Best stereo upgrade options

[jkelley]

Come on down any time and well for sure ride in any case.

[Jimmytee]

I think a small pre-amped sub is the way to go. Easy to install and remove when needed.

I put one like this under the seat in my Ford Focus and it booms.

Attachment 12229

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...rm_LoPro8.aspx

(just an example)

Only thing is, making boom inside the small confines of a Ford Focus and making boom on a bike are two very different things. I would be very surprised if that sub would be very satisfying. But, who knows.

[bobbyf6b]

Only thing is, making boom inside the small confines of a Ford Focus and making boom on a bike are two very different things. I would be very surprised if that sub would be very satisfying. But, who knows.

You're probably right since the car is almost air tight. Maybe a port in the bag would help.

[SoCal Rich]

It's hard to say. If you want louder than stock, you're going to need to change the speakers and add an amplifier. Sound quality, by default, may improve as well depending on components chosen. The better the sound quality , the better you'll hear distinctly what is being heard. I take it you wear a half helmet or why the ear plugs?

Full face helmet! Ear plugs to drown out engine and wind noise, they really bother me. I've installed amplifier and speakers on another bike (Polk speakers and Rockford Fosgate amp on Kawasaki Vaquero) so I wouldn't mind doing so on the F6B. Which amplifier and speakers would you suggest for ease of installation? I don't want to bypass the stock unit or trim down speakers to fit if I can avoid it.

Thanks again!

[Jimmytee]

Full face helmet! Ear plugs to drown out engine and wind noise, they really bother me. I've installed amplifier and speakers on another bike (Polk speakers and Rockford Fosgate amp on Kawasaki Vaquero) so I wouldn't mind doing so on the F6B. Which amplifier and speakers would you suggest for ease of installation? I don't want to bypass the stock unit or trim down speakers to fit if I can avoid it.

Thanks again!

I can only speak ,from experience, to what I have done. I'm sure the Rockford PBR may be fine. When I was doing the stereo on my Valkyrie, I was steered way from that amp. A guy from a local car audio shop, who does a lot of custom audio on bikes, really suggested highly an amp from Kenwood. It was a Excelon XR400-4 .
http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-XR400-.../dp/B00C1D0DHE
He did not lead me wrong, it is a real performer in my Valkyrie. I am very pleased. When I was researching for the components that would go into my F6B, I came across this gem from a company called NVX.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...NVX-MVPA4.html

They are out of stock currently, but I can tell you that I am impressed with the power out of this little amp.

As far as speakers, well unless you buy the J&M speakers or find another speaker that will exactly fit, some sort of adaptation will be required. If I was doing it again, I'd probably go with these
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...io-MM6501.html

I chose to get the 5.25" versions, because I was concerned whether I'd be able to make the 6.5" fit. Well, that has been done by a couple of others and it wasn't that difficult. Yes some trimming of the plastic frame is required, but that easily done with a Dremel tool. The 5.25" speakers, though, sound really good and I am not regretting their purchase. I am running a sub though and they really seem to blend very fluidly with the sub and make for a really good blend. The 5.25" did require me to make an adapter plate from a ABS plastic, where the 6.5" bolts right up with the caveat that the speaker frame needs trimmed to clear the instrument panel.

Couple of the reasons I chose the speakers I did, were reviews and the speaker's impedance of 2.7 ohms. 2.7 is lower than the usual 4 ohm impedance. What this does for a capable amp is increase the power/wattage delivered to the speakers. But you need to be sure that the amp used is fine with running on 2 ohm loads. The ones I've mentioned are fine.

I can tell you that I measured, with a sound meter, the output of the new speakers with the OEM amp and with the new amp. The output was more than twice as loud with the setting on the volume remaining the same.(20) From the volume setting of 20, if I tried to raise the volume with the OEM amp, no appreciable gain in volume but definitely a lot of distortion . In contrast, with the new amp, I could continue to turn the volume up to painful levels all the way to 30.

If you just want a simple and a little louder and clearer, you might just try changing out the speakers. Some have put these in.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...dio-db651.html

ANd then there is the J&M. Neither of these have I heard . I was going for a substantial improvement over stock and I am very pleased, but it isn't for everyone or the faint of heart. I did discover what works and what doesn't in my efforts, so if anyone is wanting to do similar, I'm willing to share.

[SoCal Rich]

I can only speak ,from experience, to what I have done. I'm sure the Rockford PBR may be fine. When I was doing the stereo on my Valkyrie, I was steered way from that amp. A guy from a local car audio shop, who does a lot of custom audio on bikes, really suggested highly an amp from Kenwood. It was a Excelon XR400-4 .
http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-XR400-.../dp/B00C1D0DHE
He did not lead me wrong, it is a real performer in my Valkyrie. I am very pleased. When I was researching for the components that would go into my F6B, I came across this gem from a company called NVX.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...NVX-MVPA4.html

They are out of stock currently, but I can tell you that I am impressed with the power out of this little amp.

As far as speakers, well unless you buy the J&M speakers or find another speaker that will exactly fit, some sort of adaptation will be required. If I was doing it again, I'd probably go with these
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...io-MM6501.html

I chose to get the 5.25" versions, because I was concerned whether I'd be able to make the 6.5" fit. Well, that has been done by a couple of others and it wasn't that difficult. Yes some trimming of the plastic frame is required, but that easily done with a Dremel tool. The 5.25" speakers, though, sound really good and I am not regretting their purchase. I am running a sub though and they really seem to blend very fluidly with the sub and make for a really good blend. The 5.25" did require me to make an adapter plate from a ABS plastic, where the 6.5" bolts right up with the caveat that the speaker frame needs trimmed to clear the instrument panel.

Couple of the reasons I chose the speakers I did, were reviews and the speaker's impedance of 2.7 ohms. 2.7 is lower than the usual 4 ohm impedance. What this does for a capable amp is increase the power/wattage delivered to the speakers. But you need to be sure that the amp used is fine with running on 2 ohm loads. The ones I've mentioned are fine.

I can tell you that I measured, with a sound meter, the output of the new speakers with the OEM amp and with the new amp. The output was more than twice as loud with the setting on the volume remaining the same.(20) From the volume setting of 20, if I tried to raise the volume with the OEM amp, no appreciable gain in volume but definitely a lot of distortion . In contrast, with the new amp, I could continue to turn the volume up to painful levels all the way to 30.

If you just want a simple and a little louder and clearer, you might just try changing out the speakers. Some have put these in.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...dio-db651.html

ANd then there is the J&M. Neither of these have I heard . I was going for a substantial improvement over stock and I am very pleased, but it isn't for everyone or the faint of heart. I did discover what works and what doesn't in my efforts, so if anyone is wanting to do similar, I'm willing to share.

Thanks so much!

[Jimmytee]

This is the amp in my saddlebag I used. Here are a couple pics of the sub and one of the three ports, This port shown is in the black area on front of the saddlebag.
Attachment 12246Attachment 12247Attachment 12248Attachment 12249

[Hornblower]

Question for you, Jimmytee...Like you mentioned, the NVX amp is on backorder right now. Would you advise waiting for that one or would this one work almost as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosga...RPKVPCQ875C7F8

[Jimmytee]

Question for you, Jimmytee...Like you mentioned, the NVX amp is on backorder right now. Would you advise waiting for that one or would this one work almost as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosga...RPKVPCQ875C7F8

Well according to the description or specifications , the amp is not bridgeable. So for what I did, no it wouldn't work. I have the two rear channels bridged to a single channel for the subwoofer. The combined or bridged output for the NVX is rated at 175 watts into 4 ohms. So you see what bridging can do, but the amp has to be able to do it. So effectively, I have the 4 channel amp running as a 3 channel amp.

If the NVX had not been available this is the amp I would have gotten. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113XR40...-4.html?tp=115
I have it in my Valkyrie and it completely rocks and sounds very good. It won't ,however, fit where I put the NVX amp, but I could have found another place for it to go. The Kenwood amp is only 1" thick, but the length and width measurements are bigger. I fit it inside the Woody's Batwing fairing of my Valkyrie and it is sandwiched between the inner and outer shells. Since the photo was taken I hooked up the two remaining channels for 6.5" speakers in the saddlebags. In the photo, I have the front 2 channels powering 4 Kicker 5.25 " speakers. Two left in parallel and likewise for the right for a 2 ohm load on each of the front channels.
Attachment 12255Valkstereo.jpg

[Hornblower]

Thanks, Jimmytee . You are turning out to be a great resource for this subject. Of course, it's probably going to wind up costing me money .