Wet sounds vs JL audio

Siboatguy

Active Member
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Mar 28, 2016
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Holmdel,NJ
Boat Info
1999 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer
2005 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer
2005 Sea Ray 340 Sundancer
Engines
Twins V-Drives
8.1 Mercruiser
Gonna change all the speakers and add a AMP with a sub... Debating on 8inch or 10inch sub... And debating on JL audio or Wet sounds... prob gonna do a 6 channel amp.... To run everything... Would love to hear what everyone has....
 
I put JL speakers in my 340 Dancer with a Fusion head unit. Sounded great at a good price.
 
I had JL components in my 370, sounded good.

New boat, and looking at a new system for it. Went to a marine stereo place the other day and he recommended Wet Sounds. Carried other stuff as well, but said the Wet Sounds would meet my requirement of exceptional clarity from a whisper to concert level decibels.

He had a wide variety of systems displayed, and connected the following to see if it was what I was looking for - and it absolutely rocked. Of course there's a price to pay for meeting my ear requirements...

SDX6 - 6 channel amp (serious power)
2 - Revo8's
2 - Revo6's
1 - Revo10HP
1 - Rockford Fosgate multi-zone head unit

We have a boat show coming up, so holding off until then (next week) to see if there is anything better/more cost effective - but as of right now I'm leaning pretty heavy to the above with the addition of two more Revo8's for on deck.
 
You'll get plenty of feedback on the brands people prefer. Both of the brands you've mentioned get high praise. Both also seem to be at a similar price point.

I will offer up that a single 10" sub has been more than enough for my setup. I originally thought I'd want to add another at some point but a few weekends with one JL 10" it became pretty clear I wouldn't need anything more.

Good luck and enjoy your project.
 
Debating on 8inch or 10inch sub
No contest, go with a 10" at least or even a 12". Not only does the larger woofer deliver deeper bass, its greater surface area yields greater output, without the need for additional amp power. Larger woofer is just more efficient.

Beyond that, until you list some details, you are just comparing brand names that offer multiple speaker and amp options. Both are top tier quality, to not much of a debate in this department. But with some details, you can then begin to compare models and come up with what will meet your goals. May find is a mix of both brands.

A 6 chnl amp can drive 2-3 pair of in-boats and a woofer. Wet Sounds offers 3 different models, JL offers 1 and its price and output are close to the entry level Wet Sounds.
 
I have used JL speakers, subs and amps before and they are really good maybe a little on the expensive side. I wanted to mention that Rockford Fosgate makes a really nice marine line also and I have just installed one of their free air subs and set of 6.5" speakers and they sound great off of my Alpine PDX amps. Lower cost than the others.
 
Although you could run any woofer in a sealed, vented or IB alignment, Rockford does not build a true IB woofer, where as Wet Sounds, JL Audio and now Kicker Marine, do. Its a jack of all trades so to speak. The Punch 10 actually has the same retail price of the Wet Sounds Revo-10FA, which IS a true IB woofer. Running the Punch or Prime 10" as an IB will reduce its actual power handling, not to mention its potential performance. The Revo-10FA will handle significantly more amp wattage in an IB alignment compared to a woofer thats not a true IB.

The Punch 6.5 with a $300 MSRP is right there with the Wet Sounds Revo-6 and about $100 more then the JL MX650. Not even going to talk about the Prime 6.5. Its really an OEM level speaker and can not compete to the others.
 
As a note for the Woofer installation - in my 400DA the factory installed woofer was simply mounted to the thin fiberglass cockpit insert. That thin fiberglass moved a lot and created some unwanted harmonics. When I replaced the system and installed a new 10" JL IB, I glued a backing like 3/4" plywood to the inside of the fiberglass then screwed the speaker through the fiberglass and into that plywood backing. Also, I lined the hull shell behind the speaker with an attenuation mat so any resonance from the hull was dampened. The resulting sound was much improved and "tight".
 
Although you could run any woofer in a sealed, vented or IB alignment, Rockford does not build a true IB woofer, where as Wet Sounds, JL Audio and now Kicker Marine, do. Its a jack of all trades so to speak. The Punch 10 actually has the same retail price of the Wet Sounds Revo-10FA, which IS a true IB woofer. Running the Punch or Prime 10" as an IB will reduce its actual power handling, not to mention its potential performance. The Revo-10FA will handle significantly more amp wattage in an IB alignment compared to a woofer thats not a true IB.

The Punch 6.5 with a $300 MSRP is right there with the Wet Sounds Revo-6 and about $100 more then the JL MX650. Not even going to talk about the Prime 6.5. Its really an OEM level speaker and can not compete to the others.


Hi Wylie Tunes:

I don't see where Rockford indicates reduced power handling for the marine PM210S4 which gives full specs and documentation as an IB sub....but I'm always open to learning something new. The Rockford sounds great under the seat in the stock sub location of my 260 DA but so did the previous JL 10 IB.

Manual link below:

https://pdf.crutchfieldonline.com/ImageBank/v20150812114000/Manuals/575/575PM210S4.PDF

Anyone interested can check sites for real world pricing.
 
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Thanks everyone for the input.... Theres a boat show coming up the end of Feb in Atlantic City... Gonna go to that and hope i can make up my mind there... And thats really good idea with the 3/4 ply...I'm just gonna cut a hole under one of the seats and its thin fiberglass... I might do something like that... I also gotta decide if I'm gonna change the head unit... I hear fusion makes a good one.... But then i gotta change my wired remote also... Does a head unit make that much of a diffence if your pushing everything though a amp anyway???
 
Also debating on where to put the 10inch sub... If anyone has pics of where they put there subs would love to see....
 
Thanks everyone for the input.... Theres a boat show coming up the end of Feb in Atlantic City... Gonna go to that and hope i can make up my mind there... And thats really good idea with the 3/4 ply...I'm just gonna cut a hole under one of the seats and its thin fiberglass... I might do something like that... I also gotta decide if I'm gonna change the head unit... I hear fusion makes a good one.... But then i gotta change my wired remote also... Does a head unit make that much of a diffence if your pushing everything though a amp anyway???

With the Fusion units, at least the ones that end with an "N" (for NMEA 2000) and maybe others too, you can display and control it from your GPS/Chartplotter at the helm too. These normally have a much larger screen and that way there is no need for a wired remote at the helm.

It would be interesting to hear from these audiophile guys if they know of any other quality marine head units that can also connect to the NMEA 2000 network and can be displayed on the GPS/Chartplotter screens too.
 
Hi Wylie Tunes:

I don't see where Rockford indicates reduced power handling for the marine PM210S4 which gives full specs and documentation as an IB sub....but I'm always open to learning something new. The Rockford sounds great under the seat in the stock sub location of my 260 DA but so did the previous JL 10 IB.

Manual link below:

https://pdf.crutchfieldonline.com/ImageBank/v20150812114000/Manuals/575/575PM210S4.PDF

Anyone interested can check sites for real world pricing.
A true IB woofer is going to be built more internal dampening (suspension), compared to an acoustic-suspension/bass-reflex woofer . A woofer designed for a small enclosure, uses the internal air volume as part of its dampening suspension. An IB woofer is intended to have a large air volume behind it, like 3.0ft3 or larger, that does not offer the same dampening.

A printed manual will typically not tell you that running a woofer most ideal for acoustic-suspension or bass-reflex, in an IB setup, will reduce its power handling. Although that manual gives some hint to this, if you read between the lines. This is something we learn as installer. Without that internal or air dampening, higher wattage, like we can drive an AS or BR setup, will likely over drive the woofer as well cause "fish-flop". Over driving can damage the motor or separate the surround from the cone.
 
Does a head unit make that much of a diffence if your pushing everything though a amp anyway???
If im reading your signature correctly, you have a 2017 model boat? Im more interested in features and user friendlyness rather then what it delivers to an amp. It would have to be a real bargain basement head, to consider changing at this point. Clarion, polk or Rockford, no worries. MA/Jensen, Infinity, yeah, id consider an upgrade.
 
If im reading your signature correctly, you have a 2017 model boat? Im more interested in features and user friendlyness rather then what it delivers to an amp. It would have to be a real bargain basement head, to consider changing at this point. Clarion, polk or Rockford, no worries. MA/Jensen, Infinity, yeah, id consider an upgrade.

No sry just changed that... I have a 2005 and my head unit is a clarion.. I like that fusion you can control though my Garmin GPS.. But when I'm at the dock Im not sure I want to leave my GPS on all the time.. And I see its iPhone friendly and we are big apple people...
 
No sry just changed that... I have a 2005 and my head unit is a clarion.. I like that fusion you can control though my Garmin GPS.. But when I'm at the dock Im not sure I want to leave my GPS on all the time.. And I see its iPhone friendly and we are big apple people...
You know I've always liked that Clarion M303. It's just a solid easy to use stereo with very good specs and very inexpensive. And with the MW1 wired remotes you will have a diverse and solid system.
 
No sry just changed that... I have a 2005 and my head unit is a clarion.. I like that fusion you can control though my Garmin GPS.. But when I'm at the dock Im not sure I want to leave my GPS on all the time.. And I see its iPhone friendly and we are big apple people...
Both fusion and clarion can connect through an APP, so when at the dock, you can use your smart phone as a wireless remote. However, if you are also using that same phone as your music source, its a little cumbersome to go back and forth between the music streaming app and the remote app.
 
Wylie_Tunes, I was trying to send you a PM and didn't see how to send it like on most other forums. Under profiles I found Start New Conversation so I posted something there to you. Thx.
 
Wylie_Tunes, I was trying to send you a PM and didn't see how to send it like on most other forums. Under profiles I found Start New Conversation so I posted something there to you. Thx.
I got your earlier PM and skimmed over it, just have read it in detail yet and composed a reply. I will though for sure.
 
No sry just changed that... I have a 2005 and my head unit is a clarion.. I like that fusion you can control though my Garmin GPS.. But when I'm at the dock Im not sure I want to leave my GPS on all the time.. And I see its iPhone friendly and we are big apple people...
Yes the Fusion is iPhone friendly. You can control the head unit from the app and leave the GPS off.

I did that on my 340 Dancer. Added the Fusion 750 head unit with NMEA2000 backbone to the GPS. Had the app to run the system via Bluetooth.
 

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