| Author | Message | ||
     Diablobrian |
I was looking around my house the other day and realized I had all the parts I needed to set myself up with Bluetooth sound in my trusty Arai Astral-x. (Currently looking at an AGV skyline or horizon 'cause the Arai is getting older) I'm sure that there are cheaper ways to go about this that include other functions, but this works for me and cost me nothing I hadn't already spent (oops, spoke too soon). I rarely ride in groups or two-up, so I don't need intercom functions etc and I DO NOT want to make or receive phone calls while I'm riding. Starting at the source, I'm using a Garmin Nuvi 885 as my GPS and music source. Nice little unit with turn by turn directions (a MUST have) and lane assist which is nice in strange urban settings (even has voice control in the car, going to have to see about setting up a mic in my helmet for that) and it is available for a really reasonable price right now. Especially if you buy used from a reputable seller: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-4-3-Inch-Widescreen-N avigator-Recognition/dp/B001OMGVII/ref=sr_1_3?ie=U TF8&qid=1384103094&sr=8-3&keywords=nuvi+885 The only down side to that unit; No Bluetooth capacity. It does have a 3.5mm stereo output jack though. Which brings me to this little gem, A GoGroove Bluesense TRM: http://www.amazon.com/GOgroove-BlueSense-Wireless- Bluetooth-Transmitter/dp/B008GVETNE/ref=sr_1_1?ie= UTF8&qid=1384103339&sr=8-1&keywords=GoGroove+blues ense+trm I've been using this a while now and it has really good performance and battery life. Especially when you consider the fact it's about the size of a book of matches and weighs about as much. I use a bit of 3M Dual lock to attach the transmitter to the back side of my GPS cradle mount, and to attach components to my helmet. Incredibly strong velcro like product. I use the clear 170/400 version but there are a number of variants out there. I'd say avoid the "low profile" version for this application, but other than that you should be fine. I use it for all kinds of stuff. Just needs clean, hard surfaces to bond to. All told I used 6 1"x 1" squares to mount the parts to the cradle and helmet. Now on my helmet I had such good luck and performance from the GoGroove transmitter so I picked up another of their products a while back. It is the GoGroove Bluegate. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZ9VPQ0/ref=oh _details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it has been performing flawlessly for me. The multi function button works as a power, synch and even a mute function. I mounted it on the left front of my chin bar with a little bit of dual lock. Again this thing is tiny, light, and has good battery life it also adds no extra wind noise that I can detect. So the signal is at the helmet, but that darn jardine can be a little loud....OK, a LOT loud, so I used a 6 inch extension cable to reach from the Bluegate to where I chose to mount a Fiio E6 audio amp. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HJWWW8/ref=oh _details_o03_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 A word of caution, there are a lot of knock-offs of this amp being sold to be sure your seller is one of the companies' distributors. They have a list on their website. So now, with the amp installed and powered up, I will be able to hear the sounds once the headphones or speakers (your choice) plugged in. I decided to go with Soundmagic PL50 in ear monitors (IEM). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002K7FZBA/ref=oh _details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These are really great bang for the buck In Ear Monitors, especially if you get some shure "olive" foam earpieces. It'll take a bit of trickiness pulling the factory inserts out of their foamy earpieces and gluing them into the higher quality shure earpieces. Comfy, Secure fitting, good noise isolation, and sound reproduction. They also sit more or less flush with your outer ear so they are ideal for in-helmet use. I did splurge a little on the GPS mount for the bike, I found a seller doing a clearance on the Ram twist and tilt mirror mount for the iphone 3. I spend $13 (actually 26 since I bought 2 at that price) and chucked the iphone 3 mounts. and then for a further $13 I picked up the correct one for my garmin. There is a reason that the touring guys rave about these Ram mounts, they are really well made, versatile and solid . Orders of magnitude better and more secure than the OEM cradles. List price for this mount with an included cradle is around $45 (don't quote me on that) but it is well worth it. So, put it all together, pair the bluetooth units, download some riding music onto a microSD card, plug and play. I can hear my music clearly at all speeds (even venturing up near triple digits, in the name of science of course!) Using the Garmin as a music player it will mute the music and give you route information then return to the music. It has adjustable sound levels for the Voice directions, Music and (I think) system sounds. You could even use it to listen to Audio Books as you ride. It comes with an Audible.com App installed. Bottom line? I'm thrilled, no more dangling cables flapping in the breeze and no more singing in my helmet to entertain myself (unless I'm joining in on the chorus of oh, say, "Mas Tequila") and all I'm out is the cost of the Ram mount ($26). The Ram "tilt and twist" mounts into the unused mirror mount holes on the firebolt, but has provisions for mounting your mirror and the mount if you are riding a Uly or lightning. On the firebolt by turning it and tilting it in towards the center of the steering yoke I was able to get it to a visible position that does not hit the fairing even turning lock to lock. I may need a sun shade though. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I just use skull-candy earbuds & my old Creative mp3 player, it's only 1Gb but it functions as a USB key also so I can just slide the amp/battery part off & use it direct in anything with a USB port such as truck stereo or laptop etc. It runs on a AAA size battery so I carry 2 or 3 rechargeables. | ||
| Pikeben08 |
I just use Pandora on my phone and some sound insulating earbuds. Works really well, I just wish I had a way to hit skip. | ||
| Sleez |
are these the "olive" foams you are talking about? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EABKF1-10L? utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=live sound&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CN7Px9OS 3boCFec9Qgodwx4A9A |
