I've previously used an Autocom SPA and apart from having to suffer cables, it was brilliant for ...
- Rider to pillion intercom
- Nav instructions (and music) from my Zumo 590
- Bike to bike via a Kenwood radio using a PTT switch
- Telephone use for myself via the Zumo
Importantly the setup enabled nav instructions & music to continue during rider/pillion conversations, after some messing about with the cabling and dip switches I settled on a setup that didn't mute or reduce the volume of the Zumo during rider pillion conversation, this I much preferred.
However, 12 months ago I took the plunge and went bluetooth with a Sena 10U. Great piece of kit and being wire free was a revelation ... riding solo ...
- Perfect for nav/music from the Zumo
- The integrated design with the short mike arm is much better than the Autocom or other bluetooth devices with boom mikes
- Telephone works brilliantly (via the Zumo)
- Sound quality for music is very good, nav instructions poor (might be related to the BT output of the Zumo)
- Better volume than the Autocom
But, and it's a big but, as soon as I try to add the pillion headset the bluetooth system just doesn't live up to the Autocom. The pillion headset is currently a Sena 3S which is very basic but even so it should have some reasonable functionality. It seems to dislike pairing which has proven to be a pain, plus we need to switch between intercom mode and the Zumo input mode when either is needed, it's not possible to have both together. I did initially think this was the basic nature of the 3S but it appears that the same will occur with my 10U, I understand I'd need to swap both to Sena 20S units to get the "audio multitasking" ability whereby we can chat and listen to the Zumo output simultaneously. I've been really surprised by the limitations of the 10U over the 20S, the integrated design of the 10U would suggest it should be the flagship headset but it falls down on features over it's big brother.
So before I reinstall the old Autocom system for our upcoming trip to Spain, are there any other bluetooth systems on the market that will do what the Autocom did? I can't see how any others in the Sena range (SMH10 etc) would do much better than the 10U and I'm ideally looking for a more integrated system than the 20S. Or is there another component I need to add in to get the multitasking ability? Or is it that current bluetooth options are still some years away from what the Autocom has been doing perfectly?
Any thoughts?
- Rider to pillion intercom
- Nav instructions (and music) from my Zumo 590
- Bike to bike via a Kenwood radio using a PTT switch
- Telephone use for myself via the Zumo
Importantly the setup enabled nav instructions & music to continue during rider/pillion conversations, after some messing about with the cabling and dip switches I settled on a setup that didn't mute or reduce the volume of the Zumo during rider pillion conversation, this I much preferred.
However, 12 months ago I took the plunge and went bluetooth with a Sena 10U. Great piece of kit and being wire free was a revelation ... riding solo ...
- Perfect for nav/music from the Zumo
- The integrated design with the short mike arm is much better than the Autocom or other bluetooth devices with boom mikes
- Telephone works brilliantly (via the Zumo)
- Sound quality for music is very good, nav instructions poor (might be related to the BT output of the Zumo)
- Better volume than the Autocom
But, and it's a big but, as soon as I try to add the pillion headset the bluetooth system just doesn't live up to the Autocom. The pillion headset is currently a Sena 3S which is very basic but even so it should have some reasonable functionality. It seems to dislike pairing which has proven to be a pain, plus we need to switch between intercom mode and the Zumo input mode when either is needed, it's not possible to have both together. I did initially think this was the basic nature of the 3S but it appears that the same will occur with my 10U, I understand I'd need to swap both to Sena 20S units to get the "audio multitasking" ability whereby we can chat and listen to the Zumo output simultaneously. I've been really surprised by the limitations of the 10U over the 20S, the integrated design of the 10U would suggest it should be the flagship headset but it falls down on features over it's big brother.
So before I reinstall the old Autocom system for our upcoming trip to Spain, are there any other bluetooth systems on the market that will do what the Autocom did? I can't see how any others in the Sena range (SMH10 etc) would do much better than the 10U and I'm ideally looking for a more integrated system than the 20S. Or is there another component I need to add in to get the multitasking ability? Or is it that current bluetooth options are still some years away from what the Autocom has been doing perfectly?
Any thoughts?