Xm7 tower speaker

I have talk to brian at exile the company that produces these tower speakers and I am trying to get some opinion on the speakers from people that have purchase them.
Thanks any info would be great.

This is Jason from Kingpin Audio in Wilsonville Oregon. We have now installed 3 sets of the XM7 tower speakers on Malibu and Supra boats. The speakers performance is awesome. They are load and clear. Very detailed on the upper end (tweeter lever) and midbass response compared to other marine tower speakers on the market. Plus the mounting bracket and quick disconnect is an added bonus. 360 degree rotation/aim your speakers to the rider or to the front/sides while docked. Built in security. less than 1 minute you can take them off the boat and store them in the included speaker socks with built in handles .
I highly recommend them to any boat owner that wants incredible sound. You can view installed pictures at Kingpincaraudio.com, choose the marine section on main page then Gallery Marked Malibu VLX. My contact info is on the web site so you can always call me at the shop for more information. Thanks Jason

We have had ours for about a month now and we couldnt be happier with how they perform. We have 4 mounted on an Illusion XS tower.
They are loud, clean, and clear at all levels.
The engineering on these is top notch and the quick release option is a great added security measure as well as easy to redirect the horns 360 degrees.
I would agree with Jason about them being very detailed on the upper end. We have had several other brands on our past boats and these are one of the best all around speakers that I have heard.

Still haven't seen prices for these.

Same price as the wetsounds pro 80's.

We are an Exile Car Audio dealer in Lodi CA. We have played with a lot of other well known names here and all I can say is WOW! Thanks Brian for one hell of a product! Matt, these bad boys will keep up with anything (volume wise), anything out there in their category. The nice thing about them is the audio quality, by far better than anything in or out of their category. Hope this helps. Oh, they sell for $850 a pr.

I am still waiting for the day for someone to say that that the HLCD's they just spent a grand suck. Or for a dealer who sells HLCD's to post up that the product he sells stinks.

IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN....

Talk is cheap, go listen to a pair. Go see Carlos, he should have a pair hooked up for you to listen. If not, go find a dealer that does.

^^^Truer words have never been spoken. I would love to see a soundoff between all these speakers. Side by side, same song, same source, same amp, same wiring, etc.. That would be the shizz.

There was such a test done and some folks got their panties in a bunch....
I dont think you will see that type of test posted on this forum anytime soon. And if so it wouldnt stay posted very long....
I will second Carlos's WOW!! And Ive paid thousands for several different brands over the past 5 years.

So brady what were the results? I don't remember ever seeing anything like that?

Murph, you are correct I haven't had a customer tell me what I've sold them sucks. I on the the other hand will be straight up and tell a manu if something sucks and won't sell it. If it's not good enough for me, it aint good enough for my customers. I do have a pr of the EXILE XM7's on display for anyone that wants to listen and am planning on a fair a/b comparison between another brand. I carry a lot of high end brands (Authorized dealer for FOCAL, MOREL, HERTZ, ARC AUDIO, AUDISON, EXILE) and rarely tell customers one is better than the other. I let their ear choose. But on this one I will say *3#$@^ is better than @$&*($%^&*.

nu bu,
I dont know that there was every any solid results. I do know that they dont like to be compared on the public forums. (There have been several posts deleted on this forum and others)
IMO it all comes down to personal preference. All the top companies have their advantages.
Believe me I had my own personal preferences with the last boat.
I do agree that it would be fun to do a side-by-side boat test with the same power pushing 4 tower speakers.
I will gladly offer up our setup to rep the xm7's anytime.

I get mine tomorrow. I'm so damn pumped! Had to clean all the bugs off my tower from last weekends road trip to the lake because I couldn't install these babies on my tower full of bug guts!

There are alot of political reasons why given people recommend or defend one brand or another. So I'd like to bring some objectivity to the comparison since I hate all manufacturers equally....... Just kidding.

I've disected Exile, WetSounds and Bullet HollowPoints right down to the naked titanium tweeter diaphrams; measured each on a real time analyzer with midbass driver only, tweeter only and the two spliced together; sketched out and plotted the passive crossover topology of each; and listened to each extensively in three difference environments, one reflective and live, one open field and one dead room with acoustic traps. All results are documented in considerable detail.

I have a few observations between the Exile XM-7, WetSounds Pro60 and Bullet HollowPoint 650 HLCDs. If I've left out other manufacturers its only because they don't have a product that is comparable in size or construction and is not an indication that they're any less of a product.

1.) The size of the three baskets/frames and midbass drivers are identical.
2.) There are some differences in tweeter diaphram and voice coil size and impedance as well as differences in midbass cone materials/suspension and voice coil size.
3.) From a pure value standpoint, there's not a dimes bit of difference between the three raw drivers. The difference is primarly intellectual and how they put parts to task rather than a significant cost difference in materials.
4.) Each manufacturer has their own approach to the crossover which constitutes most of the colorations difference between the three. And, that is the more subjective area that should be left to the ear of individual listeners.
5.) The R.T.A measurements largely correspond to what my ears are telling me. However, there are psycho-acoustic perceptions that are the result of masking that are not measureable.
6.) The variables are more in the pods, collars, cosmetics, packaging and external features.

Conclusion: Speaker design is such that when you exceed in one element of a speaker's performance you will sacrifice in another. For example, more output means more coloration. Inversely, less coloration means less output. More midbass extension means more size and/or less efficiency. None of these manufacturers have discovered a way to beat mother nature.

At this point, given the tightness of similarities, it is impossible for one camp to say anything deragatory about the other. Plus, I believe its totally inappropriate for one manufacturer to comment on the other's product because they really aren't privy to the other's process.

But the thread is about Exile so here are my impressions of Exile. The cat is out of the bag and we have another legitimate contender who can independently engineer and build a great product, and can take care of their customers, and has delivered some really innovative features. Placing them in the same class with the other two is the greatest of compliments. I'm really impressed with Exile's engineering staff and their understanding of the dynamics involved in speaker design, particularly horns and crossovers. We're going to be hearing alot from Exile in the future.

David
Earmark Marine

(Message edited by David_e_m on September 30, 2009)

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the HLCD products out there. One might do this a little better while another does that a little better but ultimately they're all very good. When I got mine midbass was very important as were hang height and looks thats how I landed on the ones I chose. The Exile/Sampson ones have some very cool features that may appeal to you, if so you're probably gonna be happy as pig in schitt.

The sound off would be awesome but it won't tell you everything and the fact is listening to them in a stereo shop won't either, I've done it.

I'd have a hell of a time paying $300 more for a set of these versus the Bullets. I'm sure the Xm7's are great but I'm certain that if they are better than the Bullets its not $300 better. I highly doubt the sound quality is better at all but without hearing them I couldn't say.

Matt - You've sparked some very spirited feedback on the XM7. I personally have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. As the owner of the company, I can only say that it’s refreshing to see that we “hit the mark” on the XM7. Trust me, there is a LOT of time and effort that goes into bringing a good product to market. Most people have no idea how intensive that process is.

One thing is for sure… the crowd here on these forums are probably the most technically involved and informed people on the planet when it comes to practical application of marine gear. That being said, they are in my eyes the ultimate test for any product. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you guys and my door (or email as it may be) is always open to listening to comments, questions, and idea’s.

I think it’s also important to note that we are all part of a community. You all have different boats, different methods (just read hate_pains trailer post), and different accessories but under it all, everyone comes here for that informed opinion of others. I think this holds true about audio gear as well. I still laugh when I read David’s comment about a “leper with so many fingers” in describing practical amplifier application (totally spot on btw).

Anyway my point is, products have unique attributes that make them special. As such, I’m happy that Exile is associated with the high end crowd and brands that frequent this forum.

Thanks for all the warm comments guys.
After all, you’re the enthusiasts!!!

-Brian
Exile Audio

Let’s recap so far, Matt Ryan (mryan318) ask for “opinion on the speakers from people that have purchase them” several users including Hate N Pain (hatepain), Keith (hawaiianstiln), nu bu (05mobiuslsv), A.J. West (you_da_man), Murphy Smith (murphy8166) chime in for a total of 7 post along with Jason Kranitz (kingpinaudio), carlos (carlosdynamicaudiolodi), David_E_M (david_e_m) all Exile resellers for a total of 4 post and last but not least Brian (brianinpdx) owner of Exile and his buddy B~rad~y- pdxWAKE.com (big_b_21v) for 4 more post, Nice advertisement guys.

^^^ Well, if end users and installers opinions dont count (in your opinion you call them "advertisements") then who's does?

Wake Doc, I am an end user and didnt even know the guys from Exile until this years purchase. I did have their amps running my system last year and they were also purchased as an end user from Jason @ Kingpin.
This year we made a decision to change directions because of some unprofessional business tactics that really rubbed us the wrong way and of course because we saw a product that was impressive.
This thread was very informative and a great bit of information from the guys installing all of the top equipment on the market. Not just from one angle.
Its not hard to see through your connection and your attempt to be witty.
Its a big world and the guys paying their hard earned dollars will develop their own personal opinions.
IMO the responses were well written by all to keep it informative. Lets try and be big boys and not throw sand, its childish and immature.

He's good buddies with Tim at wetsounds and just butthurt there was a tower speaker thread where wetsounds wasn't mentioned. Lots of good competition out there now.

It sure is nice to see that most of us can get along. I will be the first to compliment some body for find a new way of building a innovative and new design to any product. I believe that all the current HLCD's from Wetsounds, Exile, and my self fit this build. They all have great features and attributes that make them all different.
So let's just hope for broader horizons for 2010.

Jaime Campos
Bullet Speakers

Brad you being buddies with Jason at Kingpin Audio didn't have anything to do with your decision to go with the speakers? You have already been called out on theMalibuCrew.com for advertising. I saw this thread and stopped to read it, wanted to see what others were saying about the speakers, instead all I got was a thread riddled with how great the speakers are from dealers, the owner and friends. If being sick and tired of wading through post after post of advertising to get to the facts in a thread is "burthurt" then that is what I am no matter who I am friends with. Now come on big boy call me childish and immature then throw some more sand at me.

I have 4 Pro 80's on my tower...

How am I advertising for Exile by telling the guy to go and listen to speakers before buying them.

Please enlighten me!

Never meant you did Murphy, I said "several users including Murphy Smith (murphy8166) chime in" meaning you added to the thread.

Kind of refreshing to see several end users of alternate brands chime in with supportive comments.

When a new product comes along with a new twist its bound to get attention eventually so its pointless to try and bury it, especially in the internet medium.

David
Earmark Marine

riverrunner it's absolutely no different than Tim chiming in on a Wetsounds thread, which he does quite often and has every right to do.

WakeDoc, k'mon man, what the heck. Really fuses me when people label others because it's easy to hide behind the computer. I am no dealer and I don't get paid to advertise for another company! I do however know a LOT of people in the sport of wakeboarding and boating companies. I am pumped about a new product on the market that appears "IN MY eyes" to be better than their competitors. They basically have what I needed (Horn technology, great design, great sound, quick release). So who gives you the right to come on here and start labeling people like you did. What does it matter to you that we like to talk about the product on a XM7 thread. Now all of the sudden we are "advertising" because we are lucky enough to talk positive about a new product on this forum????
If you like wetsounds so much (you are advertising it on your website and it's all over your forum threads), then stay on the wetsounds forums because that makes you happy to talk about their product. I don't see ANY bashing on Wetsounds on here, nor would I need to bash them. THey are a kick a$$ company too and they are a bunch of great people.

remember, it's a small world out there. Why make yourself look bad on here for no reason when you don't even need to get involved? All we want to do is talk positive about a new product out there.

You have Alpine, Dbot, and other brands you talk about on your forum at wakeoutlaws.com and I don't see you bitching at them about anything (under your profile). Now that I understand how much you guys push wetsounds on your site, I almost ask myself if you get paid to come on here and bash. 41 years old seems a little young to act like an old man and be grouchy. Whatever happened to the friendly chatting days???

By the way, you have some vulnerabilities on your wakeoutlaws.com site. You might want to fix them before someone figures it out (just being friendly). Sorry, I get paid to keep the hackers out and it's easy to identify risks/threats

Hey David, thanks for the good info and the time it took you to do all of that. That's the kind of stuff I like to read about.

NOW, where were we?? I have installed two of my four XM7's last night and will post pictures of the install very soon. Working in a hot garage isn't fun!

Funny if you read my original post I was not pointing the finger at you either Keith, quite the opposite. When I clicked on the post you were the type of person I was hoping to find responding to the original poster. Someone that had purchased the speakers and had them on their boat explaining pros and cons about sound, install, etc. Oh and thanks for the personal attack on me, funny I never said anything bad about the speakers or the company just that I was tired of wading through self promotion and advertising to get to the meat of the thread. Looking forward to your review and pictures once you have a chance to get them installed.

my bad then beer is on me, it's easy to read something and look into it a different way than someone else sees it. Happens all the time on here.

~Shake hands here~ apologies....

WakeDoc, My decision to go with Exile this year vs. ANY of the competitors had to do with the quick release technology and being able to sleep better at night while the boat is sitting in the driveway.
As for being called out for advertising on the Malibu Crew you are very mistaken. I was not called out, it was Brian from Exile. As he should of been.
Much like this bashing session you have created. It is pretty transparent of the connections on The Malibu Crew and as well to several of the competitors.
My only suggestion to you is that you think back to when some of these other companies came online. Times werent as tough as our current economy and there were several people that swore that the HLCD technology was overpriced. I know it wasnt expected that another competitor was going to surface in these hard times, but dont get too caught up in the pour economy driving aggressive sales tactics, you may be overthinking it. I honestly think people just want to have a place to do their research and get solid answers about what products are out there and how best to spend their hard earned money.

big_b it's funny you mention the quick disconnect because I just had a customer really dig on the XM7's because of it. Turns out he is putting his boat up and while doing so someone got to the tower speakers we put on his tower last summer. He never thought that his speakers would vanish. This is a big reason I personally am pumped about the XM7's. Wake, when I mentioned about this product on here I was trying to give insight on a new product, being that is is new to the market not many people on here would already have them on their boats to give their insight. Yes, I'm a reseller for them so what? all resellers in here including yourself chime in for their own reasons. You can but I can't? I get it. Anyway, Keith I'm down for a beer summit.

beeeeeeeeer summit!!!

Getting back on track here (minus my dirty tower because I never cleaned it the other night), here are some pics of my install so far. This stuff is SICK! I'm loving it.. Sorry, my picture taking isn't the best.

Hmm, whats the hang height on these bad boys?

(Hate N Pain) the hanging height of the speakers are 10.25 inches according to exile website

10.25" well ya gotta take the good with the bad. It'd be tough to do it any other way I suppose with the technology that goes into the mounts. Any plans to make them in something other than black guys?

Hatepain - hang height looks like this:

universal clamp: 10.25
direct fit clamp: 9.25

* Direct fit clamp can go on the MasterCraft towers like Keiths and also the Malibu X/XS towers and a couple others

peace

From talking to Brain at Exile, it does not seem like they will be making them in any other colors then black, but I'm sure brain will confirm this.

I there any way that water can get down into thhe of the speaker where mount insets into the pod.

HateNPain - there is always give and take in product design. Our beta testers all said the same thing. "if you can have the speaker quick disconnect AND hang about the same as everyone else its a winner." - Ultimately, thats where we ended up. Some brands we are an 1" lower than and some we are an 1" higher than. But we are the only brand you can quick disco and spin. Like I said. Trade offs.

As for colors - We offer a black on black version
that has somewhat a GANGSTER look to it. But we wont be offering a rainbow of colors. The Samson version of our speaker is offered in Chrome/Chrome for you bling bling guys.

In the spring we'll be showing a limited edition custom airbrushed version from a pretty famous artist... but I dont wanna let the cat outta the bag yet. No spy shots!

peace

Hopefully I have my amp rack completed and everything finalized after the weekend and will finish with the pictures. The amp rack is giving me some obstacles right now tho.

Brian, yeah thats why I said good with the bad.

Here is the chromes:

what's the extra to get them chromed? Good looking!

Exile part # krylon mexichrome. Just spray at 18" or more to give that smooooth finish.

I was out at Samson today. Those chrome Samson models are pretty sharp looking on a polished tower.

Special artist huh. Lets hope it's not Ed Hardy.

Lets see some vids of them playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdcjMH2KGcg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb9Oa6KfLTM

I thought I found another video before, but can't find it right now.

Based on David's comment it seems that price would be the biggest factor in this decision.

In my opinion I don't particularly like the sound coming from any of the speakers he has listed, but I have only heard 2 of the 3 listed. I am not a fan of the small format HLCD speakers. I like the sound you get from a 8 or 10" midrange driver without the horn blocking it's output. There are currently only two solutions that meet this description and I think both of those options sound great.

my $0.02

Brian or anyone. I ran into an obstacle with the install and getting confused now. I have the XI800.4 that I was going to hook up to all four XM7's on the tower (4 ohm stereo). However, after searching for all the speaker wires from the pre-wiring that mastercraft does in the towers, I realized I only had 2 pair of speaker wires. Which means they either wired the tower in Parallel or Series. I wasn't sure so I ohm'd it out from the speaker wires and it came to 2.3 for two speakers. Considering that the XM7's are 4 ohm speakers, that means they must have wired the tower in parallel right???

How am I to wire it up to one XI800.4 for all four tower speakers since they seem to be in parallel? Bridge the amp at 2ch setting and then plug in?

I don't want to run new wiring because mastercraft put a good quick release speaker wire connection on there for when people drop the tower.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Series 2 XM7's to a 8ohm load and connect to your bridged channels. Do the same for the other side. It should equal running a 4 ohm load on all 4 channels. Again, some one correct me if I am off. Do this and if I'm right it will save you from running an extra set of cables.

^^^ Correct.

I would like to do this, but I can't change my wiring inside the tower. They already pre-wired the tower in parallel it seems and can't change it. I put the ohm meter on the left connection (that powers 2 speakers) and it came to a 2 ohm load already. Same with the other connection as already being a 2 ohm load. So basically all I have for tower speaker hookups is one left channel and one right channel and they are both already sitting at 2 ohm's each.

So I guess i'm stuck with my tower wired in parallel

probably not stuck. look for where the wire actually get paralleled, probably jumped from one speaker location to the other. You can feed wire from on speaker location to the other (single wire) Connect from one speaker + to the other speaker - then use exiting wire to complete circuit. I can see it in my head. Connect existing + wire to open + connection on one speaker, don't connect existing - wire at that speaker. on the other speaker connect existing - wire to speaker. this should complete one side. duplicate this on the other side.

ahhh yes, that's what I was just thinking about an hour ago. Just run a cross connect on the tower from one negative on one speaker to the positive on the other speaker and that will give me series. I will ohm it out and make sure both become 8 ohm and do the same for the other pair.

Thanks Carlos!

There's alot of truth in what Mike said. Larger drivers have greater leverage in an open-field environment. If I remember correctly, Mike has Pro485s. None the less, the WetSounds Pro485 is a good example because it has set the standard for larger tower speakers, and it is pretty large for some people. The Pro485, in particular, has a very positive ratio between its large drivers and large pod displacement. I'm sure WetSounds could have squeezed 10-inch drivers into a pod roughly the same size, but I'm convinced it would not be as good of a speaker.

I've found that the trade-offs with larger drivers, like a 10-inch for example, do not justify its benefits. Its not possible to package an adequate enclosure displacement around a 10-inch unless its a 5-gallon container. Placing a large driver in an undersized pod results in an inordinately higher resonance as it is loaded and also is the cause of some distracting midrange abberations. To solve the midbass extension problem a speaker that produces in a smaller enclosure has less midrange top end and falls off radically in efficiency, which is not what we're looking for in a tower speaker.

Also, the larger cones usually exhibit a more pronounced 'break-up mode' at the top end of their midrange response and this abnormality is lower in frequency and closer to the heart of most musical fundamentals as the speaker size grows. To some degree this mode is found in all midrange drivers, its just harder to control or conceal with larger drivers. Since a horn is usually only effective over a three-octave range we're highly dependent on the midbass driver for alot of upper midrange (at least up to 2 kHz in larger speakers with massive horns).

Its also hard for a midbass driver to make a quality contribution much beyond five octaves without adding serious coloration.

In my experience, its just a few tonal abberations that tend to dominate our auditory perceptions and form what we judge to be the overall character of a particular speaker. That honk that many refer to in some HLCDs is generally the product of the midbass driver (and often worse in larger drivers) and not from the horn as most assume.

While I use the Pro485 as an example, its because I believe that it is currently the largest speaker available to maintain a well balanced design.

There's also advantages and disadvantages with both side-by-side and coaxially mounted horns. Again, its just a matter of priority.

This is just a couple of tangents related to the interdependent components of speaker design. There is always going to be benefits versus trade-offs. Sound quality versus amplitude. Midbass extension versus efficiency. Etc. etc.

And this is just for Brian, speaker design is like choosing the leper with the most fingers.

In the case of the Exile XM7, I believe the horn to midbass driver to pod displacement makes for a very balanced product. The XM7's performance to size equation is one that a majority of boat owners are going to find most agreeable.

David
Earmark Marine

^^^What he said!

I rewired my tower in series. However, one side ohm's out at 8.9 and the other side ohm's out at 10.1.
Wassup with that? Do they not ohm out exactly to 8 ohms like it should be.

I ohm'd out each speaker and it was about 4.1 to 4.3. Then, I ran a jumper in between each pair (pos from one to neg of other speaker). This should throw it in series, but when I ohm'd out at the connector, it was off. Is this okay?

They will never read a perfect 4 or 8 ohm on a meter. Inductance will change impedance. If you talk into your speaker or any music playing near by, wind will all affect what shows up on the meter. Think microphone. 10.1 seems high tough, check those to speaker by themself in series without the tower speaker wires. Also see how much resistance is on you line. Do you have a quick disconnect anywhere? Did you finally get them playing. BTW the XM7's will take more power if you have it.

Keith,

A little variation is normal, but over one-ohm difference would concern me too. For example, if you were paralled versus seriesed, a one-ohm diff would be a third of the total circuit.

Since the speaker highpass sections are capacitor-coupled, you're only reading the DCR of four lowpass components; two inductors and two midbass voice coils.

You might have a crimp in the service loop disconnect hanging by one strand of wire, a bad crimp or a cold solder. As measured with the meter's tiny current its not much of a factor. But as current increases in real use it could mean a much larger loss.

If you measure the four speakers individually and its just a coincidental pairing of the two highest values then I wouldn't worry about it. Everytime you R & R the speakers you're going to get a different combo anyway.

Twist the pos. & neg. together at the amplifier end and check the resistance at the tower service loop disconnect. Then do the same thing for the top half of the tower. Keep breaking the total harness down into smaller increments until you reveal the culprit.

David
Earmark Marine

Just decided that the current wiring setup is just not worth it and the disconnect sucks anyways. I'm going to run all new high grade wire this week. I will feel more comfortable knowing new wiring is in place and then I have more options at the base of the tower where all the speaker wires will come out.

Great decision Keith, I'll bet your issues will go away at that time. Are you going to use neutrik connectors?

not sure, never heard of those. You have a link? I guess I can google.

I always bought them here.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=092-190

You'll also need this.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=092-053

those look pretty nice, but I need a quick disconnect that where the female part doesn't mount into anything. My disconnect gets seperated at the top of the tower before I fold the tower down. I need to look around on that site to see if there is a round female version of that other half. (round female version, hmmm )

You could just run two of the first link and then run this between them for you quick disconnect?

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=092-196

Just finished installing the pair i got today. They are loud and sound great. Can't wait to try them out on the river this weekend.

got my quick disconnects installed, amp rack, distribution blocks (ground and positive), built speaker box, fiberglassed the box, ran a DB remote for the subs to mount underneath the steering wheel and now ready to take this baby out for action. I will take pics real soon. I have a few more things to do first.

Finally got the cans on and everything working. Just wanted to post some more pics.

get some vids bro