[ZZedmonds]

Well, I finished my amp and speaker upgrade on my Cross Country. My priority was to find an amp that fit under the fairing so I did not have to give up precious space in my saddlebags. I installed a pair of Alpine 5032CF 2 ohm speakers and an ARC KS 125.2 2 channel amp. ARC amps are made in the US and are the "shiznitz." Overkill I am sure but at least quality will not be in question. Pretty easy other than having to fight with mounting it as high in the fairing as possible to allow clearance for the top headlight plug. Other than that, just tweaking the gain settings to optimize the sound.

In my research the Arc and Alpine V series amps are good choices for installing an inline amp with an OEM stereo. The downside to the Alpine is that is too large to mount in the fairing, hence the reason for my choice.

Enjoy the pics!

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[phoenix9]

Very nice Scott. I have a couple questions as I am not an audiophile guru: Do amps put out a lot of heat? Do you have any concerns about excessive heat there affecting any other components?

 

[randysfishing]

nice looking set up now I want to hear i am guessing the sound is great

 

[bubba]

Man, you do great work!!! Very nice

 

[ZZedmonds]

Very nice Scott. I have a couple questions as I am not an audiophile guru: Do amps put out a lot of heat? Do you have any concerns about excessive heat there affecting any other components?

The amount of heat generated by an amp varies by quality/model, how well matched they are with other components, what volumes the are operated at etc. As long as there is good air flow (the fairing has enough openings for that) it should be fine. The amp has air spa ce all the way around it. The only time I would be concerned is if it were in a tightly sealed space or next to another component that puts off heat.

 

[SurreyVIC]

How easy was it to connect to the OEM radio??? Where did you hook the power supply to?

 

[ZZedmonds]

How easy was it to connect to the OEM radio??? Where did you hook the power supply to?

Spliced the speaker wires just outside the enclosures, wired them to the proper input/outs on the amp and powered it off the unused Heated grips plug/circuit. That was the easy part. mounting it for proper clearance took the time.

 

[PrometheusVII]

Damn! I thought my stock stereo was fine. That thing must ROCK! So, worth it, or no?

 

[mjw930]

Great work but I think you mean Infinity 5032CF, not Alpine 5032CF

 

[Gossamer]

I wish I could make some of these mods, everytime I even think about doing something electrical to my bike the magic smoke gets let out of some component.

 

[Eric_MA]

Well, I finished my amp and speaker upgrade on my Cross Country. My priority was to find an amp that fit under the fairing so I did not have to give up precious space in my saddlebags. I installed a pair of Alpine 5032CF 2 ohm speakers and an ARC KS 125.2 2 channel amp. ARC amps are made in the US and are the siznitz. Overkill I am sure but at least quality will not be in question. Pretty easy other than having to fight with mounting it as high in the fairing as possible to allow clearance for the top headlight plug. Other than that, just tweaking the gain settings to optimize the sound.

In my research the Arc and Alpine V series amps are good choices for installing an inline amp with an OEM stereo. The downside to the Alpine is that is too large to mount in the fairing, hence the reason for my choice.

Enjoy the pics!
Great! maybe you can shoot a clip with the system rocking so we can all hear the difference...Great work!
Do you think replacing the speakers "Alpine" still better than the stock ones or does it need that amp?

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[ZZedmonds]

Nice catch, I meant Infinity not Alpine. Eric, the problem with replacing the speakers with one's like this is that they have a much larger magnet and work the stock amp harder. As a result you hear clipping or distortion in the bass. In that state, I had to adjust the stock settings to -2 or 03 on the bass to get the clipping to stop. The mid's and highs came through more clearly. It would also clip at high volumes more than the stock speakers. That was my motivation to install the amp.

More manufacturers are making amps for line level inputs from stock radios. It really was not that hard.

As for the sound clip idea, it is nearly impossible to tell in an audio clip. I can tell you that after getting the gain and crossover settings set right this thing rocks. I was cruising last night and pulled up to a light and a guy in his car next to me was rocking "headbanger" style to beat of my tunes. It is importnat to note his windows were rolled up! It is as loud as anyone would want to tolerate on a bike and other than being a bit thin on bass (you are only going to get so much out of a 5 1/4" speaker in that small of an enclosure) I am very happy with the sound. I spent much more than I should have mostly due to the high end amp at $329 bucks. I am sure I could have found a suitable amp for around $100 bucks if I weren't so dammed inpatient!

Time to order a trunk so I can put a subwoofer in it!


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[The_Captain]

Great job! and thanks for sharing.

 

[Woody63]

Hey Scott, did you have to do anything special to wire in the Stebel horn? Is it just using the existing horn feed, or did you need to do anything for a higher amp draw, like add anin-line fuse with a run direct to the battery?

 

[ZZedmonds]

On the Stebel, I wired it into the existing circuit. I do plan to install a relay and inline fuse.

 

[FishWitch]

Sounds the same as the old one..... I hear nuthin!!! Amp up dahling!! Let us hear it!!

 

[SirP]

Since you have seen the factory radio doe sit have a line out/aux out?

 

[ZZedmonds]

Since you have seen the factory radio doe sit have a line out/aux out?

Unfortunately no.

 

[Jagular]

I'm considering doing this, too. ZZ how difficult is the mount/wiring? Thanks.

 

[ZZedmonds]

Easy on both counts.

1) The top of the amp wedged under the top of the cowl. I took 1 hardware store L bracket and mounted it to the L lower tab on the amp (R if you are facing the headlight, L if you were sitting on the bike.) I wedged to top of the amp under the cowl and marked the hole for the L bracket on the cast housing for the fairing drilled one hole and attached a small bolt.

2) As for the wiring, I got power at the unused heated grip plug in the headlight area, grounded to a bolt, and the cut the speaker wire in the middle and ran one end the amp input and the other to the amp output.

Pretty simple, just be patient.