Another Dirtstiff Speaker Thread

[MisterB]

Per my post above:
I doubt you can tell any difference whether you have the stock tweeters plugged in or not.

The advantage of not plugging them in is not having to disconnect them when you remove the shelter.

For sh!ts & grins, when you have your speakers out during the replacement process, plug in at least one tweeter (no speaker), turn on your radio and "see" what you hear. I'd like to know if you have the same observations that I did (almost nothing).

Valk, I don't know what frequencies that capacitor will pass but since it's a fairly small tweeter they're probably pretty high. Some of us lose the ability to hear high frequencies as we get older, I have and they are truly missed. The sizzle of a cymbal, the ability to hear everything that's going on around you, I just recently realized that it's just not there anymore. That may not be the case with you, if you were listening to FM it only reaches to 15kHz.
When I switch mine I'll have my kids come out and see what they hear using the flash drive as a source.

Regardless, since these have a dedicated midrange that will probably help overcome not only high frequency loss but the wind and traffic noise.
Thanks to you brave souls for your dedication to eking out a better sound from the stock stereo!

[Slammd]

Just ordered a set from Amazon and looking forward to hearing how they perform. Has anyone considered or attempted to install some polyfill behind the speakers? My understanding from reading other motorcycle forums on the subject of audio improvement is that this trick fools the speaker into thinking its in a larger enclosure thus producing improved bass. If there is enough room behind the speakers when I perform the installation I think I'm going to give it a try.

[98valk]

I took off the meter panel and speakers during my lunch break and was curious so I hooked up just the tweeters and you are right, they plan suck. Can not really hear anything at full volume and what you do hear is distorted.

Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time and confirming what I heard.

I don't think that they are worth the effort it takes to reconnect them.

[TailGunner]

This is my story. It began on a dark and stormy night....

Was able to install the speakers today and they sound really good. They are just as good if not better than the Polk DB651's. That's just my opinion and they can definitely vary. As said before, you have to install them upside down so that it can fit in the hole and even then it is an extremely tight fit. Once I was able to get the speaker almost in, I had to use a flat head screw driver and hammer to move the speaker and align it with the holes. It will fit, just be patient and take your time. The speaker does push against the clear plastic cover right next to it and it might help if you can pre-bend or even slightly cut the outer metal ring some. I have posted a pic of each speaker to show how tight it is.

Attachment 19407Attachment 19408

Hope this helps and enjoy!

Thanks for the tips, we ran into the same problems, we also had to drill out the mounting holes and I still can't get the lower right side of the panel assy. to sit flat. Tried grinding a few spots but didn't help much.

[willtill]

Just got my JBL's delivered via Amazon (very cool they deliver on a SUNDAY). But am going to install my Vstream shield today. Am anxious to feel it's performance at speed.

[Dirtstiff's F6B]

Just ordered a set from Amazon and looking forward to hearing how they perform. Has anyone considered or attempted to install some polyfill behind the speakers? My understanding from reading other motorcycle forums on the subject of audio improvement is that this trick fools the speaker into thinking its in a larger enclosure thus producing improved bass. If there is enough room behind the speakers when I perform the installation I think I'm going to give it a try.

I placed speaker batting or poly fill behind mine quite a while back, but couldn't honestly say it changed much, judging by ear. Didn't hurt, though.

J20151024_141840.jpg

[Hornblower]

Got the JBL's installed today to replace the older version J&M's. Thought you might like to see a speaker comparison of front and back between the two speakers. First, here are the two speakers viewed from the back:

Attachment 19447

Next, the two speakers viewed from the front:

Attachment 19448

Finally, rather than monkey around with a overly tight fit, I went ahead and removed short sections of the metal edges as shown here (sorry for the blurred pic):

Attachment 19449

As you can see, I removed two small areas which resulted in an easy fit. The audio quality is much improved over the older J&M speakers so I'm very satisfied with the upgrade.

[choptop]

Valk, I don't know what frequencies that capacitor will pass but since it's a fairly small tweeter they're probably pretty high. Some of us lose the ability to hear high frequencies as we get older, I have and they are truly missed. The sizzle of a cymbal, the ability to hear everything that's going on around you, I just recently realized that it's just not there anymore. That may not be the case with you, if you were listening to FM it only reaches to 15kHz.
When I switch mine I'll have my kids come out and see what they hear using the flash drive as a source.

Regardless, since these have a dedicated midrange that will probably help overcome not only high frequency loss but the wind and traffic noise.
Thanks to you brave souls for your dedication to eking out a better sound from the stock stereo!

I have a lot of fun w/the frequency generator on my phone when I use it when I'm around a bunch of young kids. lol

[Dirtstiff's F6B]

Good

[willtill]

Finally, rather than monkey around with a overly tight fit, I went ahead and removed short sections of the metal edges as shown here (sorry for the blurred pic):

Attachment 19449

As you can see, I removed two small areas which resulted in an easy fit. The audio quality is much improved over the older J&M speakers so I'm very satisfied with the upgrade.

What did you use to remove metal in those areas? A dremel cut-off wheel?

That is what I am thinking of doing. Or maybe very careful; judicious use of a bench grinding wheel... I don't want to heat the metal up though from the grinding... I guess little; short measured runs at it will keep the heat down.