Audio on the move....

[GSdude]

Can anyone direct me as to the best make and appropriate model of unit I should be buying for my 1150GS which will allow me to connect the old ipod - and allow rider to pillion (brief !) conversations. Regards, Happy New Year MJK

 

[Jimb]

It all depends on how you intend to get the sound into your ears, you have three choices,

1. Bluetooth comms in the helmet

2. Speakers in the helmet.

3. In ear monitors built into earplugs.

The first is the BMW bluetooth helmet which has speakers in it and is cordless.

The second needs you to fit speakers into your helmet which will almost certainly require some modification in the positioning of the speaker pockets in the helmet, Caberg are the easiest, BMW are in the right place, Shoei are a pig to fit, the rest are all do-able with a hot spoon, you can choose Autocom, Starcom or Intaride, now you need to know that all of these will only have noise cancelling on the microphone input, the microphone monitors the ambient wind noise and the device cancels out this noise so you hear as clearly at 100 mph as you can when stationary. However the music, GPS and Phone input are not noise cancelled so the faster you go the more the noise will drown out the sound.

The third option is in ear monitors which are earplugs with Hi Fi quality transducers built in, the benefit of these is you don't need speakers in your helmet and because they are earplugs the ambient noise is eliminated and the sound is as good at 100 mph as stationary, they terminate with a 3.5mm stero jackplug so can be plugged into any device with a 3.5mm socket directly, Autocom make a patch lead ( part 27 ) for the 7 pin systems that breaks out a 3.5mm socket for use with in ear monitors, Starcom and Intaride are directly compatible.
My personal opinion is the Starcom has the edge but the newer Intaride is very good, check out all three and make a decision based on your requirements.

If you want to see some of these in ear monitors the Green Leopard will be at Rainbow on the first Sat in Feb or any time by appointment.

 

[Dellis]

I bought an Autocom last year and it works great with my MP3. It's not the top of the range but one model below and from what I've seen the only added feature with the top model is that it mutes music when your 'phone rings. As I think having a 'phone connected whilst on the bike is a ridiculous idean the top of the range Autocom was not worth the extra money. I listen to music when on the motorway but tend to just enjoy the bike when riding elsewhere.

HTH

Dave

 

[MikeP]

I bought an Autocom last year and it works great with my MP3. It's not the top of the range but one model below and from what I've seen the only added feature with the top model is that it mutes music when your 'phone rings. As I think having a 'phone connected whilst on the bike is a ridiculous idean the top of the range Autocom was not worth the extra money.

HTH

Dave

Pro7 mutes the music if you have an audio feed from Satnav and when you talk to a pillion or another rider via radio.

Not sure if these features are on other models but it's worth considering if you want music and rider/pillion chat.

 

[Dellis]

Pro7 mutes the music if you have an audio feed from Satnav and when you talk to a pillion or another rider via radio.

Not sure if these features are on other models but it's worth considering if you want music and rider/pillion chat.

Mine is an Active-7-Smart it mutes the music when you speak to the pillion or vice versa but, I'm told by Autocom, does not mute music for voice prompts from the sat nav. This doesn't worry me as I use the countdown to next turn display even if I'm in the car - that woman drives me mad!

HTH

Dave

 

[Yoda]

Starcom unit works well. Mp3 player burbles away and gets interupted when Yoda in the satnav speaks.

Schuberth Concept has pre-moulded shapes for the insertion of small helmet speakers. Again, works well.

 

[JAY]

Starcom unit works well. Mp3 player burbles away and gets interupted when Yoda in the satnav speaks.

Schuberth Concept has pre-moulded shapes for the insertion of small helmet speakers. Again, works well.

Rich, Are you plugging both leads into a splitter or utilising the phone socket for one of the leads?

 

[Yoda]

Rich, Are you plugging both leads into a splitter or utilising the phone socket for one of the leads?

John,

I don't (yet) include the mobile in the circuitry so the MP3 is in the usual Audio socket and the satnav is in the Phone slot. It's my understanding is that the Phone input has priority over the Audio.

If (when) the mobile comes into play then I'll put in a splitter shared between satnav and phone - and hope nobody phones me whilst Yoda makes one of his directional statements!