westsounds choice?????

Ok guys going to purchase some westounds this week!! 3 options

4 X pro 80s
2 X 485
3 some

any suggestions????

thanks

I have two pro 80s on my boat and they sound freaking awesome. Going for four is overboard in my opinion and so are the 485s. You can get all the sound you will need with just 2 as long as you rig it properly. If you want them simply because they look badass then I would go with the 3 some. It looks sweet IMO. All of the wetsounds sound great no matter what combo you get you can't go wrong. You will love them!!

Thanks Rob!! that is encouraging!!! i will post some pictures when it is done!!

4 pro 80's!

pic in my profile..

Agree with coop. His setup is one of the best sounding pro audio systems I've heard. Two sound good but four fill out the sound better.

I have 2 Pro 80's and they do sound great. Buuuuuuttttttt Im in the process of looking for a Pro 485 to go with the threesome. Like Roberty said, i really don't need it but it will bring a little more sound and it will look even better.

My only suggestion is keep it balanced. I'm in the minority, but I don't like summing any of my stereo signal to mono, too much cancellation in modern music (especially rock).
Keep it balanced.
2 or 4 pro 80s/485s/pro60s
or any combination of pairs. I dislike the threesome setup.
By the way, I love my 4 pro-80's. They sound awesome! ( and love the quick release for theft prevention)

Another option that I think will catch on is 2 Pro80s and 2 Pro80MB<----(Mid bass only, no horns). This gives you all of the volume of a pair of Pro80s plus reinforced midrage to give it a more fuller sound. Its all about personal taste. If you are the guy who always has the treble almost at max all the time then go with the 4 Pro80s. If you like a more vocals and to hear those kick drums solid at 80ft, 2 pro80s and 2 pro80mb might be your ticket.

As posted above, with Wetsounds nothing is wrong.

Calling on Tim @ Wetsounds---please correct me if I'm wrong.

Are they the same look as the Pro 80s??

From 10 feet away they look the same. Same pod/mount/grill just without the horn tweeter.

Cool thanks!! think i might go with that option with 2 Pro 80s and 2 Pro 80MBs!! Going to run them with the JL marine amps, hopefully they are as good as everybody is saying!!!

Danny

Just looked for the Pro 80s on the Wetsounds website and found them no probs but i cant find the Pro 80MB?????????

Danny

MB is brand new. They have a few new products not yet on the web site including an EQ that will be available around the end of the year that takes care of every boaters needs. The JL marine amps are great (OEM in mastercraft) but for this application, if possible, run the Slash series amps. Perfect application would be a 300/2v2 to each pair for MAXIMUM performance. These speakers are very efficient so they can run from a marine series but power makes them really shine. Make sure you get the Illusion specific 80s.

Now that wetsounds have the Pro 60s, there are a lot more tower options. At TSR, the tournament boat has 2 pro 60s in the middle, and 2 pro 80s on the outside. This setup looks sweet and saves a little head room in the middle. Also, I think 2 pro 60s and a 485 would look good too.

If you are going with 2 pair of 80's I would get one high power 4 channel ie Zapco, Arc, Mmatts, or I believe Tim is coming out with his own line of amps. I am in no way saying JL isn't good stuff, but you could ultimately be happier with one of the other brands.

Ewing- Agreed on the larger 4ch to run both sets as another option. The two 300/2 will give 150RMS to each speaker. Only the Zappco gets close to that. Mmatts has good power but not a good sounding amp in MY OPINION. I think I personally would out of all of them choose the ARC Audio 4200se (msrp $1400). If money wasn't an issue it would be my choice. Much more power that stated by Arc and one of the cleanest sounding amps out there.

Just to weigh in, I have a pair of the 485s run with a 600w Rockford Power Series Amp. I could still add more power if I wanted to get really crazy. They are so loud and clear that you can hear them from 200+ feet away. Sitting on the swim step they would make your ears bleed. From 75' back they make you smile and bounce to the beats...

If you want seriously loud and powerful think about the big ones! I have an X-30 and these speakers are amazing. I have a very close friend with the JLs on an 07' X-45 and he was very impressed. The Wetsounds all rock. You just have to decide on how loud you want to be...

Picture I posed earlier of the MB was wrong. The MB center opening in the grill is just open and you can see the Wetsounds logo instead of the horn portion of the tweeter.

600RMS JL audio = ~800-1000watts Total power with the JL Audio regulated power supply. Read RIPS (regulated intelligent power supply)

An amp that is never mentioned on this site that is very boat friendly is the Boston Acoustics GT series.

Why is it no advisable to run each set of speakers of a seprate amp??

A single 4ch will have slightly less wiring and trying to keep it as simple as possible is a good thing. I also think the money spent on two JL 300's will be almost the same as a single Zapco 1000.4 or Arc 4200se(try not to pay msrp). I am not saying the two JL's won't work but once you start running RCA cable, speaker wire, power wire, etc,etc the fewer amps the better.

I would talk to wetsounds also...last year when I got my pro80's(2pair) Tim recommended a bunch of different companies.

Is there any reason I can't mount these things upside down on top of my tower? I know that it'll put the weight a little higher but will that be a big deal? I'm looking at either the 2 485's or the 4 80's but the head room issue is killing me, as long as there's no problem with mounting them on top of the tower though the problem is solved.

Also I can't seem to find this anywhere but how much do these things actually weigh and can you get the 485's in a 2 ohm version?

As for amps, at the moment I'm looking at either the RF T600-2, the Zapco 1000.4, or a set of 500.1's. I think that the Zapco's may be a little better amp but would the RF be enough for either setup since it's obviously at a lower price point, I don't want to spend extra if I don't have to but I also don't want to be disappointed and wish I'd gone the other route? Any thoughts on the 1000.4 or 2 x 500.1? BTW I want to run the speakers in stereo not summed to mono.

Boat is a MB Tomcat...

Thanks

The weight used to be on the site under 'specifications', is it not there anymore?

Check wakeside.com for the weights. I would think the MB Tomcat tower would be high enough to put the 485 on the under side. How far above your head is the tower? My MB B52 tower is very low. It is exactly 6' above the floor of the boat. I just got two pro80's, and there is no way I could put 4 of them under the tower. They are huge. I plan to put the pair out at the edges where they won't get bumped. I wanted the 485's, but will have to wait for my next boat with hopefully a higher tower. I didn't want them mounted on the top for various reasons.

I want to say my tower is 6' 6" but not positive, it's up there but these speakers really hang low so if I put them on the bottom there's no way around the fact that you will still be ducking around. I just figured that as long as there weren't any problems with mounting them that way other than ascetics which is a personal thing it would solve the headroom problem. I've been on a tomcat with a 3 some and knocked my head a couple times in short order, granted I'd get used to it and after a couple times out it wouldn't be a problem but I don't want everyone that comes onboard to have to learn the hard way.

I checked everywhere I can think of and still no luck on the weights.

As for not wanting them on the top the only real draw back that I can see is that I'll have to have my bimini re-worked a bit and my bridge clearance increases a foot or so.

Ok well i will give the reason i started this thread!!! Basically i got my X star earlier this year, it is my dream to own this boat!! As boats are VERY expensive in the UK compared to the US dollar (About twice the price) i found myself working very hard, saving and still takinga large amount on finance!! (Totally worth it though). Anyway, as i a teacher i get loads of time off an use this to go away to France as all my best friends live over there on Lac Annecy!! So i got there at the start of this summer, arrived a little later than planned (About midnight) after a 14 hour drive and couldnt launch the boat so i parked the boat at my best friends house, right outside where i slept, put the cover and wheel clamp on and just figured we would put the boat in the water in the morning!!!

When i walked outside in the moring, about 7 am the cover was gone, tower speakers, amps, internal speakers, subs, head unit etc!!! Everything was gone!! Luckely all my wakeboards and other stuff was in my truck so it was still there!! Anyway, i contacted my insurance company and was totally insured, so after spending 5 weeks on my new dream boat without any sounds whatsoever i am now back, sorted out the insurance and im expecting a large insurance cheque on wednesday!!! YEEEHAAAA. So i am trying to figure out what i am going to do to make my dream boat even better!!! So any suggestions, bring it on!!! I am sold on the Wetsounds for the tower speakers and my crazy friend who works for a car audio specialist is throwing ideas like flip down monitors under the seats etc However i just want to do a custom job on the inside to meet the standards of everything outside!!!

Thanks for reading my sob story

Danny

Hey guys, I'll try to see if I can follow along and answer some questions. Thanks for all the props!

Danny, Everyone has given some great advice. There is really no right or wrong. We make different sizes and different shapes between the 60 and 80 and the 485 to fit different aesthetic appeal and headroom options as well as different output levels depending on what your goals are. Some like the bullet style, some like the cool shape of the 485 etc..So in that regards, it is really personal preference. Same with output. Some want loud and clean to the rider and some want to be the loudest on the lake etc...

Soundbox is correct about the sound of the MB-8. For those that favor more mid bass punch. The MB-8 is a great add to a pair of 80's or pair of 60's

Although, the MB-8 comes with the same clamp as the PRO 60. Picture below

We will be offering a package set up like our 3-Some called the Double-Up that has a set of MB-8 and set of PRO-60. I feel that will be a popular package as well. As will the PRO 80 and MB-8 set up. So if you go with the PRO 80 and MB-8 set up. You just order the MB-8 with the "trick connect" clamp upgrade kit. Which is the quick release clamp that comes with the PRO 80 and PRO 485.

Mike B. If you go to our customer installs, you can see some pics of the speaker mounted on top. No problems doing that. All personal preference. Although, There is a shot of a tomcat and it seems like there is a ton of room on that tower.

Here are the specs and hang height. I have been so busy working on some new products that I have not had a chance to add these to the site or add the MB-8 and some of the other new products that will be shipping soon. The MB-8 is shipping now and all of our dealers either have them in stock or can order them.

PRO 60
Hang Weight: 9.7 pounds
Height: 10 inches
Width: 9 inches
Depth: 11 inches
Hang Height: 10 inches

PRO 80
Hang Weight: 13.5 pounds
Height: 11.5 inches
Width: 10 inches
Depth: 12.5 inches
Hang Height: 13 inches

MB-8
Hang Weight: 10 pounds
Height: 11.5 inches
Width: 10 inches
Depth: 12.5 inches
Hang Height: 13 inches

PRO 485
Hang Weight: 33.5 pounds
Height: 9.5 inches
Width: 30 inches
Depth: 14 inches
Hang Height: 11 inches

Ok tim thankyou very much for all your help!! i will be giveing you a call either tomorrow or the day after! sounds like the Pro 80s and the MB-8 is going to be what im after! just need to find the right power source!

Danny

Tim,

How will the MB8 be priced compared to the Pro 80's?

Maybe if you don't have specific pricing, then as an estimate, will it be less, more or about the same?

Wakeside has them for $800 instead of $900 for the 80's. Wakeside has the same prices as the WetSounds webpage.

Yup, MB-8 are same price as PRO-60. $799 pr. The new "Double-Up" package is $1499 with a pair of PRO 60 and pair of MB-8. The "trick connect" quick release upgrade kit is $99. So if you go for the set up like Danny and opt for a pair of PRO 80 with a pair of MB-8. You can add the quick release clamp. Same thing with the PRO 60. You can add the "trick connect" clamp to those as well.

Tim
Wet Sounds

so please correct me if im wrong but the Pro 80s are $899 and the MB-8s are $799 and the quick release clanp is $99 so that puts me in at $1797. i think i might get some of the speaker covers also why im at it!! does anybody have an idea how much they are???

www.speakersox.com. Just ordered sox for my new Pro 60's to go with my 485's. You will love the Wetsounds