Talk to me about Bluetooth headsets
Discussion
Generally speaking I like to wear headphones when I'm riding to work but lately I've been thinking about upgrading to a Bluetooth headset.
Looking online it seems to be a minefield of different brands and prices and I'll be honest I have no clue what I'm looking at.
If you've got a headset you recommend can you let me know what you've got and why you recommend it.
Also what's the sound quality like on these units? Cardo seem to make one with JBL speakers, is this just branding of are they actually any good?
I wouldn't want to lose any sound quality over a mid range set of ear buds so if tye tradeoff was sound for practicality I probably wouldn't bother the upgrade.
Looking online it seems to be a minefield of different brands and prices and I'll be honest I have no clue what I'm looking at.
If you've got a headset you recommend can you let me know what you've got and why you recommend it.
Also what's the sound quality like on these units? Cardo seem to make one with JBL speakers, is this just branding of are they actually any good?
I wouldn't want to lose any sound quality over a mid range set of ear buds so if tye tradeoff was sound for practicality I probably wouldn't bother the upgrade.
I've just changed from Packtalk Bold to the Edge and it's very good. The Bold was perhaps marginally louder but the Edge is much better quality sound and the battery last longer than the Bold. In France last week Edge lasted from 8.30am-9am to about 6pm playing music almost all the time plus some navigation and still had battery left, the Bold would have been beeping low battery by 5pm.
Unless you ride in groups and want to communicate with each other an integrated bluetooth headset isn't really an upgrade on volume and sound quality. They can be a bit more comfortable but they are never going to be as good as an in the ear bud imho.
Nb. Most in the ear buds only have ~20db noise reduction so they might not help prevent hearing damage from wind noise if that is a concern then ear plugs and a Bluetooth headset might be the way to go. I modified some bike specific ear plugs to work with some sony earbuds and a Bluetooth receiver off of amazon for less than £20.
Nb. Most in the ear buds only have ~20db noise reduction so they might not help prevent hearing damage from wind noise if that is a concern then ear plugs and a Bluetooth headset might be the way to go. I modified some bike specific ear plugs to work with some sony earbuds and a Bluetooth receiver off of amazon for less than £20.
SteveKTMer said:
I've just changed from Packtalk Bold to the Edge and it's very good. The Bold was perhaps marginally louder but the Edge is much better quality sound and the battery last longer than the Bold. In France last week Edge lasted from 8.30am-9am to about 6pm playing music almost all the time plus some navigation and still had battery left, the Bold would have been beeping low battery by 5pm.
Oh, come on Steve! The only reason the battery lasted longer was because you didn't have the rest of us constantly taking the piss out of each other! 
I've got a Sena system in my Shoei - not sure of the exact spec as it is integrated into the helmet but it is similar to the S20.
I use it in conjunction with silicon earplugs (Oxford branded ones) and you can listen to the radio/music at speeds up to around 70/80mph. Above that it becomes a bit harder to understand when people are talking.
The voice control is a good idea, but doesn't work very well once you are above walking pace. End up shouting "HELLO SENA!!!" in a fruitless attempt to wake it up. Easier to use the button controls.
I use it in conjunction with silicon earplugs (Oxford branded ones) and you can listen to the radio/music at speeds up to around 70/80mph. Above that it becomes a bit harder to understand when people are talking.
The voice control is a good idea, but doesn't work very well once you are above walking pace. End up shouting "HELLO SENA!!!" in a fruitless attempt to wake it up. Easier to use the button controls.
black-k1 said:
SteveKTMer said:
I've just changed from Packtalk Bold to the Edge and it's very good. The Bold was perhaps marginally louder but the Edge is much better quality sound and the battery last longer than the Bold. In France last week Edge lasted from 8.30am-9am to about 6pm playing music almost all the time plus some navigation and still had battery left, the Bold would have been beeping low battery by 5pm.
Oh, come on Steve! The only reason the battery lasted longer was because you didn't have the rest of us constantly taking the piss out of each other! 

boyse7en said:
I've got a Sena system in my Shoei - not sure of the exact spec as it is integrated into the helmet but it is similar to the S20.
I use it in conjunction with silicon earplugs (Oxford branded ones) and you can listen to the radio/music at speeds up to around 70/80mph. Above that it becomes a bit harder to understand when people are talking.
The voice control is a good idea, but doesn't work very well once you are above walking pace. End up shouting "HELLO SENA!!!" in a fruitless attempt to wake it up. Easier to use the button controls.
I use it in conjunction with silicon earplugs (Oxford branded ones) and you can listen to the radio/music at speeds up to around 70/80mph. Above that it becomes a bit harder to understand when people are talking.
The voice control is a good idea, but doesn't work very well once you are above walking pace. End up shouting "HELLO SENA!!!" in a fruitless attempt to wake it up. Easier to use the button controls.

I find the Cardo has a different issue. It interprets pretty much anything - singing to music, comment to self on road directions, cough, sneeze whatever - as the instruction to turn the radio on and then doesn't seem to understand the "Hey Cardo, radio off ... Hey Cardo, radio off ... HEY CARDO, RADIO OFF ... TURN THE F**KING RADIO OFF" instruction!!

black-k1 said:

I find the Cardo has a different issue. It interprets pretty much anything - singing to music, comment to self on road directions, cough, sneeze whatever - as the instruction to turn the radio on and then doesn't seem to understand the "Hey Cardo, radio off ... Hey Cardo, radio off ... HEY CARDO, RADIO OFF ... TURN THE F**KING RADIO OFF" instruction!!

So basically I don't think Cardo have made any major improvement to the Edge over the bold with the exception of battery life.
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