Bluetooth or In-Ear?

[Mudslide Miller]

Iris, I missed that current post by John. Thanks for the heads up. I did a recent software update. I'll have to make sure I have the one John is talking about and try re-pairing my phone and GPS. That would indeed be good news and allow me to get stereo XM as well.

Also to the OP, I prefer earbuds over speakers.

 

[Niehart]

BY THE WAY, Mr. Original Poster, either choice (earbud vs in-helmet speaker) is a Bluetooth connection on my bike.

My answer was both. Agree with the other posters that said speakers around town and ear buds on road shows.

 

[escapefjrtist]

SMH-10 with ear plugs and in-helmet speakers for me. Occasionally use Etymotic ear buds for around town, but for a multiple day trip they don't provide the long term comfort I like.

YMMV

--G

 

[graler]

I have a question for the 20S users. I am assuming that it has the headphone jack as well as the helmet speakers. When headphones are plugged in do the helmet speakers get disabled?

 

[smithpa68]

I must be the only guy on FJRForum not using a Sena.. I have the Cardo SHO1 model specifically for Shoei Neotec. It has only its helmet speakers. You can't use a 3.5mm plug for other headphones or speakers. I like the features. Sound quality is a bit tinny. I would call it ok.. but not more. Between my Shoei Neotec and a Rifle windshield, I don't really get a lot of wind noise so the volume is good. On the highway I still use earplugs but my plugs have sound filters. I got them from Aerostich. They do a great job on the road / wind noise but I can still hear the music and intercom coversation. Yes a slight attenuation of the volume but without the roadnoise its not a big deal. I prefer not having to wire up my ears and mess with the earbud type of audio. To each their own though.

One warning on the SHO1, I have had the left speaker go out on my twice so far. The wires are a little fragile for the speakers where it mounts to the connector plugging into the Bluetooth part of the unit. Very annoying since I really like the device otherwise.

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

Thanks for all the great responses. A lot of good points made and see where having both would be nice. I'm going to the Chicago Bike Show in a couple of weeks which there is usually someone there doing In-Ears. I may start with that and add the Sena unit later if dealing with a cable is a hassle.

 

[phroenips]

I have a question for the 20S users. I am assuming that it has the headphone jack as well as the helmet speakers. When headphones are plugged in do the helmet speakers get disabled?

I pulled out my helmet just now to try this. It's as you would expect/hope...when headphones are plugged in, the helmet speakers are silent.

 

[Niehart]

I have a question for the 20S users. I am assuming that it has the headphone jack as well as the helmet speakers. When headphones are plugged in do the helmet speakers get disabled?

Yes.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Thanks for all the great responses. A lot of good points made and see where having both would be nice. I'm going to the Chicago Bike Show in a couple of weeks which there is usually someone there doing In-Ears. I may start with that and add the Sena unit later if dealing with a cable is a hassle.

Dealing with the cable will not be a hassle until you jump off the bike, forget you're plugged in, and rip your cord out of the jack. Since the cords and jacks are more delicate than we think, the plug-in may bend/break, or your jack may end up FUBAR. Which renders your set-up useless until you can replace stuff.
I dropped my bike while plugged in one time. I didn't bend or break anything when I ate shot and the bike fell behind me, but I was pretty lucky. The best thing about Bluetooth is that you don't have to unplug to walk away from the bike.

JMHO...

 

[Bounce]

As someone with tinnitus, I can't stress enough how important hearing protection is (and helmets by themselves aren't enough).

Your eyes and ears are precious. Protect them. For your ears use in-ear plugs (with speakers in the plugs if you want sound because that can be turned down to a very low volume, still be heard, protect from wind pressure and noise, etc.).

I use to run speakers and had to turn them up to hear passenger intercom communications clearly. I then added ear plugs and had to turn up the external speakers to max. None of that is good for your hearing. When in-ear monitors, I actually turned DOWN the volume as low as it would go (one tick above mute) yet could still hear music and conversations MORE clearly.

I wish I would have known this BEFORE the tinnitus.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I spend a fair amount of time in foam earplugs, Shure 215K monitors, and headset ear protection with amplification (not at the same time, of course). Plugs block the most noise, but when properly fitted, with the right tips, the monitors don't require a volume setting any higher than they would sitting on my deck. Nothing beats pure foam, but if you do it right, monitors are very close. Conventional buds can be one of the worst things you can do, depending upon your setup. Between wind noise from the cords and/or bud bodies, and the fact that they need to be cranked to hear well, it's a wash at best, a detriment to hearing at worst.

 

[Fred W]

I use to run speakers and had to turn them up to hear passenger intercom communications clearly. I then added ear plugs and had to turn up the external speakers to max. None of that is good for your hearing. When in-ear monitors, I actually turned DOWN the volume as low as it would go (one tick above mute) yet could still hear music and conversations MORE clearly.
I wish I would have known this BEFORE the tinnitus.

Yes you may turn down the music output from the device, but that music is then delivered with no attenuation at all directly to your ear drums. The sound that comes from the helmet speakers will be highly attenuated by the 30dB earplugs, thus making what would be dangerous levels of sound (if heard directly) safe. Distorted, but safer.

I wish I had worn earplugs when I was younger too. Tinnitus is a bummer.

 

[Madmudder]

My issue is with the Garmin audio quality. The Sena plays music from my iPhone that's equal to the stereo in my living room. The Garmin audio quality is total crap. Wouldn't be a problem, except longer trips (6 hours or more) require the larger song library stored on the Garmin. (660 model) Somebody tell me how I'm doing it wrong, please.

Hud,

I'm still a huge fan of the 20S, but that is one of the cons of this unit. I had a lengthy conversation with a Sena rep at the BMW MOA Nat'l in Billings this past year about that very subject. The 20S only has one A2DP circuit (stereo) and 2 mono circuits, so whichever device you pair to first will be in stereo and any devices you pair to with "2nd pairing" will only be in mono. I had a similar situation where I wanted to pair my phone first for the A2DP stereo since I have 4000 songs on my I-phone but I also pay for a subscription to XM through my Zumo 665, so it was get stereo from one or the other but not both. The rep said, Just pair your phone first & then play your XM through the I-phone XM app, and I said OK that makes sense, but then later realized you have to have unlimited streaming for the XM app, which I don't. So now on long trips I just listen to my I-phone music in stereo with mono Garmin directions and skip using XM. I use the XM while commuting to work (20 miles each way) by using earbuds directly to the Zumo without using my Sena.

Hopefully Sena will step up in the future and create multiple A2DP circuits to alleviate this problem.

https://www.sena.com/category/firmware/firmware-20s/

Your prayers have been answered with

20S FIRMWARE V1.6

I also replaced my Sena 20s speakers with these and they offer much better sound at higher speeds

https://www.torkworld.com/helmet-speakers/xpro-speaker-elements.html

 

[phroenips]

I was messing around with 1.6 on my 20S the other night, and was thus far unsuccessful in getting dual A2DP to work simultaneously. Seemed like I could get one working, but once I started playing music or something from the second device, the first device would no longer connect at all, and would revert to HFP only. I still have more testing and troubleshooting to perform, but I wouldn't be so quick to call it an answer to prayers quite yet.

 

[RJAMT]

If the concern of the Sena option is the outside-of-the-ear speakers, they have a base plate/mount option that allows you to plug in a standard 3.5mm jack so you can use whatever in-ear headphones you want. And yet you're still wireless from the bike itself.

I use the Sena speakers for daily commuting and plug in my ear buds for travelling when I would normally use some sort of earplug anyway.

As for the cord connecting the earbuds to the Sena, I just tuck it down in my jacket out of the way. Nothing to catch, pull or break.

 

[smithpa68]

The best thing about Bluetooth is that you don't have to unplug to walk away from the bike.

JMHO...

I think the best thing with Bluetooth is telling your pillion... "Come on already.... let's go" when they are still in the store or the bathroom.

 

[Mudslide Miller]

The best thing about Bluetooth is that you don't have to unplug to walk away from the bike.

JMHO...

I think the best thing with Bluetooth is telling your pillion... "Come on already.... let's go" when they are still in the store or the bathroom.

Your better half uses the bathroom with her helmet on. That's impressive!!

 

[smithpa68]

The best thing about Bluetooth is that you don't have to unplug to walk away from the bike.

JMHO...

I think the best thing with Bluetooth is telling your pillion... "Come on already.... let's go" when they are still in the store or the bathroom.

Your better half uses the bathroom with her helmet on. That's impressive!!

She is a bit clumsy.... lol.

 

[Ludwig61]

As for the earbuds/monitors versus in-helmet speakers and earplugs: If you turn up the music loud enough to hear your speakers through sound-deadening earplugs, how can that NOT be as damaging as other noise, like rotating machinery or an FJR engine? I mean, if the noise is loud enough to reach my eardrums through sound-deadening earplugs, won't it still be damaging?

Assume road noise of 100db. Assume earplugs are good for -30db. The sound level of road noise to your ear is 70db. Assume helmet speakers generate 110db. That would be 80db to your ear, and 10db louder than the road noise.

 

[Fred W]

As for the earbuds/monitors versus in-helmet speakers and earplugs: If you turn up the music loud enough to hear your speakers through sound-deadening earplugs, how can that NOT be as damaging as other noise, like rotating machinery or an FJR engine? I mean, if the noise is loud enough to reach my eardrums through sound-deadening earplugs, won't it still be damaging?

Assume road noise of 100db. Assume earplugs are good for -30db. The sound level of road noise to your ear is 70db. Assume helmet speakers generate 110db. That would be 80db to your ear, and 10db louder than the road noise.

OK, I disagree with your assumptions (I think the road noise is higher and the music output is lower) but let's play the same game with in ear monitors.

Assume same 100 dB road noise, but your in ear monitor only attenuate by 20 dB. That would mean that you would have 80 dB of road noise at your eardrums before you even turn on any music.

Then, to have the same signal to noise ratio at your ear drum would require more than +10 dB of music output from the in ear- monitors due to the much higher noise level, so your total sound level will be higher than the 80 dB in the previous example. Decibels are in a logarithmic scale so the increase between 70 dB of noise and 80 dB of noise is much more than 10 / 70.