2011 CVO Street Glide speaker boxes--road/sound test
#1
10-09-2010, 06:46 PM
2011 CVO Street Glide speaker boxes--road/sound test
After installing the 2011 CVO Street Glide speaker boxes (fairing lower speakers), I completed the wiring for a road/sound test today. Bottom line is this is an excellent improvement over the fairing-only speakers with Hog Pod I’d been running. On the road, it’s not quite a “wall of sound,” but I can definitely hear a significant difference and improvement in the sound without any loss of clarity with this set-up compared to the fairing speakers-only with the Hog Pod and Arc 125.2 amp. In fact, if I lean left or right in the saddle, I can distinctly hear the fairing lower speaker on that side while riding. Playing a CD with rock ‘n roll tunes, the sound is clear and full (the fullness being much more than the fairing-only speakers provided). I’m not an audiophile, but the sound is excellent with a ¾ helmet and Rinehart True Duals.
As for the components, the Harman Kardon head unit is set-up for four-channel operation (the fairing speakers and Hog Pod are the “front” speakers and the fairing lower speakers are the “rear” speakers for the fader control) and drives Infinity Reference 6.5” 2 ohm speakers and Hogtunes Hog Pod; and, the Arc 125.2, 250 watt, two-channel amp drives the same brand and model Infinity Reference speakers that are in the fairing. Since I already had the Arc 125.2 amp, the cost of this project was modest: $150 for the HD speaker boxes and wiring harness purchased at discount from an HD store; and, the Infinity Reference speakers and grilles purchased from Sonic Electronix.
Prior to this project, I had twice tried the Hog Tunes fairing lower speaker kit (FLSK) which is an excellent product but didn’t work for me. First, I tried the FLSK with the HT amp driving the fairing lower speakers and the HK head unit in four-channel configuration (the fairing speakers were the “front” and the lowers speakers were the “rear” speakers) and driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod. Stationary, the sound was excellent and a noticeable change from the fairing-only speakers, but when riding the bike, I couldn’t tell that I had speakers in the fairing lowers.
Next, I removed the HT amp and installed the Arc 125.2 amp, but since the amp is two-channel, I wired the left fairing and left fairing lower speaker in series as one channel, and the right side speakers in series as the second channel with no fader control. Again, it sounded really good with the bike stationary, but when riding I couldn’t tell that I had fairing lower speakers.
My experience with the HT kit and amps, is not a criticism of the HT product. For me, the FLSK didn’t work (with either the HT or Arc amps) and I removed the kit, sold the kit and the HT amp, and ran the Arc amp driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod.
When I decided to try the CVO Street Glide speaker boxes, I thought this might work since the Arc amp (125 watts per channel @ 2 ohms impedance) is more powerful than the HT amp (32 watts per channel), and I’d wire the system as four-channels with the amp driving the fairing lower speakers and the HK head unit driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod. While I used 6.5” Infinity speakers with this project, I doubt there would have been any difference with 5.25” speakers (Note: If you don’t clearly hear your music from the HK head unit without an amp, I doubt my set-up will work for you since the set-up relies on not using an add-on amp for the fairing speakers. I could hear music clearly with just the fairing speakers and Hog Pod before I started adding the HT and Arc amps).
As mentioned, I’m very pleased with the current set-up, and offer some conclusions based on this project and my previous experience with speakers in the fairing lowers: (1) installing the CVO SG speaker boxes is a simple DIY project; (2) the four-channel configuration with fader control is essential; and, (3) a stout amp is necessary to drive the fairing lower speakers. In fact, the HT FLSK with a more powerful amp may work as well as what I have now.
I could have done a video with sound clip with the bike stationary. However, based on my experience with the Hog Tunes FLSK (with the HT and Arc amps), the stationary bike sound is nothing like what is heard when riding the bike. Also, sound is a very individual experience and I’m no audiophile. So while I am very pleased with this set-up and these components, your assessment may be different. Lord knows there are a ton of speakers, amps, head units, and such available to choose from.
The installation of the speaker boxes and speakers is described in this thread with pictures:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/570604-2011-cvo-street-glide-speaker-boxes-installed-w-pics.html
I still have some installation clean-up to do in terms of routing wires inside the fairing and other detail type work to do before I’m “finished” with this project. However, the sound won’t change, and I’m going to enjoy this upgrade. The speaker boxes will get painted to match the bike this winter and I'll probably buy the HD speaker grills for the lowers since they provide a flush fit look.
Carl
As for the components, the Harman Kardon head unit is set-up for four-channel operation (the fairing speakers and Hog Pod are the “front” speakers and the fairing lower speakers are the “rear” speakers for the fader control) and drives Infinity Reference 6.5” 2 ohm speakers and Hogtunes Hog Pod; and, the Arc 125.2, 250 watt, two-channel amp drives the same brand and model Infinity Reference speakers that are in the fairing. Since I already had the Arc 125.2 amp, the cost of this project was modest: $150 for the HD speaker boxes and wiring harness purchased at discount from an HD store; and, the Infinity Reference speakers and grilles purchased from Sonic Electronix.
Prior to this project, I had twice tried the Hog Tunes fairing lower speaker kit (FLSK) which is an excellent product but didn’t work for me. First, I tried the FLSK with the HT amp driving the fairing lower speakers and the HK head unit in four-channel configuration (the fairing speakers were the “front” and the lowers speakers were the “rear” speakers) and driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod. Stationary, the sound was excellent and a noticeable change from the fairing-only speakers, but when riding the bike, I couldn’t tell that I had speakers in the fairing lowers.
Next, I removed the HT amp and installed the Arc 125.2 amp, but since the amp is two-channel, I wired the left fairing and left fairing lower speaker in series as one channel, and the right side speakers in series as the second channel with no fader control. Again, it sounded really good with the bike stationary, but when riding I couldn’t tell that I had fairing lower speakers.
My experience with the HT kit and amps, is not a criticism of the HT product. For me, the FLSK didn’t work (with either the HT or Arc amps) and I removed the kit, sold the kit and the HT amp, and ran the Arc amp driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod.
When I decided to try the CVO Street Glide speaker boxes, I thought this might work since the Arc amp (125 watts per channel @ 2 ohms impedance) is more powerful than the HT amp (32 watts per channel), and I’d wire the system as four-channels with the amp driving the fairing lower speakers and the HK head unit driving the fairing speakers and Hog Pod. While I used 6.5” Infinity speakers with this project, I doubt there would have been any difference with 5.25” speakers (Note: If you don’t clearly hear your music from the HK head unit without an amp, I doubt my set-up will work for you since the set-up relies on not using an add-on amp for the fairing speakers. I could hear music clearly with just the fairing speakers and Hog Pod before I started adding the HT and Arc amps).
As mentioned, I’m very pleased with the current set-up, and offer some conclusions based on this project and my previous experience with speakers in the fairing lowers: (1) installing the CVO SG speaker boxes is a simple DIY project; (2) the four-channel configuration with fader control is essential; and, (3) a stout amp is necessary to drive the fairing lower speakers. In fact, the HT FLSK with a more powerful amp may work as well as what I have now.
I could have done a video with sound clip with the bike stationary. However, based on my experience with the Hog Tunes FLSK (with the HT and Arc amps), the stationary bike sound is nothing like what is heard when riding the bike. Also, sound is a very individual experience and I’m no audiophile. So while I am very pleased with this set-up and these components, your assessment may be different. Lord knows there are a ton of speakers, amps, head units, and such available to choose from.
The installation of the speaker boxes and speakers is described in this thread with pictures:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/570604-2011-cvo-street-glide-speaker-boxes-installed-w-pics.html
I still have some installation clean-up to do in terms of routing wires inside the fairing and other detail type work to do before I’m “finished” with this project. However, the sound won’t change, and I’m going to enjoy this upgrade. The speaker boxes will get painted to match the bike this winter and I'll probably buy the HD speaker grills for the lowers since they provide a flush fit look.
Carl
#2
10-09-2010, 07:06 PM
Outstanding HDF Member
#3
10-09-2010, 07:23 PM
Road Master
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