I was outfitting my new Trailblazer today at the local car audio shop when the guy helping me noticed I ride and asked if I had a radio. I told him I had a Sony "marine" radio that was one of the biggest POSs I have ever owned. I explained how the "marine" radio doesn't seem to stand up to humidity etc and he recommended these two from Alpine

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...odel=iDA-X100M


http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...odel=CDA-9886M

Now, these two are a little pricey, I know that. Here is the cool option he showed me. They have been installing these
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...?model=KTP-445


Now, for those not familiar with how car stereo head units work here is a quick run down:
The CD player you have (Clarion, JVC, Alpine, Sony, Panasonic or whatever) might say "40watts per channel) on the front or something close to that. Here is the problem with that, the wattage is being produced inside the unit by an IC chip and not a real amplifier. So what you get is 10 watts per channel and when you turn it up really far it clips and distorts while it MIGHT produce 40 per channel.

With this addition for only $140 you get a more reliable amplifier that in our baggers will fit right on top of the radio inside the fairing. I am thinking about doing this combo in a month or two. BTW: Alpine suggests the retail at $140. You can buy it at a store, Crutchfield.com or on eBay much cheaper!


Hope this helps at least one or two of ya!

 

interesting

 

Alpine makes good stuff. That amps dimensions should fit nicely in fairing on top of headunit. You could get a Hawg Wired control unit and get fully functioning handlebar switches with Alpine. If you pull the trigger gives us a report on that amp!

 

sounds like a nice setup, hopefully it will work with the bike controls

 

Don't do the Power Pack. You will be disappointed!

Aaron

 

I already have the Biketronics amp on my bike along with their 6.5" speakers:

http://www.biketronics.com/touring.html#bt444

http://www.biketronics.com/index.html

After several thousand miles (I think around 10,000 this year but it might be more) this year with tons of time in the rain I can say that I am more than happy with this setup. But I thought I would show this setup to others who are in the market. I am definitely considering the head units from Alpine though. Not sure about the amp. I might have them throw it on there first, then switch back to the Biketronics amp to compare. I used to judge car audio competitions (IASCA) years ago and my judging was in the sound quality category, so I am VERY picky when it comes to my tunes!

I know one thing for sure, I'm never buying another Sony "marine" head unit! Not impressed at all. For a marine unit I find it strange that a small sprinkle lets water inside the faceplate of this thing!

Also, I have a police bike so the hand controls don't make a difference to me at all.

 

I have the x100m and arc mini. Great radio! the xmdoesnt sound so good, lots of compression. Im convinced that its an xm thing sice i had the same issue with the hk unit

 

I have the X-100 and arc as well. Do you have to turn the volume way up for it to be at a reasonable volume while riding? Mine is like that. I just want to make sure my amp is set up right.

 

Doesn't sound like your amp is set up correctly. No way you should have to turn it up all the way for reasonable volume while riding. I have the ARC amp with an Alpine head unit, and 3/4 up is way loud at 80 mph.

I believe that the amp set up procedure is on their website.

 

I haven't hooked up the amp yet. I hope to do it friday. I had it hooked up to the stock deck but pulled it out to see how the alpine sounded alone. It actually sounded good for awhile then I guess I got used to it so I have to almost turn it up all the way to hear over 80mph. I will let you know how it sounds with the amp.