MB Boats switching to Exile Audio...
 

Props to MB for this BOLD move. The Exile offering they have spec'd for MB is legit! Basically the same custom setup I put in my Bu.... yes that means they are going to the Xi12d sub from the factory!! :D

Here's the press release that just hit Facebook...


UPGRADED EXILE AUDIO STEREO SYSTEMS COMING TO MB SPORTS
Stereo Performance to Match Upscale Boating Experience
Portland, OR — July 17, 2014— Exile Audio announced today that they have reached an agreement with MB Sports (Atwater, CA) to feature upgraded sound. The sound systems will be included in all 2015 Tomcat and B52 MB sports boat models.
“We are excited to work with MB Sports to bring their stereo offerings to the next level,” notes Brian Kelsey, President, Exile Audio. “Expect to see a significant performance stereo upgrade in these boats. For example, the subwoofer has been increased to a 12-inch model that is mounted in a port-tuned fiberglass enclosure which is molded into the hull itself.” The backbone of the 1600W base sound system will be comprised of Exile Audio components throughout the cabin, sub, and tower zones featuring high efficiency amplifiers. The stereo is included in the base price of each MB boat. Tower speaker options are available at an additional cost.
“Everything we do at MB Sports is focused on manufacturing an upscale boat while also providing more value to the end user,” explains Mike Brendel, Owner of MB Sports. “Customers experience this in every aspect of our boats and the sound system is no different. We have incorporated numerous changes in the 2015 model line that consumers will enjoy.”
2015 models begin shipping mid July 2014.

Good news!!!

Could not be happier for a great group of guys. Nicely done!!!

Hope there's a delete option for those who do not want Exile. Not everyone is a fan.

Also heard they are swapping to the Ford Raptor 6.2L 400hp base engine like Skiers Choice.
That's a helluva new base motor standard.

Well that news certainly doesn't suck.
It's cool they're doing it stock, they probably have an option to have nothing installed if you wanted when you ordered the boat. Otherwise, I know you wouldn't have a hard time selling it on here if you wanted to switch out to something else.

wondered how long it would take for someone to be a jerk and rain on a parade. what a joke!

I believe malibu is going to the ford 6.2 as standard motor also... everyone is having to find a replacement for the 5.7 that is going out of production

This is not the case, at least not in 2015.

Malibu Wakesetters will all have Indmar with GM blocks (incl. the base 5.7 for one more year).

Malibu Response and Axis boats will all have PCM with GM blocks.

No Ford at Malibu... yet. They are still testing.

It will be at least 2016... but the fact is there will be no more GM 5.7s within 2 years and Ford is trying hard to get into the game. I would see a lot more boats with the Ford 6.2s soon.

looks like this turned into a GM Ford thread….

Congrats Exile/Brian that's huge and great news. Just one more reason I'm looking hard at MB for my next boat.

I a sure you Exile is a great product. They are making great strides in the marine audio market. Congrats Brian K!!!!!

I agree they are a huge upgrade from stock. Yes, I'm opening that can again. Look at both product lines. Specifically amps...just until recently Exile offered class D amps. Harpoons were A/B? WS Syn and Sinister amps are G/H. I live in South Texas (heat and humidity) where I've seen 2 boats overheat on the Harpoons and gains, etc were set normal. Yes, you're gonna pay more for WS but I do believe you get what you pay for. Correct me if I'm wrong on the amp classes. Yes- I'm a WS speaker owner but I own Arc Audio amps (close to SYN amps).

Dude I'm a WS fanboy, but let the exile guys enjoy this. It's a big deal for them and a shame something epic like this happens for a company and guys like you come on here and kill it for them.

Congratulations Brian and Exile!!!

I am not very technical when it comes to amps, but I will go look up your Exile question.

Here's what I do know... I spent one season with WS amps and it was a disaster. They were always cutting out and going into protect mode, and this was on an oem system and I live in the PNW. The most frustrating part of that season was the wild goose chase WS cust service sent me on. I spent what felt like hours on the phone with them (didn't fix), an entire day off work to drag my boat to one of their authorized dealers (didn't fix), then the owner of the company tells me the only cure is to buy another amp. Uh... okay, bro!

Since then I've had three Exile systems in three separate boats; no issues, not one. I am amazed how picky and delicate the WS amps were and how bullet proof the Exile amps are. I will never go back to WS amps, no matter what the so called rating is. I like their speakers, but their amps suck, imho. And the cust service was frustrating to see the least. And the way WS specs their OEM systems is an embarrassment to their otherwise fine brand.

Lots of misinformation above.
Wetsounds amplifiers have never had thermal issues. I live in Texas with real heat which is a true proving ground. If the amplifiers are displaying heat issues then it is the way they are incorrectly put to task, whether by application, set-up, or usage.
In the end, OEM is driven by cost. And the boat manufacturer will try to do the most with the least, including using insufficient supply cable, etc. An audio manufacturer can spec what they know is right but the boat manufacturer is free to make running cost-cutting changes. An audio manufacturer can't really criticize the factory system without fallout from their OEM relationship. Some consumers will feed back those comments, often out of context, as leverage to get what they want. It's a tough political position to be in if you want to keep doing OEM business.

I agree that it is an accomplishment for Exile to land an OEM account. So let them have their day and cease with the comparisons.

+1

I am a WS fan as well but I think Exile makes some great equipment.
I have never had any issues with any of the WS Amplifiers I have run in my boats (SYN and SD series, never messed with the HT's though) and at least for me, WS service has been stellar (very responsive to my questions and provide some great advice).

Being from the PNW I am glad to see a local company having this kind of success.

Congrats Exile... I just hope you go teach the MB guys a thing or two about installation :cool:

No misinformation at all David. Notice I didn't say why my WS system had issues. I'm not an audio god like you so I guess I'll never know. But what I posted is exactly what happened and exactly how WS handled it, all the way up to the owner.

Furthermore, I don't agree with your oem comments. Regardless of why a stereo issue arises, at the end of the day it's WS or Exile's brand name on the gear, and that's who the customer is going hold accountable. It's a cop out to say the oem didn't install it right or the configuration is bad. it's the stereo guys' job to make sure they don't misrepresent their brand. That's branding 101, something I do know a thing or two about.

I wanted to say that I think David hit the nail on the head with the OEM comments. The boat manufacturer, not the component manufacturer, has the final say in what components go into a package and how it works. If something goes wrong, the boat manufacturer's warranty would kick in.

2015 Has Some BOOOOM :)
 

Hey guys - Thanks for all the props. It's been great to work with MB. I've enjoyed hearing first hand from the dealer network how excited they are after listening to the 2015 Exile MB stereo. It's pretty obvious they have addressed their past consumer requests. These MB's probably have more "boom" off the factory floor than any brand boat on market thanks to a built in vented fiberglass subwoofer enclosure that contains a 12" Exile woofer amp combo - 800W of CEA power. The Javelin amplifier is full range class D. They allowed our engineer to work directly with them on the enclosure. It turned out fantastic.

This weekend I stopped by Reboats "Boat Shack" in Orem Utah for training. It was great to meet Mike and Jason and answer questions right on the boat itself. As you can see from these quick shots, they had a load of new MB's that had just arrived. Explaining what was done and why it was done, ultimately helps MB retailers showcase the system to the end users.

Cheers,

-Brian @ Exile

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8bce3570.jpg

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Hey I had this exact setup in my Axis 6 in-boats and a 12" Exile sub run off the new Javelin amp and it freaking delivers the mail.
I also had 4- XM9's running off the new 30.2 and it will give you plenty of power for these things without a doubt.

That being said I know what I paid aftermarket for this stuff and it comes standard now in the 15' MB's. That's a steal.

Ready to get my 15' B52 23WB. For Sure!!!

Just got off the water today and after watching this thread about amps and heat and thought I would watch and check amps through the day.... Bunch of boats all tied up today and all linked together and kept going into my boat and feeling my amps and they stayed totally cool and the Javelin was powering my sub and interiors... There were a few hot amps, but not on my boat..... The Javelin is pretty solid for sure. Stoked for Exile getting this deal.
As others have said no reason to turn this thread into Exile vs Wetsounds, just good to see the consumers voice heard that we like quality stuff in our boats and get it OEM. I.E. Exile and Wetsound..... Not stock Kenwood, Polk, etc....

If you have an OEM installed system, in my experience, poor equipment selection, zero tuning, and no support is what you get. Ive run across lots of boats with terribly designed systems. MB cut cornersand lowered their costs by switching to Exile. I guarantee the consumer is paying the same amount for the boat.

Bad move on Mbs part, IMO

I like WS products but the ws setup on the MB was poorly setup and I own an MB.

Anthony thats because MB wouldnt follow the recommendation of the audio manufacturer. The manufacturer designed the systems, but again, as said above, MB cut corners and costs. Poor execution on the boat manufacturers part giving the perception that the audio manufacturer was t blame.

The difference seems to be that exile is willing to hold mb's hand (or maybe is dragging mb by the wrist) in stepping up its factory install. MB's factory installs are historically very weak, but there's also a lot of low hanging fruit... especially with the sub, and it sounds like exile is really helping in that regard. It doesn't matter what equipment you have, if the execution is poor, the result will be poor. I

f exile helps MB step up it's execution, this is a good move for MB (and a great move for exile). I say "good for mb" only because their installs have been so bad and the boats keep selling, which suggests that most people really don't care or don't know better.

Yes Shawn I agree that both are to blame on this.

However it looks initially that Exile has taken the ball and ran with it. They are working very closely with MB to in sure that everything is top notch. Only time will tell.

Great Job Brian and Exile ! Great to see the boat companies are listening to the consumers. Here in the NW Exile is the only thing you see around and always looks and sounds great ! This is a great deal for MB buyers to not have to rip out the factory system to replace it with quality stereo components .This will no doubt be a great partnership and not mention Exiles customers service is absolutely top notch . Maybe we will start to see some other boat companies making the switch to quality stereo gear coming from the factory .

Nice! Props to MB boats for stepping up to a audio component designed for the application and congrats to Exile. What I find most impressive about this press release is the factory integrated ported 12" subwoofer. So many of us go through pains cutting up our boat interiors, rerouting electrical and plumbing to provide a decent space for a properly executed subwoofer installation. Or worse, we take our boats to the only car stereo shop that claims to understand boats only to have them do damage to our new machine. At this stage with the popularity of boat stereo systems it is very disappointing to see any manufacturers still installing subwoofers up under the deck in a fully enclosed storage space behind the passenger seat. These are "showroom systems" where they may sound decent in the boat showroom with nothing in the storage space and the seat lifted but they are almost inaudible once out in real world application with a boat full of friends. It should be pretty easy for a boat builder to glass in a 1.5 cubic foot ported cabinet in or around the driver's footwell that is frequently wasted space. Even if they installed zero audio components they should at least provide $500 option to have an integrated subwoofer cabinet.

MB's idea of a vented enclosure in the past was drilling a hole in the side of the gunwhale. Then they multi-tasked it - wires were running through it. Just one of the many examples of a poor execution.

Doesn't matter what equipment is in it. If it's not designed, built, and tuned, it's worthless. I've run across a lot of boats lately that just had the equipment thrown in there. Crossovers on amps set to off, in-boats ran on channels that only had LPF or off, and vice versa for subs.

An interesting side note is that the Exile Xi12 and the Wetsounds XS12 have almost identical Thiele/Small parameters so if you are a Wetsounds fan the two 12-inch woofers should be interchangeable in the factory MB enclosure.

I heard the exile system in a new 2015 22 tomcat yesterday at Action WS over here in AZ and it didn't sound tuned at all! The tower speakers were making my ears bleed like the old pro 80s and 60s. The sub was rattling the boat pretty bad. I'm sure the system can be dialed in but definitely didn't come tuned from MB.

Unless the boat company's teach their electronics guy how to set gains, they will just continue to install everything as its taken out of the box with no adjustments. The equpment is good wether WS or exile, more attention needs to be paid to get the quality sound out of the product.

Steve,
That is always going to be an ongoing vibration transmission issue with a fiberglass subwoofer enclosure that is an integral part of the boat structure. Normally a subwoofer enclosure is decoupled from the boat structure and only connected to the sole via a couple of small mounting pads.

We received our 2015's a few weeks ago. Absolutely LOVE the new systems. They sound loud and clear. Props to the Exile guys and MB for getting the right stuff, installed correctly. I have a few buyers, big into audio that would expand upon the system, but for 90% of them out there, this system is perfect.

More Props to MB for making this system STANDARD. Not an option.

So I am curious what your position is at MB or Exile? Or do you work at an MB dealer. Wondering how you know corners were cut? Or is this just another I am soooooo in love with WS everyone else sucks miserably by comparison. Seems to me they got top of the line products in there. If freaking Dave who will admit to his bias says take a step back let Exile enjoy the day good gawd. Oh and props Dave as I have slammed you in the past. Congrats to Brian and the exile boys. In the end we are all trying to keep roofs over our own heads and our families.

And this is where the rubber meets the road..

You're probably right. About 90% of buyers of MB are going to be jacked on it.. Maybe even higher.. We (Wakeworld) are definitely less than 10% of the market and even within this small segment (Wakeworld) - not everyone is an audiophile. The segment of wakeboard boat buyers who have 1. money for a new rig 2. are audiophiles and 3. would expect perfection from an OEM install are very, very small.

If the towers are "bright" and the boat vibrates - I'd venture to guess that a vast, vast majority of the owners would believe that the system is doing it's job. And perception is reality.

I think this is great. For MB, Exile and mostly the consumer. I won't be a consumer, nor am I an audiophile - but continued improvement from all of the builders at least shows good faith in the ever increasing price point of a new tow boat.. It's really hard to think of the "average buyer" when all you do is 1. cruise wakeworld or 2. install stereos for a living (johnnyb)... Average Dad with a couple of kids and a couple of buddies (me) will most likely be thrilled with the stereo and if you're spending $70k on a new wakeboat - there is also a slight chance you'll be able to tinker with your gains/crossovers or enjoy it as-is..

Good move, imo. Keep pushing.