cheap bluetooth recommendations?

[mic]

Hellooo

Im enjoying music on the bike but dont like earphones. has anyone tried the cheaper bluetooth jobbies on ebay?
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zzr600

[Marmaduke]

If you want it for music you won't beat earphones.

Best I've used is the Sena SMH10, not cheap but great sound.
Tried all the cheaper options and they just are not even close.
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Current: '03 Tuono RSV1000, '05 Van Van, '91 Zephyr 550
Previous: Multistrada 620,Bandit 600,Kawsaki ER-5, BMW K-75

[bren_9311]

Cheap and Bluetooth don't really mix well together. I haven't tried them but have tried a cheap Bluetooth ccomputer mouse and it was awful.

Can you not try small headphones? There was a headphone thread going around recently, I recommended some Sony ones you can't even feel them.
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My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked. If you like, I'll trade for one of yours.
Currently bikeless.
Ps4- bren_9311

[_Iain_]

Dont get one with a dial control. Its shit - you need buttons.

Base Scalarider's £109.99 and well worth the extra £10-20
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[Pigeon]

Got this cheap BT headset for £34

When I first tried these, thought they were very bad for music. Clear for voice, but terrible for music. Then I started wearing earplugs due to screaming noise of 125 engine for hour after hour. Amazingly it really improved the sound
Ear plugs appear to help channel the sound, which is kind of the opposite of what ear plugs are supposed to do. But however it works, it does work and they are acceptable.
For voice, ie phone and Satnav they are fine regardless. But for music, only really bearable with earplugs

As Marmaduke has said, in-ear are far superior, so there is a tradeoff.

EDIT:
I think without earplugs, there is far too much treble. The volume of the treble drowns out any bass, what little there is. The earplugs appear to dull enough of the treble to make the other frequencies audible. This is not based on any facts, just describing how it seems.

[Craig321]

[Pigeon]

[JustinParker]

just be careful plugging the charger in on the cheap BT interphone units. I bought a twin pack for about £58 on amazon and have had to return the units a couple of times now due to usb sockets not really being secured in the device very well and snapping off. I'd agree with Music being pretty crappy quality on these. However I've been waiting for the latest repair to come back from China so really missing having some music playing. Not tried the intercom function at all but pairing to mobile phone worked fine for phone calls.

[andys675]

scala q1, bluetooth music from you phone and answer phone on the go while being able to hear your engine whine and sirens behind you
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

[unluckyluke]

I just thought i'd add my views on the £35 ebay ones as there seems to be a lot of info on how it performs as a headset for your phone but not a lot about how it works in intercom mode.

I bought a pair of these so that a mate and I could chat whilst out on a ride out. At £35 each I thought it would be worth a punt and i'm pleased to say that it is probably the best bike related £35 I've ever spent. As everyone says when used to play music through the headphones the sound quality is really tinny (a bit like listening to music through your phones built in speaker) but they work really well handling voice. I ride a zx6r and my mate is on a vfr750 both with silly loud exhausts and we can easily maintain a conversation up to around 65-70mph before the wind noise starts to defeat the headphones. At 60mph it's like we're sat next to each other chatting, it really is that clear. The mics are really good too and don't seem to transmit breathing noises or sounds of the bike's engine only clear voice sounds.
The one thing I was most sceptical about before I bought the headsets was the range. It states in the ebay add it's at best 800m. I would say this isn't too far off being right. I found that when following my mate as long as I could see him I could hear him perfect. If he got far enough ahead of me so I lost sight of his rear light that's when he started to break up. When we are on a ride out we are usually only 50-100m apart anyway so it's never an issue. If we did go out of range the units reconnected fine as soon as we got close without having to press anything.
I find it really useful as my mate is a much more experienced rider and when he overtakes he can let me know when it's clear so I can overtake safely too. Plus it's great just riding along chatting, it adds a whole new element to going on a ride out. So to summarise, not the best for listening to music on but for intercom mode definitely worth it.

[Darkstar82]

I use these...


https://www.banggood.com/Motorcycle-Helmet-Stereo-Earphone-Headset-For-IPhone-MP3-Music-Device-p-82343.html

not bluetooth but £3.50, job done.

at the end of the day your sat on a fecking engine, sound quality can hardly be a worry.

[esullivan]

My wife and I just got Sena SMH10 and tried it out for the first time today. We could carry on a conversation, at normal voices, easily while cruising at 80mph on the M40. The music sounded great, and we could listen to the same stream after a firmware update. We also got a phone call on the way home and the caller said they could barely tell I was on the bike. I was able to conference in my wife on the call, too.

It's definitely not cheap, though. The best price I've seen is around £160 per set (if you buy a pair). We only bought it because we do lots of weekend trips and we've tried several alternatives (various wired things with Y plugs, etc.) and they all suck. We cashed in a large jar of spare change collected over a couple of years, so it felt like found money.

It's worth considering once you've gone through a few cheaper alternatives.
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.