Harley-Davidson owners come to Handcrafted Car Audio in Chandler, Arizona, when they want amazing sound systems. A customer came to us from Mesa, Arizona, after purchasing the Harley-Davidson Boom Audio Stage 2 upgrade kit. The client was frustrated with the lack of volume, clarity and definition from the upgrade. We have worked on many bikes identical to this 2014 Street Glide, so it was easy for us to offer a great Harley audio upgrade solution to this client.
Proper Integration
The factory radio in the Street Glide includes equalization that can’t be turned off. We don’t understand why the system is tuned the way it is because it doesn’t sound very good. That said, we do know how to deal with it. For this client, we installed an Audison Prima 8.9 bit eight-channel amplifier. The Prima is one of the most powerful amplifiers in the industry when it comes to signal processing. The amplifier can remove the signal equalization from the factory source unit output, then use its onboard DSP processor to set crossovers and equalization for excellent sound quality that will meet customers’ expectations.
Configuration
We used four channels of the Prima 8.9 bit to power the tweeters and midrange drivers in the front fairing. Each of the four drivers receives up to 65 watts of power. For the rear speakers in the saddle bags, we bridged the remaining four channels to provide each with 130 watts. Typically, amplifiers built into radios produce around 18–20 watts of usable power, so now, when the client cranks the volume, he only hears music, not distortion.
We installed the compact Audison amplifier inside the front fairing. We placed a layer of green Tesa protection film on top and around the sides of the amplifier to keep it from being damaged in the event the owner gets caught out in the rain.
Tuning
We made sure we had interviewed the client before we set work to work on his bike to ensure we knew what kind of music he liked, and how loud he listened to it. We tuned the system with our laptop and calibrated microphone to provide smooth frequency response and an equalization curve that would keep the music clear and audible, even at freeway speeds. We set the sensitivity adjustments on the amplifier to allow the system to get loud, without distorting and damaging speakers.
Harley Audio Upgrades Wows Client
The customer returned to Handcrafted Car Audio to pick up his bike, and immediately hopped on for a listen. He was thrilled with the newfound performance of the audio system, and stunned that we could make something that had sounded so bad sound so good!
If you are interested in upgrading the audio system on your bike, contact us here.
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