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Not ripping you at all, its more complex to get good sound out of a bike than people make it out to be. My point really was that I have NEVER heard a PNP system that sounded Good, thats all.
No worries... I didn't take it that way. I was just sharing my experience so that if others were in a similar situation they could see how it ended up for me. After going through this like I have I couldn't agree more with the bolded part of your statement. Peoples ears like different things, and kits provide the same thing for everyone, no matter what their likes are.
Listening in a cold garage I am assuming as it's 15 degrees out is not a good test. Also at high volume most system sound terrible in a garage because of acoustics. I would wait for it to warm up and bring it outside and play it there and see how it sounds outdoors and riding. Ice cold speakers don't sound the same at 25 degrees as they will in 80°. Just saying.
I'll throw in a comment along these lines. For my older ears my system sounds brighter when out on the road than it does in the basement. Think about it, we have to push the speakers much harder to overcome wind and exhaust noise which tends to make them sound more shrill. I would say if it sounds shrill sitting still inside it very well may make your ears bleed at 60 mph. My system to me sounds a little dull sitting still but at highway speeds it's just right. I intentionally tuned it that way after a few years of experimentation.
I guess that brings up the big trick to getting a sled system to sound good to YOUR ears, you have to be able to tune the end result yourself. Everyone's ears are different. We all wear different gear and have different fairings that will affect how much sound reaches our ears and what frequencies are dominant. I imagine it would be very hard to get a system to sound the way someone wants it to without that individual tuning the DSP. That's the rub, without a DSP there is a very slim chance a preinstalled system will sound REALLY good to the dude in the saddle out on the highway.
As others have mentioned I live in a remote rural area where there are only two audio shops within an hours ride and neither touches bikes. I had to spend countless hours on these forums asking questions and tinkering. I probably have easily 100 hours under the hood of my sled getting my system to the point it is now. It might sound like crap to someone else but to my ears it is decent for the amount of money I have spent and the limitations I have placed on the build to keep from losing stock functions.
I actually know the owner of Soundz nearly since he began doing motorcycles. He is extremely knowledgeable about everything needed to make stuff work on HDs and has designed many of the wiring harnesses to make it all work. HOWEVER, when he did my 1st system over 10 years ago, he was using name brand components such as Focal, Sony, RF, etc. About 6-7 years ago he moved his operations from S Dakota to Daytona and began only installing his own “private label” equipment. I assume it is 10x more profitable? I considered having them do an install on my 21 RG but just couldn’t do it…i just think their “own” equipment sounds terrible. I was fortunate to find an audio shop near my home in Pennsylvania that does HDs. I ended up going with Hertz speakers and a RF amp. I am more than satisfied with the final product and it was less than Soundz. Just my 2 cents.
...For my older ears my system sounds brighter when out on the road than it does in the basement. Think about it, we have to push the speakers much harder to overcome wind and exhaust noise which tends to make them sound more shrill. I would say if it sounds shrill sitting still inside it very well may make your ears bleed at 60 mph. My system to me sounds a little dull sitting still but at highway speeds it's just right. I intentionally tuned it that way after a few years of experimentation...
Agreed!
My final tuning was out "on the road" using the DSR1 app up on the handlebar... Minor tweaks at stoplights / major tweaks at the side of the road. At the end of the ride I had exactly what I wanted for out on the road.
Soundz system has been pulled today and refunded. Boom II equipment is back in for now. Need to ride over to the HD shop when we get a warm day and get the HU Flashed back to the Boom II. Looking forward to the MNG in June to get my ears on some different options. I did keep the new Boom GTS I had him install when he did the Soundz system.
I heard the Soundz a couple years ago at a outside event at the dealership. Like was previous said, loud but shrill. I dont know what it costs, didnt ask. It didnt matter anyway, I wouldnt pay $200 for it. One of the most epic audio threads on here was from a few years ago involving a Soundz system. Wam was the guys name I believe. Hilarious, absolutely worth the time to read it
I just found it and read through it. Wam was very happy with his purchase, that was quite evident. Quite the opposite experience then mine.
Soundz system has been pulled today and refunded. Boom II equipment is back in for now. Need to ride over to the HD shop when we get a warm day and get the HU Flashed back to the Boom II. Looking forward to the MNG in June to get my ears on some different options. I did keep the new Boom GTS I had him install when he did the Soundz system.
Good deal. You'll love the new HU and you will def get some good advice and ideas and great help at the MnG.
I just found it and read through it. Wam was very happy with his purchase, that was quite evident. Quite the opposite experience then mine.
This place had a great crowd then. The thread just snowballed and got hilarious. Funny that he wanted to put his bike up against something Alex put together, and actually thought he had a little something for him
Good deal. You'll love the new HU and you will def get some good advice and ideas and great help at the MnG.
I've talked to 3 members here over the last few days via phone/text. I'm really looking forward to going to the MnG. I put in for vacation Fri. Hopefully I'll make it over there Fri - Sun.
This place had a great crowd then. The thread just snowballed and got hilarious. Funny that he wanted to put his bike up against something Alex put together, and actually thought he had a little something for him
I'll tell ya what. I've done a lot of reading on forums about Soundz. I'll say... he's not the only one that feels there isn't anything comparable to Soundz. I mean to each their own, I personally don't care what audio system someone else goes with. I think (just like me) the allure was that it was a drop in system installed by someone else and warrantied for 3 years. I think that is enticing to a lot of folks. (It was too me). I'm just glad I'm not stuck with my $4k mistake. That would have eaten me up for a LONG time. Even if all I ever do is stick with the Boom II equipment at least I'm not out $4k.
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