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Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 5:04 PM Reply   
So Im about to buy these Kicker tower speaker/light combo, what can yall tell me about them or experiences with them?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kicker-Pol-4...item27d29fd1ec

Last edited by CTXxRoss; 05-14-2013 at 5:05 PM. Reason: Forgot the link
Old     (brichter14)      Join Date: Jul 2010       05-14-2013, 5:05 PM Reply   
Probably need to be more specific. Maybe a link?
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 5:06 PM Reply   
I added the link... I forgot it lol
Old     (spencerwm)      Join Date: Feb 2009       05-14-2013, 5:19 PM Reply   
They are fine for that price. Not the same quality as Exile or Wetsounds and don't expect a great warranty. That is the old Boss Wake combo housing. I used to sell a bunch of them at Wakeside in the early 2000's. They are great for listening to music close to the boat or while surfing. Not going to get music back to the rider but who wakeboards anymore? HAHA.
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 5:36 PM Reply   
I would really like to do some exiles or wet sounds but I would also like to stay under the $1,000 mark. Is this something i could do and still end up with 2 pair of exiles or wet sounds? Can someone also point me to a good write up on routing wires through the tower and into the boat?
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-14-2013, 5:48 PM Reply   
Besides staying under a grand what are you trying to achieve with a tower speaker setup? Do you want something to listen to while sitting around and/or surfing, do you want something specifically for hearing while wakeboarding or do you want something that works well for wakeboarding, surfing and sitting around?
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 5:54 PM Reply   
I've got a really good setup in the boat for when we are just chilling and swimming/floating. I want a good tower setup for wake boarding (and being able to hear the music while you are boarding)
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 5:59 PM Reply   
Get one of the kicker horn setups those will be best for boarding and dollar wise for your budget... there are some videos of them on here somewhere.
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 6:00 PM Reply   
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=793360
Old     (bryce2320)      Join Date: May 2012       05-14-2013, 6:04 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTXxRoss View Post
I would really like to do some exiles or wet sounds but I would also like to stay under the $1,000 mark. Is this something i could do and still end up with 2 pair of exiles or wet sounds? Can someone also point me to a good write up on routing wires through the tower and into the boat?
Those kickers are just coaxial speakers. I would put money on it that you wont be able to hear at wakeboarding speeds (engine/wind noise). I'd definitely look into getting a HLCD speaker. Perfect for wakeboarding, and supplying music while tied up or floating. I got a pair of Rev 10s with a syn 4 for around 1350 bucks from my dealer. Well worth it, even coming from a pair of pro 60's and a pair of Kicker KMT6's all on the tower. I cheaped out first time around and lost money on all that equipment. Didnt cheap out 2nd time around

I've never heard Exile or Kickers HLCD's so wetsounds is obviously my biased opinion. I do love them tho. I wouldnt sweat an extra couple hundred bucks tho compared to what you will get .02.
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 6:11 PM Reply   
did you check out that thread i just posted how much sound you could hear from way far away?
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 6:12 PM Reply   
I looked at the Kicker Horn but I also read that they are really harsh on your ears to listen to, can anyone confirm or deny this?? Are they just basically a tweeter inside of a huge horn?
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 6:14 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhartt3 View Post
did you check out that thread i just posted how much sound you could hear from way far away?
Yea I did and it was pretty impressive!! Sound quality sounded good to me... Does anyone have any complaints about the Kicker Horns??
Old     (razzman)      Join Date: Dec 2006       05-14-2013, 6:15 PM Reply   
Hey Ross message me, I may be able to help you out if your interested.
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 6:15 PM Reply   
http://www.amazon.com/Kicker-KMT60-M.../dp/B0051PV0ZS

also these ... dont know much bout them
Old     (bryce2320)      Join Date: May 2012       05-14-2013, 6:33 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhartt3 View Post
http://www.amazon.com/Kicker-KMT60-M.../dp/B0051PV0ZS

also these ... dont know much bout them
I wouldnt get those for what your wanting to do. I had them and I got about what I paid for them. They were the 09 series tho I think, and the price was 250 bucks for a pair of enclosures. I couldnt hear them boarding, and I also had a pair of pro 60s on the tower.
Old     (bryce2320)      Join Date: May 2012       05-14-2013, 6:34 PM Reply   
Mike's Liquid Audio did the kicker 6 pack on Eddie Trogdons last 2 boats and they both have nothing but good things to say about them. I would message TigeMike on here and Im sure he can give you the scoop on them. He also is a Kicker dealer and a great guy to work with.
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-14-2013, 6:43 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by razzman View Post
Hey Ross message me, I may be able to help you out if your interested.
Hey razzman, I cant figure out how to send you a PM... The wakespace is not letting me sign in for some reason.. Shoot me and email... srh_waco@yahoo.com
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-14-2013, 7:21 PM Reply   
If you want to hear while riding you need to look at HLCD's only. I am guessing you could find a pair of Pro80's or Pro60's plus the correct amp for about a grand. The problem is they may be kind of "bright" sounding from what people on hear have posted. I think the Exile XM-7's and XM-9's have a little fuller sound. It appears the XM-7's are $850. You could probably power them with a PPI amp and those are about $200. From what others hear have posted if you want a good full sound and be able to hear while wakeboarding the Rev series Wetsounds are the best. I think those start at about $1000 though. You sure as heck wont' get 2 pairs of HLCD's plus an amp for anywhere close to a grand and may be closer to 2 grand. Then again, as far as hearing them while riding a pair of correctly powered HLCD's will work better than 2 pair of coaxials.
Old     (bryce2320)      Join Date: May 2012       05-14-2013, 7:28 PM Reply   
There is a pair of Rev 10s for 900 in the classifieds. Also a pair of Rev 8s for 800 I believe.
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 7:41 PM Reply   
there are pro60s for 500 too
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-14-2013, 7:53 PM Reply   
Dave at earmark has brand new Pro80s for 700 it looks like on clearance
Old     (jburbo)      Join Date: Sep 2007       05-15-2013, 4:53 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTXxRoss View Post
I looked at the Kicker Horn but I also read that they are really harsh on your ears to listen to, can anyone confirm or deny this?? Are they just basically a tweeter inside of a huge horn?
my buddy is using them on his boat. they sound great with the correct power(Kicker ix500.4), and he said at half volume they can easily be heard behind the boat. You can probably get both for under $1000, unless you need cans as well.
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-15-2013, 5:09 AM Reply   
the more i have looked into this over the night. i think the kickers are gonna end up costing you maybe a couple hundred less... if you have to buy the cans... so why not just go with the quality that is exile or wet sounds. looks like you should be able to get a pair from either with an amp for around a grand. which is essentially the same as the kicker 4 setup ... the horns are just embedded in the exiles and wetsounds...
Old     (philwsailz)      Join Date: Feb 2009       05-15-2013, 9:45 AM Reply   
Ross-

Check with Mike at Mike's Liquid Audio or David at Earmark for a quote on Kicker KM6500.2 in cans. Also, a little birdie told me that Monster Tower will be doing double-bullets with KM6500.2 in their cans any day now. DIY Wake has the KM6500.2 premounted in cans also. Lots of places starting to carry them!

Despite the smaller size, the KM6500.2 does not have the big hole in the midrange driver required when you coaxially mount a horn. As a result you get way more cone area contributing to the sound, despite the fact it is a 6.5" speaker. Take a 7" or 8" cone and cut a big hole in the middle and it is easy to see that you lose cone area... Everybody has been banging on 6.5-inch speaker being too small for tower use these days, but it is not necessarily true when you have a 6.5" cone that doesn't have a big chunk of it missing in the middle for a horn to poke through...

Also, since it doesn't have to poke through a midrange driver, the horn shape of the KM6500.2 is free to follow a true tractrix geometric progression from its driver mounting flange all the way to the end of the flare. There are no straight sections of tubing in the horn to cause those pesky peaky "horn" resonances. Horns with straight sections of tube emphasize specific resonant notes and harmonics as a function of the straight-section length, like a trumpet or a trombone. There is no straight tube-like sections in the geometry of the Km6500.2 horn; as a result, the KM6500.2 horn is going to sound more natural and less like a horn up close, even when cranked. At the same time it projects to the end of the rope... We chose to not mount the KM6500.2 horn coaxially, as the benefits of having a sonically accurate horn geometry outweighted the fact that it took an exra set of cans to mount them.

For the money I sense you are considering, I think the KM6500.2 in a set of cans is certainly a contender.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Phil
Kicker
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-15-2013, 9:51 AM Reply   
phil any chance you start selling these in housing with the quick disconnects like exile and wetsounds have... i like how protected the wiring is in their system compared with the kicker system and aftermarket cans.
Old     (philwsailz)      Join Date: Feb 2009       05-15-2013, 10:07 AM Reply   
Boarder 42-

We are always looking at all sorts of things... Who knows.

I can tell you that as a pro-sound engineer who worked the country and rock-and-roll concert thing for many years, there is nothing quicker than a dual banana connection. It has served reliably for more than 50 years. I like Neutrik connections too, as they cannot be as easily accidentally dosconnected, but they are realtively costly compared with a dual banana connection. And at that point we are really only talking about the connection.

From years of fixing speaker cables and mic cables on the road, know repairs are most often the result of the wire, not the connector they are attached to. Know that a 14-gage zip cable is prone to the same sort of damage, regardless what connector is used. If your goal is to protect the wire, consider using either a loom tube of some of that woven loom cover that looks so cool over wiring. On the road, I finally quit using zip cable, and went to SJO wiring as it had a thick black rubber jacket that was impervious to oil AND UV, and inside the jacket there were fillers the cushioned and protected the inner wire and insulation. After switching to SJO cabling, my speaker wiring repairs went down tremendously. I changed the wire, not the connector.

Now I agree, there are better looking connections out there, and a Neutrik is pretty cool no matter who you are. Tige Mike, aka Mike at Mike's Liquid Audio does a connector-less installation using our stock Kicker cans that looks killer, the wire goes through the mounting bracket! Holler at him to see how he does it.

Just know for the reasons you specifiy, I am not going to recommend anyone change from the dual binding posts that will accept a dual banana connector. It just works too well and it is much more affordable!


Phil
Kicker

Last edited by philwsailz; 05-15-2013 at 10:11 AM.
Old     (brichter14)      Join Date: Jul 2010       05-15-2013, 2:44 PM Reply   
I have the kicker 6500.2 set with two mids and two horns mounted in diywake cans. They are hooked up to a Sony 4 channel and I can hear them at 60' no problem. You don't need to spend a grand to listen to music while riding.
Old     (brichter14)      Join Date: Jul 2010       05-15-2013, 3:08 PM Reply   


Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-15-2013, 3:57 PM Reply   
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KICKER-HORN-...item257413bbdf
Went and checked out the kicker 6500.2 horns at Liquid Audio's ebay and that's what I decided on!! Should be getting them Friday and I'm super stoked!!!!!!
Now... Can someone point me in the right direction on RMS and db for a good solid amp selection.. I have a 800 watt Rockford I was gonna run them with but I am not sure that's what I should be doing.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       05-15-2013, 5:48 PM Reply   
I am not sure I would buy this at sonicelectronix but I would get this amp and give those speakers plenty of juice. Assuming you run the whole setup off 2 channels.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...PI-P900.4.html
Old     (jhartt3)      Join Date: Jan 2012       05-15-2013, 7:53 PM Reply   
I'm sure Phil can give you a good recommendation... also look at that thread i posted he made the best wiring and amp recommendations there already. Kicker 4 channel amp
Old     (beretta5spd)      Join Date: Jan 2010       05-15-2013, 10:23 PM Reply   
Did Phil from Kicker really just say dual banana connection? My sides hurt from laughing over here.
Old     (shawndoggy)      Join Date: Nov 2009       05-16-2013, 5:55 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhartt3 View Post
I'm sure Phil can give you a good recommendation... also look at that thread i posted he made the best wiring and amp recommendations there already. Kicker 4 channel amp
even though there are four cans the kicker hlcd setup is NOT a four channel system
Old     (philwsailz)      Join Date: Feb 2009       05-16-2013, 7:32 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by beretta5spd View Post
Did Phil from Kicker really just say dual banana connection? My sides hurt from laughing over here.
It can be taken out of context in a pretty funny way, huh?
Old     (philwsailz)      Join Date: Feb 2009       05-16-2013, 7:41 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTXxRoss View Post
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KICKER-HORN-...item257413bbdf
Went and checked out the kicker 6500.2 horns at Liquid Audio's ebay and that's what I decided on!! Should be getting them Friday and I'm super stoked!!!!!!
Now... Can someone point me in the right direction on RMS and db for a good solid amp selection.. I have a 800 watt Rockford I was gonna run them with but I am not sure that's what I should be doing.
Hey Ross-

The KM6500.2 is conservatively rated for 200 watts per channel. We routinely have recommended the IX500.4 for use with the KM6500.2. Use the amp in bridge mode, with a horn and mid on one half of the amp, and the other horn and mid on the other half. That will get you 250 watts to each side of the tower. Don't over-think it, just wire the horn in parallel to the mid and connect it up to the amp in bridge mode. Super easy....

We have the new KXM Class-D marine amps coming in June, and there is a KXM400.4 that exactly matches the power rating of the KM6500.2. If you want to use all the same brand, with a Class D marine amp, it will be available within a month.

If you want to use another brand, that is fine, just look for an amp that will deliver somehwere between 200 and 250 Watts RMS at 4-ohms. I know I am beating a dead horse here, but don't use peak power as a guide, use the RMS spec at 4-ohms. An easy safe way to know is to check the CEA2006 power rating of the amp, and if it doesn't carry the CEA2006 spec, be suspicious. Lots of low-quality amps out there with bogus power ratings...

Holler if you have any questions. Happy to help!

Phil
Kicker
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-17-2013, 10:19 PM Reply   
Phil, or anyone, I'm having some problems with the kicker KM6500.2 horns. I'm pushing them with a 500 watt mono kicker amp. I'm getting power and sound from the coaxial speakers but nothing to the horns. Does this have anything to do with the amp being a mono amp? I'm confused and frustrated... Any help PLEASE!!!!!
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-17-2013, 11:21 PM Reply   
Amp is a Kicker dx250.1 if that helps...
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       05-18-2013, 6:28 AM Reply   
Ross,

That is not the correct amp for full-range speakers, thats a subwoofer amp that does "Low-Pass" only.

You need a 2 chnl stereo or bridgibe 4 chnl that can be run in 2 chnl stereo more that is a full-range amp. By that, it needs to have a cross-over filter that will allow you to set the amp to "Hi-Pass". Now, just about any 2 chnl stereo amp will allow this, but not all, some are "Full-Pass" only. Most 4 chnls can be run in 2 chnl mode, but again, not all. Some will only allow for 4 and 3 chnl mode, meaning you cant bridge both halves, just one.
Old     (CTXxRoss)      Join Date: Apr 2013       05-18-2013, 8:15 AM Reply   
Ok.... I figured that was the problem after doing some research. Just picked up a 5 channel Hi-Pass capable amp. Thanks for your help!!!

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