can u do compare sounds with Radio and CD... would of been nice to also have comparision with the standard 7.25" also..

 

CRUSTY: Yes I have an account over there. I share your exact same opinion about the CVO amplifier and the "Rokkers". I very well may find from the results that the CVO amplifier may be a bit shy of making the Rokkers sing properly. I would probably at that point have to make a decision to switch to the 7.25's as I don't wish to remove the stock CVO amplifier at this time.

PapaFun: Will try and get some Radio results for you. As far as the standard 7.25s, as mention to Crusty above, that may be the next thing to do if the Stock CVO amplifier is not up to par with the requirements to properly drive the Rokkers.

 

Ok, here is my latest report.

I spent the entire day yesterday riding and listening to the various music that was selected as the “test material”. I was with another bagger friend on the forums here, KJ6GEW. We spent the day ridding along Mulholland Highway here in Southern California. Mulholland Highway is a 2 lane road on top of the Santa Monica range that separates the ocean side (Malibu, Zuma Beach, Leo Carillo State beach) from the valley suburbs (San Fernando Valley, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand oaks).

The test material is several selections of classic rock, country, techo, and pop music. Additionally, 4 test tones were user sweeping from 20-20Khz. 2 of the test tones have a voice guide calling out the frequencies, i.e. 50hz, 60hz, 70hz, etc. The decibel meter is a standard Radio Shack handheld and “C” weighted for music passage. The radio, amplifier, and speakers are the stock CVO issued “Booms” . The stock amplifier is 160 watts.

The recording devices used are both a Cisco Flip Video Share device, and a Nikon SLR that records video. In addition to the above said, we took hand written notes to the location, selection titles, and meter readings as I intend to duplicate the same series of scenarios after the J&M Rokkers are installed.

Now lets talk about the factory speakers.

The first two videos (dangerously shot) are of me actually riding my bike and filming at the same time. I don’t recommend this but I wanted to give the audience (as best I can) what us riders who want good sound have to deal with. If you have a chance to play these short clips, you should agree with me that aside from the physical limitations bike manufacturers have in areas to place speakers, the main caveat we have is WIND!!!!! An old biker I met during one of my Northern Arizona trips to the grand canyon once told me that the biggest hearing damage from riding isn’t from loud pipes, it’s from the wind. Take a listen to these 2 clips and notice the amount of wind there is. I was astounded by the amount but like others, I just tune the wind out and focus on the music. NOTE: I did not crash at the end of the clip, just lowered camera attached to wrist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEzX50i6RiA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDKhUP3zKxM

These are the only 2 videos that I will do while riding. I will do them again, same material and same location when I get the Rokkers put in.

All said, the Booms sound pretty darn good. Of course I have nothing to compare them too but as stock speakers, albeit CVO stock, I’m pretty impressed. I could hear the audio loud and clear.

The next video is shot from the side of the road. I have volume set about ¾’s up, just back a couple of notches of the distorted threshold. The decibel meter is averaging about 93 db. As I step back from the bike with the camera notice how flat the midrange becomes. Not really an issue because your in your seat as you listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeWnxa6jWoI

 

The next video I use a test signal sweeping from 20hz to 20khz. Although we all hear a little bit different, I plan to do this same test with the Rokkers and will A/B them. Notice there is a slight distortion element around 300hz. Don’t know if that’s because of the mounting insulation or a weekness in the crossover element of the factory speaker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO1l5qql3NQ

Next we sweep from 10hz to 200hz. The bottom end of the factory speakers starts to become alive at around 75hz. I don’t know what frequency response is published for the factory speakers. It seems to me that around 100hz the energy folds back and rebuilds, humm. It will be interesting to see where the J&M’s start to come alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps4xeS7JtXY

Next we sweep from 22Khz to 10Khz. The video does not represent the actual audio heard. This is due to mostly the recording unit (Cisco Flip recorder) inability to accurately record high frequencies. Most handheld devices are limited in the high register. I can tell you though, we performed this test about 4 times with two different sets of ears and we all conclude that the high end of the factory speakers just become alive just below 17Khz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JX6hUvHpLg

 

This final clip is ½ hard rock and then a passage of some country with the power of the system pretty slammed. A bit distorted for sure, but would not really bother me at 80mph on the open highway. The wind would probably wash the edge off a bit. The output here is about 103db.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjfDcokFjUU

Conclusion:

I find the Booms to be a pretty fair and decent pair of speakers. Classic Rock by nature is pretty compressed and the Booms represent it very well. On the country music and techno/pop, there is a bit wider dynamic range in this kind of music and I feel although the Booms do a fair job at representing this genre of music, I feel the boom is lacking a small bit in tonality in the mid-range area. Remember I had mentioned during the audio tone testing above that I though the energy passing from the low end to mids was “reset” and then continued. I wonder if the crossover design needs a little more attention. It would be nice to see a schematic of the Booms.

Ok, so that’s all I have for now. To be continued……….

 

again, that is a super nice bike

 

I look forward to seeing the test compared with the new ROKKERS. Nice work Johnny.

Drew

 

I put Rokkers in the fairing this weekend. They sound very good. Lots of punch and clearly audible mids and highs. Better than the 6 1/2" speakers I had in previously. I also notice the difference in weight when doing low speed turn maneuvers. The Rokkers are definitely staying in.

 

Thanks for your work! Back off the rear of the cars a bit while working the camera!

 

Thanks for the advice. I do need to back off the cars when I do the same filming after the install of the Rokkers on Thursday. Never thought about the weight difference between the stock Booms and the Rokkers, hum? The rear Rokkers have titanium in them I believe.