DIY Tower Speaker Questions

[wotan2525]

I posted this over at WakeWorld, but I'm starting to feel like that board is increasingly dominated by people propping up their own brands/dealers/agendas and less so with people that actually research, purchase, build, buy and use these products. Thoughts appreciated!!

I picked up the Kicker 6500.2 HLCDs w/ the additional 6500 midbass drivers (I found them for CRAZY CHEAP as soon as I have them in my hand, I'll be sure to let this board know where to get them.) Now I need to find cans that are suitable. I had a few questions for anyone that has experience (or done research) on building a DIY tower setup --

1) It looks like the most economical cans are all raw aluminum. My boat lives outside. I'm not worried about trailering but will raw aluminum hold up without constant maintenance or would I have to take those cans and get them clear anodized?

2) Binding posts vs. wire through the clamps. Anyone have any opinions? Obviously wiring through the clamps looks the cleanest, but I'm not sure how hard it's going to be to feed 6 sets of wire through?

3) I think I've checked with almost every tower and/or tower speaker manufacturer out there. So far the only ones I've found that sell unloaded cans are DIYWake, BulletLines, H2OPro Accessories (which don't fit the Kickers), and Menace Watersports. Right now I'm leaning towards the Menace but those are the most expensive ones and I'm going to have to open the wallet a little wider to get them. Anyone know any other sources??

[Okie Boarder]

Another question to throw into the mix...

What about a fiberglass molded enclosure?

I checked out Kicker's product...looks pretty good.

[wotan2525]

Good point... I'd also consider fiberglass pods (Haven't found a premade batbox that is 4x6)

[KG's Supra24]

What about searching for used roswell cans and/or speaker/lightbar combo that someone has ditched?

[Okie Boarder]

How hard is it to make a fiberglass box?

[wotan2525]

I'd love to find a used roswell setup but haven't found anything, yet.

A fiberglass box isn't that hard to make -- my old box was a DIY fiberglass job. The problem is that my boat lives outside and after 6 years the MDF in it finally gave up and rotted away. Plus -- I think pods just look better right now!

[wotan2525]

Speakers showed up yesterday. For anyone interested, vminnovations.com has the kicker HLCDs for $228. This is HALF the price of anywhere else (including ebay.) They also have the extra set of midbass drivers for $119. Finally -- they have this (http://www.vminnovations.com/product_9807/Pairs-Kicker-KM6500-2-Marine-boat-6-5-Inch-800W-Speakers-Pair-.html) That is actually 2 SETS of the 6500.2. That means 4 horns and 4 midbass drivers. It seems crazy because nobody else sells these at a discount (and I'm sure it's a pricing mistake) but I called and questioned it, they confirmed it was accurate, I ordered them and they were delivered so.... If you have a set of roswell cans this would be a HUGE upgrade.

Coupon code HOLIDAY8 gets you free shipping and another 8% off. UNBELIEVABLE!

[KG's Supra24]

Try sending ssmith a pm. I know he had one for sale at one point. A roswelll speaker setup that is.

Nice find on the speakers!

[Okie Boarder]

Wow...nice find indeed.

[Okie Boarder]

I've gotten quite a bit of stuff from HiFi Sound Connection. I was browsing their site a few minutes ago and found this...

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/8252700/vpcsid/0/SFV/30046

[cmtaylor777]

I have a couple of stock cans that I pulled off when I went to a roswell bar. Not sure if you need more that 2 though. You may have said how many you needed but I just skim and too lazy to read it again. :D

[WakeSurfCanada]

Hey wotan,

check out "audioformz" as well (www.audioformz.com) they sell unloaded speaker enclosures, and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe some kicker specific ones as well. Based just outside of Dallas.

We deal with them on a bigger scale for distribution with Alpine speakers up here in Canada, great guys and I have nothing but good experiences and things to say about them.

Cheers
WSC

[wotan2525]

Finally finished my new speaker setup. Here's a quick preview.

Oh -- and the trailer is just dirty, not wrecked. It's covered with wet-sanding and compounding drippings. Need to get in there with a brush to scrub it but figured I'd wait until it was dipped a few times before deciding how much elbow grease it is worth.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2387/cimg0520h.jpg

[jayschock]

Looks great. So what was your total cost?

[wotan2525]

Looks great. So what was your total cost?

Like most projects, about 2x what I had anticipated, but still a lot less than buying a complete package would have been.

I think right around $1200 for speakers and cans and shipping. I already had a big-ass PPI amp that is running bridged stereo to put about 350RMS into each side. Haven't had a chance to water-test them yet, but they're loud enough that I feel guilty trying to tune them in my driveway.

Had wired one of the woofers out of phase which caused me a MAJOR headache last night. Finally got it worked out and everything seems ready to go. Now if the @#$%~ water would just go down!

[sybrmike]

Dang Wot, a big tower takes big cans. Arentcha glad you kept the big tower. Looks nice & sure it sounds even better.

Are those Titan 6x9 cans (I've got a single lowly pair waiting to hang on mine), & what did you load them with?

[wotan2525]

Are those Titan 6x9 cans (I've got a single lowly pair waiting to hang on mine), & what did you load them with?

They are the Titan 6.5" cans (though they are close to 8" around due to the way they mount the speakers internally.) I've got them loaded with the Kicker HLCDs.

[jet]

I will review my Krypt 6.5 HLCD's as soon as I get my F*$#ing floor finished. lol

[wotan2525]

I will review my Krypt 6.5 HLCD's as soon as I get my F*$#ing floor finished. lol

I considered going this route. They are different in that the horn is mounted behind the woofer. This means that 4 Krypts SHOULD be equivalent to 6 kicker cans. In theory.

Ultimately I decided to stick with Kicker (who has always made good stuff) instead of risking it with Krypt. There also wouldn't have been a cost savings going with Krypt (since I got the Kicker speakers for 50% off.)