Thanks U N I hope anyone doing this install in the future does considers doing it the same way...it may save taking the thing apart one day to fix it.

 

Finally got it! I've installed two RF PBR300x2, one front and one back on 2015 FLTRXS 6.5 radio. Boom audio speakers front and saddlebag lids. Initial dealer flash was per RF Advisory, but fader didn't work. Left dealer the first time with no sound.

I originally wired amps for line voltage amp turn on and worked on stock flash, but bass way down and still sounded like crap. EQ bass settings were terrible with additional power. After RF flash, the internal amps were turned off which resulted in too,low power for line level turn on. Doing the radio EQ setup, the .bin file was 135-off. Decent sound, flat EQ but fader doesnt work.

Added remote turn on wire. Sound came back. With internal amps off, they serve as low level inputs to the external amp. Need remote turn on.

Read a lot of these forums and found a 4 speaker option worked for some. Worked with the HD tech today with what I've found and made another flash. You go in through the digital tech and select amp1 & amp2 off (these are the head unit internal amps when you do not have external amps). Selected 4 speaker output, with no amps. I believe this setting is referring to external HD Boom amps because the Boom amp runs the fader control. After the flash, the EQ .bin file was 02-OFF. Seen here elsewhere, this does work. You do not load the .bin file directly, it is loaded automatically by the digital tech configuration.

Bottom line, RF advisory is wrong. Will not have fader control. Amps off, 4 speaker no amp for aftermarket amp rocks! Thing is f-n loud! Half volume all the way home, sounds awesome! AVC does work but who cares. Fader works as it should and output is louder than previous flash. Took some trial and error, but well worth it. Bought the bike there but the two trips and flashes didn't cost a thing.

2 RF PBR300x2 amps at $160 ea and some better than stock speakers (boom in my case), another $60 for amp wiring and some home made amp brackets and I got 700+ watts of kickin power. Done deal well worth it. Probably gonna need better speakers that can handle 175w plus once I blow the HDs.

 

I'm doing the Alpine MRV-F300, on a suggestion from U N. It's a four channel, so presumably the flash you did would work for me too. I was going to rely on line level to turn on amp, but maybe I'll do the remote turn on before I go in to have the flash done.

 

I'd run the remote wire while it's all apart. I had to disassemble it all again to add it.
Was concerned about leaving head unit amps on since they are the low power amps perhaps that's what the high bass EQ curve was tied to.

 

I agree. I've also talked with RF about updating their recommended settings Advisory bulletin to include the statement of using a remote turn on wire instead of line level inputs.

 

I don't understand High/Low level input as far as can you put low into high I know we don't put high into low with out converting it I never thought about it. Every thing I have played with if it had low level RCAs then I used them.

Short story I put a 6.5 radio in a 14 FLHX had to have dealer flash it to bike it has symptoms that make you go get it flashed not to mention they activate the maps.

Before flash very loud it was louder than my 4.3 system. After flash VERY low volume. How they determined what flash to use I don't know because I think it was for a amp as I have a lost communication with amp fault on head unit on the diagnostics screen.

I have now added a amp and its much better but I am going to get another flash and I think I have a idea of what I want to flash to it.

I measured the radio output and its below 3v I wish I would of written down what exactly it was. 2.? I have this wired into high level input on the amp.

What difference will it make moving the input to the low level?

If the 6.5 is capable of low level from a "flash" the down side I see is the EQ curve. I could just about live with my system right now but it has VERY little bass sound movement on adjustment from head unit you can adjust up and down and hardly detect by ear. The treble has lots of noticeable sound movement. Right now playing with it I have treble almost all the way down and bass all the way up.


I am just curious exactly what the general rules are for high-low level inputs and true impact on sound and adjustments from head unit?

After the next dealer flash and first time I get in fairing I am going to measure the head unit output and I anticipate it will measure higher and if it does. Will that mean this head unit is cable of high and low level input to amp?

 

Sam2010

As I understand it, the internal amps produce the high level output. When I had dealer switch off amp, I no longer had enough line voltage for high level turn on thus I had to run the remote turn on wire. Not sure, but I suspect the EQ enhancements are tied to the internal 25 watt amps, knowing they don't have enough power to sound good by themself.

I agree, I've always need told the low level or rca jack input/output is better. Fortunately the head unit does not have rca jacks standard. Not sure about the new infotainment systems, but Iron Cross Audio offered an rca jack upgrade for the older radios. Turn the internal amps off and I think you get the same thing.

 

No HD head unit since start of audio on bikes comes stock with low level outputs/RCA jacks.
as for understanding it and as basic as I can explain it; High level outputs (speaker wires) coming from a head unit can be used to either drive a speaker or an amp that supports high level inputs. Low level outputs (RCA jacks) coming from head unit cannot be used to drive anything other than an electronic device such as an amp with RCA inputs or crossover, etc. with RCA inputs.
No HD radio made to date comes stock with low level outputs so your options are using something like a PAC SNI15 speaker wire to rca (high level to low level adapter) from your head unit to your amp or if your amp supports it, simply use high level (speaker wires) inputs.

when you tie an aftermarket amp to a stock head unit, you will not retain correct HD/HK amp/speaker diagnostics on the head unit. This is not new news. It's been this way since electronic diagnostics were introduced on the 06 and up head units from HD/HK. The head unit diagnostics is looking for a speaker with a very specific impedance or an amp with a very specific input and what it's seeing is the aftermarket amp (which won't talk back to the head unit like a HD amp does) instead and doesn't know what to do with it.

measuring output of head unit with a DMM at the speaker levels really isn't going to tell you much other than you have output and what the output level is at varying volumes and without a solid 0db test tone, the readings will fluctuate quite sporadically. The only way to truly test this is with an oscilloscope and a specific test tone that does not fluctuate but yet sends a given signal output that can be accurately measured.

you haven't mentioned what amp you're using but in reality, it's not worth fooling with and in fact might make it worse for you.

got to have RCA outputs, flash won't have anything to do with it. The EQ curve is a whole nother beast.

I would have the dealer flash for your proper setup.


on a motorcycle it really doesn't matter. This is not audiophile quality by any means even with 1000s of $ spent. Still going to be a motorcycle riding down the road with ALL KINDS of ambient noises to deal with. When you're talking about a vehicle that has 10s of 1000s of $ spent on equipment, installation, proper phase shifting of speakers facing each other, facing away from each other, center channel priority, and pink noise generators then I would worry about it.

every head unit out there is capable of high or level outputs. Remember -
HIGH - Speaker Level Outputs
LOW - RCA Outputs.
to get RCA outputs on a head unit that only has speaker outputs, you need to use a converter such as the PAC adapters.


In closing I'll say this and don't take this the wrong way OP as it's not directed at you personally, just trying to make y'all understand that you're WAY overthinking this.

Some of you guys pay way too much attention to and spend way too much time on things that really don't matter on a bike or trying to get that very last decibel of output at a certain EQ setting. Put your sound system together, have your head unit flashed (might take a couple of trips to get it right), and go enjoy what you did instead of worrying about these things. I guarantee you that my setup is NOT audiophile quality (nor is anyone else's for that matter) by any resemblance of the word because I know it will never be on a bike. It's loud, it's clear, it makes me happy.

 

UN. Thanks and I wont take it personal. You misunderstood a little but my fault as I'm not clear about what I know and dont, I don't think my amp will communicate With bike. when I changed radio I got a fubar flash from the stsrt. What you are saying makes sense. "Over thinking" I am going to take that advice for sure. We have oscilloscopes at work little over rated in my opinion. It's my hope to prevent multiple flashes for every one think we could get this flash thing narrowed down and get a better handle at it.

 

Sam2010 sir; the sad part about it is, unless you are lucky enough like Frank to get a tech that
1) kinda sorta knows what he's doing and
2) is willing to work with you while you're there and not send you on your way to figure it out

then your last statement unfortunately is the way it's going to go. Wasted trips dealing with folks who barely know how to use the Digital Tech to begin with and are far less understanding about what specifically the different flashes do. This Radio and Flash thing IMO is one of the biggest run-arounds that I've ever seen HD techs try to handle. It's not their fault as they were thrown into this just as the end user was my Mother Harley with absolutely no training whatsoever and left to try and figure it out at the customer's expense (time)

No wonder I'm seeing dealers around here offering $1000 more for your trade in on an Indian if it's a Harley. HDs customer support from the mother-ship absolutely sucks to put it mildly.