Wet Sounds vs. JL Tower Speakers (2024)

Introduction

In the marine community, there is a constant argument going on between Wet Sounds and JL Audio as to who makes the better products. The people with Wet Sounds swear by Wet Sounds. The folks with JL Audio swear by JL Audio. Then, in between you have people that have been burned and/or had a bad experience with one company or the other slingin' some dirt on whomever did them wrong. We are going to break the difference in the tower speakers between the two companies, give you some information on sound profiles that can't be measured in the specs, and hopefully you end up with enough information to make a good, informed decision as to which tower speakers are right for you.

Wet Sounds

Wet Sounds offers three different lines of tower speakers, RECON, ICON, and REV. The performance and price increase as you move from RECON to ICON and then from ICON to REV. In addition, the sizes changes with RECON tower pods only available in a 6.5", ICON only available in 8", and the REV offered in both 8" and 10" versions.

JL Audio

JL Audio tower speakers are broken out a little bit differently than Wet Sounds. JL tower speakers come in 6.5" VeX pods with both M3 and M6 coaxial speakers. In addition, JL has their ETXv3 tower speakers. The ETXv3 enclosures come in both 7.7" and 8" speaker sizes. The 7.7" are offered in both M3 and M6. The 8.8" JL Audio tower speakers are only available with M6 speakers as an 8.8" M3 is not made.

Two Totally Different Beasts

Wet Sounds REV vs. JL Audio M6 ETXv3

If we are comparing the Wet Sounds REV 10 or Wet Sounds REV 410 to anything JL Audio offers, they are two, totally different beasts. The Wet Sounds REV 10 and REV 410 tower speakers have high-compression horn tweeters while all of the JL Audio tower speakers have coaxial, silk-dome tweeters. We use this analogy elsewhere, but it is comparing a Rolls Royce to a Lamborghini. While both would be considered high-end vehicles, comparing them isn't really fair other than the price point. If you want it loud, the REV 8 and REV 10's will blow away the M6. They handle significantly more power, but you will also need to make sure you have enough power for the REV speakers. If you want the ultimate in sound quality, go with the JL Audio. The sound quality from the JL and the REV tower speakers aren't in the same zip code, but they aren't designed to do the same things.

Colors & Grille Options

The Wet Sounds REV 8, REV 10, and REV 410 come in both gloss white and gloss black enclosures. Regardless of the enclosure color, the speakers have a black cone with a stainless steel grille. You can also opt for a translucent grille (sold separately) if you choose to add RGB LEDs rings and the grille of the speaker will light up the same color as the LEDs in the speaker ring. The JL Audio tower speakers come in both black and white as well but you have more grille options and you have the option to purchase the speakers with RGB LEDs. The white JL Audio tower speakers come with a gloss white enclosure and there are both classic and sport grille options. The classic grilles are a closed-style grille while the sport grilles are "open-style." The black JL Audio enclosures have a satin black finish and the speaker grilles themselves are gunmetal.

Mounting Hardware

All Wet Sounds tower speakers come with mounting hardware. When you select Wet Sounds tower speakers, you have the option to select between X Mount (Surface Mount), swivel clamps, or fixed clamps. In addition, Wet Sounds offers a wide selection of OEM tower mount adapters so that you can easily mount REV tower speakers to the factory speaker mounts on your wake tower. None of the JL Audio tower speakers come with mounting hardware. The hardware is sold separately and you purchase diamter specific clamps in either a fixed or swivel style configuration. Like Wet Sounds, JL Audio also offers a wide range of tower adapters so that you can easily mount JL Audio tower speakers to the stock locationon your boat's wake tower.

Our Recommendation

Our recommendation between the Wet Sounds tower speakers and JL Audio tower speakers depends on the intended use, the amount of power you have from your amplifiers, and what speakers you currently have in your boat.

1. If you want maximum volume and distance, and you want to broadcast your music to the people you are towing, we recommend the Wet Sounds tower speakers.
2. If you are want the best possible sound quality and you are not looking for distance, but you are instead selecting tower speakers because you have a nice location to mount them and you don't want to cut holes in the hull of your boat, we recommend the JL Audio M6 ETXv3 tower speakers.
3. If you only have 75 or 100 watts of RMS power, we DO NOT recommend Wet Sounds REV tower speakers. If you want REV 8's or REV 10's, get a bigger amp
4. If your boat has a complete Wet Sounds system and you like it, but you don't have the power for REV 8's, we recommend the ICON or RECON tower speakers.
5. If your boat has a complete JL Audio system and you like it, we recommend sticking with JL Audio, unless you have a wakeboard boat and you just want to broadcast and blast the person/people you are towing with maximum volume.