I am with Ken on this one. My bike tends to get wet at times. That is the only thing holding me back. I bought the J&M and are not especially thrilled. JBL has always impressed me. My son got a JBL surround system a few years ago, and I like it better than my Bose even though it was 25% of the price. JBL makes a good product. I just want to make sure of the application.Originally Posted by Hornblower
"Life is hard. Harder when you are stupid"-- John Wayne[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Ordered a pair yesterday even though my J&M set just came in last Friday, just burning threw that retarment money.
Would love to hear a comparison between the J&M and the JBL. My J&M are do in on Friday. Bought from Wingstuff - thought that I would throw them a plug!
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Retired USAF
1974 - 1994
It seems our experiences are similar. I also started with the previous model J&M...maybe slightly better than stock but NOT impressed.
Yeah, the whole water issue on these JBL's does concern me. If, in fact, the materials these speakers are constructed with had decent resistance to moisture, it seems JBL would have mentioned it. And, I don't think it would necessarily take a pressure washer to cause trouble. Most likely, the speakers will get wet from rain and regular washing. It might take some time but I have to wonder if the speakers will fail due to that. Still, the price is right on these speakers and, from what has been reported, they do sound much better than stock. Maybe it's worth the gamble.
Ken (Hornblower)
That's kind of what I was thinking and keep the J&M as backup. I also use Shure 535 ear buds with custom sleeves that I use for long trips. I can still hear around me but the music really comes alive!It seems our experiences are similar. I also started with the previous model J&M...maybe slightly better than stock but NOT impressed.
Yeah, the whole water issue on these JBL's does concern me. If, in fact, the materials these speakers are constructed with had decent resistance to moisture, it seems JBL would have mentioned it. And, I don't think it would necessarily take a pressure washer to cause trouble. Most likely, the speakers will get wet from rain and regular washing. It might take some time but I have to wonder if the speakers will fail due to that. Still, the price is right on these speakers and, from what has been reported, they do sound much better than stock. Maybe it's worth the gamble
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Retired USAF
1974 - 1994
I can't speak for these JBL speakers, but really wouldn't be concerned with speakers if the materials used are water resistant. Having the cones made of polypropylene or Kevlar for instance and the surround being a rubber or silicone infused material. Really,any coaxial speaker, imho, whether marine rated or not, is susceptible to water intrusion . The speakers on our F6Bs are pretty well protected from direct water intrusion. Especially while riding. On my Valkyrie, I run 4) Kicker coaxial 5.25" speakers in the fairing that are not marine speakers and have never had an issue. Let me tell you I've been in some major downpours on that bike. I have 2) 6.5" Kicker Marine speakers mounted face up in the saddlebags lids of the Valkyrie. Those speakers have the tweeter bridge mounted so that the woofer is completely sealed. There is no post in the center typical of coaxial speakers. Even though the speakers face up, water never really has a chance to collect in the woofer before it is bounced out from the driver working in and out.It seems our experiences are similar. I also started with the previous model J&M...maybe slightly better than stock but NOT impressed.
Yeah, the whole water issue on these JBL's does concern me. If, in fact, the materials these speakers are constructed with had decent resistance to moisture, it seems JBL would have mentioned it. And, I don't think it would necessarily take a pressure washer to cause trouble. Most likely, the speakers will get wet from rain and regular washing. It might take some time but I have to wonder if the speakers will fail due to that. Still, the price is right on these speakers and, from what has been reported, they do sound much better than stock. Maybe it's worth the gamble
"Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up"
JT--I do appreciate and value your perspective on this subject. One thing you mentioned that I had not considered is the vibrating speaker cone shedding water...kind of like a dog shaking the water off after a bath. So, unless you're leaving the bike out in the weather for an extended period of time, maybe the JBL's will hold up. For me, for now, I plan to keep using my Sena BT helmet speakers which makes upgrading the bikes speakers and amp less important.
Ken (Hornblower)
FWIW, J&M states their speakers are "waterproof from the front" which means the backs are not and our fairings are not water tight as witnessed by the bug collections behind the speaker grills.
I would think as long as you are not exposing them to salt-water and they do not have paper cones, you should be fine. Also, for $50, you can buy 3 pairs for the price of one pair of J&M's.
As for the Ohm rating, I was under the impression our 4 Ohm speakers were run in parallel with the tweeters which brings the total load down towards 2 Ohms. If we disconnect the factory tweeter, aren't we running the same load ?
Good question. The factory tweeter is a 4 ohm 15 watt speaker. BUT - it is in series with a .68uf capacitor. That increases the resistance/impedance of the tweeter to over 200 ohms at 10khz and over 2000 ohms at 1khz.
The 3.8 or 3.7 ohm speaker is in parallel with that 200 to 2000 ohms. So, you still have pretty much that same 3.7/3.8 ohms.
While on this subject: I can't believe that anyone can hear a thing out of the factory tweeters with that .68uf cap in series. I just added 3.3uf capacitors to my factory tweeters (in parallel with the .68uf).
Now they actually make some sound. I can hear some high notes that I didn't used to. If you choose to do this, use some big ass caps (non polarized). They will be dissipating some heat now. Mine are about the size of my thumb up to the first knuckle.
Albuquerque, NM
Remember too, that the speakers I referred to about the water bouncing out are the Marine speakers that are mounted in my Valkyrie saddlebag lids face up. I really don't even think the speakers in the F6B will even see water under most conditions unless you are in the habit of pressure washing the dash of you F6B.
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"Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up"
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