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View Full Version : Wet Sounds versus JL Audio for tower speakers



Tsmitty
06-05-2014, 02:45 PM
Looking at upgrading tower speakers in Supra Launch and wanted to get feedback. Any feedback is appreciated.

KG's Supra24
06-05-2014, 02:59 PM
Happy Wetsounds Rev10 owner here.

What are you looking for from the speakers. Wake range or surf distance? I'm not sure JL has a HLCD but their quality is top notch. The quality of Wetsounds seems to be right there with them.

Tsmitty
06-05-2014, 03:14 PM
KG, I am looking at all around sound on speakers and realize I may get better range on the Wetsounds. I have some friends with Wetsounds on their boats and they sound nice but listened to JL's this afternoon and they sounded nice also with a bit more bass. Thanks for your feedback and just tying to decide what route to go.

KG's Supra24
06-05-2014, 03:31 PM
Couple extra thoughts ....

What WS speakers do your friends have? The new REV (last couple years) series is a sizable improvement from the pro series. The Rev10 and Rev410 are the largest tower speakers on the market (i think?) so should have more bass than most other options.

The JL (again I think) is a coaxial and doesn't have the tweeter (or horn) coming through the middle so the woofer has a little more surface if comparing the same sizes ... translating into a little more bass.

Maybe a couple of the pro's will chime in (this is right up Earmarks alley) but I don't think you can go wrong with either. If David doesn't jump on here within a couple days, shoot Odin at Earmark and email and he can tell you all about the two options. They deal extensively with both ... and could offer a forum discount

Tsmitty
06-05-2014, 03:35 PM
KG, Thanks and will hopefully hear some from of the pro's on their opinions in the next few days. In regards the WS I was looking at REV8.

Wylietunes
06-05-2014, 03:57 PM
JL does not offer an HLCD, so it would not be an apples to apples between the Rev-8 and the JL 7.7. it would be a matter of what is your primary tower speaker setup gaol and whether a coax or an HLCD is best for you.

David Analog
06-12-2014, 10:12 PM
Looking at upgrading tower speakers in Supra Launch and wanted to get feedback. Any feedback is appreciated.

It's an odd comparison because these are truly apples and oranges and I like both apples and oranges. Wetsounds and JL Audio tower speakers do entirely different things. And each is the best at what they do. So you really need to define exactly what your objectives are.
Near field listening whether at rest or surfing?
Long range projection at wake range and serious SPL under various other listening scenarios?
'That guy' at the cove?
Are you highly biased towards strictly SQ or strictly SPL or are you willing to make some compromises to find an acceptable balance?
Share more about how you envision your usage and what your expectations are.

Zim
06-13-2014, 12:11 PM
Get the best of both worlds. Stick a pair of each up there with EQ to fade the ones you want on and off :)

Tsmitty
06-13-2014, 12:17 PM
David,

In listening to both speakers I feel that they both sound great and have the differences. Thanks for your feedback and to answer your questions I am more interested in overall sound quality however with the Wet sounds I do like the range as my kids enjoy hearing the music when out in the water and being pulled. I would be willing to make compromises and would be interested to hear recommendations of speaker choices.

Wylietunes
06-13-2014, 02:00 PM
Given this info, I would step up to the Rev-10. Better near-field sound quality then the Rev-8, while still offering the wake range projection.

David Analog
06-13-2014, 02:43 PM
David,

In listening to both speakers I feel that they both sound great and have the differences. Thanks for your feedback and to answer your questions I am more interested in overall sound quality however with the Wet sounds I do like the range as my kids enjoy hearing the music when out in the water and being pulled. I would be willing to make compromises and would be interested to hear recommendations of speaker choices.

The JL Audio tower speaker with a true acoustic suspension midbass driver (very different from the infinite baffle cockpit speaker of the same size) and a low resonance soft dome tweeter is the most linear tower speaker on the planet. However, and you cannot escape this fact, the more linear the speaker the less peak output you will get....with the inverse also being equally true. "Linear" would denote a flat/smooth/even response and a wide bandwidth. So one pair of JL Audio 7.7s will not get it done at wake range. Good at surf range. Two pair powered to potential is just okay at wake range and very good at surf range. Fantastic SQ when at rest at reasonable volume and distance. Incredible near field midbass response for its modest 7.7 size surpassing 8-inch speakers. Now the upcoming 880 (a full 8-inch) will give you those SQ attributes with more power and projection....but it's not here for a while.
Hopefully you have heard the newer Wetsounds Rev series over the old Pro series. The Wetsounds Rev series is a dramatic improvement in sound quality over the Pro and is really the undisputed best in SQ among HLCD tower speakers. There are a couple other HLCDs worthy of honorable mention but they do not have the size to really provide an authoritive output at wake range in the face of wind and engine noise.
The Wetsounds Icon8 will still give you decent amplitude at distance and is considered to be a good SQ alternative to an HLCD. Personally, I consider the SQ of the Rev8 to be equal and it has more output. That brings us to the larger Rev10. It's more surface area AND it has far more pod displacement which is a major part of the equation. It is the one tower speaker where a single pair can get it done at wake range without being driven into compression.
Now if you want the very best of both worlds you can do a defeatable hideaway EQ processor and make the Wetsounds Rev10 sound exactly the way you like, and certainly at the cost of some output, but that is precisely the reason for being defeatable.

Tsmitty
06-16-2014, 08:26 AM
David,

Thanks for the feedback!!

Tsmitty
07-28-2014, 11:51 AM
David,

Good morning! I think I am getting close to pulling the trigger on the upgrade and wanted to get your thoughts. I am currently leaning towards a pair of Rev 8's and the XS-650 for in boat. I just wanted to make sure I have enough power so I currently have a syn2 amp and looking at purchasing a syn 4 in addition. I believe that would be enough but just wanted to get your thoughts on that set up in terms of sound and enough power in terms of amps?

Thanks

David Analog
07-30-2014, 11:42 AM
David,

Good morning! I think I am getting close to pulling the trigger on the upgrade and wanted to get your thoughts. I am currently leaning towards a pair of Rev 8's and the XS-650 for in boat. I just wanted to make sure I have enough power so I currently have a syn2 amp and looking at purchasing a syn 4 in addition. I believe that would be enough but just wanted to get your thoughts on that set up in terms of sound and enough power in terms of amps?

Thanks

The Wetsounds Syn2 would be great for the tower and the Syn4 can run three pair in-boat coaxials (up to four pair) very well.