The Official 2014 audio upgrade thread
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 118
Likes: 1
From: Georgia
Thanks UltraNutZ.Sounds like it going to be awhile before the new limited sounds as good as the old street glide. .Harley has made something so simple so difficult for everyone who does not buy into their boom craps.and yes I have own the boom crap before. .no comparison to the Hawg Wired products. .just my opinion for what it's worth but thanks for your input. Will keep looking and hoping for a fix...For all of us. At least I'm not the only one with this Headache. .
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 839
Likes: 6
From: Virginia
I have the new Stage II speakers, and the rears definitely have deeper base because of the porting of the speaker pods. I'd be curious how porting the fairing pods would turn out.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,620
Likes: 1,091
From: Eastern IA
The pods are just small speaker enclosures and also the fairing support brackets. Bose has been vary successful making small enclosures sound big with innovative porting . They also spend alot on R&D to come up with those designs. I'm sure porting the pods would increase low frequency output , but getting it right is the key.
The brackets offered through Biketronics just open up the whole fairing ,which is isn't a true acoustic suspension or a tuned ported enclosure. This takes me back to car stereo in the mid 70's where you put a pair of 6 X 9's in the rear window shelf with the back side open to the trunk.
I understand there reason for this but I think if some one really crunched some numbers and had some time these pods could be effectively ported to get some impressive low end , there is a science to it .
The brackets offered through Biketronics just open up the whole fairing ,which is isn't a true acoustic suspension or a tuned ported enclosure. This takes me back to car stereo in the mid 70's where you put a pair of 6 X 9's in the rear window shelf with the back side open to the trunk.
I understand there reason for this but I think if some one really crunched some numbers and had some time these pods could be effectively ported to get some impressive low end , there is a science to it .
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: MO
Couple questions I have with the Kappa 62.11i speakers on a 2015 SGS pod. Do I mount the Kappas on the inside of the pods or outside? If I mount inside, is there a gap between the pod and fairing where the speaker is facing the rider? If I mount outside, will I be able to use the Kappa's speaker grills or do I need to purchase Harley Boom grills?
The pods are just small speaker enclosures and also the fairing support brackets. Bose has been vary successful making small enclosures sound big with innovative porting . They also spend alot on R&D to come up with those designs. I'm sure porting the pods would increase low frequency output , but getting it right is the key.
The brackets offered through Biketronics just open up the whole fairing ,which is isn't a true acoustic suspension or a tuned ported enclosure. This takes me back to car stereo in the mid 70's where you put a pair of 6 X 9's in the rear window shelf with the back side open to the trunk.
I understand there reason for this but I think if some one really crunched some numbers and had some time these pods could be effectively ported to get some impressive low end , there is a science to it .
The brackets offered through Biketronics just open up the whole fairing ,which is isn't a true acoustic suspension or a tuned ported enclosure. This takes me back to car stereo in the mid 70's where you put a pair of 6 X 9's in the rear window shelf with the back side open to the trunk.
I understand there reason for this but I think if some one really crunched some numbers and had some time these pods could be effectively ported to get some impressive low end , there is a science to it .
Hi,
It is mostly a flexing issue, once you try moving a lot of air with a decent set of speakers and amp you can watch the pods expand and flex. This added a lot of "muddiness" to any frequencies below about 400hz. Porting helped it some (tried a lot different port types and calculated proper size/length), not porting and using a loose filling of polyfill also helped. But I could never get an acceptable sound. I really wanted to use the pods and spent about a month messing with them. It would be better for us financially to use them. I think you can improve them some but not to a level that I found acceptable for a Biketronics product.
If you are using a lower powered setup, especially with a shallow speaker without a lot of cone travel, they might be ok. I tried a lot of parts and not surprisingly if the aftermarket speaker looked like a HD speaker it worked better.
Bill
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,620
Likes: 1,091
From: Eastern IA
Hi,
It is mostly a flexing issue, once you try moving a lot of air with a decent set of speakers and amp you can watch the pods expand and flex. This added a lot of "muddiness" to any frequencies below about 400hz. Porting helped it some (tried a lot different port types and calculated proper size/length), not porting and using a loose filling of polyfill also helped. But I could never get an acceptable sound. I really wanted to use the pods and spent about a month messing with them. It would be better for us financially to use them. I think you can improve them some but not to a level that I found acceptable for a Biketronics product.
If you are using a lower powered setup, especially with a shallow speaker without a lot of cone travel, they might be ok. I tried a lot of parts and not surprisingly if the aftermarket speaker looked like a HD speaker it worked better.
Bill
It is mostly a flexing issue, once you try moving a lot of air with a decent set of speakers and amp you can watch the pods expand and flex. This added a lot of "muddiness" to any frequencies below about 400hz. Porting helped it some (tried a lot different port types and calculated proper size/length), not porting and using a loose filling of polyfill also helped. But I could never get an acceptable sound. I really wanted to use the pods and spent about a month messing with them. It would be better for us financially to use them. I think you can improve them some but not to a level that I found acceptable for a Biketronics product.
If you are using a lower powered setup, especially with a shallow speaker without a lot of cone travel, they might be ok. I tried a lot of parts and not surprisingly if the aftermarket speaker looked like a HD speaker it worked better.
Bill
Cruiser
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 137
Likes: 6
From: new jersey
I think I have found part of my answer-- the rockford pbr300x4 wont run the kappas because they are 2 ohm-
anybody know if 2 rf's will even fit in the ultra-?
maybe the soundstream is the way to go?
anybody chime in on kappa's vs rokker xx? or titans?
thanks guys
anybody know if 2 rf's will even fit in the ultra-?
maybe the soundstream is the way to go?
anybody chime in on kappa's vs rokker xx? or titans?
thanks guys
Potentially yes, even without porting. The pods in the new RG are a thick black material (ABS?), they do not have the same issue. And our rear pods are much smaller but very rigid and sound really good with the same speaker. So it is not a air volume issue and a port might not even be needed if the pod was solidly built like the new RG ones.
Bill
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Tourer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 356
Likes: 1
From: Mesa Arizona
Couple questions I have with the Kappa 62.11i speakers on a 2015 SGS pod. Do I mount the Kappas on the inside of the pods or outside? If I mount inside, is there a gap between the pod and fairing where the speaker is facing the rider? If I mount outside, will I be able to use the Kappa's speaker grills or do I need to purchase Harley Boom grills?
,
Check out my posts... #1057, 1058, 1059 You can see what I did, and how I beefed up the mounts, which I think is a good idea. Hope this helps you.
Last edited by SunPilot; Feb 18, 2015 at 03:59 PM.