FJRBandit
Well-known member
For a couple of years now I have been drawing from the Forum and really haven't added much. Not that things are going to change much with this meager post, but with all the new bluetooth headsets coming onto the market I thought I would throw out my initial impressions of the Cardo Scala G4. I previously owned the Scala Q2 and give it very high marks. Battery life is unbelieveable and the quality of the intercom, I know now, is second to none. But this review isn't on the Q2, this is about the new Scala G4.
Just so you know the context in which I use the Scala. My set up with the Q2 was iphone via bluetooth for phone connection. Intercom pairing with my wife as pairing A and riding buddy as pairing B. A Mixit2 amp to effectively handle audio from my Passport 8500 and music from my iphone into the headset via MP3 connection. I never could get loud enough sound from my Nuvi 760 to throw it successfully in the mix. It worked, but not well enough. The radar audible warning came through without interupting the music. That's not the way the Mixit is advertised, but I had no complaints because I actually like it better hearing it without interupting the music. I can hit the mute on the radar detector or turn the volume down if necessary. All of this worked fairly well, but I've never been overly pleased with the sound quality / loudness at high speeds (slab riding of 80+). It's always been ok in town or cruising the twisties. But as with any new technology, at some point it was going to be inevitable I would take the leap. So on to the G4....
I've had the unit for only one week. I took a 250 mile shakedown ride this past weekend and these are my thoughts so far.....
Overall impression - Very Good.
Bluetooth connection to iphone for stereo streaming music - EXCELLENT!
The drawback to that setup for me is the audio warning (via MP3 plug) for the radar is subordinate to the steaming audio in the G4 priority. Therefore, when the audio is streaming, the radar (or any other audio coming through the MP3 plug) does not interrupt the music (nor can it be heard in the background). I can still set it up the way I did previously and run the music through the Mixit along with the radar, but the audio coming through the A2DP is so much more superior in sound and loudness that I am in process of working out a work around for the radar audio. I found that basic ear buds connected to the radar does the trick and serves as my "ear plugs" anyway. We'll see how that goes for now-- I am researching a bluetooth dongle for the radar and if that'll work, then I'll go 100% wireless to the helmet. I kind of like to hear the radar and while not interrupting the music, so I may stick with the wired ear bud approach anyway.
Bluetooth connection to Nuvi - Scala doesn't connect to Nuvi - that's just a flaw in the whole Nuvi thing, it clearly would have no issues with the Zumo. I'm just not interested in spending $600 to have directions transmitted to my helmet right now.
Bluetooth to iphone for phone purposes - as opposed to the connection from the Q2 to the phone being rated EXCELLENT, I am not near as impressed with the G4 connection. I have found there is an occasional delay and the sound quality is not as good as I experienced with the Q2. (see below for possible solution)
Intercom connection with the other G4 headset - the same "delay" is in the intercom connection also. When you speak to open the channel, you have to give it an extra beat before the channel opens up. Also, whereas the sound quality via intercom between riders was so loud in the Q2 I often had to turn the volume down, I find the volume in the G4 to be adequate at best. I called Cardo and asked about the delay. They confirmed it to be a known issue and hope to resolve it with future firmware updates. (The units are upgradeable through USB connection to downloadable Windows software)
There are many other features on the G4 but I won't go into those here, as I really haven't done much else with it. I can tell that the FM reception is better, but I don't use that very often so that never was an issue to me. The buttons seem like they will be easy to use with gloved hands and seem to be well laid out.
Again, my overall impression of the unit is very good. There are a few bugs that need to be worked out, but the freaking streaming bluetooth music is AWESOME! It's enough to make the upgrade to the G4 very workable. It solved my music audio issues, but created minor problems with other connections that worked extremely well with the Q2. But there's nothing I don't think I can either work around or Cardo will fix with future upgrades.
Just so you know the context in which I use the Scala. My set up with the Q2 was iphone via bluetooth for phone connection. Intercom pairing with my wife as pairing A and riding buddy as pairing B. A Mixit2 amp to effectively handle audio from my Passport 8500 and music from my iphone into the headset via MP3 connection. I never could get loud enough sound from my Nuvi 760 to throw it successfully in the mix. It worked, but not well enough. The radar audible warning came through without interupting the music. That's not the way the Mixit is advertised, but I had no complaints because I actually like it better hearing it without interupting the music. I can hit the mute on the radar detector or turn the volume down if necessary. All of this worked fairly well, but I've never been overly pleased with the sound quality / loudness at high speeds (slab riding of 80+). It's always been ok in town or cruising the twisties. But as with any new technology, at some point it was going to be inevitable I would take the leap. So on to the G4....
I've had the unit for only one week. I took a 250 mile shakedown ride this past weekend and these are my thoughts so far.....
Overall impression - Very Good.
Bluetooth connection to iphone for stereo streaming music - EXCELLENT!
The drawback to that setup for me is the audio warning (via MP3 plug) for the radar is subordinate to the steaming audio in the G4 priority. Therefore, when the audio is streaming, the radar (or any other audio coming through the MP3 plug) does not interrupt the music (nor can it be heard in the background). I can still set it up the way I did previously and run the music through the Mixit along with the radar, but the audio coming through the A2DP is so much more superior in sound and loudness that I am in process of working out a work around for the radar audio. I found that basic ear buds connected to the radar does the trick and serves as my "ear plugs" anyway. We'll see how that goes for now-- I am researching a bluetooth dongle for the radar and if that'll work, then I'll go 100% wireless to the helmet. I kind of like to hear the radar and while not interrupting the music, so I may stick with the wired ear bud approach anyway.
Bluetooth connection to Nuvi - Scala doesn't connect to Nuvi - that's just a flaw in the whole Nuvi thing, it clearly would have no issues with the Zumo. I'm just not interested in spending $600 to have directions transmitted to my helmet right now.
Bluetooth to iphone for phone purposes - as opposed to the connection from the Q2 to the phone being rated EXCELLENT, I am not near as impressed with the G4 connection. I have found there is an occasional delay and the sound quality is not as good as I experienced with the Q2. (see below for possible solution)
Intercom connection with the other G4 headset - the same "delay" is in the intercom connection also. When you speak to open the channel, you have to give it an extra beat before the channel opens up. Also, whereas the sound quality via intercom between riders was so loud in the Q2 I often had to turn the volume down, I find the volume in the G4 to be adequate at best. I called Cardo and asked about the delay. They confirmed it to be a known issue and hope to resolve it with future firmware updates. (The units are upgradeable through USB connection to downloadable Windows software)
There are many other features on the G4 but I won't go into those here, as I really haven't done much else with it. I can tell that the FM reception is better, but I don't use that very often so that never was an issue to me. The buttons seem like they will be easy to use with gloved hands and seem to be well laid out.
Again, my overall impression of the unit is very good. There are a few bugs that need to be worked out, but the freaking streaming bluetooth music is AWESOME! It's enough to make the upgrade to the G4 very workable. It solved my music audio issues, but created minor problems with other connections that worked extremely well with the Q2. But there's nothing I don't think I can either work around or Cardo will fix with future upgrades.
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