Has anyone used Scala QZ in rain?

[rottyjohn]

Hello All,

 

I am an all weather rider in the northeast I often go solo and recently got a Cardo Scala Rider QZ headset. I connect it with my IPhone 4S. I am very happy with the performance. It's functionality is amazing to me. It does probably way more than I should be messing with anyway. I have always been underwhelmed with the 06 RT radio anyway. Had to run a booster to be able to hear music via an aux in that I installed.

 

My question is how does the unit hold up in the rain? It seems well built to me for a $120 unit. Just looking for some real user reports?

 

Thanks,

John

[Tri750]

The QZ just came out. May not have much rain experience yet, but my G4 and later G9 do fine as long as long as the charging port cover is in place fully.

My G4 got a downpour of 45 miles Friday with zero issues as usual. The Scala stuff overall survives fine in wet. I have a friend in Tewksbury UK who runs one and it rains there more days than sun.

 

[rottyjohn]

Thanks. I have yet to get the unit wet. I am sure that I will this week as there is rain in forecast till Thursday. I appreciate the tip.

[drtnsnw]

My G4 has seen rain and never had an issue. I may have to go check out the QZ

 

Chris

[Tri750]

The QZ is a new "dumbed down" version of Scala.

It's sold as a single and is a Bluetooth cell headset.

Still allows voice answering of calls. Using Siri (ie) voice calling, texting, etc.

can also receive voice prompts from GPS.

 

It is NOT a bike to bike via intercom channel but you can voice dial another cell headset. No FM Receiver.

 

You can do a conference call via the phone and have multiple riders online, but remember it's a phone call.

 

It has the less powerful 1ohm speakers of the Q3 but they can be upgraded to the 3 ohm as they unplug. Cost is approx. 20.00

 

The QZ retails for 129.95 per helmet headset.

[rottyjohn]

Thanks for all the great info...'

 

What would the 3 ohm speakers do for me?

[Tri750]

Louder volume going down the road and a bit better sound quality on the music mode.

You can upgrade to the other speakers anytime so before you do, give the standard ones a chance. Retailers can't get them, you have to order them direct from the Cardo site. Weird.

 

Most volume issues are speaker placement. Some can't be helped as the helmet may not have a very good pocket for speakers. HJC for one, puts speaker pockets nowhere near the ear opening so louder volume is needed to compensate.

 

The music quality will never be as good as a home unit. Most people get that. In this use, pretty good is about what you'll get. You also have to watch yourself on the volume. It's tempting to crank up the music and enjoy, but you can really hurt your hearing because your cramming the sound right into your ears. Age will deteriorate the hearing enough, don't help it along. Moderation.

 

I use mine like office or shopping mall background music. You can tell what song it is, but I don't need to hear every note or word. Pretty soothing and I don't get distracted.

 

On an RT, when I get a phone call, I have to tell people I'm on the bike. With the fairing and the quality of the Scala G system, they gave no idea I'm blasting down the road.

 

I'm sure the QZ will be the same. I good friend of mine owns a Funeral Escort Service and has had so many issues with his expensive radio system for the riders to communicate with each other that he's junking it and replacing with the Scala QZ. I loaned him my units to try out and he loved the clarity and simple features.

 

He will essentially be doing a conference call between the 2 or 3 riders used each service via the QZ for the 15-20 minute details. All it requires is a phone that Bluetooth's and today, that's common.

 

In his case, he doesn't need the FM radio or other features the G9 offers plus, the lower cost comes into play with 6 or 8 riders to outfit.

The true intercom feature of the G9 would have worked, but truthfully, it's a bit complicated for a group of part time users to use then the cost comes back up.

 

The QZ with phone only also allows use of iTunes music and will work with Bluetooth GPS audio commands too.

 

Sorry to sound like a commercial, but I sold Scala at the dealership for a long time, owned it for even longer and it's a product you can recommend to a friend without worrying about.

 

[rottyjohn]

wow thanks,

 

I am using a HJC cl-max ii. I find that volume is loud enough but may explore the upgrade to 3 OHM. I am aircraft mechanic very familiar with headset and mic use. I also used a huge heavy complicated J&M system on my Goldwing many years ago. This is such a nice compact system. Most folks I have talked to have no idea I am on the bike. Leaps and bounds better than my Jeep with my IPhone connected via Alpine Radio.

[drtnsnw]

tri750

 

Tell me more about the upgraded speakers!! Will they work in the G4/9 series or do they already have these? Mine do not look like they unplug. When I got my new helmet I put a new dock in it and the speakers were better than the original that came with the G4 when it first came out.

 

Chris

[Tri750]

The G4 and G9 share the same speaker by everything I found. Helmets vary so an Arai will have better sound than say a Bilt because Arai has a great speaker pocket you so you can put the speakers behind the lining and move them around to suit your noggin.

 

But yes, the speakers are hardwired into the units. I suppose you could snip the wires and solder in some better speakers but I'm fine with what comes with them.

I wear a Shoei Platinum R and Arai Corsair V.

 

The Q3 and the QZ have detachable speakers that use the standard 3mm stereo jack (we used to call it 1/8") so you can use ear buds or whatever floats your boat.

 

Really, if you have to have bigger speakers on these Amazon.com sells a set of "Thumpers" by Motocomm for also about 20 bucks that will blow your brains out.

I had one customer insist on these because he couldn't hear the music clearly on his K12RS and he ended up bringing the system back because his ears were ringing from him blasting them so loud. He honestly wanted sound reproduction like in his living room after being cautioned he would get "pretty good to good."

So, be careful what you ask for.

 

As mentioned speaker placement is almost the the whole shooting match.

In the HJC case, most of the time the pocket is too high to be in a great spot so you have to increase the volume. The speaker needs to sit right where the strap attaches to the helmet. frustrating.

 

Speakers can be shimmed closer to the head to help. Before the kits started coming with them, I would make shims using the round Velcro discs. Putting them together glue side to glue side with one exterior being the hook and the other being the loop, you could stack them up to form a shim getting the speaker closer to your ear opening. Sometimes it would take 3 or 4 shims to get the speaker close enough. You have to play with it.

Autocom used to make speaker shims out of foam and now Scala does as well. They resemble Velcro sided Oreos.

You don't want the speakers touching your ears as in time this gets annoying so it takes a few minutes of adding or subtracting shims.