Go over to the Georgia Crew and ask "NorthGeorgiaHawg" what he is running?
He had his bike out in front of the 'poker room' in Ocala and it was LOUD enough to be annoying standing still....probably sounds good while riding too.
Barbara doesn't let me use the rear speakers when I ride with her. I might as well wear
the head set...

chuck the mensh

 

Mine is also loud as hell in the garage like I mentioned when you get on the rode it's kinda a let down .Like they say ( It is what it is ) I live with it . The one thing that really pisses me off is the price that Harley wants for the I Pod Kit they must be on drugs . I also found a aftermarket company that makes a plug and play I pod system for about $ 195.00 less

 

It is not a matter of whether the rear speakers can handle all the power. It is a matter of distortion. Distortion is what destroys speakers. When the music starts the crack when you turn it up means the voice coil is not vibrating evenly. Continued use at this level will "blow" the speaker. The amp allows you to get the full volume range of the speaker. You must look at the ohms as well as the wattage. 8 ohms can handle more than 4ohms, but all speakers must be at the same ohms. Again, I use to install sound systems in cars as a kid.

 

OH! So I was ANNOYING, Chuck? Not the first time I have ever been called that, I guarantee. And I've been called MUCH WORSE, by much worse people than you! Or was it just my bike that was annoying? Hopefully the latter...

The 400w 4-channel 8-speaker setup on my 2012 SESG is pretty awesome for a H-D factory sound system, I must say. It's by far the best system the MoCo has ever offered on any factory bike... but admittedly that's not saying a whole lot in comparison to the REAL Pros in the aftermarket...

I don't know who makes the amps on my bike, nor the speakers... but I'm sure there are better systems out there from companies who specialize in mobile audio. If I were going to upgrade the existing sound system on a bike, I would seriously consider a Rockford-Fosgate 4-channel amp and really good speakers like Polk Audio, etc., or the Rokker system. Heck, the Rokker system may even use a RF 4-channel amp... I really don't know. I've just been listening to the system I have! I will tell you that on this bike I can and have ridden 80 MPH for extended periods, and I am in what I all a "VIRTUAL COCOON OF SOUND!" It's really pretty amazing for a factory system...

I have a friend up here who is REALLY into this stuff and keeps up with all of the specs... and after hearing my bike at Killer one day, he just bought the H-D saddlebag kit (about $900 if memory serves) with new lids, but NOT the H-D Boom! Audio speakers. I think he's putting 6 1/2 speakers in them, but I don't know what kind. They HAVE to be waterproof to go in the saddlebag lids, I'll tell you that. I can ask him if that would be useful to you.

He's also installing a Rockford-Fosgate 4-channel amp - he said the one that is 93 watts per channel RMS (they make many models) - and his system may well blow mine away once he's got it up and running. Dammit, now I may have to upgrade mine, just to stay ahead of him! I am thinking about a subwoofer with its own amp in the Tour Pak... Couldn't shake the ground enough at the Days Inn... the folks sitting in chairs remained in them... which was disappointing to say the least...

My bike has 2 100 watt-per-channel amps... the front amp drives the 2-way fairing speakers - including the pair of 2" tweeters in the fairing - and the lower fairing speakers, I THINK. The rear amp drives the saddlebag speakers. Maybe it drives the lower fairing speakers too. I don't know.

One thing I will tell you is that my wife says she cannot hear the rear speakers at all when she is on the bike, because her legs are sitting right on top of them. The SESG is not really made to be real a two-up Tourer like the Ultra... and can't compete with it for long distance comfort... even though I have fitted it with a Tour Pak, a H-D Hammock seat for 2-up riding, etc... it still ain't an Ultra. The CVOs are mostly all about show anyway... it's just a poser Tourer with BIG-**** speakers and a fancy paint job! But it is pretty friggin' FAST with the 110" motor and the tune we have in it.

There are highly likely much better options for retrofitting an existing bike than what came installed on my SESG. or what is available from the MoCo, but I really don't know because I haven't researched it. I'm sure NOT complaining about the way my audio system sounds on this bike, though. It kicks butt!

If you would like, I can poke around and get you more info on what is being done out there by some very motivated individuals... but I really don't think you will go wrong listening to the advice of Dr. V-Twin. These guys stay in business by knowing what the heck they are doing...

If you guys make it to our GA Crew rally (wherever it ends up being), I would LOVE to gang up 4 or 5 bikes with kick-azz audio systems to an iPod! I'll bring the patch cables. Could you imagine the NOISE we could create??? HAR!

ROKK ON!

 

This might help with powering speakers.

 

Murph is quite correct. Audio systems - like any other systems - must operate in balance. That's why you want big amps with large RMS ratings (Root Mean Square) - for continuous power. You don't want to push an amp past its RMS rating continuously, or you will get a lot of distortion, and this will damage the speakers. Really good amps like Rockford-Fosgates have a lot of RMS power and relatively low THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) ratings. The more power the amp must deliver continuously, the higher the distortion it will deliver.

The efficiency of the speakers is of paramount importance relative to the power delivery capability of the amp. Generally, the lower the ohms (impedance) of the speakers, the less wattage is required from the amp to drive them at any continuous output level. In electrical terms, Volts * Amps = Watts (of power consumed, which must of course be delivered). According to this rule, the more impedance there is (ohms of resistance) in a system, the more amps must be driven through that system in order to deliver a certain wattage of power needed by the speakers. More efficient speakers require a lower wattage delivered from the amp - which means more volume, with less distortion. The amount of wattage needed by the speakers is the deciding factor... because the speakers consume power (watts). If the speakers need more watts than the amp can deliver continuously (RMS power), then the amp is being over-driven, and you will get more distortion... and you will eventually "blow" the speakers' coils, because they will heat up due to higher-than-planned amperage flowing through them to deliver the wattage they are requiring at any point in time.

The point of all of this technical mumbo-jmbo is that all of this performance doesn't come cheap. If you want really good sound while going 80 MPH, it may be worth it to you to spend a lot of money on really good amps and speakers. However, chasing audio performance is very much like chasing torque or HP... how much is "good enough"? And every ear is different. If your audio system sounds "good" to you, then you're done with upgrades to it... there will always be someone with a better-sounding system... like that $%&^@ friend of mine... But the subwoofer is going to change THAT game!

 

While this is true there are other considerations in relationship to the ohm rating of the speaker, as you go lower in ohms with your speakers it presents a much tougher load to the amplifier. This is because the lower the impedance (ohms) of the speaker, the more current you are going to draw through the amplifier because the amplifier is seeing less of a load in relation to ground. It is all related, and it is all a balancing act in order to get everything to play nicely.

This biggest consideration is buy the highest quality components you can afford, and an amplifier rated to the impedance of your speakers and with a much higher wattage rating than you think you need. Headroom is your friend, distortion is the killer!

 

well you guys just lost me now.
i will install what i get and take it from there.
thanks for all the info

NGHAWG without question has the best sounding audio I have ever heard on a bike. only 42k but it came with a free Harley !!
Dave

 

And all that mumbo jumbo is just that. Like anything, the proof is in the puddin'! Would love to hear your impressions Dave, after you get a chance to run it down the highway a little.

 

Thanks a lot, Dave. Whatever components they used, the MoCo really came out with a very good audio system on the SESG this year... FAR better than I would ever have expected them to deliver. I'm quite happy with it.

But it wasn't quite that expensive.... the SESG lists for $32,699... which comes out to only $4,087.37 per speaker, or $81.75 per watt - plus tax, title, and license! But you're right... looking at it that way, the rest of the bike came for FREE! Heck of a rationalization, though...