Tower speakers opinions

I was just wondering what all of your opinions about tower speakers are. Is a custom enclosure worth it? How well can the rider hear the music with two cans or maybe even 4 6x9s? How loud is it for the passengers in the boat? any post is greatly appreciated.

Well I build em and yes you can hear them, in fact that's how I sell most of mine. People will hear me at the lake and say I've never heard tower speakers so clear before. The biggest thing that you have to remember is it takes power to make these things loud. If you underpower them you can't overcome the exhaust note of the boat, plus you'll ruin the speakers because of clipping.

I always recommend a high power 2 channel amp and then run my speakers at 2 ohms. Run them off the rear channel output so no "Y"'s are required as with some 4 channel amps and your all set. Check out our website http://www.tytebox.com for some pictures, most of our boxes go out with 6x9's in them.

Oh and BTW bring ear plugs for anyone sitting aft of the tower. It's loud back there. In fact one of our boxes calc'd out at 123dB at your head and 90+ at 50ft. To put it in perspective, a jackhammer is 125dB, a lawnmower is around 90dB and a busy city street is around 70dB.

And one more thing, we have found in our research that it pretty much takes 4 speakers to make audible sound behind the boat. 2 look good, but 4 does the job.

(Message edited by whitevlx on March 12, 2004)

Agree with pretty everything that whitevlx said. It takes lots of power and 4 speakers or more. I have a set of Deafcon IIIs being pushed at a little over 75 Watts per speaker @ 2 Ohms and it's plenty loud. I am, however, using a 4 channel amp with 2 channels of the interior and 2 for the tower. No "Y" cables required, sounds great, no clipping or overheating issues. Sub is on a separate class D amp.

NVS is new company that also builds tower speakers. And like Steve says, it takes at least 4 speakers to really hear someting behind the boat.
At NVS, we designed our systems specifically to inspire the rider. We believe that a minimum of 200 sq inches of woofer area does the job. We are a little different in that we use Pro Audio components that are very efficient and require less power to get the job done. We also use Horn Loaded Compression Drivers that makes even better use of the power you have.
So, you have a few more choices today. You won't go wrong with Steve's stuff as it is very good quality and looks awsome. If you'd like to hear something different let me know as we frequently do "On the Boat" free demos.
In fact, with the weather so good this weekend, we are doing one at Disovery Bay Marina on Sunday March 14 from 10 to 4. That goes for anyone in the area that would like to hear the Entity 808's or the Entity 1010's. Bring your board. Testing behind the boat is the only true test if Rider Sound is what you want.
NVS1.net
Feel free to call me at 408-569-6040

I'd say Duane has the highest performance tower speakers out there today from my non-expert but informed opinion. Everyone that has heard the ElectroVoice Evid's we sell are very impressed, especially with a pair at under $600. I would think 4 - 6x9's would also deliver great sound to the rider with good speakers.

Ryan,

If your looking for an inexpensive well built box, I have one I'm getting rid of in the accessories for sale section. I'm willing to take offers at this point just to get it out of my garage.

Cliff

hey cliff nice profile picture, who is it?