Anyone else have my problem? My stock 2015 Ultra Audio system sounded ok at best in the garage and around town without a helmet. With a helmet it sounded like crap all the time so i used the helmet speakers which are just a notch above terrible but better then bike speakers with a helmet.(FYI, you can't run music through your helmet and bike speakers at the same time on the new Rushmores, you have to pick one or the other).
So I installed a new audio system with a BT4180 amp and two sets of Focal KRC165 speakers, one set in the upper and another set in the lower fairings. BT 6.5's in the rear at the moment.
Problem is, I have to make a choice, have it sound good without wearing my helmet or make it sound good wearing a helmet. I wear a full open face helmet with a headset installed(without the foam tight fitting ear cushions) with the face shield flipped up unless it's raining.
I can make it sound GREAT in the garage and around town without a helmet with the crossovers set at -6db in the upper(with the tweets rotated just right) and the lowers set at -3db. BUT it sounds super dull and flat with my helmet on, almost like my stock system only louder. OR I can set both sets to 0 and have it sound absolutely awesome with my helmet on at any speed. That is how I have it set up as that's where I care about sound quality most, on the highway for hours running full fuel runs. But it is so bright in the garage and around town without my helmet it hurts my ears and wouldn't want to show off my great new audio system to anyone.
Is this just the way it is to everyone else or do I just have sensitive ears. Wife notices it too on the highway if I have them set to -3 and -6 but not as much and can live with it either way but she wears a half helmet with helmet less headset. Guess I'm lucky I have the option to adjust the tweeters(if it keeps snowing around here maybe I'll install a dash switch, that would be sweet!)
It's probably going to stay just the way it is and motivate me to wear my helmet more to and from work, just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

 

Just got me a full face modular helmet!!!!! Have not had a full face since the rice burner days growing up so this will be interesting for me as well.
Most of my riding is destination related, i.e I haul **** to a general location like a rally, the beach region, or the hill country then cruise around seeing the sights thus the full face will be used for the longer hauling **** rides then when at the "general location" the flex fit hemet or SAMCRO yamaka style helmet goes on.
With that being said, I am looking for a kick **** helmet speaker set up for the limited time that I will be using the full face as my expectations for hearing an exterior sound system with a noise canceling helmet on are managed. My exterior sound system was only intended for naked ear listening, which is most if my riding so I am going to only focus on the helmet itself and helmet speakers for that other limited full face riding time and not mess with the exterior system at all. Kind of like putting on noise canceling headsets in a surround sound media room. Full face helmets are designed to cancel noise.
Keep me posted!! I think your best bet is to keep the sled system a naked ear system and focus on a helmet / helmets that will meet your riding style. Commuting to work = full face or modular with internal audio, cruising around the Rockies = a 3/4 with height on the ears and some bad **** goggles / face protection stored in the bag for the hail storms, putting around a destination = the worlds lightest/smallest half helmet in the world at bikerhelmets.com.

This will be another fun audio challenge, but keep in mind that full face helmets are designed to cancel noise.

T.

 

Yea, I wear a full length(not half) open face not full face, maybe that's called 3/4? I can't deal with a full face and really prefer a half but can't get the right face shield protection from rain usually followed by or including HAIL around my neck of the woods. After many trial and error I found the perfect helmet for me with a wide and high eye cut, I can't see the helmet and just see a little of the shield out of the top corners of my view. With this setup I can hear very good and with the speakers set at bright it must just filter out the correct frequencies. It really sounds full and perfect for me. I'm seriously going to look into relocating the crossovers or switches to an accessible location when I have too much time on my hands.

If you find helmet speakers that are thin and anything close to your bikes system let me know as I haven't. I also can't wear ear buds for more then 15 minutes so they are out of the question for me too.

 

I guess there are helmet audio unicorns as well. Who would have thunk it!!!!!

T.

 

Going down the highway at 70+ mph, I find that I can understand the song lyrics better with a 3/4 helmet on, than with a half helmet/helmetless. I think all the wind/ambient noise is more distracting with open ears.

 

I may have missed it but cant you use Bluetooth from the bike to a helmet or how would that work?

 

Depends. My set up is a Sena unit. I have a modular and a half helmet that came with zip on ear covers with pockets on them.

I have speakers and a docking clamp on both helmets. The Sena module I swap to whichever helmet I want to wear. The module is paired to my phone so I can stream pretty much anything I want or whatever I have on the phone. Works great for the navigation app too.

https://www.sena.com/product/20s-evo/

I usually don't have the mic attached. I don't take or make phone calls while riding but yes, you can do that too.

 

I recently switched over to a modular from a 1/2 lid and I definitely feel the difference. It is much harder to hear the radio with the modular in full face mode and even worse with the front shield down. I too have a SENA 10R (or S or something) and I even replaced the speakers with some that were a little bigger and provide a little more low end but they still SUCK!.

I am on the fence right now about upgrading my entire stereo system with new speaks, fairing and lowers and an amp but I don't want just more loud if I can't get better quality sound. For me, I'm still searching for answers.

 

I had an amp running 4 infinity kappa speakers 2 in the faring and two in the lowers. Got me a new 3/4 helmet wore it on 300 mile day to a rally in Laughlin. When I got there took off the helmet blew 2 speakers and the two that still worked sounded like ****. Turns out the 3/4 helmet blocks so much sound I had to crank it up. Goin back to my old half.

 

I'm not sure if this is going to be a remedy for your sound system dilemma, but it works for me. I used to crank up my tunes, too...but realized that if I was to enjoy the music, everyone in a 2-block radius was, too. So I simply use an LG bluetooth headset, running the earbuds inside my modular helmet. I'm still able to hear people and traffic around me, but enjoy my music at the same time.