Polk MM651UM vs. Wetsounds XS-650

[skiking]

I know these are both good interior boat speakers, but there is no place where I live to try them side by side.

Does anybody have any opinions/reviews? I would be using them as interior boat speakers.

[Murphy_Smith]

What part of TX are you in.

I have never owned a pair of polk speakers but I have been in and tied up to many boats that have. By no means, does polk make a bad/bad sounding speaker but I can confidently say that you will be more impressed with the Wetsounds in both sound and durability.

If you are in the DFW metroplex, your best bet would be Earmark Marine Audio in Lewisville, TX.

[skiking]

I live in the Austin area. Our lakes are very social lakes and I have been around a ton of Wetsounds stuff. Most of the boats on the lakes have Wetsounds tower speakers these days so I am very familiar with the great quality there. However, since the Wetsounds in boat speakers are relatively new not many boats have those yet. So I have not been able to compare them to other speakers on the lake.

Main reason for my question is that Polk is running a special right now (buy one pair get the second at half price) and that puts the Wetsounds at a significantly higher cost. I am just wondering if the Wetsounds cost is justified over the Polks or if you really wouldn't notice that big a difference. If they both cost the same I most certainly would go with my Texas company Wetsounds. But, these days money is tight and it is nice to save where you can.

Would love to hear some opinions!

[kevfran99]

When Powered correctly I love the polks for interior speakers. A friend of mine has the wetsounds and I can't tell a difference. I noticed the biggest difference when I added the extra amp to power the 6 interiors. I personally wouldn't spend the money on them. just my .02

[wake4life6]

i agree with kev just amp the polks up the are plenty loud super clear too the wet sounds are great but just amp up what ya got. same thing

[skiking]

The four speakers would be running off a JL Audio 300/4 which puts out 75 watts per channel. Actually probably a little more since JL usually under rates their amps a little.

When you say amp up the Polks, what kind of wattage are you talking about?

[TravisFling]

I have four Polks for my in boat's and I LOVE them!!! I have a kicker 650.4 running to them and I think it's pretty similar wattage to the JL, but I really can't remember. Mine sound great, though, but I've spent some time tuning.

[bmh2208]

I've had both polks and now wetsounds. I would say that they sound equally as good. As for the quality though, the wetsounds are leaps and bounds better. I had the polks for about 2 years. Over that time the speaker baskets corroded and all the highs were blown. I hated the external crossovers as they took up way to much room on my amp board. I don't think you will go wrong with either brand sound wise, just be prepared to replace the polks a few years down the road. I guess we will have to see how the wetsounds hold up. But from the looks of them, they are built like a tank!

I just noticed that the model polks you are considering are newer marine versions so you might not have any problems. And that they ditched the external crossover as well so it looks like all of my arguments for the polks are null. Oh well, I still vote for wetsounds. Gotta support my local economy and a fellow Aggie.

Heres a comparison pic of the two:

[biggris79]

I like the wetsounds i had polk in my boat and switched to the wetsounds and this pass weekend my tower speakers wasnt working and being in the boat you couldnt hardly tell the towers was off from the driver seat if u put the power to the wetsounds i think you would be alot happier with the sound

[SuperSquirt]

I'm pushing the Polks in my 210 at 125 watts/speaker and they scream. WS are nice too and will probably last longer like bmh said