The Official 2014 audio upgrade thread
Sponsor
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,581
Likes: 65
From: Tucson AZ
to all ,,,,,,,,,,
yes the J&M amp kits are all plug-n-play, but the J&M pricing is not for everyone ,,,,,,,,
Regardless of which brand of amp you choose ,,,, the principles are the same ,,,,,,,,
you need to come out of the Harley radio speaker wires ,,,,,, reduce and modify the audio signal into the RCAs of whichever amp you are using, and then put it back out to the speakers ,,,,,,
the "magic box" is a decent idea, but you can do the same thing with the controls on most amplifiers including J&Ms ,,,,,,,,
it would be easy for me to be offended with a lot of what is posted here, but it is really OK ,,,, after all these years I do just let it roll off ,,,,,,,
if you like the product and service that J&M offers, then buy it and send an email to me direct for a good promo code when you are ready ,,, john@jmcorp.com ,,,,,,,
if you find something that you believe gives you better performance for the $$$ spent ,,, then go for it, that is the beauty of living here in the good o'l USA ,,, we all have choices ,,,,,,
please let me know any time that I can be of assistance to any of you ,,,,,,
yes the J&M amp kits are all plug-n-play, but the J&M pricing is not for everyone ,,,,,,,,
Regardless of which brand of amp you choose ,,,, the principles are the same ,,,,,,,,
you need to come out of the Harley radio speaker wires ,,,,,, reduce and modify the audio signal into the RCAs of whichever amp you are using, and then put it back out to the speakers ,,,,,,
the "magic box" is a decent idea, but you can do the same thing with the controls on most amplifiers including J&Ms ,,,,,,,,
it would be easy for me to be offended with a lot of what is posted here, but it is really OK ,,,, after all these years I do just let it roll off ,,,,,,,
if you like the product and service that J&M offers, then buy it and send an email to me direct for a good promo code when you are ready ,,, john@jmcorp.com ,,,,,,,
if you find something that you believe gives you better performance for the $$$ spent ,,, then go for it, that is the beauty of living here in the good o'l USA ,,, we all have choices ,,,,,,
please let me know any time that I can be of assistance to any of you ,,,,,,
__________________
JMJOHN,,,, www.Jmcorp.com ,,,, send email direct to John@Jmcorp.com for your HD-Forums VIP Discount Promo Code.
JMJOHN,,,, www.Jmcorp.com ,,,, send email direct to John@Jmcorp.com for your HD-Forums VIP Discount Promo Code.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: Knoxville
Is the new BT system plug and play (as in - with connectors) or is cutting and splicing required? It's not that I can't do any of that, it is that now I have an aversion to cutting off factory connectors and would rather plug in. If it came with factory connections and pigtails, that is cool too - like when you order from Crutchfield. So I can return to completely unmodified stock if I would like to.
I completely agree. John has actually been quite helpful with his last couple posts. He's now providing some help and it's appreciated.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 131
Likes: 2
From: Central Florida
VTwin Audio has what your looking for to use any amp and speaker combo and not cut into the factory harness, it's a little pricey but if it gives you piece of mind that's all that is important. Hogtunes has a lot as well.
JM I believe has end to end solutions that are plug n play without splicing, the JM amps last I checked were rebranded Arc Audio amps which are regularly touted as some of the best in the industry, if I'm wrong on the arc audio thing someone will correct me I'm sure it's been a few years.
Biketronics isn't plug and play out of the box, but others sell just the adapters so you could use those to make it that way.
JM I believe has end to end solutions that are plug n play without splicing, the JM amps last I checked were rebranded Arc Audio amps which are regularly touted as some of the best in the industry, if I'm wrong on the arc audio thing someone will correct me I'm sure it's been a few years.
Biketronics isn't plug and play out of the box, but others sell just the adapters so you could use those to make it that way.
Is the new BT system plug and play (as in - with connectors) or is cutting and splicing required? It's not that I can't do any of that, it is that now I have an aversion to cutting off factory connectors and would rather plug in. If it came with factory connections and pigtails, that is cool too - like when you order from Crutchfield. So I can return to completely unmodified stock if I would like to.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: Knoxville
VTwin Audio has what your looking for to use any amp and speaker combo and not cut into the factory harness, it's a little pricey but if it gives you piece of mind that's all that is important. Hogtunes has a lot as well.
JM I believe has end to end solutions that are plug n play without splicing, the JM amps last I checked were rebranded Arc Audio amps which are regularly touted as some of the best in the industry, if I'm wrong on the arc audio thing someone will correct me I'm sure it's been a few years.
Biketronics isn't plug and play out of the box, but others sell just the adapters so you could use those to make it that way.
JM I believe has end to end solutions that are plug n play without splicing, the JM amps last I checked were rebranded Arc Audio amps which are regularly touted as some of the best in the industry, if I'm wrong on the arc audio thing someone will correct me I'm sure it's been a few years.
Biketronics isn't plug and play out of the box, but others sell just the adapters so you could use those to make it that way.
Novice
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Fountain NC
Running out of options here. I've disconnected the PBR300x2 & magic box but the Infinity Kappas are still mounted inside the pods. Sound quality is better but not as good as stock, volume is lower, lower in fact than stock. Wonder if mounting the speakers OUTSIDE the pods will help.
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 89
Likes: 7
From: Missouri
Running out of options here. I've disconnected the PBR300x2 & magic box but the Infinity Kappas are still mounted inside the pods. Sound quality is better but not as good as stock, volume is lower, lower in fact than stock. Wonder if mounting the speakers OUTSIDE the pods will help.
Running out of options here. I've disconnected the PBR300x2 & magic box but the Infinity Kappas are still mounted inside the pods. Sound quality is better but not as good as stock, volume is lower, lower in fact than stock. Wonder if mounting the speakers OUTSIDE the pods will help.
not sure why your having problems with this set up. maybe your magic box is defective?
have you tried getting your HU flashed with the amp installed ?
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Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Santa Clarita
Running out of options here. I've disconnected the PBR300x2 & magic box but the Infinity Kappas are still mounted inside the pods. Sound quality is better but not as good as stock, volume is lower, lower in fact than stock. Wonder if mounting the speakers OUTSIDE the pods will help.
It is very simple to mount the the speakers "on top" of the box just like the stock speakers. The speaker mount tabs line right up with the stock location. Just attach the stock speaker wires to the speaker terminals observing polarity (your colored wire with the black stripe goes to the - terminal, the solid colored wire to the + terminal). Then attach the speaker to the box with 4 screws.
Assemble the speaker box together and turn on the radio to check it before mounting them to the fairing. Leave the grills off.
If that works then take the speaker wire from the radio and connect them to the magic box input. The output of the magic box goes to the amp. inputs. Remember the amp has 2 identical 4 pin connectors. Set the gain (small rotary switch on the side) to 7 or 8.
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
From: Kansas
Anyone get their new Biketronics stuff in and installed yet? Mine should be here tomorrow; I got my bike all torn apart just waiting on it... I'm just curious if the new brackets (that replace the pods) bolt on to the frame the exact same way, or if you can run the bolts (the "PITA" bolts, as they're known on this thread) from the outside, so they're easier to get to?
Last edited by lcjayhawk; Jul 23, 2014 at 07:28 PM.