I posted this back in Sept. and got great advice yet to no avail as far as locals... but going to try again...Just hate this even happened but it is what it is and just need someone experienced to help out a Brother..Thx all...Whenever this weather breaks which will be SOON !!!

"I have an 2010 Ultra Limited with a stock HU....A new PBR 300x2 amp and 2 front BT7.1 speakers..My buddy and I hooked it up and it just sounds like crap....At times the stock back speakers sound better...I have had some advice and will try and check those things out Saturday. I know when we did this weeks back my buddy had posted a few questions and got some advice from you as I did when pulling the trigger on this setup...I am NOT tech savvy whatsoever so that's why I was looking for someone not too far away to take this rig and figure something out...Hopefully just something a simple adjustment will fix...Fader is set to middle as is bass and treble...AVC off for the most aprt...At times it seems to sound good but 99% of time it sucks and really sucks spending $$$ and the stock system almost sounded better"

 

Not familiar with the RF amps except for what I've read on here but it sounds to me as if the amp isn't working. I'm sure someone with more knowledge with these amps will chime in. Good luck.

2010 Limited with some stuff!!

 

SBates08..Got some great advice back in September but still unable to diagnose this mess....Planning on going out west this year with the wife and want this thing sounding like it should.

 

I'm in cincy, as far as dialing in the amp bike should be running. The bt7.1 speaker should be over powering the rear. How does the sound "suck" distortion , fuzz etc?
Are the rear speakers running off amp or stereo?

dialing in amp with bike running, I would fade the sound to the front to set the speakers. Follow post about setting, turn volume 3/4 way on head unit. Starting the gain on the PBR300x2 at 0 and turn it up till distortion. On average the gain with the stock head unit is 5-5.5.

I had a stock head unit and switched over to a kenwood one to bring the speakers alive. Running the pbr300xw & kappas , still in the process of setting the sound up.

 

OP: please provide more details on definition of sounds like Crap.
no volume or distorted or....
did you run ground to battery or the main ground point in front of the battery?
put music in HK HU, put volume on 13 (that is the highest volume WITHOUT distortion), start with gains on PBR dialed all the way BACK. play some music and SLOWLY start upping the gains. you will never be able to overpower the BT speakers, BUT.... if you send a super distorted signal to it by putting the gains on max, you might blow them up... so be careful. above is dialing in the amp by ear of course.
you can do this initially without the bike running and if possible disconnect the rear pod speakers or put your fader on the HK HU all the way to the front so you only hear the BT speakers...

 

I will try to explain sound...Just very weak and not really distorted.I know def didn't max out gains..I believe the ground is attached to the power steering screw under the triple tree. I totally agree the fronts should be blowing away the stock back ones...The bike is buried in the back of garage but first warm day will get it out and try all the advice...I just am no good technical wise and never should have tried with friend. My old Ultra I had went with hog tunes which was all plug and play and this was a totally different beast.

 

Satch - Are you using RCA's or high level inputs on your set up?

 

If you're correct on the ground wire that's the first thing I'd change. According to RF it needs to be grounded to the battery. If that doesn't fix the issue we'll go through each possibility one at a time. It could be the speakers are connected wrong and running out of phase, if you're using RCA connections and don't have the remote power wire connected then the amp isn't turning on, etc. It's a process of elimination. Unfortunately I'm just outside Chicago or I'd come give you a hand.

 

Gannicus, I don't have a clue on inputs..I know that sounds damn sorry but don't really know...Little Mike when you say ground to battery you just mean to negative post correct ??? It is going to get nice next week so figure I will pull the batwing off and see whats up....I know wires are twisted and taped so could be a loose wire..The ground will be the start then...osuhd...will follow the things you said and see whats up...This just sucks but hopefully will get this thing fixed somehow..Thx all I really appreciate it

 

Don't know where exactly you're at but if your ever in the Cleveland area once the weather breaks I could take a look at it. I have the same speakers and amp. Pretty tech savvy and comfortable with stereo stuff.

As far as the ground wire. Yes you want to run a wire from the battery negative direct to the amp negative. Here is the advisory from Fosgate. You also want to make sure your using a good gauge wire for this and have a power line with a fuse in it. The power line should be battery positive terminal - inline fuse - amplifier power.

Second, when they ask if you are using RCA or not. If you have the factory head unit it is likely you're not using RCA connectors. RCA connectors are the circle with a pin in the center like you might see a yellow/white/red on the back of a TV.

When they talk about phase. In simple terms thats discussing if the + and the - speaker wires are correct or backwards. If one speaker is +/- and the other is -/+ it can create issues and cancel out sound. To verify this is all correct you have to ensure the speaker lines leaving the factory stereo into the amp are correct. Then verify the speaker wires from the amp to the speakers are correct.

Your amp has a LP/AP/HP switch. For trouble shooting I would put it on AP (All pass). LP = low pass which is allowing only low bass tones to the speakers. HP= high pass which only allows mid to high tones to pass through. AP lets everything through. You'll notice that you have a dial labeled FREQ on the amp. That dial is inactive if you set your switch to AP. If you switch to HP or LP that dial determines where the cutoff is.

I would set your gain at 5. That's where mine was when I had it hooked to the factory head unit.

I would turn your AVC (Auto Volume Control - controls volume based on your speed) on your factory head unit off. That can cause distortion and if your trouble shooting, it is best to take anything you can control out of the equation first, then mess with it once you have it working well. Make sure your bass and treble settings are set to the neutral position as well on the factory head unit. I would then fade the speakers to fronts only to start and take the backs out of the equation. The back speakers should not be wired into the amp at all assuming your running factory rear speakers still). If they are that could be a large portion of your problem.


Hope some of these ideas help.