Lot's of threads lately on stereo upgrades. I decided to try the new J&M speakers and see what response I could get without adding an amp since I have generally been happy with the volume level of the stock stereo.

Here's the condensed version if you don't want to stick around for the long haul:
- If you mostly listen to the radio and/or CDs, I would recommend this upgrade
- If you mostly listen to an iPod, I did not see much improvement over stock

Here's the link: http://www.jmcorp.com/ProductDetail....-09GTM-C&PF=43

These are for 06-09 touring bikes (batwing). Installation was a breeze. My bike came with the chrome inserts on the gauges (done by the dealer) so you have to lose those to use the new plastic covers that come with these. And they sounded impressive with the just the radio right out of the box. Here's my set-up for riding: 2008 EGC, Stock pipes, half helmet, no earplugs (for this ride).

I was able to ride for about 90 minutes, some interstate, but mostly rural highways at around 60 MPH. I tried the RADIO first. Overall really good volume, very clear, and a wider range of sound on the EQ. Mostly classic rock and local rock stations. Songs by groups like Foo Fighters, Lynard Skynard, etc. Bumped up the volume, not much distortion, and again, very good EQ. These speakers have an additional mid-range and tweeter that is built into the speaker cover. I could really tell a difference. And again, the volume at equal settings was better than stock.

CDs were very similar: very good sound overall, little distortion, and good sound quality. But, I didn't give this option much of a run for it.

On long trips, I usually listen to my iPod. Mix of music from rock to jazz, leaning toward the jazz side. I listened to the following rock music with mixed results: Anberlin and Shinedown. At higher volumes, these were distorted as much if not more than the stock speakers. On the jazz side, I listened to Warren Hill and had a little better results. On the more pop side, I listened to Donald Fagen and Steely Dan and had decent results. My less than optimal iPod performance may have to do with my own EQ settings. I use an iPod Touch with a Monster Cable so that should not be the issue. But, I did not make any changes from the radio settings. I will try to adjust the EQ on both the iPod and the HK stereo to see if I can clear up the distortion on the rock music.

I'm not an "audiophile" but have played music my whole life and have a pretty good ear. I'm sure a good audio tech could help me make adjustments that would minimize the distortion. I'm just going to have to work with it since I mostly like using the iPod on longer trips.

Bottom line: I like these speakers and will keep them in place. Great for the radio and CDs, needs work with my iPod set-up.

Just my opinions, yours may vary. Keep the shiny side up!

JRay
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2008 EGC

 

Thanks for the report, I believe this is the option I'm going with.

 

Jray ,,,,,

thank you for the informative and honest post on the J&M speaker upgrades ,,,,,

as for your music source distortion when using the I-pod ,,,, you are bringing to the attention of the forum members here, some very good questions on this subject ,,,,,

without getting too complicated, let me explain ,,,,,,

first ,,, the music you have on your I-pod was likely downloaded into it from the web as compressed music files ,,,, these compressed files are OK at best, and sometimes can be downright awful as far as sound quality is concerned ,,,,,,

in addition, depending upon your download settings and your I-pod E-Q settings while in playback, you could actually be introducing a great deal of additional distortion, so I would start by setting your E-Q on your I-pod to "nuetral" or no effect and then let the bass/treble controls on your Harley audio system do the rest ,,,,,

the best solution for the future is to load your music into your I-tunes computer program straight from the actual CD's, with the advance tab settings set to "import as WAV file" for each song ,,,,,,

this way you will get the full size (uncompressed) music file into your computer, and then downloaded back down to your I-pod as a full sized WAV file ,,,,, that is how to get actual CD quality music out of your I-pod ,,,,

and with the increased hard-disk sizes in computers these days and also the increased memory sizes in the latest Ipods, the larger file sizes needed to store WAV music files becomes less of an issue ,,,,,

JMJOHN ,,,, john@jmcorp.com ,,,,,,,

 

JMJohn

Good tips and I appreciate it. I figured there were some EQ setting issues so I'll give it a go. I do understand the music quality issue and most of my iPod music is ripped from CDs. But, I do see the difference in the downloaded stuff, as you mentioned. I'll keep working on it because I do really like the enhanced EQ (and volume) I get from these and if I can get the iPod working right, I'll be in good shape.

Thanks.

JRay
----------------------------
2008 EGC

 

thanx for the info...

 

I bought Hogtunes myself, but I've bought stuff from J&M before and would trust any of their products. They're first rate and have great customer service.
Good post!

 

JMJohn I belive you are mistaken from uploading from a cd to a ipod. Itunes get involve and still compresses the song to fit thier encoded file scheme. I know from hearing AC/DC Black Ice cd in my truck and then again in my I-pod. the Ipod sounded weaker(lack of a technical defintion), this is with a neautral setting on the device. Ipods are nice, but does not do any favors for high end sound equipment.

 

I have found that using an Ipod or MP3 it just does not put out the volume we need so the fix for me was a Boostaroo, small battery powered amp that you plug inline between the Ipod and radio input. Works great and almost doubles the output with no distortion. The sell online and places like Best Buy for around 30 bucks. Have had mine for about 4 years now with zero problems.

 

Molson ,,,,,

I don't mean to be a know-it-all but the advanced options tab in the I-tunes software allows the user to load into i-tunes direct from a CD as full sized, uncompressed WAV files ,,,,

all 1,300 songs I have loaded into my personal laptop are loaded this way ,,,,

JMJOHN ,,, john@jmcorp.com ,,,,,

 

I was not aware, nor was I tring to start anything. I was always under the false pretense that when I uploaded a disc in itunes I did not have that option of a full wav file. Great now 150 discs need to be redone. Never was a big fan until lately. Thanks John I stand corrected.