I recently installed a set of Kappa 60.11cs on my '14 Electra Glide. These are my initial thoughts after a quick tune and single ride. Bottom line, these a really nice speakers. If you're already running 62.11i then it's probably not worth your money to upgrade. If you're new in the market for a quality set of components that won't break the budget, these are worth a listen.

My system:
Boom 6.5
Flat EQ flash
Audio Contol LC2i line converter
Rockford Fosgate PBR 300x2

I'm currently running a single PBR 300x2 into the Infinity crossovers. LC2i is set to 4v output with bike running. PBR gain is set right at around 7 with a HP crossover at about 100hz.

I mounted the woofer into the factory plastic fairing speaker boxes with a little poly fill. Spent some extra time testing and sealing up the gaps before reassembling the fairing because these woofers do move some air and produced a little buzz in one of the cabinets. I surface mounted the tweeters to the front of some V-twin Audio grilles similar to the Boom stage II. I mounted one of the crossovers in the open slot between the radio and clutch side speaker pod, and the other is mounted above the radio next to the PBR. Space is getting really tight in my fairing, and mounting these could be an issue if you have a lot of equipment installed.

One note of interest is measured impedance. These are advertised as 2ohms nominal. I measured Re of 2.5ohms (DC) at the crossover. This would make them roughly a 3ohms nominal speaker and pretty much right in the ball park of the Polk MM series. It's not a huge issue for my setup, but something to be aware of and do your math first if you plan on running a series or parallel configuration.

These speakers as a set do not like low bass. The woofers do move a lot of air in the mid bass, though. They have fantastic mid range, better than anything else I've heard in this price range. I don't have golden ears, but do listen more critically than the dudes with their trunk rattling in the parking lot of the local stereo shop. When I auditioned a set of Hertz HCX before and after these, the Infinity won out in the mid range, to my ear. They are amazing. They just don't handle much power when you get below about 85hz or so. With my crossover set at 100hz you can pour on the power.

I currently have mine tuned for SQ. I did a brief SPL tune in the garage and they got loud as hell, but had to turn up the crossover a hair and they got a little harsh. There was barely any audible low freq tweeter distortion, though, which was something I have heard on the coax. Just as when I auditioned, the mid range was absolutely the star of this package once again and produced a sound so ridonkulous it made my wife come out to the garage and holler at me because she was worried the neighbors were going to call the cops; the power handling was everything you'd expect in a set of quality components with dedicated 12db/octave crossovers. I'm planning either a sub or 6x9s in the future, and I think these are going to rock the fawk out (technical term). Running a set of fairing speakers alone, I think the Hertz HCX slightly win out due to a stronger mid bass. On a budget, pick the Kappa.

With the SQ tune my wife and I crusied around for the afternoon with about 2 hours of riding time on the bike at hwy speed. I was wearing a 3/4 helmet and had no problem hearing the music above wind noise and a set of Rineharts at 3000rpm. My wife likes the song "Worth It" by 5th Harmony, and I could feel the beat in the handlebars when it was playing. The kick drum part near the end of "Paradise City" was very clean. Many songs really showed off the mid range, to the point I'm going to have to test the woofer running full range with just the 100hz high pass and see what they do. I'll post up again when I've had some more time with them.

Pros:
Amazing mid range!
No tweeter sibilance at rated RMS
Very high quality build
Good power handling

Cons:
Does not like low bass
Crossover and tweeter mounting may be a space/cosmetic issue for some

 

Great Review Clint! Might add some pics on this thread to show guys how you mounted the tweets. I thought they looked good on your other thread!

 

Here's a couple pics installed. I didn't think to take a pic with the fairing off.

 

They look great.

 

I have about 8hrs on the bike now sitting behind these speakers. I am very pleased with their performance. The best way I can describe these is a quality set of speakers that I could listen to cross country and not be annoyed by shortcomings. Still, my only minor critique is lack of low bass. Not just the lack of SPL, but the woofer also seems to get unstable as if it is unloading. It could be the size of the Rushmore speaker pods; thinking about adding a little more polyfill to the pods and see if it helps if I ever get the motivation to pull the inner fairing again. I can live with it as-is, though. 100hz on the crossover still seems to be working well.

The mid range continues to astound me. I temporarily pulled the woofer off the crossover and ran it full range. It does not sound as good. Got a little harshness to the highs. That mid range sounds so sweet running off the crossover. Thinking a set of these are going to have to go in my truck someday.

I think I have enough time with the bike to make a couple recommendations:

1) Absolutely no comparison to Kicker, Polk dB, Rockford, Pioneer, etc 60w class of coax. Night and day difference, not even close.

2) Without a doubt, if you can figure out the tweeter mount on your ride, choose the 60.11cs over 62.11i.

3) Hertz HCX wins out slightly over 60.11cs due to stronger bass. I found a pretty good deal on the Kappa locally, so the Hertz were close to double the price. If you remove money from the equation, I'd pick Hertz HCX.

4) A single PBR 300x2 properly tuned is plenty of amp for these speakers. I did bump my preamp up a hair over 4v, PBR gain still set at a hair over 7. Very clean, very loud. The clarity at rated RMS is phenomenal.

5) These speakers have actually made me rethink the need for lower fairing speaker pods. I still have mine connected, but did a test of turning the gain off and on, the only thing I'm losing is a tiny amount of mid bass. The 60.11cs mid range is so clean and powerful, I think the slight off-axis phase issues with the lowers almost detract from the overall sound quality despite any SPL they might add. I may end up swapping out the current coax for a quality mid bass driver. I still find the rear lids essential.

These aren't the best speakers money can buy, but they are currently the best I've heard in this price range.

 

jayhawkclint, if your looking for a good deal on Hertz speakers contact Cameron Johnson at Badd Azz Bikes. 254-771-0009
I got a smoking hot deal from Cameron on a pair of Mille Pros and a Kenwood 998.

 

I will consider myself an expert on these Kappa speakers. You will not get much bass from them. Then again, they are only 6.5" speakers...not meant for bass. They do what they were designed for....mids and highs...and they do them better than anything else on the market...when taking cost into consideration. I would give up on the low end on these.