Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

[Flipside]

Looking at adding tower speakers. I was going to add 2 x Wetsounds 485s. Is this overkill? Should I "just" add 2 x Pro 80s? I'm concerned with losing headroom and being the obnoxious goomba that everyone can hear on the river/lake. What is adequate?

[bchesley]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

Uh.......No.

The pair of Pro 485's are the only way to go if you ask me. It does not matter what wetsounds pair you add everyone will still hear you. The pair of 485 sound the best to me. I am running a pair off a syn4 amp and love it. So does everyone else that rides behind my boat.

[kevfran99]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

I'm running a pair of pro 80's right now ony my 210. it's loud, but I still plan on adding the 485 later. what's wrong with being a little obnoxious??!!! It your riders that count.

[EarmarkMarine]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

Flipside,

It really depends on whether you want to create a large Tsunami or an extra large Tsunami.

But seriously, if you discount the fact that you'll be running extra power with double the 8-inch drivers, the 485s deliver some genuine sound quality advantages.

Also, I have zero tolerance for distortion when the limits of a system are exposed. So for me a pair of Pro485s driven by a bridged SYN4 means that I can run everything more conservatively which translates into improved dynamic range and clarity.

David
Earmark Marine

[Flipside]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

Sound quality is important to me - thanks David for confirming what my heart was telling me, which was to go obnoxious!!!

[biggris79]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

im running a pair of 485s and a pair of pro80s and they fit under the tower without having to flip them over the tower and the way the 80s mounts it will push the sound out to the side of the boat to when wakeboard it sounds great and when your in the boat the pro80s go out to the side so its not as loud in the boat

[RyanATX]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

2 485's is certainly not over kill. While they are loud, i'm still looking for more. Our season is coming to a close here (lake party season, not wakeboard season).. so I will probably not address the problem until next year.. But i plan on re-doing my setup with a total of (4) Pro485's. That, driven by two JL 300/2's, along with the rest of my current set up (3 JL13w3v3's, JL650CCX's, and JL 1000/1, 500/1, and 300/4 for interior).

The two 485's just look so "plain" to me on the tower.. so why not spice it up with two more? I've already tried to draw some information out of wet sounds to see if the 485 will still be the hot ticket next summer, and it seems they will remain unchanged. I was really hoping for an even larger/louder/higher power handling enclosure for next summer though :-\

[bchesley]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

I heard that you can put more power to the 485's if you want. There is a 230 that my dealer sold mid summer with a syn 2 bridged mono at 700watts per pro 485. I did not get to hear it the day he had it in for service but the dealer said it was pretty rediculous.

[EarmarkMarine]

RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

RyanATX,

Perhaps I misunderstood, but two JL 300/2 driving four (two pair) Pro485s? That's 150 per each Pro485 which is way below their potential. Staying with JL amplifiers, I would recommend two JL HD 750/1 monoblocks which would deliver 375 watts to each of four Pro485s. I'm pretty sure that would put you at the top of the totem pole.

I'm certainly not a blind follower of any particular brand so from an objective standpoint.... This is a speaker that's difficult to improve on. Just make sure they get all the clean power they deserve.

David
Earmark Marine

[rugdog65]

I am considering 1 485 on my tower. I think this will be very adequate compared to most regular tower speakers???? what amp to drive 1 485?
Thanks Terry

[EarmarkMarine]

Terry,

Starting with a bridged SYN 2 for 700 watts or any amplifier that will produce at least 300 watts of honest power into a single 4-ohm load. It could also be a four-channel amplifier (syn 4) that's bridged into two channels and runs both the tower speaker and a subwoofer. So you can look at it as an isolated amplifier or how it might apply to an overall system reconfiguration with other benefits.

David
Earmark Marine

[RyanATX]

Re: RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

David -

I'm aware that a single 300/2 between two 485's is below their potential. However, the quality of sound at this power level is stellar. Being that I have (will have) 4 485's, actual output will be very high, while keeping my system relatively "low power" for maximum run time off my 4 optima yellow tops. All of this may change before next season though, depending on how the price of the Alpine PDX's fluctuate, as I am a huge fan of these amps, I just cant justify putting them in a marine environment for how much they cost.

What i think most people will find, even with 1 485 (which i ran initially, with a bridged 300/2) is that it's still very hard to find a balance of mids and lows because the wetsound speaker is so loud and clear with the highs. Be sure and budget plenty of $$$ for bass.

RyanATX,

Perhaps I misunderstood, but two JL 300/2 driving four (two pair) Pro485s? That's 150 per each Pro485 which is way below their potential. Staying with JL amplifiers, I would recommend two JL HD 750/1 monoblocks which would deliver 375 watts to each of four Pro485s. I'm pretty sure that would put you at the top of the totem pole.

I'm certainly not a blind follower of any particular brand so from an objective standpoint.... This is a speaker that's difficult to improve on. Just make sure they get all the clean power they deserve.

David
Earmark Marine

[bchesley]

RE: Re: RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

RyanATX,

Have you ever heard a pair of 485's powered like that? I have a buddy who did not have the money for a bigger amp when he bought his speakers and did not install the wetsounds amp. His system is no where near as loud and clear as mine. When my dealer told me they needed that kind of power to sound good I did not believe him until I heard it side by side. Every one else that I talked to said the same thing.

[SuperSquirt]

RE: Re: RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

I agree with bchesley, my 485s screammmmm! I all i have on them is a PDX amp pushin 320ish x 2 in bridged mode in 4 ohms. I do a lot of covin and partying on the lake, and i get a lot of requests to turn it down because it will drown out a conversation 3 boats over.

[RyanATX]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Is it Overkill? Tower Speakers

RyanATX,

Have you ever heard a pair of 485's powered like that? I have a buddy who did not have the money for a bigger amp when he bought his speakers and did not install the wetsounds amp. His system is no where near as loud and clear as mine. When my dealer told me they needed that kind of power to sound good I did not believe him until I heard it side by side. Every one else that I talked to said the same thing.

Yes, I have had my two 485's running all season off of a single 300/2 JL. Keep in mind that JL amps are very under rated. My system has no problem drowning "just about" everyone out at our party cove. Next season I'm going in for the kill Yellow_Flash_Colorz: with two more 485's. I think I will be consolidating my amp set up though, hopefully switching to Alpine PDX's if not simply from a space stand point. My 2006 SANTE210 just doesn't have the room for big boom like the newer boats