All of this sounds familiar with the Aria/J&M setup. Nikki and I have been using this setup for a year and a half. We both have full face Aria's. Mine is the Profile with the J&M installed from the factory and Nikki has the Quantum II with J&M installed by the local Honda shop. We use the intercom all the time. We listen on the CB but I've never transmitted. I look forward to riding up to Canada with Articdude/Articfox so that we can try that part of it out.
The music is just fine. I have no issues or complaints there.
The intercom we think is acceptable. We have the same issue as everyone else where the first word spoken is missed. We have vox set one bar below max. I usually keep the face shield open about an inch and I almost always break vox when I accelerate hard. I've tried adjusting it down another bar to fix that but it makes it worse for talking, not so much for me but Nikki has trouble breaking vox at that setting. I don't know if the source of accelerating and breaking vox is coming from my helmet or from hers. We don't use the PTT at all. We just start every sentence with "Hey" and live with that.
The CB reception seems to have about a two mile limit on the freeway. I hear the communication clearly. Like I said above I haven't transmitted.
I also have an HD headset in an HD fullface that Nikki's son Gabe has used. I didn't notice any difference from my side as far as operational problems and I wasn't the one listening to music through it. Gabe doesn't have anything to compare it to.
I had the Honda shop install Nikki's J&M. I don't remember now what the install charge was but it wasn't anything outrageous. I looked at what they did. It's nothing you couldn't do yourself but I think its probably best to have it done if you don't know where everything goes. I'd be happy to look/take pics/describe it if anyone wants the info. Last week we put thinner cheek pads in her helmet which houses the speakers. Again I had the Honda dealer do it. It was $20 for the install.
After our "less than stellar" results on the inaugural ride with the J&M's, I worked on Pinkie's Nolan / J&M combo. I found that the microphone boom was too long and was putting the mike past her mouth. I took up some extra length by putting in some wiggles in the boom under the cheek pad and taped it down securely with metallic duct tape. It really helped a lot in getting the mike to open up more consistently.
The VOX sensitivity still doesn't seem to be matched up well between the radio and mikes, but I agree that it is acceptable.
On the past trip, I also noticed that sometimes I can undrstand her at speed, and other times I can't. I attribute this to wind turbulence and the associated noise in the helmet. In the morning, when the wind is calm, I have no problem understanding her, but if we get in a windier situation, or around a lot of vehicular traffic, there is just enough turbulence noise in the Arai Profile that I have trouble hearing what she is saying. We both ride with earplugs, so the volume is already pretty high, and any extra volume leads to distortion.
I agree with bgregston. The audio is much better than the HD units, but the intercom opeartion is just acceptable. It could be MUCH better. I think an amplified microphone would be a big help.
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Topic: 07 SE Ultra Misc. Questions... (Read 9431 times)