I posted this in the audio section, but I thought I'd post it here too where i might get a quicker response.

 

WOW, looks like you have put some extreme thought into what you want. This is the first time I have heard of bike audio refered to as zone 1 and zone 2,lol. You didnt get a response in the audio section? Why dont you swing by a local audio install place and see if they have an answer for you. Sorry I cant help you, probably think my answer is chit but I just had to comment on the amount of thought it looks like you have put into this. Good luck man.

 

Thanks for the reply. The "zone" functions are all part of the head-unit. The HU is for marine applications, so the zones can be set up from the source and have your music playing in different areas, i.e. on the deck and in the cabin at the same time. The main reason I got that HU is that I plug my iPod in behind the face and keep it dry. The HU is IPX 65 certified = WATERPROOF!

 

both of the speakers you link to have a sensitivity of about 90 dB @ 1 watt/ 1 meter.

that is not a great spec, if you can find speakers with better sensitivity ( more than 90db @ 1watt/ 1 meter), you get more sound from the same amount of electrical power from your amp- before than amp starts to distort- and that distortion can blow speakers as a stressed amp "square waves".

I would suggest that you get to a place with a large spkr display ( like frys).

dial up some music on a head unit- take a cd you are familiar with maybe- set the tone controls at flat.
and switch from spkr set to spkr set, looking for the speakers which sound most natural and produce the most sound ( again you don't alter the tone or volume controls on the head unit).

Once you have it narrowed down you can then use the tone controls to see if screachy treble can be tamed down ( some have a resonant treble peak which cannot be tuned out) or if the bass holds together or "flubs" out when the bass control is boosted.

try the spkr candidates through different head units- in case you tester is adding distortion when you turn up the bass

( bass frequencies require about 10 X the electrical power as treble frequencies- that is why bass spkrs often have dedicated amps in many situations)

I think the polks I ended up with on my last bike were close to 98 db @1/1.

If the speakers are not weatherproof, consider that papercone type speakers can be scotch- guarded.

and - in all situations confirm that your speakers are in-phase, that means with the pulse of a bass drum the speakers should both move in the same direction at the same time.
If they are out of phase, as 1 speaker pushes a sound wave forward, the other pushes the same sound wave back- and the 2 speakers cancel each other out---this effect is most apparent with low frequencies
( there are testers which do this job, but you can pretty much tell by putting your hands in front of the speakers or lightly touching the cones, feeling that the bass pulses are in sync)

vendor- as much as I hate overspending for stuff on my bikes- some of the motorcycle specialists do have proven product and results, and that is worth something

and then there are expectations- what are you hoping to hear---is this while parked by the beach, or on the interstate with the helmet on your head.


and - hearing loss. getting the music over road and pipe noise may just blow your ears out. long trips i use ear buds, keep the noise out and keep the music in- lower overall noise fatigue.

mike

 

@ Mike, I am happy with the current set-up I have, I'm just looking to bring out a little more of the bass frequencies. I'm not looking for window shaking bass, just a bit more. I'm also happy with the quality of sound parked, at idle and at freeway speed. Here's a video I shot recently, excuse the quality, I shot it with my point-and-shoot camera with its crappy mic. It wasn't shot with all of my HU settings in a neutral position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajp2o5OXr8U

 

Impossible to push BASS without an amp !!

 

I'm not trying to "push" bass, I just want to add a little to fill in a bit of the low frequency that the 4" full-range speakers aren't. I'm not looking for thump just fill.