This post is both 'statement' and 'question'! I have some ideas on how to make the most of a 2-speaker system, but I'm also open to any further suggestions. So let me begin here by providing some background. I have been building and repairing audio equipment for decades. I started nearly 50 years ago, buying and building 'kits' from suppliers like Allied, Lafayette, Knight, Eico, Dynaco, etc. Later in life I got into the Guitar Amp business, building and repairing for local talent, then after about 20 years of that I moved back into 'home audio'. I do ONLY 'Tube' amplification.......NOTHING with any solid state units. In the past 10 years or so I've been back and forth between guitar amps and home audio amps, but I'm now 72 and slowing down in LOTs of respects...... 'building' being one of them. However, my years and 'ears' of experience both in 'home systems' and 'live' performance situations have made me pretty demanding in terms of 'fidelity'. So, attempting to apply this to a motorcycle is by no means an easy task. As a 'rider', I also started at a young age. My first bike was at age 12, so basically 60 years of 'two-wheel' enjoyment. I think I can honestly say that during that entire time I've only gone 24 hours ONCE without owning a motorcycle. Not bad!! Anyway, I rode to the tune of the exhaust for decades, and only about 8 years or so ago did I graduate to 'music' on the motorcycle. I purchased an '08 Street Glide and discovered a CD in the radio while riding about 1000 miles from home and in the northern woods of upper Michigan. I think I listened to that CD about 30 times.....as there was nothing else I could get on the radio.

It's been a fairly long journey since then....and in the last 8 years I've probably gone thru as many bikes, all either Street Glides or Electra Glides, and ALL got sound-system upgrades along the way. But now I'm getting to the end of this journey of life, and I own a 2020 Street Glide Standard that will probably be the last 'big bike' I'll ever own. So, doing it up right is kinda my ultimate goal here. I bought it last year in May, and after some engine upgrades and the addition of Tuner, 2-into-1, and some upgrades to the lighting, I took off on a 4000 mile trip from Baltimore to Pittsburg, then on thru the mid-south to Naples Florida, then up the East Coast and back home. Upon my return I IMMEDIATELY got into the audio system....which while not as bad as some systems I had in the past, still needed a LOT of work! I changed out the speakers, added some 'damping' material into the chamber boxes, bought a nice DUAL Class-D power amp, and hooked it all up using the Biketronics Line Adapter. I later had the bike 'Flashed', both to address the EQ compensation within the media head, and also to 'delete' the Telemetrics unit .....a real boondogle for HD (but that's another story!!). So, this is where I am now: After doing all the above, I'm still significantly UNHAPPY with the system. To my ears, there is a HUGE SPIKE in the final output that I'm guessing to be at about 1.5Khz or so. Sadly, I have no one around to help me actually 'test' this..... but there are certain audio passages that include the upper end of the male vocal register as well as certain musical notes that literally, when played through my system, hurt my ears!! This isn't just minimal discomfort.....it's actually painful to me. As such, I gotta either change the music selection, or turn off the system completely and just take a rest from it. So, because of this, I've 'gutted' my system again!! I've pulled the amp, the speaker chambers, the line adapter, and even the grill covers. Now to the PLAN:

So if you've read this far, you can probably guess what direction I'm now considering! I figure the EQ of the system in general is something that no 'flash' or tone controls on the radio head is capable of 'adjusting' to my flavor! So......in doing as much research as I could, I've reached the conclusion that some kind of additional signal processing unit or EQ is necessary. I thought about using a conventional automotive 9-band 'slider' unit and just tuning it in and then burying it under the faring. But, if I ever wanted to do any 'adjusting' at all, it would require the removal of the faring in order to access the slider controls. So...that being 'unacceptable', I looked for other choices. I found a few, including one from Parts Express that might have worked.....and I could have used a micro USB cable linked to it and done adjusting with a Laptop by just leaving the cable attached and tucked away where I could get to it. But, ultimately I opted for the Rockford DSR1. The 'claim to fame' of this unit is that it can be installed under the faring, but it can be linked to a cell phone app and controlled remotely and wirelessly via blue-tooth. So, this unit is about to go into my bike......but as yet, has NOT been installed.

As I mentioned, I pulled everything out other than the head unit itself. I also purchased a second set of enclosures. Why? Well, because I need to know just how one set of speakers compares to another. To do this properly, I really didn't want to take the time to pull and replace the driver units to attempt an A/B test. My 'idea' (if you can call it that) is to use one of my HiFi speaker system A/B boxes and hook it to the two sets of HD enclosures. I actually plan to go through several sets of speakers, as I own that many now......and see which ones sound the best OUT of the bike! I banking that if they sound good 'out of the bike', they'll be the ones that will sound the best IN the bike! I plan to basically build an entire recreation of the bike's system, using an automotive radio head unit with similar power output, the same Biketronics Line Level converter, one of 4 Class-D amps I have, and also the DSR1. I will run all this into the Speaker A/B box, and after 'tuning' with DSR1 and choosing the speaker system that sounds best, THEN I'll go mount it all into the bike again! This will permit me to become acquainted with both the functionality of the DSR1, as well as both the App and the actual results there-of. My range of speaker choices is pretty much all similar in that all but one set are 'coaxial' and all are 6.5". I do have one set of 'separates'....which would require me to mount a tweeter 'externally' on the faring. When I bought this bike it had 10" meat-hook bars on it.....and these blocked the faring-mount mirrors. So, those mirrors were removed and handlebar mount mirrors were installed. One of my 'pre-Florida trip' changes included going back to 'stock' handlebars. But, I kept the handlebar mirrors. So, I just have the 'plugs' in the inner-faring panel where the faring mount mirrors go. This turns out to be a perfect spot to mount some little tweeter housings!!

Anyway..... This whole thing boils down to the fact that when you're riding along at 75 MPH, it seems most people agree that 'rear' speakers are kind of a waste! GREAT if you're doing a competition sound system.....but from a riding perspective, they're kind of impractical. Speakers in the front lower farings are good.....but the ears in my lower-legs aren't so good these days. The two speakers in the faring are really where about 96% of the sound you listen to while traveling down the road comes from. So, that seems to be the place to invest the most effort (and money) if you're doing this so you have have 'good music' while traveling. I put a lot of highway miles on my bike. I now really enjoy the music while traveling long distances. I figure this project will be my swan song (no pun intended!!). At this point, and to conclude for now, I can simply say that I believe the 6.5" speakers are sufficient enough in size to work well. Most low frequency response is lost while traveling at any rate of speed much over about 25 mph, so trying to get 'deep bass' (as in 'sub-woofer quality) is really only worth if you do a lot of listen while standing still. There are plenty of 6.5" speakers that can do 150 to 200 hz without 'flubbing out'.....so that is about as good as it will get. The question of how to 'tune' for these enclosures is still 'open' to me. And, the use of damping material internally (as in polyfil or a sound-deadener applied to the walls of the enclosures internally, etc)....that should be answered to some degree when I complete my A/B testing. As to the DSP; evaluation of that will also have to wait until my testing is done. Regarding the amp, that I can say I've done enough with already to conclude that one should stick with a good Class-D amp, and as all this is 'stereo only'.... either a good version there-of, or a 4-channel amp that can be run in 'bridge' manner should be considered. Since most speakers for this system are going to be 4 ohms, one needs to read the specs on the amp to be sure of what you're getting. A LOT of these amps advertise being of some pretty high output levels. If they're 4-channel, can be run 'bridged', and are stable at 1 ohm, then they can advertise being 1000 watts or so... UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES!! But, if running 4 channels discretely into 4 ohm speakers, they may only be putting out 80 watts per channel. If the radio head itself is 40 watts in to the original 2 ohm speakers, then this 80 watts into 4 ohm speakers may only be about 2db or so of an improvement. That's BARELY AUDIBLE!!! You need a good 100 watts per channel.....and speakers that can take it! Many say they can.....and while they may not blow out, they also may sound like crap! So, do your homework, and go listen to them at a GOOD mobile audio store!!

OK, that's it for now!!.......... I'll post my conclusions when I complete my testing!!

Tom D.

 

I dont read books on HDforums.

 

I would suggest while doing your testing of speakers to use the source unit that you will be using in the bike instead of a aftermarket unit for bench testing.
There is different elctronic filtering between the OEM stereo and aftermarket stereos.

 

I'll cut to the chase, to keep it short. If you want to save time and money in a 2 speaker setup .... go with AD5000 component speakers or Euphoria EX6NPS. Run them on a Mmats LSX1400.4 and go with a better DSP.

The speakers I mentioned play smooth, have a bit of mid bass punch and are clean and clear, while still providing volume. Either one will play down to 100-120hz with 200+ watts, tuned properly.

The Mmats amps are reliable, and make plenty of clean power. All watts are not created equal.

The DSR1 is a glitchy dsp with connectivity issues. I would look to dsp's by Dayton, Hertz, Cicada or DD Audio.

If possible, get access to an RTA to speed up the tuning process. Not that it's necessary, but it will save time and really put the tuning process into perspective.

Since you have the ability to have the head unit flashed, I use the HD 8 speaker/ 2 amp flash. Others have used the RF and Soundz flash with good results. When you flash the head unit, remove the BT line leveler out of the equation.

 

Maybe a little off subject but I gotta ask: what was the CD you found in your old bike that you listened to on repeat for 1000 miles? I hope you enjoyed it!

 

Just use an oscilloscope. It’ll take you from this


to this

 

Send your post, statement, and questions (your words) to the fine folks at Biketronics (https://www.facebook.com/Biketronics/)
Your knowledge of audio systems is probably more advanced than what this forum would suggest...IMHO, that being said, they might be of more assistance, send you some items to test, and at least give you some ideas? Good luck!

 

Oscilloscopes are really cheap nowadays. Got this one off Amazon for $30 after tax.

 

I think I read through that post most of the way just as a challenge.

One misconception that caught my eye was that "rear speakers aren't worth it". If rear speakers are fed properly they can be heard just fine. I don't know what the current "in" setup is, but I can hear the Hertz Neo 6x9s in my bags just fine at any speed (fed from a bridged 800.4).

 

sometimes I'd have a hard time noticing if they were making a difference on the highway, until one was unplugged, they make a huge difference and you notice when they aren't there for sure

as for advice to the OP, i've heard few bikes that sound better than DSM's.....the man knows his shizzle and gave you 'sound' advice