Basic Helmet Headset

[xstian]

I'm looking for a basic headset. I only want it to connect to my phone so I can listen to some music when riding longer motorways trips. I'm not bothered about answering the phone with it or speaking to other riders. I currently have a Sena SMH5, which I got in 2019 and was fine until it stopped connecting to my phone sometime last year and I cant seem to get it to update using Sena firmware. I know this was an out of date model when I got it, but I still thought it would be good for a few years of service.

It still connects to an old ipod I own, so just been using that. I haven't updated the ipod since 2008, so there is some right old guff on that and frankly I'm getting fed up with it.

Any recommendations? Frankly the cheaper the better, but I do want it to actually work reliably, I don't want to have to keep turning it off and on again to get thing to connect etc.

I've looked at Freedconn on Amazon, which seems to get good reviews for the price. I've also looked into just a basic pair of wired helmet head phone speakers, but was a bit concerned they might not be loud enough to be heard over the wind noise and I wear earplugs. I'm also prepared to pay decent money if that's the only reliable option.

[Tribal Chestnut]

I quite fancy one of those Senna ones with a built in camera for the commute.

[Jazoli]

xstian said:

I've looked at Freedconn on Amazon, which seems to get good reviews for the price. I've also looked into just a basic pair of wired helmet head phone speakers, but was a bit concerned they might not be loud enough to be heard over the wind noise and I wear earplugs. I'm also prepared to pay decent money if that's the only reliable option.

The freedconn are ok for the price, if you are prepared to spend decent money get a Cardo with the JBL speaker upgrade, the type of helmet you put them in can make a huge difference, in my AGV K5 you couldn't hear the music very well at higher motorway speeds as the helmet is very noisy, with my Shoei RYD the sound is great and the volume can be too loud (which isn't an issue obviously)

[simonh9]

I've got a Freedconn T-COM VB. I've had a pair for a few years that I made into some practice headsets and have been impressed by them, so bought some for motorbike helmet as well recently.

Battery seems to last ages, sound is so so. Pretty good at filtering background noise from the mike. You can't directly do voice commands using the mike, but I think there's a workaround with a third party app to launch the phone into listening mode.

I looked at the later model (KY maybe?), but it seemed focussed towards larger groups and battery life was worse

[Seight_Returns]

I also have a Freedconn T-COM VB.

My requirements are pretty basic - No group riding or pillion connectivity, just Sat Nav prompts and taking the occasional phone call from my wife telling me to come home.

I'm very happy with it. Better quality than I expected for the price. Has its own bespoke design charging lead rather than a standard USB port which is a minor annoyance.

I'd buy the Freedconn one with the camera on it if I lose/break this one.

Edited by Seight_Returns on Monday 6th September 15:47

[CallorFold]

Pretty sure the Freedconn is the same unit a couple of my riding mates are using. Certainly looks identical.

They seem to work well and seem fit for purpose. Definitely a chunk of change cheaper than my own Sena 10S.

I've never tried connecting to more than 1 of them for intercom, but pairing with the 10S was nice and easy. Sound quality wasn't quite as good as 10S to 10S (had quite a bit more static/interference on my end), but it was certainly usable.

I think for the price, they're a good buy.