Did the 6.5" speaker upgrade
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Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 997
Likes: 96
From: Channahon, IL.
Did the 6.5" speaker upgrade
I did the 6.5" speaker upgrade tonight. Polk 6.5" in the fairing and put Polk 5.25" in the rear pods with a 300w BMW amp. What a difference! The bass response and clarity of the highs is unbelievable. I'd recommend this upgrade to anyone who hasn't already done it.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 997
Likes: 96
From: Channahon, IL.
Both the 6.5" and the 5.25" speakers are the Polk DXI. They are marine certified and the 6.5"'s have an RMS of 60w with a peak of 180w and the 5.25"'s have an RMS of 45w and a peak of I believe 145w.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 997
Likes: 96
From: Channahon, IL.
I'm not sure which one you saw, I did a search too but didn't see the model I have. The one I have is a 300w 4ch. But, yes, I know I paid under $100 for it and it has been installed for two years with no problems. I had been running it with some better than stock speakers and decided to really upgrade the speakers both in quality and size and it has no problem driving the new Polks. Nice and clear. Great bass response (for 6.5") and the highs are really clear too. The amp also has an adjustable gain for Ch1&2 and 3&4 so I was able to set the fronts as 1&2 and the rears as 3&4 and then tune the output accordingly.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
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From: Baton Rouge, LA
I did something similar with Biketronics-Hertz 6˝" in the fairing, Hogtunes Tweeter Pod, and Elf 125w/ch. amp (@ 2Ω) and agree that going with 6˝" speakers and more power is a meaningful upgrade. I can post a photo if anyone is interested and Mike doesn't mind, as I don't want to hijack his thread. I already had the Tweeter Pod from the old Hogtunes setup, and the amp and speakers were purchased for a total of $340, which was a real bargain.
Last edited by iclick; Jul 31, 2011 at 02:44 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Lewisberry PA
Mike, how difficult was this amp to put in? Did you take the input to the speakers into the amp and the output then to the speakers? For the cost of this amp, I am really thinking about giving it a try. I had 6.5 speakers, but they were 4 ohm, and my head is 2 ohm, I just put in the boom speakers and they are not bad, but at 80 mph, my wife says they new ones sound the same to her. I do know some of her issue is the bubs..but again great cost on the amp.
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Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: May 2008
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From: Channahon, IL.
Mike, how difficult was this amp to put in? Did you take the input to the speakers into the amp and the output then to the speakers? For the cost of this amp, I am really thinking about giving it a try. I had 6.5 speakers, but they were 4 ohm, and my head is 2 ohm, I just put in the boom speakers and they are not bad, but at 80 mph, my wife says they new ones sound the same to her. I do know some of her issue is the bubs..but again great cost on the amp.
luc, the amp wasn't that difficult to put in although a little tight. I had to clip the zip ties securing the main wiring harness that travels over the radio and lift it so I could slide the amp underneath it. Once under it the amp is far enough back that the fairing doesn't hit it. My bike is an 04 before the HK radios and I believe is a 4 ohm. The other thing I had to contend with the fact that the rear pods were an add on and the radio only had a left and right output vs left front, left rear etc. Here is were it got a little complicated so if I don't explain it well tell me and I will try to explain better.
I started with a line output converter (you can find them online or at BestBuy in the car audio install area). This takes the high output speaker wires from the radio and converts it to a low output RCA for the amp. Now for the 4 ch amp there should be 4 inputs so if you use an RCA "Y" cable to go from the converter to the amp you will have 4 inputs. You can then input so that you have a right front, right rear, left front, left rear. It's not a true 4ch but you will be able to balance left and right but no fade. Now if you put the split outputs from the converter into the right amp inputs you will be able to still have left and right but channels 1/2 on the amp will be the R/L front and channels 3/4 will be R/L rears so that you can use the gain adjustments to get the most out of the 6.5's in front without blowing the smaller rears. So if you picture the amp inputs the split cable for the right channel will be put into 1 and three for example and the split left signal into 2 and 4 then just be sure you connect the correct speakers to the amp outputs.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Lewisberry PA
@ iclick...post away. In hindsight I wish I had taken pictures, she is all buttoned back up now.
luc, the amp wasn't that difficult to put in although a little tight. I had to clip the zip ties securing the main wiring harness that travels over the radio and lift it so I could slide the amp underneath it. Once under it the amp is far enough back that the fairing doesn't hit it. My bike is an 04 before the HK radios and I believe is a 4 ohm. The other thing I had to contend with the fact that the rear pods were an add on and the radio only had a left and right output vs left front, left rear etc. Here is were it got a little complicated so if I don't explain it well tell me and I will try to explain better.
I started with a line output converter (you can find them online or at BestBuy in the car audio install area). This takes the high output speaker wires from the radio and converts it to a low output RCA for the amp. Now for the 4 ch amp there should be 4 inputs so if you use an RCA "Y" cable to go from the converter to the amp you will have 4 inputs. You can then input so that you have a right front, right rear, left front, left rear. It's not a true 4ch but you will be able to balance left and right but no fade. Now if you put the split outputs from the converter into the right amp inputs you will be able to still have left and right but channels 1/2 on the amp will be the R/L front and channels 3/4 will be R/L rears so that you can use the gain adjustments to get the most out of the 6.5's in front without blowing the smaller rears. So if you picture the amp inputs the split cable for the right channel will be put into 1 and three for example and the split left signal into 2 and 4 then just be sure you connect the correct speakers to the amp outputs.
luc, the amp wasn't that difficult to put in although a little tight. I had to clip the zip ties securing the main wiring harness that travels over the radio and lift it so I could slide the amp underneath it. Once under it the amp is far enough back that the fairing doesn't hit it. My bike is an 04 before the HK radios and I believe is a 4 ohm. The other thing I had to contend with the fact that the rear pods were an add on and the radio only had a left and right output vs left front, left rear etc. Here is were it got a little complicated so if I don't explain it well tell me and I will try to explain better.
I started with a line output converter (you can find them online or at BestBuy in the car audio install area). This takes the high output speaker wires from the radio and converts it to a low output RCA for the amp. Now for the 4 ch amp there should be 4 inputs so if you use an RCA "Y" cable to go from the converter to the amp you will have 4 inputs. You can then input so that you have a right front, right rear, left front, left rear. It's not a true 4ch but you will be able to balance left and right but no fade. Now if you put the split outputs from the converter into the right amp inputs you will be able to still have left and right but channels 1/2 on the amp will be the R/L front and channels 3/4 will be R/L rears so that you can use the gain adjustments to get the most out of the 6.5's in front without blowing the smaller rears. So if you picture the amp inputs the split cable for the right channel will be put into 1 and three for example and the split left signal into 2 and 4 then just be sure you connect the correct speakers to the amp outputs.
Thanks Mike, I got it.I didn;t know they make line converters. There had to be something reducing the output before running into the amp. Many years ago when i replaced my car stereo's they had pre-amp outputs for amps.
Thanks again, I may give this a try, the price is awesome.
Thanks
Luke
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
I've since added an extra homemade bracket to help secure the heavy (2˝#) speaker. I pride myself in my crude jury-rigging skills.
Last edited by iclick; Jul 31, 2011 at 09:03 PM.