more audio woes, blown speaker.

[azglocker]

well my audio problems continue. I posted a week or so ago saying that i had a loose connection to the amp that was causing the right speaker to work intermittently. I replaced the input and output harnesses to the amp (the output is the problem as far as i can tell, but the input was loose too) which helped but did not completely solve the problem. NOW, i have also realized that my right speaker is blown. the woofer cone produces a harsh pop now instead of the gentle thump of the double bass which I was attempting to enjoy.

I don't know what I'll do now. I don't feel comfortable spending $1k on a j&m kit (get rid of the troublesome amp and fix blow speaker, with a full upgrade) but I also am very leery to buy another Rockford amp that has the same connection type, knowing it could happen again. On the plus side, bike week is 34 days away and that's a good opportunity to check out some systems and prices, including to see what Paul Yaffe's Bagger Nation is using/offering nowadays.

I have never had so many audio problems. Before I got the amp, I had the Polk speakers only ran to the stock speaker harnesses but one of them too developed a loose connection. The common denominator is these pin and socket type connectors. needless to say I much prefer spade terminals if it can't be soldered.

for reference, my current setup is as follows
Cycle sounds line leveler
Rockford Fosgate PBR300x2
Polk MM651 speakers.
fairing only. two speakers total.

 

[Designflaw]

I have no issues recommending J&M with its lifetime warranty for the money, plus 15% for forum members.

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[Mojo]

AZ- Talk to Karl at NO CAGES AUDIO (sponsor here). I'll bet he can help you.

 

[GreetSlide808]

I would get rid of the CS Line leveler and replace it with a Biketronics LL. What a difference that will make. I also have the Polk MM651's. Good speakers for the price but they are rated for 100Wrms correct? How much power does the Rockford put out? Is it 150W? Or lower?

 

[azglocker]

The amp is rated for 150 at 2ohms but I have the gain set to about 85w using test tones and a meter. I will consider changing levelers, but obviously ain't going to pull that trigger until I decide what to do with my amp and speakers. I haven't decided anything really other than my stereo is 'broken' and needs fixing.

I'm rather short on cash as well. With that said, I surely ain't going to downgrade. I was working with a 200w system so whatever I go with will be at least that.

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[JMeadows]

I had a problem with one of my J&M speakers, when I called I found out that they are guaranteed for life, Great company to do business with.

 

[GreetSlide808]

The amp is rated for 150 at 2ohms but I have the gain set to about 85w using test tones and a meter. I will consider changing levelers, but obviously ain't going to pull that trigger until I decide what to do with my amp and speakers. I haven't decided anything really other than my stereo is 'broken' and needs fixing.

I'm rather short on cash as well. With that said, I surely ain't going to downgrade. I was working with a 200w system so whatever I go with will be at least that.

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I understand. The reason I was asking is because I blew a couple CS speakers too. Then I bought the Polks and added the BT LL. I would never downgrade either. But , after installing the new speakers, I adjusted the gains down a little to "preserve" my speakers.

 

[TomA]

Your in luck AZ Soundz Customz will be at West world for bike week. Go in and talk to Peter and he will set you up with a great system but it will cost for sure. Hoping to make it down for bike week also but not sure If I will make it now with some changes at work.

 

[sprnt96]

I understand. The reason I was asking is because I blew a couple CS speakers too. Then I bought the Polks and added the BT LL. I would never downgrade either. But , after installing the new speakers, I adjusted the gains down a little to "preserve" my speakers.

I went through 2 sets of CS speakers before I bought a set of Hertz this winter. Is the biketronics line leveler really that much better than the CS black box?

 

[GreetSlide808]

Cyclesounds speakers

Cyclesounds speakers

I went through 2 sets of CS speakers before I bought a set of Hertz this winter. Is the biketronics line leveler really that much better than the CS black box?

I also blew 2 CS speakers. Replacing them with Polk Audio mm651's. I will see how they work out. If they dont then I will have to bite the bullet and get $600+ speakers.

 

[Nocage]

The RF PBR 300.2 is a budget amp that that puts out 100 watts RMS X 2 at 4 ohms and 150 watts RMS x2 at 2 ohms. The Polk MM651 is a 2.7 ohm speaker, so in a perfect world you would be seeing about 130-135 watts RMS through these speakers. That wattage in itself is not enough to be causing issues for these speakers.

The real issue here is this is a BR class amp. It was not designed to be able to live in a harsh motorcycle environment, it puts out a great deal of heat. In a cage environment where it gets all of the air circulation it needs, this amp gets so hot that you can't put your hand on it.

In a motorcycle faring, running at 3/4 volume or more most of the time, the heat this amp creates causes a lot of expansion and contraction of the metal and plastic components that make up the amp. Hence the connectors getting loose and not wanting to stay connected and have a good solid signal transfer.

You need a class D amp. They run about 60% cooler than a BR class amp.

With you living in Arizona the heat issues are even more magnified throughout the summer

 

[jedbuckeye]

I had a problem with one of my J&M speakers, when I called I found out that they are guaranteed for life, Great company to do business with.

I checked their website it says 2 years?

 

[azglocker]

Nocage, thanks a ton for the insight into the rf amps. There's no hiding that I live in an unfriendly environment for electronics, what with an average of 30 days over 110 degrees and 100 days over 100. I'm still looking into amps and speakers before I pull the trigger since both need replacing at this point. The polks seem good to me (if not a little overpowering on the high range) and fit the bill for my goal of a 200w stereo but maybe this time I should over engineer to prevent a future repeat? Also the polks have in line crossovers which I keep wondering if they are ticking time bombs for a vibration induced failure.

Maybe I am being overly concerned but I want to stay with a speaker that is water resistant. I ride rain or shine and my bike lives outdoors. I don't want to get speakers that will be ruined in a few months by the coming monsoons.

Another concern of mine is Rca terminals. My current cycle sounds line leveler has Rca out and I've had to crimp them and wrap them in tape to keep the connection secure and ungrounded. If I can avoid them I'd prefer it. Spades work well to me, but obviously soldering is hard to beat. If it makes sense to use another line leveler (feel free to weigh in on this topic) then I can get a biketronics but it too appears to use Rca outputs.

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[GreetSlide808]

I went through 2 sets of CS speakers before I bought a set of Hertz this winter. Is the biketronics line leveler really that much better than the CS black box?

Sorry sprnt96, didnt answer your question the first time. YES, the Biketronics LL is way better than the CS Magic box. Been running BTs for about 2 weeks . Huge difference