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Active Member
Radio Quality
Hi to All,
I am new to Spyders. Two weeks ago I bought a 2013 ST Limited with 186 miles on it from a dealer in Lancaster County, PA. I love the bike, and I have put about 500 miles on it. My only complaint is about the radio. It is functional; I can scan for stations; I can store presets. The problem is the sound quality.
Even when the ST isn't running, the radio sounds like crap.
- Is this common?
- Is this what I should expect from it?
- Is there any way to improve the sound quality?
Thanks for your help,
John
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Welcome and hello from Morgantown PA. I have an RT and I use an IPod mostly. It sounds good. The radio is NOT as clear.
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Very Active Member
Sound quality, especially for music, is not the greatest. You're better off picking up an older iPod off eBay and using the iPod cable. You want one with the older 30 pin connector, not the newer Lightning cable. There are adapters but it works better if you don't need an adapter.
Trb-- (Roger)
2014 Cognac STL:Ultimate Seat, Nelson Rigg Tail Pack, Nelson Rigg RS/ST Half Cover, TL fender lights, Squared Away Laser Alignment, BajaRon sway bar and links, Akropovic Sport Silencer
2022 White Pearl F3T
Gone but not forgotten: 2019 F3S Special Series Liquid Titanium
Spyder States Visited
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Very Active Member
I find the sound quality good for the context of what it is. A noisy environment, wind, engine noise and traffic make truly high end sound unattainable imho. I can here it loud and clear at highway speeds. If I want a high fidelity experience I will listen to my home rig. The speakers being a mechanical device require a break in period. The more you play them the better the will sound.
Cheers
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I had a 2006 GoldWing... the audio was great... a riding buddy had a 2009 HD Ultra... audio system was great... the 2014 Spyder I presently own the audio sucks... evidently BRP shopped the cheapest audio systems and same for their OEM tires... oh I almost forgot ... the horn sounds like a bicycle horn
osm
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Very Active Member
AUDIO
Originally Posted by Orange Spyder Man
I had a 2006 GoldWing... the audio was great... a riding buddy had a 2009 HD Ultra... audio system was great... the 2014 Spyder I presently own the audio sucks... evidently BRP shopped the cheapest audio systems and same for their OEM tires... oh I almost forgot ... the horn sounds like a bicycle horn
osm
Not the entire thing .................just the speakers !!!!...............( and I fixed mine )..............Mike
Last edited by BLUEKNIGHT911; 08-29-2015 at 02:15 PM.
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Very Active Member
Originally Posted by JCWeatherman
Hi to All,
I am new to Spyders. Two weeks ago I bought a 2013 ST Limited with 186 miles on it from a dealer in Lancaster County, PA. I love the bike, and I have put about 500 miles on it. My only complaint is about the radio. It is functional; I can scan for stations; I can store presets. The problem is the sound quality.
Even when the ST isn't running, the radio sounds like crap.
- Is this common?
- Is this what I should expect from it?
- Is there any way to improve the sound quality?
Thanks for your help,
John
Playing with the bass and treble helps find a better sound. I find that in the six to seven range the sound improves but not for the radio that I never have been able to make sound right. I use my I Phone 6 or my I Pod classic for music when traveling.
The external speakers suck!!! Running the Spyder system through a Sena Dongle into my Sena SPH10 headset gives me great stereo sound but it is still not as great as my old Gold Wing's system.
Penny and Rick have owned many motorcycles starting in 1974 with Hondas, then to Suzukis, Gold Wings and ultimately Spyders.
74 Honda 360T (pair); 78 Suzuki GS 1000 (pair); 82 Honda Aspencade; 84 Honda 400; 87 Yamaha 1100; 99 Honda Valkyrie; 01 Suzuki Burgman(triked); 02 Honda GL 1800(triked); 10 Spyder RTSE; 11 Spyder RTSM; 12 Spyder RTSL (pair); 20 Spyder RTL (current)
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Active Member
Originally Posted by RBS66
Welcome and hello from Morgantown PA. I have an RT and I use an IPod mostly. It sounds good. The radio is NOT as clear.
I'm right down Rt. 10. See you on the road! I'll give the iPod a try.
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Active Member
Originally Posted by Trbayth
Sound quality, especially for music, is not the greatest. You're better off picking up an older iPod off eBay and using the iPod cable. You want one with the older 30 pin connector, not the newer Lightning cable. There are adapters but it works better if you don't need an adapter.
Thank for the advise. I'll ask my children which iPod I should buy.
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Active Member
Originally Posted by Buggy
I find the sound quality good for the context of what it is. A noisy environment, wind, engine noise and traffic make truly high end sound unattainable imho. I can here it loud and clear at highway speeds. If I want a high fidelity experience I will listen to my home rig. The speakers being a mechanical device require a break in period. The more you play them the better the will sound.
Cheers
The problem is that it doesn't even sound good when the ST is in my driveway and the engine is off!
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Active Member
Originally Posted by Double Trouble
Playing with the bass and treble helps find a better sound. I find that in the six to seven range the sound improves but not for the radio that I never have been able to make sound right. I use my I Phone 6 or my I Pod classic for music when traveling.
The external speakers suck!!! Running the Spyder system through a Sena Dongle into my Sena SPH10 headset gives me great stereo sound but it is still not as great as my old Gold Wing's system.
I've tried tweeking the tone controls. Come Spring I'll be looking for Bluetooth headsets. They should make a difference, plus, my wife and I can talk while we ride.
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Active Member
Replace Speakers?
Has anybody tried replacing the speakers? If so, what should I use?
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Very Active Member
SPEAKER REPLACEMENT
Originally Posted by JCWeatherman
Has anybody tried replacing the speakers? If so, what should I use?
If you are going to SPYDERQUEST .....I have a pair that will make you smile .......Mike
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Very Active Member
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I picked up a 2013 sts at a Great Deal and now my wife wants a radio .. any idea where I can get one or would it be better to install a cycle sound systen and use a ipod or phone
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2016 F3 limited issue with the FM radio mode
Just got the bike new and preset the first station to FM 89.5. Now when I try to scan for another station it loops from station 70 up to 89.5 and starts all over.
It never scans past 89.5...Help
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Very Active Member
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Very Active Member
The radio has been "junk" from the get go. My first was on the 2010. In Alaska, good luck on getting a station with good reception--unless you are either in the Anchorage or Fairbanks metro areas. Thirty miles out of town--and you get mostly nothing. I did not buy the for the radio, so have learned to live without it.
Linda and I communicate bike to bike so we keep up the chatter, but it is not our favorite radio station.
Currently Owned: 2019 F3 Limited, 2020 F3 Limited: SOLD BOTH LIMITEDS in October of 2023.
Previously : 2008 GS-SM5 (silver), 2009 RS-SE5 (red), 2010 RT-S Premier Editon #474 (black) 2011 RT A&C SE5 (magnesium) 2014 RTS-SE6 (yellow)
MY FINAL TALLY: 7 Spyders, 15 years, 205,500 miles
IT HAS BEEN A LONG, WONDERFUL, AND FUN RIDE.
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Very Active Member
Mike (BLUEKNIGHT911) has the right idea. The radio in and of itself is not that bad, but the speakers are absolute junk. I never use them, I always listen to an iPod, Google play, and yes, sometimes the radio through earbuds in my helmet.
"A Wise Man Once Said, I Should Ask My Wife."
2017 Champagne Metallic RT-S SE-6 Rivco Dual Flag Holders; Slingmods Highway Pegs; (Hate Them) Airhawk Seat Cushion; Show Chrome Black Touring Rack w/ Risers & Touring Windshield; RAM X Mount For TXTAG; TackForm Phone Mount; Lidlox; Magic Mirror Mounts; Guardian Bells; WOLO "Bad Boy" Air Horn; Dual USB Power Outlet With Voltmeter; 12V outlet for misc. stuff; Spyderpops Full View Mirror Turn Signals; Large Brake Pedal; Kott Grilles; Large Mud Flap; BajaRon 3 Piece Sway Bar, Last But Not Least, Kuhmo Rear Rire, Vedrestien Fronts.
2017 RT-S , Brake pedal extender is twice the size of the stock pedal. Champagne Metallic
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Check antenna connections and I've had Satellite radio because local radio has gotten worse.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Very Active Member
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Very Active Member
The radio is crap! My F150 pickup picks up many stations crystal clear. My St limited will not pick up 1 station. I can go to the channel search and it can not find a station. I can use my bluetooth to pick up Spotify off my phone and it comes in crystal clear. I tried the new antenna that Lamonster is selling and it did not help.
2017 F3 Limited
2017 F3 Limited , Lamonster Black Dymond brake pedal with brake rod at #5 Pure Magnesium Metallic
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only one radio glitch
my 2015 rt-s has a wonderful system other than when I plug a usb adaptor into the power plug in the trunk to charge my phone then the radio doesn't work at all other than a lot of noise I have my shop looking into it its still in storage unfortunately when I do get it back I'm going to install my sat radio no more problems I hope
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FM Radio Scan
Just bought a new F3 limited. It was delivered to me with the audio "region" in the preferences set for JAPAN. It would only scan frequencies from 70mz to 85mz. I was perplexed until I discovered the preference and set it to USA
z
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Active Member
If you want a concert hall...
I have a 2014 ST-Limited that came with a radio as part of the package. A radio was not near the top of my list of features that I felt was important to be part of the motorcycle experience. I live in a rural area where towns of population of 2000 are considered large. (My town has a pop. of 50). So cursing around at city street speeds never happens for very long. At highway speeds I prefer the bike to entertain me and not the radio. So the radio is the least used feature used on my bike. If you want the sound of a concert hall go and buy/ride a concert hall. Please please pay more attention to your surrounding, both scenery and circumstances. There is more to learn in the world that listening to stuff you already know, but you have to pay attention to fine it.
Chris Gammack
You don't know what I don't know. I don't know what you don't know. All I can say is at my age what I don't know is huge.
I call the Avatar "The first fifteen feet."
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