Autocom fidelity issue?

[RT Russ]

Am I just too picky? Being a musician (OK.....actually a drummer!) I am not satisfied with the audio quality coming out of my Autocom Super Pro-AVI. The music seems to lack low frequency fullness. I use Etymotic ER-4P which are supposed to be a step up from the ER-6i's. I also have Sennheiser CX-500s that have more low frequency response and still felt that through the Autocom, there was a lack of bass so I went direct from the iPod to the earphones and had very full bass. Tried same test with the Etymotics with the same result. Back through the Autosom and there's a lack of bass.....anyone know why that may be? I'm using Autocom recommended cables for all connections. Super Pro-AVI, Garmin 2820 with cell phone Blue toothed through the Autocom recommended (#1298?) cable set up. I have the Autocom headset loom specifically for ear buds. Volume is sufficient but not great bsss. Any advice?

[AZgman]

I do think that the audio quality on the Autocom units is only so-so, especially by your standards. I don't know if any brand will be any better however. For me, getting the right ear bud for my ear canal size greatly improved the audio quality. I settled on a Sony, "active lifestyle" model that hooks over the ear to hold it in place. $45 at Target.

[scottgr]

My experience has been the same -no bass and lack of dynamic range (no punch). It's similar to an MP3 playing from my iPod vs. playing from my phone. The sound from the phone is just flat.

 

I haven't been very happy with the Autocom, and I really don't need intercom or cell phone very often, so I'm thinking of moving to an audio mixer like the Mixit2 or Tesseract.

[millbert]

Why?. Do you suspect your Autocom is seeing another bike??

[Tom B]

There is a lot more to this than you may think and so I will try to provide a short and simple answer. The Autocom system is matched to the Autocom speakers and if you position/hold our speakers directly over your ears you will hear good sound quality if you put good quality music in.

 

When you use OTHER speakers they will most likely not be matched to our design and so may sound different to what you expect.

 

The fact is that Autocom provides many tens of thousands of system for people all over the world and some people will want to use our speakers while using high attenuation earplugs, and quite often will not correctly position the speakers, resulting in loss of sound quality.

 

Instead of taking the time to correctly position our speakers, some people try to compensate by turning the bass and volume up, which ordinarily would be VERY LOUD and blow most speakers, so there is a level of protection built into our systems to help protect our customers investment, and this may cause a reduction in bass response when you use OTHER un-matched speakers.

 

Please also note that the Super Pro AVi system has automatic volume control which compresses the music volume while at lower speeds and automatically raises the music volume at higher speeds. This design is really for use with our normal over the ear type speakers, in order to help compensate for changing helmet noise condition, however; if you are using in-ear-speakers then you will be considerably helping to reduce the typical helmet noise to your ears, and with the speaker inside this quieter environment you probably don’t need the effect of the automatic Volume control, which is why we provide an internal switch that lets you set the volume to manual control. This then takes away the audio compression and you will probably notice an improvement in sound level and quality available.

 

Please also note that some loss of quality is to be expected when using ISOLATION leads but this slight loss can normally be compensated for by turning the volume and/or bass up on the music system, that is when using our normal speakers.

 

Autocom Tom

 

PS if you are going to the MOA rally I will be there and can help you with this if you want.

 

 

[RT Russ]

Tom, thanks for the reply. I tried the Autocom speakers but was not comfortable with them in my helmet. I just felt like they were pushing on my ears. I did not try them with ear plugs, do the high frequencies make it through high attenuation ear plugs? I could try going back to the headset loom with your speakers. My thinking was that the Etymotic ER-4's are a very high quality isolation type earphone and would provide both attenuation of outside noise as well as high quality audio program. When I go direct from the iPod to the earphones all sounds great. Should I try switching the auto volume off to see if the audio quality is better? The earphone headset loom came with a jumper in the plug for the BGNS , would putting the jumper back in accomplish the same thing? Thanks again for your help! In addition to being a musical person, I am in electrical engineering for a living. Don't be afraid to talk tech to me. Thanks again!

 

Russ

[Tom B]

I will look at the schematic diagrams and see where I may be able to customise your system to help, but I do know that our new 2009 systems already have far more hi-fi built in, perhaps you should try your eaplugs in one of these, but be prepared to be amazed, and warn your wallet that its about to see daylight again.

 

I am personally at the MOA rally and if you can get there I can show you all sorts of things that may help.

 

Autocom UK Tom

 

[RT Russ]

Thanks Tom, I can't make it to the MOA this year. Would love to but work is very demanding this year and I'm very fortunate to have a great job. Let me know what we might do for my Super Pro AVI.

 

Russ