Tower Speakers?????

I am looking at the Skylon Rubicon 450's and the Fusion T-Series. I wanted to get any feedback about each. I am leaning towards the fusion because they run the Diamond Audio speakers and are a great price. I have seen the Wet Sounds, but don't like the styling as much as the above mentioned.

I would take the Rubicons over the Fusions any day. The horns sound amazing especially when riding behind and the mids are awesome. As long as you power them right they are the better choice I think.

what sam said...horn vs. components (horns & 8" wins in spl... dont know abouts sq but i am very familiar with the 450's )... if sizedoesnt matter (no pun inetended - the n the sylons..

bte, the fusion does have a very nice fit/finish..

I currently run the fusions. I will say this if sound quality is what your looking for then go with the fusions if volume and highs are what you are looking for then go with the horn. It is that simple want to here the music while riding then go with the horn not that you can't here the fusions just not as load.

In a week my 450s should be here. I can let you know then.

In my research, here are the conclusions I have come to:

The 450s are a much higher quality speaker... Custom components and crossovers, broader frequency range, WAY more power output, and THE HORNS! The machining on the Fusions is beautiful, but their performance is nowhere near that of the Rubicons

The Rubicons also weigh less with the composite enclosures... and you can't beat the Neutrik wiring connectors Skylon uses versus the standard post-style connectors on the Fusions.

The Fusions, to me, seem oriented toward being more of a fashion accessory than a strong performer in the tower-speaker market(notice the fact that lots of MB owners have them. HAHA)

My vote for functionality, performance, and engineering: RUBICONS

My vote for fashion: FUSION

If it were up to me, I'd take the Rubicons...

i didnt notice any drop in sq with the rubicons..

the 450's are one of the better sounding horn based systems i have heard to date...it s too bad they didnt make a quick release mounts like the older references iv & v (my personal fave but requires alot of modifactions to work right)...

now if fusion only came out with a horn based system ......

Can anyone tell me how much each Rubicon 450 weighs? Wakeside says 22lbs, but I've heard conflicting info that each one weighs 44lbs.

I really have no exact idea what they weigh, but I would be towards leaning to 44 each because it takes one strong or two people to safely drop the tower when colapsing it and lifting it back up. With a light bar on the tower as well.

Coach,
I ordered the rubicon 450's and I was the first in the country to get them. The clamps would not fit around my tower and I was severely bummed. So I sent them back. They looked really nice, but I thought that the plastic that the enclusures were made of did not look that great. Anyway I ordered the Fusions "T" series (with 6 1/2" diamond audio speakers. You would not be unhappy with these. They sound incredible. Verrrry loud and verrry clear. Plus I think they look a little sweeter.

Mike your profile says you have an 06' Xstar. How did you get that metal flake on the 06? By the way do you have any other pictures of that boat?

I'll try to post some pics soon. The pics that I have aren't postable. The files are too large. The metal flake was something that I really wanted so I went with the old school graphics (I just asked for them to be sent in a box and not installed). I liked the 06 graffiti graphics, but it it is not available with metal flake. So the regional MC rep made some calls and a variation of the graffiti graphics were made for me. I think that I'm going to ask for something similar on an 07. I'll post the pics soon.

the qualifier to be answered first should be - what are you wanting from your system? great sound in and around the boat or real tunes while you ride? standard co-ax and component speakers are great for quality in and around the boat. for tunes while riding at speed and length, there is no equal to an HLCD system.

What is an HLCD system? Example. Thanks

Horn Loaded Compression Driver.

Wetsounds, NVS, and the 450's. Like what they use at concerts. Very loud, and clear at a distance. VERY VERY loud close up.

HLCD Stands for Horn Loaded Compression Driver. Basically, it's a way to describe the Pro-Audio Horn setups. ie: Wetsounds, NVS, Rubicons.

You'll also see HLCDs in Concert and Club systems.

Coach, a HLCD tower speaker enclosure that you might not have heard of yet is made by a company called HSE (HiSide Engineering). The enclosure is awesome, and it sounds great. It has 4 8" speakers and 2 Horns. This system is very loud and clear at 80+ feet. It also has great audible midrange response. The website if you are interested in checking them out is www.hsetrident.com I don't work for HSE, but I know the owner, Jim, and he is a great guy and great to deal with. I know from experience since I got one of his first systems. The whole experience was great, and the enclosure arrived at my door in perfect condition shipped from CA to TX.

i just pick us some cool tower speakers from www.seasickusa.com i love the sound and the look.

I agree with Tom. Hiside Engineering makes a great speaker system. Worth every penny. Also Jim is a great guy to deal with.
Andrew

the fusion is so oh the best sounding stuff out there
not a big fan of any of the new skylon stuff
looks cheap and sounds like it looks

car audio drivers dont have the reach in a open air setting (sorry but 6.5" drivers and dome tweeters cant do it (lack of reach)...dont get me wrong they do sound good but there is no replacement for displacement)...

the clear advantage is the directionality of the hcld....it can be "tuned" by the horn.. where as a dome (fabric, metal, diamond) cant...

compare any car audio system to the nvs or skylons (double 8's or coaxial 10) in a well setup system (ie non clarion headunit and decent amps like arc or zapco) and there is no comparison...

i have heard the skylons 450, skylon iv's, nvs, and wetsounds multiple times in a really nice system (high end head unit and zapco/symbilink and they sounded really, really good..)

what are the price points on the trident stuff? pretty tough to beat a pair of Pro 80's at $850 that'll blow any quad 6.5" system. not sure how they did it, but the wetsounds stuff sure throws a wider dispersion than any of the other hlcd's i've heard. granted, there aren't any skylon dealers here in dallas but that's another issue.

to get really good dispersion- run a mixed mono signal... there is no such thing as stereo from tower speakers at 80 feet and when they are only 1'-2' across on the tower...

from what i heard the wet sounds "may" be the "brighest" sounding available ... the top needs to shelved down about 3-6 db from 3k on up (my opinion).. but they are very loud and clear..

the wide dispersion is also heard inside the boat from the front plane foward of the speaker (other hcld's speakers generally "project" out about 1'-1.5'from the front of the plane )..

may or may not be a big deal.. just a observation..

I run my Wetsounds Pro-485's as Clubmyke describes, mixed-mono. They just seemed stronger that way. I believe his comment about the -3db @ 3k+ is directed to the Pro-80's. The Pro-485s seem quite balanced across the spectrum (to my ears anyway).

mikeski - your right (pro 80's) i would suspect they use the same crossover...

clubmyke,

The PRO 80's and PRO 485's have different designed crossovers as we build everything from scratch for each product we produce and it's intended application and driver.

We are testing out some different settings for the horn on the PRO 80. We set these a little brighter so you could run one pair and have all the output you need. However, when running two pairs we do suggest an EQ to be able to adjust the horn to your liking.

Tim

Another vote for the Fusions....

I think they are great sounding & the best looking IMHO. A great combonation of fashion & feauture as some called it. Sounds good in the boat an excellent 80 ft back. I have also heard great good reviews on westounds & HiSide as well from people on & off the WW board.




Lzy

Aaron,
I agree, look great and the sound is incredible back at the rider. I understand that a lot of people like the HLCD speakers because they are very nice indeed, but the fusions should not be compared with any other non HLCD speaker out there. They are in a different league.

Mike,

Aren't the fusions just off the shelve diamond audio components? IMO its very hard to tell differences in SQ among tower speakers (the high end brands, it's more about how much power can they handle.

tim,

thanks for the comeback ...any suggestions of a crossover mode ? the high end is really to loud for boat passengers (currently using cotton balls)

i'm kinda old school audio purist when it comes to eq's and tone controls (never have used them....if you have to then something is wrong)... and decent parametric like the image dynamics and very pricey and complicate the install..

Adam,
Yes, I think they are. I really can't explain why they sound so much louder and clearer than the others. Maybe it is that they can handle more power. Maybe it is because I have 6. All I can tell you is that any other boat at my lake with standard audio could not be heard next to my boat. I have a friend that has the Tyrants and I have been told by many that they are very close in volume from across the lake. I'm not sure what I'll get on my '07, but it will probably be the fusions. I really wish that someone would come up with a speaker that combines an HLCD with a smaller mid base speaker. I don't like how far down the current HLCD's hang. Head bumping and such.

NVS ENTITY 1010 W/ ABOUT 700 WATTS PER SIDE ON THEM NOTHING ELSE EVEN CLOSE. PULL DOWN 2K TO 2500HRTZ ON AN EQ OF SOME SORT AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THEM

Dave,

Stop screaming, you are on the computer not in your boat with the Entitys roaring...LOL.

There are several things that come close, equal and maybe surpass, just none that you have heard. The NVS 1010 is a great option, just not the only one, lots of other great options have been mentioned in this thread.

Mike
youve got mail
JJ