Velocity 8 Amplified DSP Installation & Setup

Velocity 8 Harley DSP

Attention! Save Yourself Some Headache and Pay Attention to All of Our Very Harley Specific Instructions.

Not all information found in the Match M5.4DSP manual (manual in the DSP box) will apply to a Harley installation. The Veleocity 8 is heavily modified and customized Helix/Match brand M5.4DSP, and is setup to operate differently than a standard M5.4DSP. Therefore it is critical that you follow all of our carefully laid out installation information. The original Match M5.4DSP instruction manual is included with your Velocity 8 kit only as additional referance material but should not be your primary installation guide.

Contact American Hard Bag directly for all Harley installation support. Helix/Match supports their product but they do not support our Velocity 8 modifications and Harley applications. Harley systems are American Hard Bag’s domain. After all, we are the Harley experts.
Contact us at 1(888) 311-0016
Or Email us at AmericanHardBag@gmail.com

Velocity 8 DSP Functions

The Velocity 8 can be described as an amplified DSP but that description is far short of what the Velocity 8 is actually capable of doing.

Integrated Laboratory Grade input Audio analyzer
Integrated Input EQ (that overlays the audio analyzer)
Automated Eq for All Channels (it sets its F***ing self!)
Automated Time Alignment
Integrated Input Distortion Detector For Setting Input Gain
Integrated Output Distortion Detector For Setting Output Gain
Integrated Acoustic Analyzer for Speakers (RTA)
Integrated Programmable Amplifier Turn On and Turn Off Circuit
Integrated Radio Load Compensation (programmable)
Virtual Processing for Advanced Tuning Abilities
Dynamic Bass Enhancement for Highway Performance
Stage Expander
Clairity Expander

The key difference between the Velocity 8 and all other DSP units is that the Velocity 8 allows anyone to perform a tested and verified tune instead of a theoretical tune. A standard DSP allows you to input your settings which are all just best guesses and based in theory. Even for a professional. The Velocity 8 is so well equipped with integrated test equipment that your tune ends up very precise and always verified down to the finest detail. The Velocity 8 is the perfect solution for anyone who needs perfection. Due to the PC connection and optional acoustic (microphone) kit, you can always do a support call if you get stuck and we at American Hard Bag can step you through most any situation via a remote PC session over the internet. We can see and control your entire bike system right here from our offices in California.

DSP Output Channel Configurations

The Velocity 8 is a 9 channel DSP with 4 channels of internal amplification onboard, 4 channels of unbalanced RCA out, and a single channel of balanced RCA out (subwoofer). These 9 channels can be configured in a number of different ways to suit a number of different types of installations. Plug and play wire harnesses are available for many different output configurations and Harley model specific harnesses are available for all present model bikes.

Out of the Box Configuration
The Velocity 8 ships configured for 4 channels of amplified output, 4 channels of preamp RCA (unbalanced 3V), and a single channel of (balanced 5V) full range subwoofer output.

Attention! Unless otherwise stated, all units are programmed assuming that you have already flashed your radio with the Rockford Fosgate flash. If that is not the case or you are unsure, call us. We can remote connect to your DSP and verify the radio's output for you. Call us at 1(888)311-0016

In this configuration the Velocity 8 is intended to drive between 4 and 8 tweeters (typically horns) using its internal amplification. The remaining 5 channels of output can be used with external amplifiers. It should be noted that the 9th channel is mono-full range and balanced. Because it is balanced it must be used with an amplifier that can accept a balanced input (not all amplifiers can). Examples of amplifiers that can accept a balanced RCA input are: Velocity, Diamond, Rockford, JL, and Arc. Examples of amplifiers that will not work with a balanced input are: Sound Digital, Timpano, Taramps, and others. If you have any doubt, please check your amplifiers documentation or feel free to reach out to us and we can figure it out for you.

The onboard 4 channel amplifier is designed for 4 ohm speakers only and is not compatible with 2 ohm drivers and should never be used with 4 ohm drivers in parallel with each other (which amounts to a 2 Ohm load). Up to two tweeters can be used per channel (total of 8 tweeters) when wired in series but not parallel. The onboard 65 watt per channel amplifier is more than powerfull enough to drive two tweeters per channel that are 50W RMS and 100W peak power. Remember that power ratings of a speaker are statements of thermal limitations. At 50 Watts all 1 inch tweeters mealt down over extended play time. The actual amount of amplifier power required for a horn tweeter to out pace even two pairs of 8 inch mid range drivers is far short of 65 Watts. After proper equalization the tweeters will be consuming a small fraction of the amplifier power that the Velocity 8 can deliver.
Velocity Speaker Design Tech Support
Contact us at 1(888) 311-0016
Or Email us at AmericanHardBag@gmail.com

Velocity 8 DSP Mounting Location & Connections

Full Harley Audio System Velocity 8 Plug and Play

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DSP/Amplifier main harness
Power and signal input (not shown)
Left front amplified tweeter output
Left & right rear amplified tweeter output
Rear tweeter service connection (located in fairing)
Rear mid range amplifier service connection (located in fairing)
Front mid range amplifier service connection (located in fairing)
Front mid range speaker connection at factory fairing speaker pod (plug and play with factory pod wiring)
Four channel rear speaker (mid range & tweeter) wire harness. This harness runs from the fairing back to each side cover in front of the bags. Clutch side (left) is marked with orange tape.
Clutch side saddlebag speaker service connection (located under side cover in front of saddlebag)
Throttle side saddlebag speaker service connection (located under side cover in front of saddlebag)
Two channel (woofer & tweeter) saddlebag speaker wire harness for inside the bag. This harness extends out of the bag by 14” and connects to the 4 channel rear speaker harness from the front of the bike (#9 see above).
Saddlebag tweeter service connection (located at saddlebag lid)
Saddlebag mid range service connection (located at saddlebag lid)

DSP Main Harness Connections

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Battery power
Right amplified tweeter output
Left amplified tweeter output
Right rear amplifier tweeter output
Left rear amplified tweeter output
Left front audio signal input (factory Harley plug & play)
Right front audio signal input (factory Harley plug & play)
Left and right rear audio signal input (factory Harley plug & play)

Brief Description

The Velocity 8 is prewired to be plug and play with the factory Harley radio outputs as well as plug and play with various Velocity component speaker systems and amplifiers.

Power Connection

If you purchased the Velocity 8 kit without a Velocity 8 gauge amplifier power kit your Velocity 8 will come with a power quick disconnect that you can use to tap power for the DSP off of another fairing mounted amplifier. If you purchased your Velocity 8 with one of our 8 gauge amplifier power kits then the Velocity 8 wil simply plug into the 8 gauge amplifier power kit using the pre-wired power tap.

Accessory Power

Each Velocity 8 kit comes with a plug and play two pin harness (DSP side) that taps into your Harley’s factory accessory circuit. You can find the factory accessory plug on the bike at the throttle side behind the voltage gauge. It will be a black two pin plug. If your bike has a powered fairing mounted FM antenna, the Velocity 8 Accessory harness will Tee in place between the factory accessory circuit and the antenna power. If your bike does not have a powered antenna, the female side of the Velocity 8 harness will simply plug into the factory accessory harness and the male side of the Velocity harness is unused. There may be an empty female plug in the factory harness. This empty female plug can be discarded.

Remote Amp Turn-On

Two remote amp turn on harnesses have been pre-wired for you. Route these harnesses to each of your external amplifiers. If you have amplifiers located in the back of the bike, you can clip the preinstalled wire ferrules off of the remote quick disconnects and splice into your rear amplifiers remote circuits.

Tip: Be sure that the small two pin remote/accessory connector is properly seated in the DSP and does not have too much side strain on it after installation.

2015 and Later Road Glide

Mount the DSP under the radio to the bottom side of the radio bracket. Locate the unit towards the clutch side and back (towards the radio screen). Mount in place with 3M Dual Lock. This is a hard plastic version of Velcro that is available at your local hardware store. Dual Lock is very strong. When used properly you will have a sturdy mounting situation that is easily serviced. The DSP should be mounted so that the main wire harness is pointed to the clutch side of the bike.

Wire Harness Routing

The front tweeter output wires ( white-white/black and grey-grey/black) should be separated from the main harness and routed to the tweeter locations (fairing speaker grills). The throttle side Tweeter wire harness (grey-grey/black) should be routed to the cavity that the radio screen resides in and then up to the voltage gauge area where it can be connected to the tweeter service connection. There is a lot of room in this cavity for several wire harnesses and connectors in your installation in general. The clutch side tweeter output wire harness (white-white/black) should be routed to the fuel gauge area where it can be connected to the tweeter service connection. Route the rest of the main wire harness towards the front of the bike. The harness should exit the underside of the radio directly over the clutch side headlight mounting bolt.

NON-Factory Amplified Bikes

If the bike you are working on is not factory amplified, disconnect the fairing speaker pod harnesses (left and right) and connect to the two front DSP inputs. Connect the rear DSP input to the radio’s four pin rear output plug that is located on the throttle side behind the radio.

Factory Amplified Bikes

When using the Velocity 8 with factory amplified bikes use our optional Velocity 8 Radio T harness. This harness breaks out both front and rear audio signal directly at the radio before any factory amplifier wiring. Therefore there is no need to integrate with factory wire harnesses at all. They are simply bypassed. Velocity 8 systems all use aftermarket speaker wire harnesses and the factory wire harnesses are not used since they do not contain enough speaker lines for an 8 channel plus speaker system.

Rear Tweeter Output Wire Harnesses

Rear tweeter output wire harnesses (Green, Green/Black, Violet, Violet/Black with white male connectors) should be routed to the throttle side behind the radio where they can be connected to the rear speaker harness that runs up the backbone of the bike.

2014 and Later Street Glide, Electra Glide

Mount the DSP between the radio and the clutch side speaker pod with the main wire harness pointing towards the front of the bike. Mount in place with 3M Dual Lock. This is a hard plastic version of Velcro that is available at your local hardware store. Dual Lock is very strong. When used properly you will have a sturdy mounting situation that is easily serviced. If you have a WHIM module you can either ditch the factory bracket and remount the WHIM with 3M Dual Lock as well or you can relocate the WHIM module behind the radio wth zip ties or a custom bracket. The WHIM does not need to be oriented in any special fashion.

NON-Factory Amplified Bikes

Factory Amplified Bikes

Rear Tweeter Output Wire Harnesses

Software (PC-Tool) can be found on the included USB thumbdrive in your Velocity 8 kit. If you would like to play with this software before your installation (highly recommended) you can launch the software in demo mode by selecting the Match M5.4 DSP at the startup screen. Fear not if the software appears intimidating. It is very straightforward in function and we have pre-configured setup files that will get you up and going in a heartbeat. Additionally all Velocity 8 kits are Live Tune Enabled, which means that we can remotely connect to your bike after you have installed your system and set everything up for you so that you don’t have to.