Cardo Scala Rider Q2 & Volume

[Mick]

I'm very interested in the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 and would have ordered it tonight had I not run across a post about the unit and low speaker volume. Both my wife & I have full faces helmets and ride with 32 db earplugs.

My Question: Does anyone know if the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 has sufficient volume to put out clearly audible sound at highway speeds while wearing earplugs?

[st11ray]

I can hear my Autocom music & intercom while wearing earplugs. However, I can't hear the phone very well. I usually use in ear speakers so it really doesn't matter. Keith has the Autocom Active Plus Duo for something like $265 right now.

[WestFLDon]

My son and I have been using the Cardo system for Bike to Bike comms
for nearly a year. We can both, highly RECOMEND these units.
He is riding a Suzuki SV 650 with a full face helmet and I am riding a Goldwing
with a 3/4 helmet.
To the point, we only use earplugs when we expect to be riding all day.
When using earplugs neither of us have had trouble hearing the comms.

We use the standard foam type earplugs. Plenty of volume.

The units are monaural, the FM part we rarely use. Occasionally, we bluetooth our phones built-in MP3 players to the Scala riders.

If I could have one improvement, it would be Stereo, an AD2P protocall.

I hope this helps. ........Don

P.S. battery life has been about 8-10 hours, recharge time 1 hour.
I recharge them from my wing's DC outlets.

[WestFLDon]

A thought about "low speaker volume" I found that speaker placement within the ear cavity of the helmet made a Large difference. I know, that is just common sense, but I experienced low volume at first also. A little tinkering with placement solved this issue for me. I also have a full face helmet set-up for the Scala Rider and simply switch the electronic unit onto
the extra clamp to change helmets. I belive the extra headsets are about
20-30 dollars I don't remember exactly. Good Luck .......Don

and Beau

[RobsTV]

+1 on "everything" WestFLDon's stated.
Exact same here, except I do use the FM a lot when solo riding.

[WeeSTer]

I'm very interested in the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 and would have ordered it tonight had I not run across a post about the unit and low speaker volume. Both my wife & I have full faces helmets and ride with 32 db earplugs.

My Question: Does anyone know if the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 has sufficient volume to put out clearly audible sound at highway speeds while wearing earplugs?

We have the Teamset installed in our RF1000 Shoeis and have no problem hearing the intercom over the music with our noise isolating earbuds in.
Bluetooth is great cause I hate wires dangling.

[Mick]

Keith has the Autocom Active Plus Duo for something like $265 right now.

Ray, I was just on Autocom's website and they don't show a "Duo" Active Plus. Only a "Solo" with a list price of $199. Is this perhaps a discontinued unit?

[Mick]

When using earplugs neither of us have had trouble hearing the comms.

We use the standard foam type earplugs. Plenty of volume.

Any idea what the decibel rating of your earplugs are? The Db rating of mine are 32. I want to make sure before plopping down $300+ that I can hear my passenger OK with the earplugs in while doing 70 mph down the highway.

[Mick]

I hate wires dangling.

I hate wires for another reason. They always fail at some point. Most wired electric devices I have, seem to only be good for about one or two seasons then a wire looses connection due to an internal break.

I just had a radar interface fail that was only 2 years old. I thought I could just repair it myself by cutting the headset wire and soldering in a new socket. When I got in I found that the wires were so incredibly thin that there was no way I'd be able to solder them. Not only were they thin but a couple of the wires were actually dual feed wires. These super thin wires are an obvious cost cutting measure. If they used some decent, robust wiring these things would be much more reliable. Nothing screws up a once a year, long distance trip like having your electronics fail on you while on the road.

[st11ray]

Mick, here is Keith's phone number and some prices. He is in Oklahoma and his screen name here is Keith if you would like to PM him.
Autocom's are not wireless, but they will last for years and they are expandable. You can buy a BT adapter to BT your phone to it though.
Here is the post with Keith's info.

"Everybody keeps talking about Autocom being pricey well here are some prices:

Kit 200 solo rider $165.00
kit 200 Duo 265.00
Kit 300 Super Pro 275.00

accessories 15% off of list..............compare that to starcom...

918-446*2245"