14+ Street/Road Glide Rockford Fosgate Power Series (HD14-TKIT)

[UnleashedBeast]

I've recently purchased a 2017 Street Glide Special and have been shopping for audio upgrades. There is a good bit of information on most kits available, with the exception of this one.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/hd14-tkit

Reviews and/or forum posts about this kit are seldom found. Why? Is it something new, with not a lot of time for people to try it? Are people finding other kits offer more bang for the buck? I know people "rave" about Soundz (Arc Audio & Focal), however....there are cons about the kit which concerns me. Focal doesn't build their speakers to be a direct bolt into a Harley, so you have to modify for proper fit. If pictures are telling me the entire truth, you can't reuse Harley's plastic speaker enclosures with high end Focal (or other large magnet speakers). Another setback, the Moto 600.4 amp has a very limited availability, and isn't easily found to purchase from a reputable seller. The Soundz kit also doesn't appear to offer an OEM type of amplifier mount like the Rockford Fosgate Power kit. I've seen pictures with the Arc Audio amplifier zip tied to the radio, ummm....no thanks, my OCD would never allow that, much less discussing conduction heat transfer. I'm also not sure if the kit is true plug and play, meaning.....are the cables all OEM type assembled, or are you forced to solder/heat shrink or use crimp style connectors.

I was in the professional car audio industry for years, and have had my fair share of expensive speakers. One truck had a 3 way Dyn Audio set with a retail price of $1299, just for front speakers. While I would invest this into an enclosed secured vehicle, I would be reluctant to do the same in a Motorcycle. Focal also isn't building their speakers to meet marine standards, like Rockford has. That being said, Focal isn't a wise choice for my application. Sure, it may sound the best, perhaps better than the $299 speakers included in Rockford's Power kit, but not $1000 better. Arc Audio amps also do not meet marine standards.

I was just really curious as to why there are limited reviews on a kit that appears to be top tier in integration and engineering for the Harley, and also to share my thoughts about offerings from Soundz.

 

[danoday]

I've recently purchased a 2017 Street Glide Special and have been shopping for audio upgrades. There is a good bit of information on most kits available, with the exception of this one.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/hd14-tkit

Reviews and/or forum posts about this kit are seldom found. Why? Is it something new, with not a lot of time for people to try it? Are people finding other kits offer more bang for the buck? I know people "rave" about Soundz (Arc Audio & Focal), however....there are cons about the kit which concerns me. Focal doesn't build their speakers to be a direct bolt into a Harley, so you have to modify for proper fit. If pictures are telling me the entire truth, you can't reuse Harley's plastic speaker enclosures with high end Focal (or other large magnet speakers). Another setback, the Moto 600.4 amp has a very limited availability, and isn't easily found to purchase from a reputable seller. The Soundz kit also doesn't appear to offer an OEM type of amplifier mount like the Rockford Fosgate Power kit. I've seen pictures with the Arc Audio amplifier zip tied to the radio, ummm....no thanks, my OCD would never allow that, much less discussing conduction heat transfer. I'm also not sure if the kit is true plug and play, meaning.....are the cables all OEM type assembled, or are you forced to solder/heat shrink or use crimp style connectors.

I was in the professional car audio industry for years, and have had my fair share of expensive speakers. One truck had a 3 way Dyn Audio set with a retail price of $1299, just for front speakers. While I would invest this into an enclosed secured vehicle, I would be reluctant to do the same in a Motorcycle. Focal also isn't building their speakers to meet marine standards, like Rockford has. That being said, Focal isn't a wise choice for my application. Sure, it may sound the best, perhaps better than the $299 speakers included in Rockford's Power kit, but not $1000 better. Arc Audio amps also do not meet marine standards.

I was just really curious as to why there are limited reviews on a kit that appears to be top tier in integration and engineering for the Harley, and also to share my thoughts about offerings from Soundz.

I think there a lot of things to consider in an audio upgrade, I think they are all very personal decisions. I think no two people have the exact same audio desires when it comes to upgrades. I think we can all agree, if you have upgraded already, that Boom speaker box is worthless and can go right to the recycle bin. To rationalize audio upgrades by cost doesn't make sense and may even offend those who have dropped a lot of cash on theirs, you have to do what you want to your bike for you. I researched and chose a much less priced system that works for me and better then the OEM Boom I had. I haven't heard any of the high end systems in person, If I did and found it to be better than what I have I would probably upgrade, without any rationale at all. To spend a lot of money on a Harley, is to own a Harley.

 

[UnleashedBeast]

You are correct, and I forgot to add this to my original post....

The Boom II audio system was considered briefly, until I read about amp overheating and blown speaker issues. The integration of Boom II is nice, however the lack of control by the installer left much to be desired. For comparable money, Rockford vs. Boom II.......Rockford Power kit won hands down. Either way, you are forced to reflash the factory headunit.

 

[Deadstroke]

I stay away from both systems.. I buy nothing but Focals and Arc now..

 

[UnleashedBeast]

I stay away from both systems.. I buy nothing but Focals and Arc now..

If you are making this comment about Rockford due to the Punch series, I completely agree. The Power series is in a completely difference class. I've known this since car audio days. The comedy is.....Arc Audio was a "B" grade amplifier in those days, now everyone in Harley land wants one. What changed?

 

[Deadstroke]

If you are making this comment about Rockford due to the Punch series, I completely agree. The Power series is in a completely difference class. I've known this since car audio days. The comedy is.....Arc Audio was a "B" grade amplifier in those days, now everyone in Harley land wants one. What changed?

Well honestly dont know about the power series but get burned by a brand enough you stop using it.. I am very with the Arc amp and the speakers havent heard a rockford system yet that can compare. But then again no one around here uses them. But now you have me interested so I am going to have to find one now..

 

[TomA]

I think the biggest thing to consider here is do you want to buy the system once and be done or buy twice because you didn't get the right one the first time. What has been working the best for most of us is the Arc amps and Focal speakers. Have not heard good things about the Rockford stuff so we try and help each other out by sharing information to save you the expense of not getting what works the best. There are several different kits you can buy out there and I hear some good things about Hertzs stuff but have no experience with it.

Good luck in your choice

 

[UnleashedBeast]

You are correct, and the best thing about forums. You can figure out what works, and what doesn't before you buy. Choose poorly, and you could be buying twice, spending more money than if you did it right the first time.

I guess my only vise here. Rockford has a poor name in the Harley community from a line of amplifiers that are not the Power series. That's why I think things are going to change for those who dare take the chance. It's only matched in integration by the Boom II system. Rockford clearly excels in engineering from superior speaker design (over Boom II), and better amplifier mounting and heatsink over any other kit available. I went ahead and ordered this kit to run it through the paces. I will also add 6x9's to the saddlebags for rear fill and bass response. Pictures and reflection coming soon.

 

[Spazz]

Unless you go swimming with your glide and soak your speakers.... there is not much to worry about.... Many of us run Focal/ Arc amps with ZERO issues from water/rain. I understand the added benefit of marine grade, but not always a requirement... it would depend on how much water you are going to get.. rain mostly... your geo location will dictate most of that.

All too often, I hear/read about issues of clipping with the PBR300 from RF... I tend to tell folks to steer clear since there are better options and quality out there for our scoots.

Like TomA said.... ( and..you are an audio buff ) do it once and be done.... there are too many people that can share there thousands of dollars of 2, 3 and 4 times of doing their systems over because they 'settled' for something they THOUGHT would be good enough.

I'm in the process of adding my 3rd pair of speakers to my lowers (Focal 165KRC's) to my lowers... ( THANKS BRIAN! ) I have KRC's in my faring and HAT 157-2's in my lids all hooked to my ARC XDI 600.4. I couldn't be happier at this point.

I hope your audio journey treats you well and you are happy with what you get out of it... I truly mean it. Good luck!

I am doing my 7th install of Soundz level 4 , 4 speaker system here shortly.... this system sells itself once it's heard by the naked ear.

The owner of Battleborn HD heard my bike and immediately wanted to get one on his 2017 Limited.... so... I put him in touch with Peter and got him set up with Soundz Level 5 (6 speaker ) system.... his scoot is gonna ROCK! Oh... and will be a vendor for Soundz as well in the very near future.

 

[Mojo]

Spazz- Sounds like you really like Battleborn HD now.

 

[Spazz]

Spazz- Sounds like you really like Battleborn HD now.

Sure do! ... plus Joker works there as well now...along with Erik and Maya.. three really close Brothers.

Since new ownership... and the addition of really dedicated management, they have really stepped up their game.

Sent from Note4 via TapaTalk

 

[bryan0994]

Ok, I've done my audio about 4 time on my bike and doing a huge change to it this winter. I've had the RF punch series amp with Polk speakers, although sounded much better then stock the amp got way to hot. Next upgrade was from Soundz which included Focal 165KRC's, 570ac and Arc xdi amp, sound was amazing, but the 5x7's you couldn't really hear. Next upgrade was change the lid speakers to Focal 690ac and change the amp to the Moto series amp which over all much better. Then the next change was the lid speakers to Hertz 6x9 Mille speakers, wow they blow the Focal away. And today's change was in the fairing which was a set of DD 6.5 and B3 horns, she screams, all running of 2 RF power series amps. Over the winter I'm having a custom inner made to hold 8" Hertz alone with a set of horns and the same in the lids, also adding a 3rd amp. I will say this there is several great options out there and being you have an audio back ground you know every company makes good and bad speakers and amps. I would like to suggest looking up Harley bagger stereo on FB lot of great guys on there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[UnleashedBeast]

The local Harley dealer re-flashed the infotainment radio in my bike, per Rockford's recommendation. This flattens the built in huge EQ boost on bass and treble for the standard 2 speaker/no amp install.

The kit comes in a larger box with this inside.

The amplifier installation kit is quite impressive. There are brackets in here to adapt to just about any fairing bike Harley makes, from 1998 up. The wires are marked and individually wrapped to assist with installation identification.

The quality of the plugs are top tier, direct plug and play.



This kit was intended to receive amplifier inputs from either the front only, or both front and rear (switch setting on the amplifier). Some Harley models will not have rear speaker wires ran to the rear of the bike, so your input selection will be front only. I decided that would not be the best thing for me, as I wanted fading capability. This meant I had to modify the rear pre-built cable, cutting, soldering, and using heat shrink to make use of the factory installed rear speaker wires from the unused gray speaker plug inside the fairing. This was the only part of the installation that wasn't true plug and play. While it wasn't required, I opted to do so for fading. Had my bike had factory rear speakers, this would not be required and still retain the 100% plug and play status of this kit. I should suggest to Rockford to include this adapter plug as an "option" for 2 speaker only bikes.

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Factory speaker vs. Rockford Power Series 6.5". Very small magnet on the OEM, while Rockford utilized neo magnets to retain efficiency despite a smaller size. The voicecoil in this speaker is huge. One huge plus of this kit, there was ZERO modification required to mount this speaker in the factory speaker pod. You don't even have to grind off the centering pin to make it fit. Rockford made it 100% direct bolt in.

Stock grill versus the new Rockford replacement

 

[UnleashedBeast]

I had to relocate the GPS antenna, as it was double sided taped on this bracket. You can see the plastic feet in place to mount the new amp rack heat sink.





This amp is quite compact, despite being rated at 100 x 4 (actually tested at the factory as 135 x 4 @ 2 ohms RMS - 125 x 4 @ 4 ohms RMS)



Amplifier mounted in place

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Call it my OCD, but the install end results for the amplifier look almost OEM. Not knocking other install pictures I have seen on the internet with a spider web of wires everywhere, but my OCD would never allow for it.



Rockford has a very AWESOME way to properly adjust input gains to the output of the headunit. Rockford supplies a test tone CD to properly adjust your amplifier. You will have to rip it to your computer hard drive, then copy it to a USB drive. I used track 7 to adjust the system, as recommended, which is a 1K test tone. With no speakers plugged into the amplifier, the radio bass/treble set to flat.....turn the volume up until you see the "In Clip" light turn red. On my bike, with volume all the way up, there was no clipping. Then, turn up the gain on the amp until the "Out Clip" turns blue. If it turns red, you went too far, turn it back down until it's blue. Now, turn down the volume on your radio, plug in the speakers, and jam out. You're done.

I have yet to experiment with the "EQ" setting on the amp, will do that soon. The sound is loud and clear from the front speakers only (I'm impressed). I have wires ran to the back of the bike under the seat, waiting for 6x9's in the bags. I feel there could be a touch more bass, but I know that's coming with 6x9's and EQ settings. Will add to this after more speakers are installed.

After some reading, I know why the sound is a bit "flat", needing more bass. I left the "EQ" all the way down in "AP (All Pass)" mode. Easy fix!

 

[Spazz]

Ok, I've done my audio about 4 time on my bike and doing a huge change to it this winter. I've had the RF punch series amp with Polk speakers, although sounded much better then stock the amp got way to hot. Next upgrade was from Soundz which included Focal 165KRC's, 570ac and Arc xdi amp, sound was amazing, but the 5x7's you couldn't really hear. Next upgrade was change the lid speakers to Focal 690ac and change the amp to the Moto series amp which over all much better. Then the next change was the lid speakers to Hertz 6x9 Mille speakers, wow they blow the Focal away. And today's change was in the fairing which was a set of DD 6.5 and B3 horns, she screams, all running of 2 RF power series amps. Over the winter I'm having a custom inner made to hold 8" Hertz alone with a set of horns and the same in the lids, also adding a 3rd amp. I will say this there is several great options out there and being you have an audio back ground you know every company makes good and bad speakers and amps. I would like to suggest looking up Harley bagger stereo on FB lot of great guys on there.


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You drove my point home Bryan... LOL! I would LOVE to hear your scoot in person. Sounds like I may be upgrading my lids shortly as well... running 4 Focal KRC's up front I can barely hear the lids with the HAT 157-2's now.. 6x9's here I come!.. LOL!

 

[UnleashedBeast]

You drove my point home Bryan... LOL! I would LOVE to hear your scoot in person. Sounds like I may be upgrading my lids shortly as well... running 4 Focal KRC's up front I can barely hear the lids with the HAT 157-2's now.. 6x9's here I come!.. LOL!

What are the lids of choice for 6x9 speakers? I've always wondered about water intrusion from rain with a top bag mounted speaker.

On Edit:

Think I've decided to go this route. Seen them in person at the local Harley store, and wow!

VooDoo JL Audio 8.8" Speaker Lids - 2014+ Harley

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Yet again, another update: *Shout out to Spazz for his knowledge and assistance with all of my questions*

The Rockford Fosgate marine amplifier, wiring kit, and amp rack mount included in the (HD14-TKIT) is without a doubt good as you can buy, however the speakers which are included fall short. The Rockford Fosgate TMS65 speakers are superior to the stock Harley Davidson parts, unfortunately....they will not impress a true audiophile. They are lacking in mid bass reproduction, and it's easy to see why when you compare it with an $800 speaker. The speaker's suspension doesn't have as much movement (Xmax) as you would expect from mid line $299 speaker. It's somewhat firm, even after break in. The tweeter also takes up a lot of precious cone area, reducing the SPL ability of the speaker. Back to the tweeter, they are bright....and I mean BRIGHT. I have to turn down treble control all the way down so they are not overbearing.

That being said, I had the opportunity to purchase 2 pair of Focal 165KRC coaxial speakers for the upper and lower fairing on my Street Glide for a very low price. I could not resist buying brand new speakers normally selling for $799 each for half price (got two for one). These things are massive in comparison to Rockford's attempt at Harley specific speakers. Xmax is twice as far (better mid bass response) and the cone feels much lighter. The rubber surround is larger, allowing for more cone motion. The down side is, this forces you to install the Focal inside the speaker pods (trimming required).

*Spazz has a great video showing you how on YouTube* LINK and LINK2.

Let's compare









I purchased more Dremel supplies today so I could finish the install tonight. I really want to do a video of a Focal on the left, and a Rockford on the right.......fading between the two for comparison.

 

[SG19]

I didn't trim anything on the inside of my pods , I used dense foam to make a gasket because of the vary thin mounting surface once the the pins are cut down.