I'm ridding myself of the OEM HK head unit and installing an after market system.

Sony DSX S210X
Hawg Wired RS400 Reference Series amp
Hawg Wired HUA360 handlebar controls adapter
Hertz HCX 165 200W 6.5 Coaxial speakers (fairing)
V-Twin Audio Splash Guard (expensive but looks great)

Likely future addition of speakers in lower fairings - not part of this project.

I've come to learn that our bikes (newer HD touring bikes) are horrible for achieving good ground. There are so many electronic things strapped to our bikes that even with solid contact for a ground connection - the bike make a ton of low level electronic noise. Hawg Wired Cust Service told me that I was better off using the HIGH LEVEL inputs and should not use the RCA (Low Level input) in order to achieve the best sound.

So using the high level inputs is easy enough - but it seems most of installs I read about are using the low level RCA connections.

The questions (bearing in mind I am not audio savvy at all - pretty audio ignorant):

1) Anyone else experiment with both low (RCA) and high (splicing into radio speaker (R/L) (+/-) out? What were your results / findings?

2) What wire gauges did you use? I was planning on 18 gauge from radio to amp (matching the gauge of Sony radio harness) and then 16 Gauge speaker wire from amp to speakers.

I welcome any and all input / ideas / nuggets of wisdom.

T

 

High level inputs will give you higher voltage outputs going into the amp whic correlates into louder volume achieved at lower volume control numbers. With that said, no one knows hawg-wired amps like hawg-wired so I'd listen to what they tell you to do. RCA inputs will ALWAYS give you a cleaner signal input to the amp I don't care what the manufacturer tells you. Is what it is.

Your gauges of wiring are perfectly fine for what you're doing here. This is not competition level audio so no need to go overboard with it.

 

T, I've also have the RS400 and the same Hertz speakers. Also have a set of Hertz ECX 130.5 in the lower part of the inner fairing. But I kept the stock HU and utilized the high input. Note that the speakers are 4 ohm and the amp is 2 ohm so I wired the speakers in so that they work out to 2 ohms. The install instructions that came with the RS400 should provide the information you need. Good luck and I think you have a great setup. You can also call Hawg Wired and they will answer any questions you have wether you bought it from them or not.

 

Thanks for the replies Gents.

I did talk to HW again and received EXCELLENT service and tech advice. I'm going the HIGH level input route to avoid dirty nasty ground loop issues. This can be an issue on bikes running LED tail lights, head lights, blinkers etc. Moreover, aftermarket ECMs can contribute to multiple ground loops as well. I fit that criteria perfectly as I have LEDs for every light and a T-Max ECM........

The other nice benefit of running HIGH level from the head unit to the AMP is that I won't need to tie the AMP into a 12V "remote on" to get the AMP to fire up when the bike is set to accessory or run. The High Out from the head unit provides enough power to trip the AMP on = a few less wires under the fairing.