Purple Guy
New member
Just a quick video of the steps I did to upgrade the rear speakers on my Can Am Spyder RT to 5 1/4" speakers.
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HowTo: 5 1/4" Rear Speaker Mod on a 2014 RT
- Thread starter Purple Guy
- Start date
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
:clap::clap::clap: ...... thank you for posting the video it was excellent :thumbup: I think there should be a " sticky " for this ..... it's not really difficult to do and your video makes it much easier for those who are a bit concerned about trying ..... annnnnnnnnd I'm glad you added the Audio .... What was the music source .... and did you measure the Kickers against the JBL's ( the GTO 528's went out of production a few years ago so the Kickers are readily available ) ...... Mike :thumbup:
Purple Guy
New member
...... thank you for posting the video it was excellent
I think there should be a " sticky " for this ..... it's not really difficult to do and your video makes it much easier for those who are a bit concerned about trying ..... annnnnnnnnd I'm glad you added the Audio .... What was the music source .... and did you measure the Kickers against the JBL's ( the GTO 528's went out of production a few years ago so the Kickers are readily available ) ...... Mike
The Music source was an iPod, song was Hands Up by Honeymoon Suite.
My original plan was to put the Kickers in the rear but their foot print was too big.
I had the 528's in the front so I just swapped them.
Richard Budden
New member
If the 528's are no longer available, can you recommend a brand and model that would fit? Also, where did you mount the Kenwood amp and where did you access the wiring harness to hook up the amp?
Purple Guy
New member
Not sure what speaker will fit back there, I already had the 528's in the fronts and had bought the kickers for the rear. The kickers have a solid ring around the speaker so can't be modified to fit, where as the 528's just needed one of the mount tabs to be removed to make them work.
I mounted the amp to the battery door in the frunk. So far so good with that location, no heat problems, took a thermal reading after an hour's ride 136°F.
I put in a Fuzeblock FZ1 and have run my amp & heated gear through that.
I mounted the amp to the battery door in the frunk. So far so good with that location, no heat problems, took a thermal reading after an hour's ride 136°F.
I put in a Fuzeblock FZ1 and have run my amp & heated gear through that.
Cloak
New member
I just started upgrading the audio on my 2014 RT Limited.
I installed Polk 5 1/4's in the front and actually used the factory front speakers and put them in the rear (of course, I had to do some trimming.) It was rather simple. I wouldn’t have attempted it if not for all the helpful posts and threads by members. Everyone who chimed in, my hat's off to you.
I also installed a 4 channel 2400 watt amp in the front trunk, and remote amp knob in the front glove box, although I have plans on replacing it since it’s a little big. Sitting in there diagonally, it still takes up the entire trunk, so I'm definitely needing an amp smaller in size.
For Bluetooth connectivity, I added an AudioControl ACX-BT1 and adapted it to fit into the audio aux cable in the rear trunk. So now, I don’t have to worry about my Bluetooth adapter battery dying mid-ride - this one is hardwired and permanent.
Only took about an hour for the left rear speaker install so now it’s on to the right one.
I wanna thank the members who contributed to the audio upgrade threads once again.
I installed Polk 5 1/4's in the front and actually used the factory front speakers and put them in the rear (of course, I had to do some trimming.) It was rather simple. I wouldn’t have attempted it if not for all the helpful posts and threads by members. Everyone who chimed in, my hat's off to you.
I also installed a 4 channel 2400 watt amp in the front trunk, and remote amp knob in the front glove box, although I have plans on replacing it since it’s a little big. Sitting in there diagonally, it still takes up the entire trunk, so I'm definitely needing an amp smaller in size.
For Bluetooth connectivity, I added an AudioControl ACX-BT1 and adapted it to fit into the audio aux cable in the rear trunk. So now, I don’t have to worry about my Bluetooth adapter battery dying mid-ride - this one is hardwired and permanent.
Only took about an hour for the left rear speaker install so now it’s on to the right one.
I wanna thank the members who contributed to the audio upgrade threads once again.
RULINGCHAOS
Member
Has anyone found suitable replacements for the rear speakers other than the JBL speakers yet? I wanna start with something simple right now, and then when the weather turns and the bike hibernates, I can work on the front ones.
Edit: Found these. What does everyone think?
Edit: Found these. What does everyone think?
RULINGCHAOS
Member
These also.. The mounting holes look less intrusive.
Infinity REF-5032CFX Reference 5.25 Inch Two-Way Car Audio Speakers
Amazon.com: Infinity REF-5032CFX Reference 5.25 Inch Two-Way Car Audio Speakers : Electronics
Amazon.com: Infinity REF-5032CFX Reference 5.25 Inch Two-Way Car Audio Speakers : Electronics
a.co
RULINGCHAOS
Member
Sena? Is that a speaker model? Which one?
Edit: I'm a moron. I even have one. It's too early.
On the Sena SM10 there is a boost feature. Combined with that and if you wear hearing aids, you can crank up your stereo loud enough to wake up the dead. And all the while being courteous and not disturbing the rest of the world with whatever type of music you prefer to listen to.
FlyingBoat
Member
Why were you looking for something different than the JBL's?
I just put the 3 Ohm JBL's in today. Not sure I like them. I was at the back anyway to put in flashing rear brake light and cargo lift strut, so decided to do the speakers as well.
I had some marine kickers as well, but they were 4 Ohm and looked more difficult to trim.
Switching front to back through fade, the OEM front sounds better to me than the JBL's in the rear. Why would that be? So I am a bit disappointed. Though I am not an audiophile. The JBL's sounded good out of the box as well. After install they just seem hollow. I would hate to need to tear the back apart again and try to remove those covers, which were a pia.
I also picked up a pair of Orion midrange 2 Ohm speakers and those sounded great just connected but not in the box. Those were 500 watt speakers so I was concerned about blowing the radio, and they were a bit bigger in back so would take more trimming of the box. They were also just midrange, they go down to just 100, so I was concerned about losing base. But the base in those boxes sound so muffled anyway, maybe it would be better to go without too low by using a midrange.
I need to tear the front apart now to do LED headlights. So I am thinking about putting some 6.5's in there. I am not sure what to go with. I think most of the sound we hear is coming from the front anyway.
Edit: Wife just listened as well. The OEM fronts (which I believe are 5.25) sound much better than the rear JBL's I just put in.
Also, it doesn't make sense, the front's are much louder faded full front versus faded full rear with JBL's. How are these 3 Ohm speakers sounding quieter than the 4 Ohm OEM?
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FlyingBoat
Member
According to SpyderRo in the comments to his video How to install Front Speakers , when someone asks him about rear speaker replacements:
He says they are basically tweeters, that they don't get the full range. This may explain why the new JBL Cub 5.25 I installed in the rear sound worse than the original 5.25's I have in the front.
I also hooked up an Infinity 6.5" just connected to the wires (not in the box of course), and it didn't produce a full sound either as compared to the fronts. So it does appear the rear doesn't get full range or less amp or something.
I rechecked compared to original's in the rear, and new rear 5.25 definitely sound better than the original 4's.
So I guess I am just going to keep the JBL's I installed in the rear.
I am going to try out a couple of 6.5's for the the front, including some JBL GTO's. I looked into getting even better 6.5's, such as Alpine, but it seems they would require a bigger amp to make use of them, and at lower efficiency and higher Ohms than the JBL they may not perform as well with just the standard head unit, and I am not interested in trying to install an amp.
9/11:
Installed the 6.5 JBL's and they sound fantastic. Took less dremelling than the rears to fit them in.
He says they are basically tweeters, that they don't get the full range. This may explain why the new JBL Cub 5.25 I installed in the rear sound worse than the original 5.25's I have in the front.
I also hooked up an Infinity 6.5" just connected to the wires (not in the box of course), and it didn't produce a full sound either as compared to the fronts. So it does appear the rear doesn't get full range or less amp or something.
I rechecked compared to original's in the rear, and new rear 5.25 definitely sound better than the original 4's.
So I guess I am just going to keep the JBL's I installed in the rear.
I am going to try out a couple of 6.5's for the the front, including some JBL GTO's. I looked into getting even better 6.5's, such as Alpine, but it seems they would require a bigger amp to make use of them, and at lower efficiency and higher Ohms than the JBL they may not perform as well with just the standard head unit, and I am not interested in trying to install an amp.
9/11:
Installed the 6.5 JBL's and they sound fantastic. Took less dremelling than the rears to fit them in.
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