Garmin Audio quality

[SimonD]

I feel that this must have been discussed before but I couldn't find anything. I have an old 390LM that I have connected to a variety of Sena coms systems. The audio directions from the Garmin are always very loud and very poor quality - to the point where I just connect the Sena direct to my phone not the Nav these days.
Is this 390 or Sena specific? If you have music on your Garmin is it played in similarly low quality? Have the later Garmin like the XT or the Nav5/6 got any better? Is it just me?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Wapping]

Moved.

Richard

 

[er-minio]

There is different volumes for music/directions/etc. On the XT there is an audio mixer function in the settings, not sure for earlier models.
I use it with Cardo and also noticed some volume discrepancies and I believe this is due to the Cardo assigning different volumes according to the "channel" in use (music, voice chat, GPS announcements).
I've noticed this is an issue with car multimedia units as well.

 

[Morety]

I find that the spoken directions from my Nav 6 are very audible and clear using both a UCom 16 (Sena chip) and a Sena SRL-Mesh intercom, no problems.

 

[SimonD]

Ok. I know this has been moved to the comms section but I'm sure the problem is a Garmin one. I have a memory of seeing something about this in the past but can't find anything now.
Good to hear that the Nav6 is ok but that seems to have its own problems. I'm looking at picking up a Nav 5 or maybe an XT but wanted to check whether this problem is restricted to the LM models.

 

[Wapping]

It’s been moved, simply as the GPS section was becoming bunged up with all sorts of audio problems. Since its creation, the dedicated sub-section has helped all sorts of bods to find out why their chosen combination of gps device / phone / communications / audio systems or whatever, were not working together in perfect harmony.

 

[russ996duke]

Ok. I know this has been moved to the comms section but I'm sure the problem is a Garmin one. I have a memory of seeing something about this in the past but can't find anything now.
Good to hear that the Nav6 is ok but that seems to have its own problems. I'm looking at picking up a Nav 5 or maybe an XT but wanted to check whether this problem is restricted to the LM models.

its quite possible that your garmin gpsr volume for the directions "channel" is turned up too high on your cardo/sena, causing distortion and the loud volume issue. To adjust the volume on that channel alone, just wait for the spoken directions to start and use the roller/wheel to reduce the volume. Other channels (ie comms/phone) should be unaffected

 

[SimonD]

I know how to adjust the volume, it's just that the GPS audio is horribly distorted. I have had the same problem when connecting it to a Sena SMH5, 10S and 10U over the years.
No problem with moving the post and if no-one has had any experience of this then maybe it's just my unit - I have had it from new. Maybe it's my imagination that this was a "known problem" with Garmin units.

 

[Morety]

It's the first I've heard of it being a "known problem" with Garmin units. I've had four Garmin satnavs including the Nav V and VI and not had this issue with any of them. Distortion is usually down to one of three things: A fault with the amplification source; a fault with the speakers or a fault caused by bluetooth distortion through interference affecting the signal. Do you usually connect your phone to the GPS unit (and disconnect from the sena) or do you connect both GPS and phone to your sena as this can cause issues?

 

[SimonD]

I used to connect the phone to the GPS but these days I just connect it to the Sena and don't bother connecting the Garmin at all.

 

[gsbiker]

I've owned a few Garmins for my motorbikes, Navigator III (wired through Autocom), Nav IV, Nav V and now Zumo XT all through Sena SRL bluetooth. The best sound quality was from the Navigator III via Autocom. The later through bluetooth have been very dissapointing to the point I'm not sure I'll buy another Garmin again? The voice command quality is very poor when compared with Waze or Google maps etc. Worst experience is when I'm playing music from my iphone and the Garmin interupts with a long pause before giving voice commands in low res quality. It's just aweful. As i've played around with iphone sat nav software (like Waze) you can select different voices, some have a higher res quality to them. Not so with the Garmins, they are all rubbish imo and they need to modernise this side of their Sat Navs as they are all dated now.

Ive tried switching to my iphone Sat Nav to solve this problem but what I've found is on my motorbike GPS keeps dropping MASSIVELY. Infact most of my rides will be without sat nav because of poor GPS connectivity. The garmin is brilliant for that and rarely drops GPS. Weird.

 

[Victor c]

I have the same issue when my iPhone is connected and playing music through the bikes tft. The XT sound quality is really crappy when it cuts in via my SRL2.

 

[Berin]

Same. I connect my SRL direct to the phone now,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gsbiker]

I’m glad I’m not the only one finding this. What I’m trying now is playing MP3s direct from my XT. They actually sound a bit louder compared to playing from my iPhone. I wear ear plugs and I find the Sena SRL not very loud and when you do crank the volume the speakers are low quality that you get distortion. So I’ve been out for a ride today playing music from my XT and am happy. It’s not the best quality but better than from my iPhone. The Sat nav was not navigating me but I still had the blank pauses when a speed camera alerts popped up on screen which turns off the music for what seems like 5-10 seconds. It’s all a bit trial n error to find the best possible setup.

 

[Mzokk]

I have a Packtalk Bold and a Garmin 390LM. I have the sound level on the Garmin set at about 70-80% (at 100% it distorts) and adjust the volume level on my Packtalk. I have my Packtalk and Phone connected to the 390LM and the Packtalk separately connected to the phone as I sometimes listen to Spotify. It all plays nicely and the music mutes for directions. I have another helmet with a Interphone Tour connected and it is also perfectly clear using the same setup. I always wear earplugs BTW.