I've been busy trying out a few items...some new, some already being used...all great for our bikes! Here goes:

GZ MICRO Amp - This amp has been discussed here for at least a year but it's was always been tough to get in the US until recently when GZ USA finally imported them from Germany. What makes these so attractive is you get 250x2 when bridged at 4ohm so if you are trying to put all your power in your fairing this is it. If you are on a SG and are using the BT brackets, I'm pretty sure this is a big of an amp you can put with the most power. I hooked these up to a set of 10's and they banged. I normally use more power to 10's but this amp would work for a modest 10 set up. Where I think this would really shine is pushing a set of 8's or JL 8.8's. I'd say the sound quality is on par with a JL MX500/4 but comes in a smaller package. Great amp! I did not bench test to see the numbers but after using so many different amps I can kinda tell what I like and don't like. I wouldn't say it sounds as good as a JL XD amp, or have the power of a Soundigital amp but in the size, package, and build quality this thing is great. Here are some pics to see what the size looks like vs. an iPhone.



Speaking of Micro Amps. This has become a popular sized amp to power horns. The Soundigital 250.2 fits just about anywhere and even in the pre-rushmore SG's I can't imagine it would be too hard to mount between the fairing brackets and speakers. Size wise, power wise, price wise this thing solves LOTS of problems!! Pics below to give folks an idea how small this thing really is.




DD Audio recently released a limited amount of their new VO 6.5 with a Neo basket. These things are TINY and weigh something like 2lbs. I plugged these up and A/B'd then next to a set of PRV 6MR500-Ndy's that many here are familiar with. More on that in a second. The VO6.5's are round, they are made with a different material than the traditional paper cone, this is a true water resistant material, and they are shallow. I'm not sure if they fit in the tour pack pods depth wise...it might be close, BUT they surely fit lowers without having to grind anything. Ok so how do they sound. These things are LOUD and have great "thump" not bass but mid bass punch. They sound very similar to the standard DD VO 6.5's the VO stands for voice optimized and the vocal range is loud. Compared to a PRV or Beyma and think these two are a little clearer sounding, the DD's are just as loud (I think these are louder than the Ferrite magnet VO's). I think size, weight, ease of install, volume and weather resistant material will make these a very sought out after speaker on bikes. They come in 4ohm only.





Now something new, something cool and something I think folks will start using more on bikes - Pro Audio Coaxials. I recently put a set of Beyma Coax in my fairing and loved them, so these were the next in line to try out. This coming week I'll do a side by side comparison and share with folks here but I liked the Faital line enough to open an account with them! The 10's bang too. These are pro audio speakers that have a little more bass than typical pro audio speakers with a compression driver attached to the back. Notice the perforated dust cap that allows the highs to come thru. I'll post another more in depth review soon. What might make these a hit is they're smaller, shallower, and cost less than the Beymas so they'll fit SG's with their depth. I'm thinking these, plus an 8 in the bags off the GZ amp and you have a killer set up.

 

Nice post! I tried out those Faital coaxs and didn't end up keeping them in long. I loved the concept, but the sound wasn't quite what I was looking for and sensitivity was lacking. I really like their 6PR122s though and waiting on those 2 new 6" speakers to come out soon.

 

 

Good write-up! Thanks for the review.