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Glad it worked out for you. I have the 500 watt amp, but they didnt change the speakers as it was added at their cost merely to make the rear speakers on the tour pak work. Ill have to see how it sounds once the new shield is on but for now I couldnt hear ****. I definitely need to change out the speakers though.
I'm just in the process of adding tour pak speakers.. (All the parts are sitting on my living room floor as I type this ).
The only difference when it comes to connecting them is that I have to adapt the tour pak speaker plug to fit the audio harness under the seat. This involves cutting off the connector on the tour pak harness, crimping pins on the four wires, then inserting them into the plug under the seat.
They say you need the 500W amp if you want to run four speakers, so I picked one up. On the instruction page for the amp it says in bold print in two locations "Damage WILL occur to OE speakers when this audio amplifier is installed".
I'm not into hi-fi or loudness, so I just picked up a pair of Rockford Fosgate Stage 1 speakers for the fairing and a pair of RF Stage 1 speakers for the tour pak pods. I guess if I need loud I can upgrade to a better speaker at a later date. One nice thing is that the fairing speakers come with metal grilles which look much better than the stock plastic ones.
I figure it will take a few days to install the whole mess.. (I do more thinking than doing when I'm working on a project I'll report back to this thread when I'm done.
I'm just in the process of adding tour pak speakers.. (All the parts are sitting on my living room floor as I type this ).
The only difference when it comes to connecting them is that I have to adapt the tour pak speaker plug to fit the audio harness under the seat. This involves cutting off the connector on the tour pak harness, crimping pins on the four wires, then inserting them into the plug under the seat.
They say you need the 500W amp if you want to run four speakers, so I picked one up. On the instruction page for the amp it says in bold print in two locations "Damage WILL occur to OE speakers when this audio amplifier is installed".
I'm not into hi-fi or loudness, so I just picked up a pair of Rockford Fosgate Stage 1 speakers for the fairing and a pair of RF Stage 1 speakers for the tour pak pods. I guess if I need loud I can upgrade to a better speaker at a later date. One nice thing is that the fairing speakers come with metal grilles which look much better than the stock plastic ones.
I figure it will take a few days to install the whole mess.. (I do more thinking than doing when I'm working on a project I'll report back to this thread when I'm done.
Well I say its the OE speakers because the grilles havent changed and they dont look like what is on the website for the upgraded speakers. They also sound like distorted crap when I crank the volume so I assume they are stock junk.
OK.. reporting back.. Spent a few hours in the garage this afternoon installing the RF 500W amp & RF Stage 1 speakers in the fairing. (Will tackle the tour pack speakers at a later date).
The amp went in OK. Pretty straight forward. OUt of interest, I got out the kitchen scale. The stage 1 speakers weigh 23.7 oz vs 13.0 oz for the stock speakers.. I wouldn't call the stage 1's beefy, but the magnets are noticeably larger.
The sound is way better than I thought it would be. Head and shoulders over the stock setup. I haven't been on the road yet, but I found it unpleasant to listen to at full volume in the garage. I can feel the bass notes with my feet as they vibrate the floorboards. I'm amazed to see so much bass out of a 6.25 inch speaker. And these are Stage I, (4 Ohms at 75W). I can't imagine the stage II and III (2 Ohm speakers at 125W)... Or for that matter some quality 2 Ohm speakers from outfits like Hertz or Polk.
Even with Stage 1 speakers, I'm counting this upgrade as definitely 'worth it'.
Originally Posted by dawg
Well I say its the OE speakers because the grilles havent changed and they dont look like what is on the website for the upgraded speakers. They also sound like distorted crap when I crank the volume so I assume they are stock junk.
If you're running stock speakers, you've gotta upgrade. As I mentioned above, the difference is huge. Harley sells two Stage 1 speaker kits meant to go with the 500W amp., One kit is for the fairing and the other for the tour-pak pods. Strangely, the part numbers are different, but the speakers are exactly the same. The only difference is the grilles. The grilles for the fairing and tour pak pods are shaped differently. The links below show what I'm using.
I haven’t bought anything from Volunteer Audio, but after watching their video’s on the 24’s it is obvious based on Volunteers dyno tests, anything Rockford is less then desirable. Volunteer has exactly what I believe most Harley owners want - no butchering, cutting, rewiring, etc. If I am going to spend the money, then I want a system I can easily hear at highway speeds, regardless if I use helmet speakers/earbuds. Being able to clearly hear at almost any speed with clarity to me means the system is delivering the music or talk the best it can be. Using helmet/earbuds will be just that much more enjoyable and clear.
I have a 2024 FLTRX with the stock audio system. I am considering upgrading to the optional RF 500W amp and the Stage II fairing speakers. Im curious if anyone has done this, and what you think.
To be clear, Im talking only about the fairing speakers. Im not looking for any saddlebag or lower speakers. And I fully understand that I can do better for less $$ if I go aftermarket. But this is a dealer credit, and can only be applied to genuine HD accessories. And these two components will utilize the $1,000 that I have available. Will the difference in sound quality be noticeable better, or is it a waste without also doing the saddlebag speakers (which I will never do)?
I am not an audiophile. I usually feel that factory car radios are adequate for me. Thats just for reference on my expectations. For the Road Glide, I would just like to be able to hear it at 75MPH with my full face helmet.
I have not done this yet, but I did talk to a guy who said he just had a meeting with Rockford fosgate and they are about 18 months away from having a stage 3 audio option available with the 800 watt amp or possibly more (this was 2 months ago). I had a stage 3 in my 19 SG and I felt it was what I needed at highway speed(I like it loud). The 500 watt is a lot less than 800watt. Might be worth it to wait it out if your looking for the best audio possible.
Is there any reason you Cant put any amp in there with "high" power inputs and wire the speaker outputs to that for a signal?
The head unit isn't really a head unit and the digital signal lives in the amp, so the digital output has to be hijacked from the factory amp. If the factory amp is removed there is no speaker level output to use. The current bandaid solutions run the amp outputs through a DSP and then to an aftermarket amp to the speakers. Supposedly the stock digital signal is unusable without significant cleanup needed in the DSP. A couple of vendors are working on a digital A-B interface that will allow removal of the stock amp and then anything is fair game. Until then the amps are limited by what will fit in the fairing with the stock amp still in there.
I replaced the fairing speakers with Stage II along with the amp. I also flashed the amp to be running on the latest software. The sound was significantly better than stock.
Although I was happy with just the fairing speakers I went ahead and added the saddle bag Stage II speakers as well. This was an even more significant improvement!
Sinister sound has some in Florida I believe check their website. A local dealer had a street glide with their fairing speakers, its loud. 800 watt amp 400 watts channeled to each speaker. It is probably the best audio available right now.
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