Radio Quality

[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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

AUDIO

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 :thumbup:

 

[Pennyrick]

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.

 

[JCWeatherman]

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.

 

[JCWeatherman]

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. :sour:

 

[JCWeatherman]

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!

 

[JCWeatherman]

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.

 

[JCWeatherman]

Replace Speakers?

Has anybody tried replacing the speakers? If so, what should I use?

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

SPEAKER REPLACEMENT

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 :thumbup:

 

[Bfromla]

Ryding a jukebox

Fyi I use ipod 90% of time but my stock speakers work fine I do laps @ mall & stores during Christmas playing charlie brown holiday songs! Its a hoot:clap:& brings smiles to young & old :yes:. Worst is when I go to wheather radio lots of background static but can still hear broadcast info. (Thankfully dont need much)

 

[james199]

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

 

[Windjamer]

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

 

[ARtraveler]

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

And...I will add a "meep, meep" to that. :roflblack::roflblack:

 

[ARtraveler]

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 :ani29: 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. :roflblack::roflblack:

 

[oldguyinTX]

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.

 

[Flamewinger]

Check antenna connections and I've had Satellite radio because local radio has gotten worse.


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