stereo upgrade

[surf52]

has anyone found a way to upgrade the stereo system on rsv?

[rumboogy]

That's the $64,000 question...and the money ain't been given away yet!!

[Cougar]

The only up-grade I did was to place an amp in my trunk

seems to help.

 

There is a write-up I did on it in the Vtech Section.

 

Trust me I have tried ALL the speakers and still nothing

is any better then the Polk 401's (YET)! not I still will not give

up on this project. I was able to get the two 5x10 retro sounds

into my fairing but the sound still sucked!

Now you keep looking for us will ya?

Jeff

[kwisor]

hello

i have tryed the amp upgread removed it i have put a equlizer in the tape deck spot removed it the best thing i have done i put a edset on the head set and use a bose earbuds and i can listen to the best sound in my helment at any speed and i use a ipod touch with 2700 songs

bumble bee

kevin wisor

1999 rsv

jax fl

[Freebird]

I agree with Kevin and tried the same things. I finally gave up after finding the Edsets.

[Whitlow]

Someone fill me in on the Edsets what are they where can I get them etc?

Thanks

[Freebird]

http://www.edsets.com

 

They are the best I have used. I like the speakers they come with but they also have a jack where you can plug in earbuds if you prefer.

[Guest scarylarry]

http://edsets.com/

 

All I know is what I read here..Never use them

[camos]

Trust me I have tried ALL the speakers and still nothing

is any better then the Polk 401's (YET)! not I still will not give

up on this project. I was able to get the two 5x10 retro sounds

into my fairing but the sound still sucked!

Now you keep looking for us will ya?

Jeff

Perhaps the problem is not so much the speaker but the enclosure. Putting a sound deadening foam around and behind the speaker can help get betterr sound out the front by reducing the bad sound from the fairing enclosure. Try some pillow foam which might work ok. Another thing that can affect the quality of sound from a speaker is using minimum 16 gauge wire rather than the 22 gauge wire that often comes in systems.

[Cougar]

Yep, even tried the foam behind them. ( a tad better )

added heaver wire when I installed the amp.

[KiteSquid]

IMHO the best way to improve the sound from the Clarion stereo installed in these bikes is to sell the RSV and buy a new Honda Goldwing. I will not be doing this upgrade.

[Cougar]

`:rotf:yep

[outlawauto38]

i have the polk 401s with bass blockers and boom mats on all 4 speakers. bazooka made a plug and play amp and speaker kit for the rsv i was gonna try but, last i heard got2mnytoys had one but wasnt having very good luck with it. maybe you can ask him if he ever got the bugs out of it. i would go with the polks for shure, i tried another brand but they sounded worse than stock. i was trying to do it cheaper but ended up going with the polks anyway and really like them, but, you can only get so much out of a 4 inch speaker. if you do it i would put in the boom mats and base blockers in since you will allready have it apart, every little bit helps.

[Bummer]

The biggest problem with the Polks is that they can handle a lot more wattage than the stock speakers, so the stock amp has a bit of trouble driving them. My current stereo related quest is to find an amp that will fit where the cassette goes. Something around 60 watts per channel. That way the stock stereo acts as a pre-amp with the power amp doing the work. This should not only increase the amount of sound out of the speakers, but keep the stock stereo lower in its range, yielding cleaner sound.

 

The combinations of Polk speakers (400 series then) and an Alpine power amp worked great on my First Gen. It didn't have a CB so I used that space for the power amp. Todays amps are much bigger so it's become more of a problem to find a place to put one. Luckily the cassette has volunteered to live in the basement to make space for an amp. Now all I have to do is find one that fits.

[rumboogy]

Just for curiosity sake...and from a lay person (so speak in beginners english)...

 

How many channels

How many Watts

Maximum dimensions

Power requirements

 

Could you provide that information.

 

Also..would the dimensions you provide be ONLY for the Cassette Deck bay or would you consider mounting in other locations?

 

Also...would it be possible to connect the stock system directly to the amp and run the amp that way (see I told you I was a layperson).

 

Thanks for any info...maybe if enough of us look...someone might find something.

 

Wally

[ken]

OK! fill me in here on whats wrong with the stock stereo other then the tape player. Granted it's been a few year since I sold my 05 Midnight but I remember being able to hear it just fine at any speed!

[rumboogy]

Speaking for myself...I don't think there is anything actually "wrong" with it...however the sound is weak (I'm speaking of quality not loudness)....and a better set of speakers and a nice quality amp would make the sound more "pleasing" to listen to instead of hollow bass and treble we get now.

 

Wally

[Cougar]

I put a 4 channel 240 watt amp in my trunk a few years ago.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=487

[Bummer]

The Polk 401s are rated for 135 watts peak, 4-45 RMS. I'm figuring when I do it I'll replace them all and wire the rears to actually be separate rather than bridged. So that would be 4 times 45 watts each at 4 ohms.

 

I don't have any dimensions yet. That's going to have to wait a couple of weeks - gotta take the fairing apart before riding season and I'm going to take measurements then.

 

I've done some browsing on Crutchfield (had very good luck buying from them a number of years back). I've found this, but obviously haven't tried it yet. Size should be very good. Power out is right. Thing is, it's not exactly aimed at what I'm planning on doing with it. Normally it's used to boost an existing Alpine in-dash unit. I planned to call Crutchfield and see what power level it's expecting for input. Shouldn't be a problem, but I thought I'd chat them up about it first.

 

The whole point, to me, is first to replace the speakers, and second to add a little more volume while keeping the stock stereo running at a lower output level. If I can cut down my normal set point by say a third or half it'll really do a lot for the distortion levels. On my First Gen this type of change yielded much cleaner sound at roughly the same apparent volume levels in spite of the inherently bad acoustic environment on a bike.