Alright fellas and ladies, I'll start by saying, "Please forgive my ignorance"....

I've been looking at a number of systems for my '06 Street Glide. Nothing fancy, just want a decent amp and speakers to give me better sound than I currently have with the 10 year old factory setup. However, I don't want to skimp so much that I'm left disappointed once it's all said and done. So here's my questions for those of you who are more tech savvy than I am (that's probably all of you)

1. What's the difference or which is better between 2 ohm and 4 ohm speakers and amps?
2. How many watts are sufficient to hear at 75 MPH over Reinharts and a shorty windshield?
3. Are the audio kits from J&M, Arc, Rockford or Biketronics worth it or are they designed for dummies like me so we can't mess them up or for the budget conscious?
4. Any suggestions on a nice system, boxed or custom, for under $600.00?

Thanks

 

C,

With 600 bucks you can do some damage. Check out my thread "My 500.00 system will eat your lunch". Two most important questions:

1. Do you listen to FM?
2. How many speakers?

The first one is the most important one. The majority of Class D amps (which is what's safe to use on our charging systems) have some sort of impact on FM reception. For some very little loss, or none...and for some all loss of FM reception. Do a search here, it's a toss up.

If you are fine with risking loss of FM reception then that opens up a ton of options for awesome low cost amps. With 600 bucks you could just about even swap out your HU for a better aftermarket one that has a USB drive, Bluetooth so you can stream from your phone, etc.

As for the audio kits. The only one I would recommend is Biketronics. The other kits are a bit underpowered.

 

Thanks for the response Haze. I'll check out your thread. I only occasionally listen to FM, like if I'm looking for local traffic info in a place I am visiting. I'm planning on staying with my 2 speaker set up, as I don't have a tour pack and I don't want to lose storage space in my bags.

 

Lowers will add two more speakers with no loss of storage in the bags. Just a thought.

 

me personally I would risk the loss of FM reception and try as many of the work arounds to mitigate any loss.

With 600 bucks:

Biketronics 7P1 speakers - 200.00 (on pre-sale right now, reg is 250.00)
Cerwin B2 - 115.00
Kenwood 562BT Radion - 99.00 on Amazon
Metra mounting bracket - 35.00
ASWC-1 - Hand control Module - 45.00
Amp mounting kit - 15.00
Polyfill - 10.00
BT waterproof cover - 20.00

That's around 500 bucks. If you really wanted to local radio and traffic you could stream it from your phone via Bluetooth or run a USB cable to your phone and charge it while you ride. There's a post of a guy who used the Cerwin B2 amp and with some work arounds maintained 85% of his FM reception.

 

do not forget powerline - Boss 8AWG on amazon I believe Gann always suggests.
polyfill is actually a bit less money LOL. ditto for Metra and ASWC1 (just google - usually Amazon and ebay combined provide the lowest price.
In short, for 600 you will be done and DO GET the BT71 speakers!!!!!!!

 

ooops didn't mean amp mounting kit --- just use Velcro for that (add 5.00).

I meant an install kit with 8AWG power and ground.

 

LOL. . . .Done!

 

Thanks for the replies. Hades, I don't have lowers, but, if I did, I'd go for it.
This may be another whole thread; but why does an amp kill FM reception?

 

Long story short (EMI) or better known as Electro Magnetic Interference. These signals emit from most class D amps and interfere with the FM signal. Because most of our amps sit directly on top of the radio it's a huge problem with motorcycle audio. Only a couple class D amps out there that are not affected.