Skylon Deafcon IV's

[MinnesotaNautique]

I'm planning to purchase a set of Deafcon IV's...but before I do I was hoping to get some input from owners or anyone who has heard them first hand...

My "stereo" knowledge is minimal, so any input is greatly appreciated...i.e. how powerful of an amp would be appropriate, is it possible to have seperate volume controls for tower speakers vs. cabin speakers? Anything else I should consider before installing / purchase?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[JoeCos]

I dont own these deafcons, but from what i've read on some posts that they are one of the Best speakers, in the same category as with NVS.

However, they require serious high power amplifiers to get the most out from them. You are talking about JL Audio amps and other quality amps with very high outputs to drive these speakers.

There is a thread in wakeworld that discusses and compares both speakers, you should follow this and decide. It talks about Amp requirements and others to think of. Keep in mind that
these speakers are SUPER SUPER Heavy so ask yourself, do you really want that weight on your boat / tower ?

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...tml?1111704513

Hope this helps
Joe

[mississippireb]

I'm not sure if you are going to purchase the reference series or the original deafcon's, but from everything I've read, the original series does not compare to the NVS, but the reference series does FWIW.

Daniel

[Daytomann]

The Defcon series uses Kicker speakers...good stuff. I talked to some guys at Stillwater Designs (they make Kicker products) Stillwater Designs helped Skylon design the tubes for the Defcon series. Considering the size of the tubes, they were surprised at tjust how good these things sounded on the towers. They were all very pleased.

Yes, last year models were heavy. Believe it or not, that cool looking cover on the 8" speakers is made from metal and they were a big part of what was causing the heft. They redesinged the whole thing this year and dont use those metal covers anymore they LOOK to be lighter. You'd have to confirm with Skylon on any weight savings....

I purchased the same speakers that they use in the Defcon IV. (2ea CVR8 and 2ea K65.2) but I am having a custom enclosure made for my tower.
The guys at Stillwater Design advised me to use a 850 watt amp. So I bought the KX850.4 which I am going to run the two CVR8s, two 6.5 and the Marine 10" with. (the 10 will be bridged mono)
I'm gonna run 4ea of the stock Kicker marine 6.5s off the stock Kicker 350 amp and the last two Kicker marine 6.5s off the head unit.
I wish I could tell you how it sounds but it wont be installed untill next month.

[Flux]

I think the new Skylon Deafcon series use Image Dynamics drivers for 2005. The IV's are rated at 200 WPC RMS at 2 Ohm, you should not skimp on the amp. Also, definately read that wakeworld post that compares these with the NVS, and talks about how best to power them. Both of these companies used drivers (speakers) that are built for concert applications, not car audio. This makes sense as you are trying to get music 60-80 ft behind the boat, there is a big difference between what Skylon and NVS are doing, and what everyone else is. The trick is focusing the power to project it behind the boat, normal car audio speakers are not made for this application, so they use drivers like you might see at a rock concert to blast out the back row.

As far as install and setup, you should seek out some of Grant's posts that detail wiring through a tower, remote gain controls, and an inline signal booster for low pre-amp voltages. Most of this is simple car audio control stuff, but will make the system shine.

[Daytomann]

I think the new Skylon Deafcon series use Image Dynamics drivers for 2005. .

True, upon closer inspection, the drivers look totally different than the CVR8s from last year. i couldnt pul up specs at Skylon's site for some reason...
So, to clear up, everything I spoke of was based on last years models using Kicker speakers..... :mrgreen:

[Flux]

Yeah, Skylon's site doesn't really do them too many favors as far as tech info. I pulled those specs from Wakeside.com, they also say the IV's come in at 16 lb's each, which is pretty light considering all the hardware, etc. The Deafcon's are beauties though, and are considered top of the line with NVS.

I will probably get III's or IV's for my ride. NVS is good, but I like Skylons styling and attachment hardare alot more

[MinnesotaNautique]

Flux, Daytomann, Mississippisreb, JoeCos...thanks for the input and info, the article on wake-world is a great help. I wasn't planning on purchasing such a high-end amp, but looks like it might be neccessary...things are going to get expensive!

Does the reference series really weigh that much more than comparable set-ups?

[Kenw]

Go to http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/CTGY/...tower_speakers and click on the link for the Tower speaker comparison. It will provide you with the weight of the Skylon speakers.

[Flux]

The thing I got with the amp is you should use a 2-channel that can easily power the 2 ohm load cleanly. No bridging, etc. IMO, if you are gonna buy such a nice tower speaker setup, you should definately drop the coin for the amp and the good connections, otherwise just get some cheaper bullets and then the amp won't matter as much.

Good luck and let's see pics of those badboys when you get them installed, I am considering the III's or IV's and really like look and the ease of removing them (2 cap screws and a quick disonnect).

PS-> where in MN are you from, my bro is from Grand Rapids and he's othe guy who got me into Nautiques and wakeboarding, now I am broke!!!!

[Mikeski]

The Skylon Vs are definately in the same league as NVS but I don't think they are close to the NVS 1010s in terms of output to the rider. I rank the NVS 1010s as the king of sound, the Deafcon Vs use 8" car based drivers for the lower range of the audio spectrum. All NVS systems use speakers designed for use on the soundstage. The higher efficiency of these drivers combined with the extra cone surface are makes the NVS systems very effective providing sound to the rider. The downside is that they are fairly heavy and some people do not like the look.

I feel that the deafcon IVs just don't have enough cone surface area to be that much better. Speakers are really just pistons and as they say in drag racing "there's no substitute for displacement". For the incremental cost increase I would definately go with the Deafcon Vs. If that's too much for you then you might also want to consider a four 6x9 box, or a pair of Evid 6.2s. If you just want something pretty to look at then the Deafcon 3s might be the call.

The NVS units are four ohm so you can run a four channel amp bridged into two, there are several amps in the $300+/- range that provide around 350watts/channel in this configuration. I know several guys running a Precision Power 4125 bridged to the NVS 1010s, that setup is untouchable.

Another very cost effective option that people tend to overlook is running a single NVS 1010. Find somebody to split a pair and you can have a very very good tower system for under $1000 including an amp.

[MinnesotaNautique]

Flux,

I'm in Minneapolis...still plenty of ice on the lakes, it's amazing the water even gets a chance to warm up! I'll posts some pics, however the rig is still in storage for another month or more. Wish I was in sunny California...then we'd be able to use the boat for more than 3 months.

Mikeski, thanks for your input...I've seen your name on other sites, you definately know your stuff, and appreciate your imput.