New to communications systems | GTAMotorcycle.com

New to communications systems

J

jeff96

Well-known member
I'm looking at getting a system to talk to a passenger. Currently, I use Bose noise cancelling ear buds which are great, but I have to plug it into a bluetooth adapter and my limited experimentation has shown the microphone to not really work at all. If I'm not listening to music or podcasts via bluetooth, I wear earplugs as I already have tinnitus, and it gets worse if I don't have hearing protection.

I want something to listen to tunes or podcasts for my hour long commute, have some hearing protection, and be able to converse with a passenger.

I have no experience with helmet mounted intercoms. I talked to a guy who swears by Cardo. He uses earplugs and says he can hear the speakers better while wearing the earplugs as they drown out wind and engine noise. Fortnine sells a 2 pack of Cardo Freecon 1's for $272. This seems like a lot of money to me. Is it a case of spend the money for the best brand and be done with it, or is there more economical and effective alternatives?
 
Sub'd. Might be interested in hearing what folks use. Personally have no interest in music, radio, books blah blah blah.
Just need to be able to hear an incoming phone call.
 
jeff96 said:
I'm looking at getting a system to talk to a passenger. Currently, I use Bose noise cancelling ear buds which are great, but I have to plug it into a bluetooth adapter and my limited experimentation has shown the microphone to not really work at all. If I'm not listening to music or podcasts via bluetooth, I wear earplugs as I already have tinnitus, and it gets worse if I don't have hearing protection.

I want something to listen to tunes or podcasts for my hour long commute, have some hearing protection, and be able to converse with a passenger.

I have no experience with helmet mounted intercoms. I talked to a guy who swears by Cardo. He uses earplugs and says he can hear the speakers better while wearing the earplugs as they drown out wind and engine noise. Fortnine sells a 2 pack of Cardo Freecon 1's for $272. This seems like a lot of money to me. Is it a case of spend the money for the best brand and be done with it, or is there more economical and effective alternatives?
Click to expand...
I have a pair of Scala G9x's (made by Cardo) which I used to use on rides with my wife, but then one speaker stopped working on one unit and a few months later, the other speaker stopped working on the same unit. I started using my wife's unit and over 2 years one speaker stopped working on this one too, while one speaker still works on her set. I think the speakers stopped working because of the way my helmet was crimping the wires - more than likely the speakers are fine and just need to have the wires replaced. They power up just fine and I used them until I decided to go back to in ear monitors for music, since most of my riding was solo.

If you want this set, I'll trade you a can of chain lube for them, or 2 cans of brake cleaner. Replacement speaker kits and upgraded JBL speaker kits can be bought online for these as well if you choose to go that route. I think new these cost around $500/set.

If anyone else wants this set - same deal as above, but Jeff can have first dibs if he is interested.

Last year I replaced this G9x set with the newer Cardo Pactalk Bold w/ JBL speakers, but I think that set was closer to $700.
 
IMO, comms are something you don't want to have to buy again for no reason. The difference in price between say, a freecom 2 ($180 single unit) and a Packtalk Bold + JBL ($335 single unit) seems like a lot for a single upfront purchase, but these units can last many, many years (even longer if I ever try to replace the battery DIY).

Now, I can't comment to your riding habits and maybe you will never need to use the comms system with anyone but your passenger. I do swear by how easy and quick it is for Mesh to acquire and re-acquire riders. I also ride with earplugs with my packtalk. It does well to drown out the wind but its getting drowned out, so not sure how its gonna go on the hearing issues later.

Cardo or Sena its kinda of a wash. Cardo's Mesh enabled units (Packtalk) have been around longer where as Sena's mesh enabled units are newer. Adoption is always going to be a crapshoot because the purchasing decision of others most often are made without consideration of others (and others they've yet to meet). One way I've delt with it was to have the Sena user call a packtalk user via cellphone and then the packtalk user can merge in the call to the mesh.

It sounds like your biggest consideration is the microphone side of things and sadly, there isn't much that is designed to handle wind blast at highway speeds and be compact and wearable. You could get something as perfect for hearing preservation as say a pair of Ultimate Ears 5 but you'll never find an inline mic. Sure you can rig something up and use a professional level deadcat but ultimately you are circling around the same issue.

For me, I can't live without my packtalk. Leading becomes a lot easier with spoken commands and being able to ask questions and get answers immediately. When I'm not riding with others, its Spotify time. Honestly, I can't ride without it.
 
Don't like to socialize on riding, tried these units twice, let them go twice. Can never hear the in helmet speakers above 80kms even with plugs in.

Straight phone to wireless ear buds for the muzak is my go to.
 
Evoex said:
Don't like to socialize on riding, tried these units twice, let them go twice. Can never hear the in helmet speakers above 80kms even with plugs in.

Straight phone to wireless ear buds for the muzak is my go to.
Click to expand...
The JBL speakers used with the Pactalk Bold are pretty loud. When using them with earplugs I can still my beatz on the highway no problem. While I would normally prefer in-ear monitors for fuller sound quality, for me they hurt my ears after a few hours. So now I use the Pactalk Bold, especially longer distance stuff.

I found the older comms models just fine with earplugs for talking to passengers, but not loud enough for my music.
 
hubby and I have been using Sena SMH5 (their oldest model) since 2014 with no issues...we can talk to each other, share music or listen to our own, receive calls if necessary...shorter range between the two (so if he pulls away from me while we're out together - separate bikes - then I lose him, but connects quickly again once back in range)...because it's their older model, I think they can be found reasonably for a two pack on amazon...
 
shanekingsley said:
I have a pair of Scala G9x's (made by Cardo) which I used to use on rides with my wife, but then one speaker stopped working on one unit and a few months later, the other speaker stopped working on the same unit. I started using my wife's unit and over 2 years one speaker stopped working on this one too, while one speaker still works on her set. I think the speakers stopped working because of the way my helmet was crimping the wires - more than likely the speakers are fine and just need to have the wires replaced. They power up just fine and I used them until I decided to go back to in ear monitors for music, since most of my riding was solo.

If you want this set, I'll trade you a can of chain lube for them, or 2 cans of brake cleaner. Replacement speaker kits and upgraded JBL speaker kits can be bought online for these as well if you choose to go that route. I think new these cost around $500/set.

If anyone else wants this set - same deal as above, but Jeff can have first dibs if he is interested.

Last year I replaced this G9x set with the newer Cardo Pactalk Bold w/ JBL speakers, but I think that set was closer to $700.
Click to expand...
I have the same CardoG9x. They work well, the controls take some time to master.

I just ordered some Bluetooth helmet speakers / mike off Amazon for $40. My phone will provide the content and comms.
 
shanekingsley said:
The JBL speakers used with the Pactalk Bold are pretty loud. When using them with earplugs I can still my beatz on the highway no problem. While I would normally prefer in-ear monitors for fuller sound quality, for me they hurt my ears after a few hours. So now I use the Pactalk Bold, especially longer distance stuff.

I found the older comms models just fine with earplugs for talking to passengers, but not loud enough for my music.
Click to expand...
i had the bold with the JBL's, no bueno.

Get my ears tested at work every year, somehow after 3 years of metal stamping and 5 years of my office colleagues screaming at me i'm still gucci. Guess i just like it loud!
 
Started with Cardo Scala 2s, then 4s, then 9 and now 9x.
As long as the speakers are placed properly I can always hear. I always wear earplugs to cut down on the wind noise and remove how tinny the speakers sound. Listening to music is OK.
Like the speakers, the microphones needs to be placed properly. It needs to almost be touching your lips.
PSA - wear earplugs when riding.
 
I started with a cheap comm off amazon and it was mostly great. People had no idea I was riding when I took calls. Sound quality for music was just ok. Then one of the speakers cut out. Replaced under warranty and a couple months later same.

Last year I got a freecom, way more expensive, sound for music is better but not amazing for audiophiles. Again no one can tell I’m riding if I take calls. We’ll see how it lasts but so far so good.

Speaker positioning is very important.

I wear ear plugs and have full face helmet.


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
I have a Cardo Freecom 1+. The + in the name indicates that you can talk to a passenger, but not people on other bikes. They also sell ones where you can talk to other riders.

I'm very satisfied. Volume is good, and you can hear it pretty clearly when wearing ear plugs. I do have issues with podcasts when on the highway though, it can be a bit tough to hear sometimes. Some people upgrade the speakers if you need more volume.

No complaints. It was cheapish and works well.
 
So I took up the offer on the G9's above and each of them has one speaker out. Unlike the G9X, the speakers don't plug into the helmet mount; they're hard wired in. For under 50$ on eBay, I have 2 new cardo audio kits on the way. From a quick test, it looks like they're going to work well, but I'll see when I get them on the road

Sent from my Redmi 7A using Tapatalk
 
Cardo Packtalk with Shure SE215's and the foam tips.

Absolutely stellar.

I love listening to audiobooks and podcasts while on a long distance ride. But still have intercom if I'm riding with the wife and can take a call if I want. People on the other end have told me they cant even tell I'm on my bike when taking a call on the 401 at 120kph, even with my half helmet.

Best bang for the buck.
 
I splurged for the Nexx intercom system for my Nexx helmet and I don’t think I’ll ever buy a standalone comms system again. The built in ones are just so streamlined. I don’t talk to passengers, it’s for GPS, music and maybe the odd phonecall. No issues with sound level at any speed because I spent ages micropositioning the speakers. Even a few mms off of a direct ear canal route and it will sound too quiet.

I had cardo and Sena versions before and they worked fine but were clunky and I had to shoehorn them onto whatever helmet I had.
 
My bike came with an intercom . I have not taken it out of the box. The only thing I need is to read my text messages . My bikes system texts back that I am riding . If the text is of serious nature . I pull over and make a call. 37 years of riding never really have a need for intercom .
 
I had a cheap Chinese knock off. It worked well enough, I could talk to other riders, listen to music, radio and phone calls were easily dealt with.
I ended up removing it because I got tired of other riders complaining, buddy coughing (chronic smoker) and I found silence is golden. I don't even use the radio in my truck.
Don't call me when I'm riding. I'll return the call once the bike is back in the garage lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom