J&M Motorcycle Audio

[ultimateanswer]

Ok so I found an absolute ton of posts about what system to use, but none that actually made the $800+ entry price tag easy to swallow. I am looking at getting rid of the stupid excuse of a com system that I am currently using(Scala Q2.) I talked to my dealership's J&M rep and like all good company men he reassured me his product was the "best." But I want actual user reviews! I want to know what everybody thinks of theirs. I am looking at doing some serious bike modification over the winter months and a "real" com system is priority #1! What system offers the most bang for the buck? What accessories can you not live without? What headset is the best? So on and so forth until the end of time!

 

[Larry33319]

I have used the J&M 2003 with the better headsets for the past 5 years or so. They have a decent range after you tune the antenna properly. Find a local CB shop to set up the SWR for you. I usually ride in groups of 5 ro 6 riders with 4 or 5 seperate groups. I also have an older Roady 2 XM radio which is plugged into the Aux input of the J&M so I get music when I an riding. My wife has the J&M with her Garmin 550 plugged into the Aux input so she hears directions as well as the music she programmed onto the Garmin thru the SD card. The main thing I like about the J&M is that it is a CB so it is compatable with any other CB out there, whether it is other riders or truckers when checking conditions. It also has a weather channel built in. It is expensive but the benifits outweigh the costs IMHO.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I have never had a J&M or Starcom, but I did like my Autocomm. I moved to wireless first with the Scala Q2, and now the G4 which has more power and better speakers for music. Since I want to hook in FRS/GMRS radios, I will likely have to go back to a wired system, and it will be the Autocom. It's an older version, and the new ones may be different.

The noise cancelling Autocom mikes are excellent, the speakers not so much. I used Edsets headsets for the better speakers, but their mike isn't the best. So, I will try to change out the speakers to Edsets.

Others can give you opinions of the J&M and Starcom and newer Autocom. J&M to me is too expensive, that's just me. There may be more info on the Goldwing or ST forums.

 

[Jim in Phoenix]

I have used the J&M 2003 with the better headsets for the past 5 years or so. They have a decent range after you tune the antenna properly. Find a local CB shop to set up the SWR for you. I usually ride in groups of 5 ro 6 riders with 4 or 5 seperate groups. I also have an older Roady 2 XM radio which is plugged into the Aux input of the J&M so I get music when I an riding. My wife has the J&M with her Garmin 550 plugged into the Aux input so she hears directions as well as the music she programmed onto the Garmin thru the SD card. The main thing I like about the J&M is that it is a CB so it is compatable with any other CB out there, whether it is other riders or truckers when checking conditions. It also has a weather channel built in. It is expensive but the benifits outweigh the costs IMHO.

+1 on the J&M2003 CB. I have my Garmin550 wired into the CB and with the J&M headset, music comes through at speeds in the 3 digit range (but not for long - just a test). Depending on conditions, range is +2 miles and sometimes as much as 10 miles. Weather channel is a nice plus. Quality is excellent. Avoid the 2 ft. antenna as I was unable to tune two of them. Finally, J&M sent me a 3 foot antenna and it works great. But have it tuned by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[bhick]

Ok so I found an absolute ton of posts about what system to use, but none that actually made the $800+ entry price tag easy to swallow. I am looking at getting rid of the stupid excuse of a com system that I am currently using(Scala Q2.) I talked to my dealership's J&M rep andlike all good company men he reassured me his product was the "best." But I want actual user reviews! I want to know what everybody thinks of theirs. I am looking at doing some serious bike modification over the winter months and a "real" com system is priority #1! What system offers the most bang for the buck? What accessories can you not live without? What headset is the best? So on and so forth until the end of time!

I really like the Jm Intagrator unit. I've used it now sence they came out with it around 06. I use an fsr radio for com between the six guys I ride with. If you check the freqs. the fsrs will match up on acouple of the differant units so we just use these channels. As far as head sets I bought JM's best as I have one bad ear and I wented good sound. I use my garmin760 with sd card for tunes but I've been a xm tuner in mmy work van and I really like it so I'am saving for the 550 or what ever they have at the time. Jm sold me the mountable kit where u drill the helmet nolan 102 for the wire connection to bike and it great. Fm recption is ok but nothing to jump up and down about.

 

[John d]

I have the J&M 2003 CB (not the one with FM) ,but only because it came with my previously enjoyed FJR already installed. It came integrated with the Zumo 500, XM antenna, and a Passport 8500 radar detector. It's nice because it pulls all the pieces together while giving you intercom as well, and of course you can make and receive cell phones calls while riding. I bought a J&M Performance series (not Elite) headset (BCD279) and it works well and sounds great once set up properly in the helmet, but once you get over 50 mph, the wind noise is a problem for listening to mp3 music on the Zumo. There is however enough available volume to blow you ears out at any speed, and sometimes you have to be careful not to brush your hand by the volume control. I think I'll probably get an adaptor so I can use ear-buds instead of or with the helmet speakers to block out more of the wind noise. If you use normal ear plugs while listening to the helmet speakers the quality of the music is greatly diminished. If money isn't an object I would spend it on the J&M system. Unfortunately this my first experience with a sound/communication system on a motorcycle, so obviously I can't help you compare it to other systems.

 

[deanw]

If you use normal ear plugs while listening to the helmet speakers the quality of the music is greatly diminished.

If you don't do something to block at least some wind noise (i.e., no earplugs, ear buds, etc), it may be diminished permanently.
Just sayin'.

 

[Cibrd0wn]

+1 on J&M cb2003. I have been using mine for 5 years now. The wife loves it. I use it daily to listen to music with the iPod and my iPhone. Being that I commute daily being able to receive calls is great. Most the short day trips I ride are with Gold Wings and being able to communicate is a very nice feature. I buy all my J&M gear from www.gearupmotorsports.net always best to call them, they are great and cheap. J&M customer service is also top notch.