Many riders now have motorcycle Bluetooth intercom units in their helmets to talk to other riders, take and make phone calls and listen to music, but sometime the sound quality isn’t great.
Some people think it is ridiculous and unsafe to have music or conversations while riding. They ride to enjoy the “solitude”.
If you do like some entertainment and need to stay in touch, you’ve probably found that most motorcycle Bluetooth units offer fairly average sound.
However, here are four ways to improve the sound of your motorcycle helmet’s Bluetooth system.
1. Move the speakers closer to your ears. This sounds like a simple thing to do, but not all motorcycle helmets have the recesses for speakers in the right place. The speakers need to be right over your ear canals for the best sound. Helmets with built-in speakers are therefore not suitable unless your ears are in exactly the right position as you can’t move the speakers.
2. Replace the speakers. The stock speakers in most motorcycle helmet Bluetooth systems – even some of the most expensive – are not great. They are too small, so the bass is limited and they are often distorted at top volumes.
3. Wear filtered earplugs. Putting music on top of wind noise is a recipe for deafness. Do your ears ring, especially after a long ride with music playing? Then you really should be riding with ear plugs all the time, even if you don’t listen to music. Wind noise is a much louder and more dangerous sound than even the loudest exhaust systems.
4. Change the music settings on your device. If you are using a smartphone, they often have an equaliser which can improve the sound, but may reduce volume. You should also click “sound check” which compensates for loud and soft tracks so they are about the same. It means you don’t have to fiddle with your Bluetooth volume control. Also, click volume limit “off”.