judge
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Over the last few weeks we've been running these 3 Bluetooth systems in conjunction with the Ultimateear SoundEar monitors. In the case of the Scala & Interphone both have been modified to remove/bypass the supplied speaker and a 3.5mm socket has been fitted to allow the direct connection of the SoundEar, the socket is wired to allow the mono signal down both channels.
Bluetooth headset adaption for use with monitors is a service provided by Ultimate.
The 'low-rent' is a full stereo A2DP unit whereas the other two are early versions of their respective products and are both mono, current versions of both are now full stereo.
They were tested in the following configurations:
Scala:
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
Interphone:
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
Bike to Bike with another Interphone
'Low-Rent':
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
The Scala and Interphone are bike specific products so my expectations were based on being suitable for on bike use, the 'low-rent' is not sold for bike use so my expectations were much less from a voice capability point of view.
My reference point for being suitable for bike use comes from being a dyed-in-the-wool Autocom user for many years.
Low-Rent Performance:
I was amazed at the audio quality delivered by this unit given its £9 price tag. The quality was indistinguishable when audio was compared from the headphone socket of the iPhone or the BT system.
I believe their is a shortcoming in the Garmin Zumo 550 when delivering music via Bluetooth which is not apparent when the same unit plays audio out through its own 3.5mm socket, the audio sounds like someone who has just been fitted with new dentures doing karaoke! Does the 660 improve on this?
The 'low-rent's shortcoming was speech as the microphone offers little noise cancelling and even when placed touching lips on the back of my Schuberth C3's chin bar audio above 40mph was difficult to hear by the recipient.
Audio in was superb all the way up to and beyond motorway speeds.
Scala Rider:
I've used this previously with its own helmet speaker and pumped the volume through my monitors which were plugged direct in to an iPod. So you can get plenty of volume out of it which is good for ear plug wearers who won't struggle with volume.
The microphone has decent noise cancelling requiring the mic to be placed 'a la Autocom' on the lips to be useable at speed. At urban speeds I have used this chin bar up and been able to be heard clearly.
Interphone:
We've had to fit these with a low value resistor to reduce the volume for our monitors as even on minimum volume they were too loud. A bit of trial and error getting both units set for their respective bikes (phones & Garmin) then pairing them for intercom.
For a bike specific unit we were disappointed how sensitive the mics were and how little noise cancelling was apparent. The other rider was wearing a Tour-X and the open design of this helmet offered little wind protection from the mic so I was forced to listen to his bike, the wind as well as his own voice.
At slow speeds I was able to be heard as clearly with the chin bar up or down and the mic was located on the back of the chin bar).
The intercom audio was superb, far better than the radio quality of my iCom or Kenwood radios via the Autocom but the claimed range of 500 metres was ambitious. Even line of sight we struggled beyond 200 metres which I think is too short for bike 2 bike even if there's only 2 of you the distance between us regularly exceeded this distance.
Also the business of having to press for 2 seconds to initiate a call was faff and more frustratingly the intercom cut out any other audio (be it music or voice prompts from the Sat Nav). This meant you either initiated and ended your chats (lots of button pushing) or you accepted it was intercom rather than the other feeds, not what I'd want and not what I'm used to as an Autocom user of fading in and out of sources.
I hope the later versions of the Interphone have improved this?
In summary:
If I was only interested in listening to audio (either from an A2DP music player or from a Sat Nav) then I'd buy a couple of the low-rent units and be happy as Larry. I'd have two simply because they are cheap and I think I know I'd forget to keep them charged or remember to turn them off. I could also use the voice capability at urban speeds or stationary.
If I wanted voice capabilities then the microphone in the Scala was more suitable for motorcycle use.
I now have two helmets set up with this bluetooth kit but I am very happy that my two main Schuberth helmets are fitted for the Autocom which in conjunction with my PMR radio/DAB radio/phone/Garmin gives me the full spectrum of sources with appropriate fade in/fade out, is bike powered including the radio and I don't have to remember to charge stuff and plugging in a headset lead when I get on or off the bike really doesn't end my world.
Be interested to hear from users of the later Scala and Interphone units on their views of this kit against my experiences.
Bluetooth headset adaption for use with monitors is a service provided by Ultimate.
The 'low-rent' is a full stereo A2DP unit whereas the other two are early versions of their respective products and are both mono, current versions of both are now full stereo.
They were tested in the following configurations:
Scala:
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
Interphone:
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
Bike to Bike with another Interphone
'Low-Rent':
BT direct to Apple iPhone 3g
BT to Garmin Zumo 550 (with and without iPhone BT'd to it).
The Scala and Interphone are bike specific products so my expectations were based on being suitable for on bike use, the 'low-rent' is not sold for bike use so my expectations were much less from a voice capability point of view.
My reference point for being suitable for bike use comes from being a dyed-in-the-wool Autocom user for many years.
Low-Rent Performance:
I was amazed at the audio quality delivered by this unit given its £9 price tag. The quality was indistinguishable when audio was compared from the headphone socket of the iPhone or the BT system.
I believe their is a shortcoming in the Garmin Zumo 550 when delivering music via Bluetooth which is not apparent when the same unit plays audio out through its own 3.5mm socket, the audio sounds like someone who has just been fitted with new dentures doing karaoke! Does the 660 improve on this?
The 'low-rent's shortcoming was speech as the microphone offers little noise cancelling and even when placed touching lips on the back of my Schuberth C3's chin bar audio above 40mph was difficult to hear by the recipient.
Audio in was superb all the way up to and beyond motorway speeds.
Scala Rider:
I've used this previously with its own helmet speaker and pumped the volume through my monitors which were plugged direct in to an iPod. So you can get plenty of volume out of it which is good for ear plug wearers who won't struggle with volume.
The microphone has decent noise cancelling requiring the mic to be placed 'a la Autocom' on the lips to be useable at speed. At urban speeds I have used this chin bar up and been able to be heard clearly.
Interphone:
We've had to fit these with a low value resistor to reduce the volume for our monitors as even on minimum volume they were too loud. A bit of trial and error getting both units set for their respective bikes (phones & Garmin) then pairing them for intercom.
For a bike specific unit we were disappointed how sensitive the mics were and how little noise cancelling was apparent. The other rider was wearing a Tour-X and the open design of this helmet offered little wind protection from the mic so I was forced to listen to his bike, the wind as well as his own voice.
At slow speeds I was able to be heard as clearly with the chin bar up or down and the mic was located on the back of the chin bar).
The intercom audio was superb, far better than the radio quality of my iCom or Kenwood radios via the Autocom but the claimed range of 500 metres was ambitious. Even line of sight we struggled beyond 200 metres which I think is too short for bike 2 bike even if there's only 2 of you the distance between us regularly exceeded this distance.
Also the business of having to press for 2 seconds to initiate a call was faff and more frustratingly the intercom cut out any other audio (be it music or voice prompts from the Sat Nav). This meant you either initiated and ended your chats (lots of button pushing) or you accepted it was intercom rather than the other feeds, not what I'd want and not what I'm used to as an Autocom user of fading in and out of sources.
I hope the later versions of the Interphone have improved this?
In summary:
If I was only interested in listening to audio (either from an A2DP music player or from a Sat Nav) then I'd buy a couple of the low-rent units and be happy as Larry. I'd have two simply because they are cheap and I think I know I'd forget to keep them charged or remember to turn them off. I could also use the voice capability at urban speeds or stationary.
If I wanted voice capabilities then the microphone in the Scala was more suitable for motorcycle use.
I now have two helmets set up with this bluetooth kit but I am very happy that my two main Schuberth helmets are fitted for the Autocom which in conjunction with my PMR radio/DAB radio/phone/Garmin gives me the full spectrum of sources with appropriate fade in/fade out, is bike powered including the radio and I don't have to remember to charge stuff and plugging in a headset lead when I get on or off the bike really doesn't end my world.
Be interested to hear from users of the later Scala and Interphone units on their views of this kit against my experiences.
