higher quality speakers for my valkyrie

[KDS]

I have a 99 valkyrie interstate and am looking to replace my speakers. I am having a hard time finding marine speakers that fit.  Has anyone put after market speakers on?  I am looking for very high quality speaker.  Has anyone got any suggestions?   It looks like I am looking for 4" in the back and 4 3/4" in front.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Jess from VA]

REAR

http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t220/wixthedog/Rear%20Speaker%20Upgrade/

FRONT

http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t220/wixthedog/Front%20Speaker%20Upgrade/

Courtesy of Big Easy

[ValkISDan]

Yep, get the polks. Just takes a little longer on the install but definitely better quality than the stock speakers.

[Troystg]

Had a 99 I/S and bought some inexpensive Pyle blue waves from Parts Express to replace the fronts.  Was looking for a good marine 6x9 to mount on the "inside" wall of the hard bags..  Ended up leaving the Valk in Germany so I didn't get to finish it.

In a few weeks I will be picking up a 2k Valk I/S and plan to do the following:

1. new front speakers
2. new rear speakers on the in-side facing wall of the saddle bag (super valking it, no trunk)
3. aftermarket amp where the CB goes


1.     http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=267-078
poly cones, rubber surrounds for weather resistance blue to match the bike...

2.   http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/MCM-CUSTOM-AUDIO-60-10031-/60-10031
Again, poly cones and rubber surrounds.  And of course I will remove them from the plastic enclosure and use the saddle bag as the enclosure.  I decided this route as it is a circular hole and not oval.  Not really lazy just figured less likely to duff it up and I/S saddle bags are not cheap to replace.

3.   http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=267-7272
Cheap in case it's stolen but has speaker level inputs and 25 w x 4 is plenty for me.


Troy

[BradValk48237]

Hey Troy,

 Before you cut a hole in the bags, why not mount them in the lid... Lids are cheaper to replace..... And with them in the lid you still can use the saddle bag for stuff....

I have seen and heard a lot of Hardleys with mods like that and they are loud.... and some even sound good.

Seems like if you mount them facing the fender you are going to lose a lot of the sound..... and a lot of rattling and vibration....

Just my 2 cents

Brad

[KDS]

Thanks for all the info, dont think i will be doing any cutting on the lids or bags, just really looking for a good quality after market speakers, looks like the polk is the one

[Troystg]

That would be a good idea if the bike stayed in the garage however putting the woofer in an upward position makes for a fabulous funnel for rain to be directed right into the voice coil and magnet assembly of a co-ax speaker..    Not a good idea if you like the speakers or amp.

The sound "will" bounce between fender / tire and rear saddle bags..  Accoustic roll-off of higher fequencies making the speaker sound "bigger" than it acually is via slot loading and response shaping.  Most of the midrange and high frequencies should be front and forward on the 4 inchers (hi passed) with the bottom octaves coming from the rear with a small amount of mid / highs in case I have a passenger.  All of it for fun as I usually use the helmet speakers anyway..

Even with the 8" co-ax in the rear saddle bags if a cloth or carpet is used as a "sock" around the frame and magnet the hard bags are still 100% useable.  Yes filling up the hard bag will change the enclosure volume therefore changing the sound slightly however if you look at the stock plastic enclosure they come in you would really have to load up the hard bag to reduce the volume to that level.

Troy

[FW_ValkyrieInterstate]

I am researching changing out the speakers in my 99 I/S and J&M speakers for the 1500 Gold Wing are supposed to fit without any mods to your bike. I contacted them and they did confirm the speakers for the GL-1500 are the ones that fit the Valkyrie. I haven't ordered them yet, but that is the way I am leaning as I prefer to leave my speaker pods stock. www.jmcorp.com

Greg

[BIG--T]

Hey Troy,

 Before you cut a hole in the bags, why not mount them in the lid... Lids are cheaper to replace..... And with them in the lid you still can use the saddle bag for stuff....

I have seen and heard a lot of Hardleys with mods like that and they are loud.... and some even sound good.

Seems like if you mount them facing the fender you are going to lose a lot of the sound..... and a lot of rattling and vibration....

Just my 2 cents

Brad

Yeah, I like the way Road Glide utilized the lid and having the grill on top!

[BIG--T]

FWIW, I just put in 4 Polk 501s last week and they sound great! 

[ValkISDan]

I originally upgraded to the J&M speakers. The polks sound better.

[fordmano]

Here are a couple threads in regards to speaker options and installations.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,47066.0.html

And one I am very fond of,,,, LOL!

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,21439.0.html

You will want to scroll too page "3" about half way down.

[BIG--T]

For the money they are hard to beat too! For just a little over $120 I got four.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-5-Inch-Coaxial-Speakers/dp/B000P0PF78

[jimmytee]

That would be a good idea if the bike stayed in the garage however putting the woofer in an upward position makes for a fabulous funnel for rain to be directed right into the voice coil and magnet assembly of a co-ax speaker..    Not a good idea if you like the speakers or amp.

The sound "will" bounce between fender / tire and rear saddle bags..  Accoustic roll-off of higher fequencies making the speaker sound "bigger" than it acually is via slot loading and response shaping.  Most of the midrange and high frequencies should be front and forward on the 4 inchers (hi passed) with the bottom octaves coming from the rear with a small amount of mid / highs in case I have a passenger.  All of it for fun as I usually use the helmet speakers anyway..

Even with the 8" co-ax in the rear saddle bags if a cloth or carpet is used as a "sock" around the frame and magnet the hard bags are still 100% useable.  Yes filling up the hard bag will change the enclosure volume therefore changing the sound slightly however if you look at the stock plastic enclosure they come in you would really have to load up the hard bag to reduce the volume to that level.

Troy

Troy, I would reconsider the speaker and amp choices, especially if you're going to alter your bags. They are cheap for a reason. JMHO  I've got 4 ) 5.25" kickers in my Woody powered by a Kenwood Excelon XR400 4 amp. very pleased. All I am saying , is that good amplifiers are the key along with quality speakers. I too am considering mounting larger speakers in the bags, but put it off because I was so pleased with the outcome of the other speakers. The amp I chose came highly recommended by an audio installer that does a lot of custom bike audio. I am running the 4 channel amp with only 2 channels right now. Running the four Kickers off of the fron two channels with two left and two right wired in parallel given a 2 ohm load to those channels. That means I'm sending 100 watts to each pair of paralleled speakers. That gives me the other two to run the future bag speakers. Now I don't have Hondaline bags. Mine are Road King Classic bags. The same guy who sold me the amp,also has a jig he designed for my bags to install speakers just as you are talking about. I was thinking of going with some JL audio there. However ,I did think of installing some Rockford Fosgate marine speakers on the lids. For your info, if you get marine speakers where the smaller drivers are "bridge " mounted instead of on the post for the speaker cone ,with a sealed woofer,you should have no problem with water down the voice coil. 

[Troystg]

JimmyTee

External audio on the bike is not a big deal for me.  I am doing it mostly "because I can".  Primary concern is in helmet audio as I ALWAYS have my helmet on.

As for amps, you are 100% correct.  You get what you pay for.  And the Pyle is a pile (of s...) but it has sealed circuit boards for rain and I won't bat an eye if it is stolen.

On the other hand I was considering something like this in the saddle bags or where the tool kit went under the seat.  Then I don't have to plan for replacement after illegal removal.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020XC1410/Clarion-XC1410.html?tp=35782

[Troystg]

As I mentioned, I ALWAYS wear my helmet...  




:EDIT:

Ok, I tried twice and the picture won't post...  Pardon my ignorance.

[BIG--T]

I just wonder what would be the ideal amp for my Polk 501s? It's only rated at 45 amps and 135 peak so I know I don't one too powerful to blow them, but one that will peak it out without distortion.

Also where is a good place to put it on my I/S?

[Jess from VA]

It was always my understanding that a more powerful amp gives better sound quality..... you just cannot turn the volume up enough to fry/distort the speakers is all.

[Troystg]

It was always my understanding that a more powerful amp gives better sound quality..... you just cannot turn the volume up enough to fry/distort the speakers is all.

Absolutely.  Too little power will kill a speaker before too much. 

[BIG--T]

So a 200-400 watt would work? Next, where would be a good and easy place to put it?

[Troystg]

If the drivers are rated for 45wrms then a good amp of 25-75wrms will work.  I would stick to the equivalent rating of 50wrms.

Hard bag is one option but you would have to monitor the amp for heat in that closed space if it is a Class a / ab amp.  Class t / h or d would be less a concern.

I have an IS model and planned under the trunk for a full size amp or next to the battery for the small class d I listed from Crutchfield.  Which also happens to be four channels and 50wrms each.

[dreamchaser]

Try Sonic car stereo on line.  They have your Clarion 1410 for $99.95  .  Crutchfield is usually more expensive.  Good luck with your stereo project.  I personally reccomend Boston Accoustics speakers for just about any woofer application. 

[Troystg]

You won't go wrong with the Bostons.  Or JBL's.  Both companies don't "usually" let a bad product out the door.

[jimmytee]

I just wonder what would be the ideal amp for my Polk 501s? It's only rated at 45 amps and 135 peak so I know I don't one too powerful to blow them, but one that will peak it out without distortion.

Also where is a good place to put it on my I/S?

As already mentioned, you'll blow speakers with too little power before you blow them with too much.
You have to be very skeptical of power ratings which often  way over exaggerated, especially with car audio . !st clue is to look at the actual RMS power rating and does it give that rating with all channels fully operating or is it just one channel at a time being measured. Then any reputable manufacturer should also give you the frequencies or band width in which those measurements were taken. Typical rating would be like say 50 watts RMS at 4 ohms with a signal of 20 -20KHz  all channels driven. Many car or mobile audio manufacturers of lesser equipment may give a rating of 50 watts 200 watts or higher and that measurement may be only a peak output. That is the most wattage that amp can produce under the best conditions for an extremely short period before it craps. For instance, many car head units may tout 50 watts per channel,but their actual RMS ratings often aren't even 20 watts. sometimes only 14-16.

I was able to run a Kenwood rated at 100 watts per channel into 2 ohms and fit it into my fairing. But I have a Woody's Batwing

[jimmytee]

JimmyTee

External audio on the bike is not a big deal for me.  I am doing it mostly "because I can".  Primary concern is in helmet audio as I ALWAYS have my helmet on.

As for amps, you are 100% correct.  You get what you pay for.  And the Pyle is a pile (of s...) but it has sealed circuit boards for rain and I won't bat an eye if it is stolen.

On the other hand I was considering something like this in the saddle bags or where the tool kit went under the seat.  Then I don't have to plan for replacement after illegal removal.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020XC1410/Clarion-XC1410.html?tp=35782

That amp looks like it may have promise Auditioned a very similar amp with a Sony name on it that I almost got, but This guy I found locally, who installs a lot of custom bike audio, told me I would not regret the extra $ spent on the Kenwood I got. No regrets,it's awesome pushing the 4) 5.25"kickers in the fairing, and I still have two channels left when I do decide to add speakers to my bags. It is only like an 1" tall but the other dimensions are bigger than that one. Thought I might have to mount it in one of my saddlebags,but alas it fit into my fairing.

As far as the helmet speakers,well I don't know what brand you have, but I have the Scala G9 power set. They sound decent, but I'm telling you my fairing audio is heads and tails over it . No joking. My stereo system can actually play louder than I want it to, with no audible distortion. Riding 80 mph,crystal clear. I've had numerous thumbs up and nods of approval by cars driving along side of me when jamming. It's fun, I admit.

[Troystg]

Kenwood uses the Sigmaservo circuit in their amps which is a spin off of Mr. Eraths Servo he developed in the 60's.  Fabulous amps for the money.  I use one on an 8" woofer in my tundra and couldn't be happier.  Much easier setup than Mr. Eraths servo, Orion amp, cabling between the two then woofer.

My helmet audio is a pair of Sennheiser HD280's made into the helmet.  It works for the bike and I listen at low volumes so I can still hear traffic.  However it is time to replace the helmet (>5 yrs old) and I don't know if I will use the same system in the new one (yet to be chosen).