Interphone F4 Intercom

[BarOne]

Anyone have experience with this device? I would like to use it for rider to passenger, bike to bike, GPS audio, music listening and phone calls (both with an iPhone). How is the stereo sound quality including the bass (which I find lacking on all the other systems I have tried).

 

Thanks for your help.

[Pigdog7]

Did you read this yet? http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/interphone-f4/

[BarOne]

Yes, that's where I first learned about it. I was hoping someone actually owned one and has been using it.

[Pigdog7]

My experience is the sound quality is average, as is the base. The price is on the high side. Using it with Iphone voice control is a clever feature that I like. I only use it for music and an occasional necessary phone call. I think the technology has room for improvement..that is the system integration into the helmet. If anyone reading this has used the J&M bluetooth, how do you feel about it? The price and bulk on that one moved me toward the F4, but I have used J&M wired for years. One point in favor of the F4 is that I cannot place the ear speakers in direct line of my ear, due to my work radio speakers. If they were, I suspect the sound would be improved. This brings me to another point, the speakers on the F4 are small enough where I could use both. If you wonder why, I can't modify the wired system by policy. Battery life has been excellent, but I do charge it everyday.

[ahana]

hello

I just hate that system. I usually enjoy riding above 80km/hr. But everytime, above 65-70, my F4 starts annoying voices, so it becomes impossible for me to enjoy music or stay connected with my pal riders. Its just a useless device for me.will not recommend it to any one.

 

[BarOne]

I ended up going with the Sena SMH10 Motorcycle Bluetooth Intercom. Should arrive this week and I will take it on a trip next week -- with a friend who has one too. Report to follow.

[aimal]

I have experienced scala Q2 and blueant intercom F4.

 

scala is nice product. The blueant disconnects from the friend when she gets more than a kilometer behind and it doesn't reconnect

 

aparently the scala system will still reconnect and battery life lasts a hell of a lot longer.

 

also above 65-70, my blueant F4 starts annoying voices, so it becomes impossible for me to enjoy music or stay connected with my pal

 

riders. Its just a useless device for me. so I would recommend scala to every one.

 

[Dirtmerchant]

I ended up going with the Sena SMH10 Motorcycle Bluetooth Intercom. Should arrive this week and I will take it on a trip next week -- with a friend who has one too. Report to follow.

 

I've been taking to the Sena folks about this unit; looks pretty nice. Do you have any additional feedback?

[BarOne]

Just hooked them up today (got two) and my wife and I took a two hour trip. Too soon to give a full report but so far, the intercom function worked great. The build quality is excellent and the knobs and dials very easy to operate with gloves. They paired easily, the volume range was great and mic was very flexible. Mounting to the helmet was a challenge for me (Scorpion) but my wife's was easy (HJC). I paired mine with my iPhone for music and it was terrific. The volume again, is great and for small speakers, the sound was pretty good -- there was even some bass! I tried making and taking a call and it worked even though I don't intend to use the phone when I ride. I do have some more fiddling and experimenting to do and next week a friend and I will check out the bike to bike function.

 

Stay tuned.

[Kitsap]

Okay, has the unit lived up to your expectations?

[BarOne]

It (they) have! On a long trip with a friend in April, the unit I was using began shutting down when it was below 35º and we were moving along briskly. It would turn on again but shut down in a few minutes. Once it warmed up to 40º it stayed on and worked brilliantly. Called Kumar at SENA and explained the situation -- he sent a new unit right away -- no questions asked. Explained that the bug has been resolved.

 

Pluses:

 

sound quality -- I wear ear plugs with a flip up helmet and the sound for voice and music is very good -- even has reasonable bass -- better than any other I have tried.

 

volume -- very large range and plenty loud even with ear plugs.

 

mic -- flexible and sturdy. It is very directional so orient it as per the directions and you will be amazed.

 

ease of use -- there are only two buttons and for everything but turning it on and off, you only need to use one. The volume wheel / button is very glove friendly.

Pairing is a breeze with up to 3 other units and with my Iphone for music and telephone (I got a couple of calls and answered them to see how it worked. The callers could not believe I was on my bike). I did not try pairing with a GPS but my friend did and had no problem doing so. It took him some fiddling to set up the priority.

 

charging -- long battery life and very quick recharge with lots of options for doing so

 

Minuses:

 

mic: a bit short for my helmet although it works fine

 

mounting: all helmets are different so this might just be me. I have a Scorpion 900 and a Caberg Justissimo and mounting the unit was a bit awkward. I rigged a work-around with the defcon 5 velcro stuff on the Scorpion and it's great. The helmet will fall off the unit before the unit falls off the helmet! With the Caberg (a much smaller helmet all around), I used small plastic washers to extend the screw attacher thingy's. My wife has a HJC Symax -- no problem. The unit sticks out a bit but does not seem to produce additional noise. It's a bit tricky to pull the helmet on but I have the hang of it now.

 

Summary: the best I have seen and tried. Bluetooth is the way to go and this is a great unit. My singing voice is even better inside my helmet. This claim has been refuted by my wife.

 

Good luck.

[Kitsap]

Good info. Thanks for the review.

[BarOne]

Update on assessment. Been riding frequently lately and have a new bugger with the Sena SMH10 -- fitment to the helmet.

 

I use two helmets -- a Scorpion 900 and a Caberg Justissimo - both full face flip-ups. I have fitted the base unit to both helmets but I am not happy (or grumpy, or sleepy or doc, either). The Scorpion is too thick to accommodate the base unit with the screwplate and I don't trust the two-sided tape included because of the gaps that remain. I used the extra strong velcro (the stuff you affix your ezpass with and that worked fine until recently -- it's coming loose. I think it's due to the way I put my helmet on and off -- I need to grab both sides of helmet to put it on and when I try to find a spot to grab the left side I often jar the unit off the velcro. It's weakening the velcro, I think.

 

I mounted it on the Justissimo with the screw plate and it seemed to be working fine until I went to check its tightness after a long ride. It slipped right off the helmet and save for the wires holding it in place, I would have lost it if underway.

 

It would be a shame if these units were panned simply for the helmet attachment issues because otherwise, I could not be happier.

 

Perhaps it's me -- I am open to being tutored, mentored, taught.

[Kitsap]

Are you using duolock?

[BarOne]

Yea -- that's what it's called.

[chrisz]

BarOne, perhaps if instead of grabbing the helmet while putting it on, just grab the straps instead. Swing the helmet onto your head with the straps while also pulling the straps apart (opening the helmet a bit).