JL Audio M3 vs. M6 Marine Speakers

Available Sizes

Grille Options

Both the M6 and the M3 speakers are offered in sport white, classic white, and sport gunmetal speaker grille options for all sizes. The sport grilles are available with RGB LEDs and the classic grilles are not. Prior to the pandemic, the classic white grilles were available with RGB LEDs in the M6 line, but due to supply chain and labor issues, they have been unavailable and will remain unavailable until further notice. With the M3 speakers, they do not have the Transflective technology and instead the RGB LEDs are integrated into the back side of the grille, behind the tweeter. If you want the RGB LEDs in the M3, you will need to select a sport grille in either white or gunmetal.

Matching Tower Speakers

The M3 tower speakers are only offered in a 7.7" diameter. The M6 tower speakers come in both a 7.7" and an 8.8" sizes. The white speakers come with gloss white enclosures and the gunemtal speakers come with satin black enclosures. The clamps for the tower speakers are sold separately and you have your choice between fixed clamp, swivel clamp, surface mount, or OEM tower adapters for select boat models.

Matching Subwoofers

Both the M6 and the M3 have matching 10" subwoofers available. Just like the speakers, the M6 has an RGB LED option for each color and style of grille while the M3 only offers RGB LED's for the sport style grilles. M3 Subwoofers are only available in 10" diameter while M6 Subwoofers are avialable in both 8" and 10" widths. JL Audio also has an M7 12-inch subwoofer that looks the same as the M6, it's just bigger and better than the M6 line, so they made it M7.

Power Handling

The power handling between M3 and M6 vary by speaker size. The 6.5" M3 speakers handle 60W RMS and the M6 handle 70W. The 7.7" M3 handle 70W RMS while the M6 can handle 100W. There are no 8.8" M3 speakers, but the M6 8.8" speakers can handle 125W RMS.

Efficiency Ratings

Speakers have efficiency ratings which tell you how loud that speaker plays at a certain distance given X amount of power. It is usually done as 1 watt per 1 meter. This number tells us how loud those speakers are going to play when power is held constant. If I give each speaker 50 watts of power, one speaker has a SPL rating of 89 dB, the other has an SPL rating of 92 dB, the speaker with the SPL rating of 92 dB is going to play louder. However, speakers are subjective and louder is not always better, but you can always turn the volume down. This number just tells us how efficient those speakers are. Both the 6.5" M3 and M6 have an efficiency rating of 89.5 dB. This tells us that they are equally efficient. In the 7.7", the M3 have a rating of 90.5 dB and the M6 are rated at 91 dB. The 8.8" M6 have an SPL rating of 90.5 dB.

Tweeter Size

The JL Audio M6 speakers have larger tweeters than their M3 counterparts. In a 6.5" speaker, the M3 has a .75" tweeter and the M6 has a .8" tweeter. In the 7.7" diameter, the M3 keeps the same .75" tweeter while the M6 steps up to a 1" tweeter. Both the M3 and the M6 have specially treated, silk dome tweeters for a sound profile that is rich, warm, and very musical compared to hard dome tweeters which are definitely brighter but also tend to be harsher.

Power Source

We recommend using an amplifier for all marine speakers because a boat is a loud, noisy, open-air environment. The more power you give your speakers, the louder, clearer, and with less or even no distortion. However, if you are powering speakers directly off of your head unit, you can use the JL Audio M3 speakers. The M3 will sound completely different and significantly better with an amp, but they will work off of deck power. If you are using deck power, we do not recommend the M6 speakers. Your radio does not put out enough power to give the M6 the juice they want. It is not worth spending the extra money for the M6 when the M3 will sound much better with deck power.

6.5" Speakers

7.7" Speakers

8.8" Speakers

Our Recommendation

The JL Audio M3 speakers are more popular than the M6 becaues of their price point. The M3 give you a marine grade speaker with a silk-dome tweeter. From an accuracy, sound quality, and a truly musical experience, the price point of the M3 speakers is tough to beat. At the same time, the M6 speakers are flat out, the best sounding marine speakers in the world. If you want sound quality and you want truly, beautiful sound that will withstand the elements, you will not find a better sounding speaker, period. However, you are paying a significant premium. If you are thinking to yourself, "I don't care, I have the money, I want the best," go with the M6. If you read this, look at the chart below, and say, "I really want the M6, but I don't know if I can justify the price difference," the M3 are going to sound really, really good and you will still love them. My name is Jeff and I own the company. If I am going with 6.5" speakers, I am going to go with the M3. I can't justify the expense of the M6. The tweeters are roughly the same size, they are equally efficient, and the power rating difference is negligible. If I am going with 7.7" speakers, it will depend on my budget. If I have no budget, and I want to show off with the best of the best, give me the M6. If I am looking for a great value, I would go with the M3.

The other part of this is that bigger is better. If you can fit the 8.8" M6 and you have the budget for both the speakers and the amplifier(s) to power them, go with the 8.8". You won't regret it.

Now, if the RGB LEDs are important to you, the Transflective RGB LED's that come one the M6 speakers are truly amazing. The light output is super bright and they illumination is extremely smooth and even. They are the best looking lighted speakers in the world and it isn't close.

So, if you are the type of person that likes nice things and the money isn't that important, cry once and go with the M6. They are the top of the line marine speakers. Otherwise, the M3 are still incredible and much more affordable.