24 to the XStar? Have you already taken delivery of your XStar? If so, have you noticed any add in lows in the cabin from those 2x new mid speakers, or any bass from the cans up top?

Are the new Supras using the same JL system that Nautique is planning to upgrade to for 2020; I heard from an audio shop, that I was speaking to about the X24, that they had complaints about the sound clipping on the Supra, similar to the Nautique.

[Gtsum2]

Great, detailed info. Thanks a bunch!

Fwiw, I’ve never been a Klipsch fan..I always found them
bright and tinny sounding. Spending that amount on a new boat, I would want the stereo to bump...especially since I spent about 2k on my sxs system and it hits hard and sounds quite good all the way up to top volume...one would hope a 10k system on a boat would be similar

[fearocks]

Just FYI, although the Centurion wasn't in the running for a purchase, the dealer asked me to test drive the Ri257 anyway, so I figured why not, it might surprise me; either way, I'll write a review....

[Gtsum2]

Just FYI, although the Centurion wasn't in the running for a purchase, the dealer asked me to test drive the Ri257 anyway, so I figured why not, it might surprise me; either way, I'll write a review....

interested to hear your thoughts as for me, it’s likely down to the centurion or g23...I love the tech and the integration of the cockpit and controls of the g, but by many accounts the centurions have a bigger, longer surf wave (I haven’t tried them yet)

[Samu]

centurions have a bigger, longer surf wave (I haven’t tried them yet)

Then you should not senseless spread such rumors

[Gtsum2]

Lol...touché! Fair point

[greggmck]

interested to hear your thoughts as for me, it’s likely down to the centurion or g23...I love the tech and the integration of the cockpit and controls of the g, but by many accounts the centurions have a bigger, longer surf wave (I haven’t tried them yet)

I have surfed the Ri237, Ri257, Fi237, Fi257 extensively in practice and in competition. The wave is NOT longer. The wave on these boats are about the same length as a properly set up G23 wave. But Centurion aggressively markets the wave as longer. They do this because most people don't understand how the surf systems work. Centurion uses a tab surf system that rolls the boat on the longitudinal axis. This causes a high pressure area just behind the boat. Here the wave rises steeply before leveling off to form the surf wave. YOU cannot surf in that high pressure zone. It is very steep and you will fall into the rear of the boat if you do. You cannot surf up to the platform on a Centurion. Since the wave sets up further back Centurion markets the wave as longer. But in reality you have the same surf wave length, but it must be surfed further from the boat. Nautique and Malibu use a tab surf system that does not roll the boat. There is no steep high pressure zone and you can easily surf right up to the platform. In the case of these boats, the wave is about 25-27 ft long, same as the Centurion but it forms and is surfed closer to the back of the boat.

[Gtsum2]

Good stuff. Thanks for the info and insight. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the different options available in the market

[fearocks]

2020 G23 BUILD DESIGN

Note: I'm still deciding between the X24 and the G23, however, here's the buildout design for the G23. I will post the X24 once it's been complete

[Gtsum2]

^^^Sharp!

I might of missed it....are prices pretty close between the x24 and the g once all is said and done?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[fearocks]

CENTURION Ri(MEH)

FYI, I ended up testing the Centurion Ri and was going to write a review, however, not going to, as it wasn't even in the ballpark with the Mastercraft, Malibu, or Nautique. The engine was loud, the ride was surprisingly rough, considering they market it as the "Cadillac of Tow Boats", the sound system was subpar, you don't even get a cooler until you get to 25 ft., you can't see the dual screens without squinting and leaning forward, the seats were scorching uncomfortable, and there was smoke; in fact, the only redeeming quality of the boat, was its wave, which looks somewhere between that of the M235 and the X24. If I was a professional wakeboard/surfer, which I am not, and didn't care about anything else, this boat may be an option, however, at the price tag, makes this a hard buy to swallow. Again, I'm very limited in my experience with towboats, however coming from the world of high-end CC's, a combination of quality and engineering is a must and I just didn't see it here. I'd be willing to pay more than a Moomba, or Supreme for this boat, but not as much as a Tige, or Supra. I'll post a video of the wave and smoke.

[fearocks]

2020 X24 BUILD DESIGN

(Note: Although Nautique's 2020 Build Application hasn't gone public, it actually works visually better than MasterCraft's, which continues to be plagued with issues. On a side note, Nautique's only allows for interior and exterior design, whereas Mastercraft's allows you to build the entire boat followed with an MSRP quote... when it works. There may be more changes to this Mastercraft, as the company continues to add colors and options to their application)

[GMLIII]

It may be because the G23 has more of a flatter hull design vs the extreme deep-V design of the Mastercraft X24, but I was wondering why Mastercraft is still constructed with the 3 dorsal center fins like the traditional ski boats whereas the G23 is down to only one dorsal fin. Any ideas?