Cardo Scala Rider Q2 & Volume

[Mick]

Here is a write up in Bike week of the Cardo Scala http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcyc...cala-rider-q2/

I read something in this article that spooks me a little bit. Several folks responded with emails (bottom of the article) saying they had battery problems. Each time they charged the units up, the useful charge life became less and less. Potentially big problem here because the batteries are built in,... not replaceable. Anyone have this problem or were these respondents just doing something wrong??

[RobsTV]

Mick,
I have had my Scala Q2 since June, and use them year round with Florida weather.

There was only one post mentioning they had battery charging issues, and that was during a test period where they would try, and evaluate, and they might be guessing that the non-replaceable (?) battery would get worse over time.
How would they know results if they only borrowed a pair to test for a very short test, then returned them?
I agree with response from webbikeworld that the poster probably had a defective battery.
(I also don't know what the poster meant by needing to yell to activate. A slight cough is all it takes, or just do it manually).

In fact, the complete opposite battery life here.
What started off as maybe 6-7 hours, is now close to 10 hours of nearly constant open intercom channel (normally turn off VOX and just leave channel always open for talking).
The batteries seemed to condition themselves over time, and have only got better.
Sometimes I run them down all the way.
Other times I recharge after a couple hours use.
Never babied them.

Looking at others comments and a common thing does pop up.
Low audio.
You MUST get the speakers exactly right in your helmet, otherwise you will get very poor results.
I'm talking 1/2" off can mean double the audio sound that you will hear!
I have now used these in several helmets, and when properly positioned, you can talk and hear fine at highway speeds. On one ST1300, I did find that windshield up during phone calls helped a lot, and when up, we could do 85 MPH and still talk fine.
Also, when properly setup, FM does work great (for mono), and is one of the reasons to get a Q2.


Ed W.,
No, you can not pair to another pair. You can only use them as 1, 2 or 2 1/2 (I'll call it when a 3rd unit is tied in). The 3rd unit and 2nd unit can not talk to each other, they can only talk to unit 1, which is why I stated 2 1/2.

[MileHigh]

I was just recently looking at the Scala Q2.

One comment the vendor (BMW dealer) made to me, was about volume. Guess they spent some time with several units and the manufacturer, dealing with customers who where complaining about low speaker volume.

It seems that the Scala has an ambient noise sensor that adjusts speaker output. The key to setting up the system is to preform initial set up in a noisy environment.

Too many people where performing initial set up in their house where it was nice and quiet.

The dealer now provides to set them up, in their shop with one of those large fans blowing air & making lots of background noise. So far, all their customers are extremely satisfied with proper set up.

[Mick]

There was only one post mentioning they had battery charging issues,

Sitting here at lunch today I did some more research using google and found quite a number of posts and blogs that said the battery life was excellent, so it's probably a non-issue.

In fact, the complete opposite battery life here. What started off as maybe 6-7 hours, is now close to 10 hours of nearly constant open intercom

Thanks for your comment about battery life. It's helpful to have a positive data point based on experience.

[Mick]

Welp, just pulled the trigger on the Scala Q2 Multiset. Should be here by the weekend. God only knows how long it will take for me to figure out the pairing, etc.

[fredz43]

My son and I bought the Q2 Multiset last Sept for a 4000 mile trip. We both wear ear plugs and the volume is fine while listening to each others voice calls, while listening to my Bluetooth phone and I also tune the FM receiver to the FM output of my Sirius satellite radio with great results.

However, the MP3 input is useless. It definitely has low volume. We tried 3 different MP3 players with each of our headsets and none put out enough volume to listen to while riding. I put that comment on my registration card when I sent it back to Cardo and hope they paid some attention. When we bought the Q2 Multisets last Sept, that was the first model with the MP3 input, which is one reason we got the latest model. Perhaps they have addressed that problem on newer units?

That being said, I still love the Q2. I use it on my KLR to listen to my Sirius and have Bluetooth phone connectivity, as well as bike to bike when travelling with my son. I use it exclusively on my ST1300, even though I have an Autocom setup in it that I used to have wired to the output of my Sirius and radar detector. The Autocom is stereo, but doesn't have Bluettoth, so I no longer use it.

Someone asked if 4 people with Q2's could talk to each other. As I read the instructions, you can only have 3 people linked to each other.

[WeeSTer]

Welp, just pulled the trigger on the Scala Q2 Multiset. Should be here by the weekend. God only knows how long it will take for me to figure out the pairing, etc.

The multi sets are already paired when you get them. You will only have to pair up the additional devices if needed.

[Mick]

The multi sets are already paired when you get them.

That's good to know.

By the way, just want to thank everyone for their input to this thread!

[fredz43]

The multi sets are already paired when you get them. You will only have to pair up the additional devices if needed.

Yes, they are paired, but that pair can only link up to one other Q2. You can link up to your Bluetooth phone, etc, but per the directions, you can only have one secondary Q2 linked to the original pair. You also have to tap a button on the Q2 to switch to the third Q2, whereas the original pair can talk via VOX control. In other words, I see no way that 4 people can talk to each other via Q2 unless they phone each other on their Bluetoth phones.

[pafbsoftball]

Has anyone mounted one of these in the Shark RSI helmet? I'm thinking about getting a Shark RSI but there doesn't appear to be much room for helmet speakers.