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helmet speaker mounting...


thereisnospoon

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Hi All! I scored an arai signet q on ebay new for pretty cheap - it should be here in a week! 

I need some thoughts on mounting speakers in it. I have a sena 10c in my current shoei x-11. to mount the speakers, i ended up recessing them in the into the "hard" foam to get them far enough away from my ears (maybe i have big ears..). I didn't mind cutting the interior because it's an ancient helmet. The signet q that i've tried on to test seems to have similar interior ear-to-shell spacing to the x-11 - i have a feeling I'm going to need to recess them similarly again, cutting the cloth and liner foam out of the way.

 

anyway.. other than following the mounting instructions where you basically velcro in the speakers, has anyone else had to do anything "drastic" to make them fit, and if so, what was it?

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Rather than speakers in a helmet, have you considered in-ear speakers? They have noise reducing foam and the speaker doesn't have to fight through ear plugs to be heard.

 

I use Westone UM10s.

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1 hour ago, Skids said:

Rather than speakers in a helmet, have you considered in-ear speakers? They have noise reducing foam and the speaker doesn't have to fight through ear plugs to be heard.

 

I use Westone UM10s.

 

I have some etymotics that used occasionally before i had a BT setup, I may switch back since sena has an adapter for ear buds and i wear ear plugs all the time anyway. I like the westone design because the wire goes back over the ear, so it looks like pulling on the helmet won't try to take the earbuds with it.

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I have used Sierra Electronics IMC helmet speakers for many years.  I use them with my integrated sound system on my Wing and with an Amp on my VFR for GPS and radar protection.  Recently I used an upgraded set with my KLR riding the desert around Yuma.  The new speakers were good enough I could hear my Zumo without an Amp and using earplugs.  I have various cord adapters to plug into OEM sound system, an Amp or directly to the device.

 

I am a wired guy as I loath recharging batteries on long tours.  I already have enough batteries.....with a Surface, phone, and two cameras.

 

http://sierra-mc.com/imc.asp

 

You can see my 3.5 mm plug from the Helmet Speakers plugged into my Amp on the VFR here. 

DSCN2200RedlineSetup

 

I carry ear speakers as a backup but frankly I do not like them.  Helmet speakers are much more comfortable for me.

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I always had a problem using speakers and earplugs together, so I switched to in-ears.  The trade off is, of course, rather complicated donning and doffing of thy lid...

 

Ciao,

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I have the Sena Setup in my helmet (Arai) and I peeled back the cloth so I didn't have to cut it.  Also helps keep the speakers in place once you mount them to foam with the cloth over them, recessed or not. Just use 3m spray adhesive on the cloth edges to re-stick it to foam once speakers are mounted. I looked into the in-ear speakers as I had Etymotics and the bluetooth wireless setup possibilities was more appealing and a little cheaper in most cases.

 

Good luck !

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My RX-7V (Corsair in Murricanstan) has "recesses" in the inner shell for that exact purpose, the inner lining/cheek pads easily loosened to fit the speakers.

Your Arai may too, so try it out first....

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for all the replies! 

 

Yes, i'll need to take it apart. the new signet x and the signet q pro tour have speaker pockets, but from what i read, the regular "signet q" either doesn't or it isn't advertised. interested to see how it goes with this one. i'm way too excited :comp13: my x-11 was used when i bought it in about 2003. 

 

 

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I have a 'Shark Speed R' and that too has recesses built in for speakers. It also has a void in the polystyrene foam big enough for the Sharktooth Bluetooth unit so I could tape all the extra wires up out of the way.

 

the Sena SMH5 comes with a stick on unit mount which is way less obtrusive than the screw on mount for the SMH10.

 

 

On ‎20‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 10:34 PM, BonusVFR said:

 

I am a wired guy as I loath recharging batteries on long tours.  I already have enough batteries.....with a Surface, phone, and two cameras.

 

 

I had an Autocom with wired speakers and found the trailing wires annoying and got in the way.

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got the helmet, rode in to work today with it. it's amazing. i had no idea how soft an interior should be! the cheek pads aren't specifically cut for speakers - but it's pretty clear that for those with the cut outs, what they did was trace an outline in the outer layer of foam (towards the ear) and not glue it down.

It's a little noisier than I expected. The longer I left it on at home the more I realized i'm not as "long oval", but the interior is so customizable, it was just a matter of peeling out a couple layers of the foam on the sides of the upper insert, not it fits like it grew to my head. i can wear my sunglasses without smashing my temples. the new (to me..) shield style is great. it's very stiff by comparison, both in it self and how it pivots with the helmet in the hinges, and has the recess for the pinlock insert - there are no questions about where it goes. and the optics are cleaner, there's less distortion. I like that the visor doesn't really open that far, just enough to get it out of the way. I always had to set my x-11 visor in the middle of the range so that it was out of the way but also didn't catch the wind. weeeeeeeeeee!

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