Greg,
These two speakers are night and day different.
The JL Audio 7.7-inch 'T' version is all about sound quality and is as perfect of an octave-to-octave balance as you will hear. Its the only tower speaker I've heard with a response linear enough that a pair will actually image. They're great for in and around the boat and up to wakesurfing range. Properly powered (150 watts per speaker) they (two pair) can be heard at wakeboarding range but not with the same degree of intelligibility of HLCDs.
You can't bend the laws of physics. Linear speakers are not as loud and do not project as far. Inversely, HLCDs are not going to be the same tranquil musical experience near field. You can't overdrive a conventional speaker but you can tame to some degree an HLCD with an equalizer. So this has to be a consideration if your primary objective is to project to wakeboarding distance.
In my opinion the WetSounds Pro485 is the very best of the HLCD speakers. The larger 8-inch midbass drivers, much larger horn driver and larger pod displacement have a great deal to do with it. Once the bimini (either the factory cargo top underneath or aftermarket model over the top) is installed, the size of a pair of black Pro485s shadowed by a black bimini really serves to minimize their mass.
We also have experience with the Bullet HollowPoint 770 HLCDs. They're a little warmer than many HLCDs with large 7.7-inch midbass drivers and are exteremely powerful in a very, very compact package. Here's a link:
http://earmarkcaraudio.com/install_nautique_210.asp They mount in a veriety of configurations. They blend in well and four project extremely well. Here's a video at 444 feet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWv-39ftIZo
David
Earmark Marine