iASUS XSound 3 Helmet Speakers...

[JMartin]

First, my apologies to Ken in this other thread... I didn't mean to hijack things, but there were some posters that had interest in the iASUS findings, so I thought it best that I put them here in their own thread.


Okay... got the iASUS X3 Helmet Speakers today in the Mail.



I'll give them 5 stars for shipping and packaging! I was just notified today that they had shipped and they were already in today's mailbox.
I was expecting to get my patch connector (for hard-wire) and my Sena Earbud Adapter Cable (for Bluetooth) first. But those aren't here yet.

So in the mean-time, here is what I've done...

I plugged my Sony MDR-7506 headphones into my laptop and gave them a good listen.
These are Studio Monitor Headphones in the $99 price range, and should perform well with any decent source.
They sound great, of course.



Then I took the iASUS X3's and slipped them inside the ear space of the Sony headphones (since I don't want to start pulling my helmet apart until my adapters get here) and put them on as normal.
I plugged them into the laptop with the included extension cord (which is only about 18" long, so not really usable from the DIN connector on my F6B Gold Wing, clear up to the helmet, but that's another task.



Results...?
They sounded almost identical. It's possible that the X3's were actually a little "crisper" (granted they were a little closer to my ears in this test) but the Bass response was identical. (The specs below justify that). So I'm also going to assume that when these speakers are properly mounted inside a helmet, instead of loosely inside another company's headphones, I'll get an even fuller Bass response.

This is all good news considering the following specs:

Sony / iASUS

Magnet Type:
Neodymium / Unk

Driver Size:
40 mm / Unk

Frequency Response:
10-20kHz / 20-22kHz

Impedance:
63 Ohms / 60 Ohms

Sensitivity:
106 dB / 125dB

Power Handling:
1,000 mW / 6 mW

So at the moment, I'd say they are going to be great. I just hope that once the Sena Adapter Cord arrives, the Sena 10R has enough poop to power them.
If it doesn't, I may still install them in the helmet, but use a hard-wired approach to the F6B on-board stereo, instead of depending on the Sena for wireless Bluetooth.

I'll know more next week.

Jim

 

[JMartin]

So... two more things I want to pass on to everyone. (Some of you audiophiles may already know about them).

First, there is a semi-decent review of the iASUS XSOUND3 Helmet Speakers here.

Second, in this article he references a Music Player App called PowerAmp.
Wow. The best $3.99 I've spent in a very long time.
The 10 band Graphic Equalizer alone is worth the price of admission, but some of the other features and Bluetooth integration benefits are awesome.

Just wanted to pass these two findings on...

Jim

[Currently rocking-out to newfound fidelity in my Android... wooohooo... (I gotta ride tomorrow). ]

 

[carpdm]

Jim,
Great info. I'm looking forward to your ideas on mounting the speakers in your helmet and the cords/adapters you will use to hard wire directly to the F6B.

 

[kendoo]

Watching this thread with interest. Just upgraded my SMH5 with the 20S as the battery life was getting a little weak (down to about 8hrs). I may upgrade those speakers at some point.

 

[Indian Express]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to future posts on how you integrate these speakers with your sound system. I not too interested in receiving or making calls while on the bike. Yes to music and GPS. I've got an old Autocom Active Plus and thinking about upgrading to a BT system, looking hard at Sena 20s.

 

[JMartin]

Update:

I spent some time inside my helmet tonight. Didn't ride... but spent a while inside the helmet none-the-less.

Fitment:

I've removed the Sena 10R factory speakers. Remember that my 10R includes the same larger driver speakers that the new 20S has.
One thing I noticed right away was that the iASUS speakers were a tad larger. The (many) included pads and Velcro rings were about the diameter of the Sena speakers themselves.
The X3's were a bit larger than the indents within my Nolan N104 Styrofoam shell, but when I stuffed the pads inside, it brought the speakers out flush with the shell and considerably closer to my ear canals.

I had never noticed, but there was easily 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch of air space between my Sena speakers and my ear canals (something the iASUS folks frowned upon in their documentation).
By using the pad stack that came with the X3's it filled the helmet cutout and brought the speakers to within 1/8 to 3/16 inch of my ear canals.
And, there was still plenty of cavity left behind and above the ear pockets for my ear Pinnae (that's the medical term for the cartilage and fleshy part of the outer ear).
Anyway there was plenty of room for mine... or Dumbo's for that matter. Nothing pushing in on my ears at all, unlike a pair of on-the-ear headphones will do (I really do like this helmet).

My initial install idea was to leave the adapter cable and the factory mini-plug hanging outside of the helmet for two reasons:

1. I wanted to be able to plug these X3's directly into the Gold Wing factory radio using the 5-pin DIN connector that I bought - effectively eliminating "Bluetooth" in case that became an issue.
2. I assumed that once I had decided the final helmet solution, I would just cut / splice / and solder the winning speakers directly into the Sena harness.

What I found was that the Sena 10R had plenty of power to drive these iASUS X3's and I cannot hear any noticeable difference between Bluetooth and hard-wired sound. Although with the hard-wired sound to the speakers, I'm sure I could blow them quite easily with too much volume. I also discovered that there is so much room around the collar and neck band of this Nolan helmet that I could easily stuff the whole wiring mess inside, connectors and all, so if I change my mind or find another set of speakers to try, or even if I decide to still go the earbud route, I'm already wired with the proper jacks.

Final thoughts:

The iASUS X3 Helmet Speakers are a definite upgrade, even from the better Sena speakers provided with the 10R and 20 series communicators. They handle power well, the bass response was a considerable improvement over the smaller speakers. And the highs are crisp and clean.

Are the X'3s worth the extra $100... that's for you to decide. I don't think anyone would send them back as not being worth the price.

Additionally listening to the helmet from my Android Phone, now using the newfound "Poweramp" app, I am able to store the 10-band equalizer settings specifically for each Bluetooth devices (I have several headphones and earbuds that I use). In fact, the app has the ability to save specific EQ settings "Per Song" if you want (very useful for strong bass electronic genre's).

Now I've got to get out and ride. Between removing the aftermarket Rush Exhaust to go back to the mellower Factory Honda Exhaust, and upgrading my helmet speakers, I think I'm gonna like this.

Highly recommended.

Jim

 

[ST Gui]

the bass response was a considerable improvement over the smaller speakers.

Part of that is due to the larger driver size of course. But moving the speakers closer to your ears is probable a greater reason for the increased bass. I was going to mention that but I saw that iASUS had covered that on their site.

I'll give them a shot and see if my iPhone drives them adequately. Maybe they'll work OK with the Sony BT box for my other earbuds. They'll still be wired of sorts but at least I can dismount without yanking on the speakers or phone.

Years ago I had a set of speakers in a helmet with a 3.5mm plug that I used with a tiny Sanyo FM radio. When not using it I stored the cord in between the helmet shell and the neck roll.

For audio fidelity wired is superior to BT but most of us have lost the ability to appreciate the difference and wind/engine noise renders the advantage moot.

Thanks for the review and info Jim!

 

[maximark]

I'm not sure if I missed that- how do you plug these iasus speakers in Sena and what did you do with hard wired speakers that come with Sena?

Mark

 

[JMartin]

I'm not sure if I missed that- how do you plug these iasus speakers in Sena and what did you do with hard wired speakers that come with Sena?

Mark

My Sena 10R speakers are not hardwired, they plug in to the Sena in two places (1 Right, 1 Left).


I had to purchase an adapter cable from the proprietary Sena wiring to a standard Mini-Plug to make this possible:


The iASUS speakers then plugged into this adapter.
It left me with quite a bit of adapter/wiring bundle, but my helmet had room to stuff it in without being a problem.
My original intent, once I decided whether the iASUS speakers were acceptable, was to solder them in, but I did not need to.

I still have the original Sena speakers and am not using them.

Jim

 

[maximark]

Thanks Jim. I'm thinking to combine these with Sena 20. I'm using Sena 10U on my schuberth E1 but noise canceling especially on mic is not that great ( people on other side of call are complaining about ambient noise).
Do you have a model or link for this adapter?


Mark

 

[JMartin]

Thanks Jim. I'm thinking to combine these with Sena 20. I'm using Sena 10U on my schuberth E1 but noise canceling especially on mic is not that great ( people on other side of call are complaining about ambient noise).
Do you have a model or link for this adapter?


Mark

Mark, the adapter for my Sena 10R was purchased on eBay. (Sena 10R-A0101). There may be a different one for the Sena 20... I know for sure there is for the Sena SMH-10R because the "Y" split is built into the wiring of the speakers, not the receiver unit.

I suggest you hit the Sena website first and find what you need, then you can check prices and availability on eBay or Amazon, etc...

Jim

 

[maximark]

Thank you Jim.