Will using a higher power amp with higher
power and somewhat higher quality speakers
give me more clarity of sound?
Vast simplification, but: amplifiers sound more or less equally good until pushed to their limits, at which point they distort and sound bad. A 3W amp played at low volumes won't sound any better or worse than a 3,000W amp at equally low levels.
Small differences in wattage between amplifiers can be ignored.
To sound twice as loud to the human ear, you need 10x the amplifier power. Literally. Like a lot of our sensory organs the ears function on a more or less logarithmic scale. Or, you can use more sensitive speakers.
This is for indoor use, but you can play around with the numbers here to get an idea of the difference that amplifier output and speaker sensitivity make when it comes to actual sound pressure levels: http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html
Perhaps even more importantly, manufacturers lie liberally about the power produced by their amplifiers. Car audio is especially bad about this. They advertise a "3,000W" amp -- but it generally only produces this power for a millisecond and it does so at ridiculously high distortion levels.
Is there any point in installing a subwoofer on a motorcycle?
I don't have any experience with motorcycle audio whatsoever, but it takes a LOT of power and BIG speakers to produce bass in open spaces. A 12" subwoofer that is deafening in a car or living room won't sound loud in an open field. I suspect a motorcycle would be closer to the latter.
But, I guess just research what others have done with their bikes.
If no sub, then how long should frequencies on a 2 component
speaker go? I have a choice of 60-80Hz as the lower limit.
Neither is very deep. It's just hard to make bass in open spaces. The lowest string on a bass guitar with standard tuning is about 40hz, though most music is mastered to sound good on speakers that don't go that deep.
Can non-marine grade speakers be made waterproof on the output side?
That sounds impossible to me. To be waterproof you need a completely sealed enclosure and that rules out most speakers. Most non-weather proof speakers have ports (air holes) because it's the only way they can produce bass from a small size. But some sealed speakers have passive radiators instead of ports which accomplish the same thing.
The first point you make is really answering the question I was trying to ask, so thanks girl the efficient mind reading!
I am happy with the current volume but clarity and taking out some of the “tin” out of the sound would be nice. I am looking at going from a 15W RMS per channel to 75W (amp was tested by a YouTuber to actually give about 89W before distortion kicks in), going into 100W RMS/200W peak speakers that do 60-20k Hz wit sensitivity of 91 dB. The speakers will also go from 5.25” to 6.5” so hoping that’ll give them a less compressed sound.
But sounds like I should be just riding in the Bose headphones anyways :)
Small differences in wattage between amplifiers can be ignored.
To sound twice as loud to the human ear, you need 10x the amplifier power. Literally. Like a lot of our sensory organs the ears function on a more or less logarithmic scale. Or, you can use more sensitive speakers.
This is for indoor use, but you can play around with the numbers here to get an idea of the difference that amplifier output and speaker sensitivity make when it comes to actual sound pressure levels: http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html
Perhaps even more importantly, manufacturers lie liberally about the power produced by their amplifiers. Car audio is especially bad about this. They advertise a "3,000W" amp -- but it generally only produces this power for a millisecond and it does so at ridiculously high distortion levels.
This guy tests audio amps, typically car audio amps, and can tell you their actual output: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGW-qPM8-xJE4-uSLA5BAGQ
I don't have any experience with motorcycle audio whatsoever, but it takes a LOT of power and BIG speakers to produce bass in open spaces. A 12" subwoofer that is deafening in a car or living room won't sound loud in an open field. I suspect a motorcycle would be closer to the latter.But, I guess just research what others have done with their bikes.
Neither is very deep. It's just hard to make bass in open spaces. The lowest string on a bass guitar with standard tuning is about 40hz, though most music is mastered to sound good on speakers that don't go that deep. That sounds impossible to me. To be waterproof you need a completely sealed enclosure and that rules out most speakers. Most non-weather proof speakers have ports (air holes) because it's the only way they can produce bass from a small size. But some sealed speakers have passive radiators instead of ports which accomplish the same thing. Not even close.