Hey guys, I have a 7 pin headset that I purchased from Amazon to use on my Ultra Limited in my full face helmet. The headset works fine, no problems with the function of it in any mode. The problem with it is the audio quality while listening to music. It sounds pretty crappy while listening to music, and I don't get near as much volume as I would like.
My question is this, is there a high quality, high fidelity 7 pin headset available to purchase and use that delivers quality audio?
Thanks for your help and input. Wasn't sure whether to post this in touring or audio. Sorry if I chose the wrong forum.

 

If you are a Buy once Cry once kind of guy check out J&M. I am enjoying the J&M's Elite 787's. I have them installed in both PitBoss Half helmet and HJC IS MAX2 Convertible Full Face.
They sell just the speakers if that is all you are looking for. You could them install the speakers into your existing system. Check them out.

 

Another J&M 787 fan here. We use them (wife and I) on both the Harley and our Goldwing. Full face Shoei hemets. Actually necessary as wife has serious hearing loss and nothing else was clear enough or pleasant enough. FWIW the few phone calls I've taken while on the Harley . . . the person I'm talking to has no idea that I'm on my bike rolling down the freeway!

 

J & M all the way , great customer service.

 

Here's my vote for J&M also. At the moment I'm using the Harley headset and it's OK for CB and Intercom but barely adequate for music. I used an older model J&M headset on my previous touring bike and it was far better. I'll be stopping by their booth at Americade in a few weeks to check them out.

 

I'm sure you've checked out J&M's website by now, but if not here's their URL.

http://www.jmcorp.com/index.htm

 

I also want to throw something out there and I don't know if it is true or not, but last year I went through a lot effort with Motochello to try and get something going for the new HD boom systems. There is something about the system that reduces the quality of the audio when using aftermarket headsets. By the time I got the sound you've good we were having to use in line levelers and noise reduction devices and audio amplifiers to get the sound up. After a few months of guinea pigging and experimentation I finally gave up. The same headset works fine on other bikes without the HD Boom system. YMMV. I haven't tried the JM stuff yet. The newer Premium headsets that came with my 2017 CVO are much better than what came with my 2015 UC, which were utter crap. I like the new headsets so much I recently sold off my Sena 20S.

 

I'm a home audio nut! I installed the Harley 7-pin plug on my bike to listen to the GPS and music. Sounds OK when bike not running but gets bad when running and worse at highway speeds. I have Arai FF helmets, and two sets of J&M's best and large aftermarket speakers that I've tried. I put foam behind the speakers to space them closer to the ear, which helped but still not satisfied.
Rod burner, if you find audio happiness please let me know.
EDIT: The Arai helmet is a perfect fit for me so I can't switch to another brand.

Good luck,
Mike

 

Another vote for J&M. I actually have a total of 4 of their headsets. The one in my full face is a 787 Elite. The others are 284 Performance series. The difference in audio quality between the 787 and 284 is barely discernible to my ears and I'm a musician. The 787 seems to have a little bit better overall sound but the bass response is slightly better with the 284. In fact, the best sounding headset I own is the 284 in my half helmet. Anyway, J&M is the best you can get. Just be aware that even they will sound a little bit shallow and tinny compared to a good set of fairing speakers or a good quality home audio headset. Just the nature of the beast. The speakers have to be so small and thin in order to fit into a helmet that they have trouble reproducing the full range of audio. Plus, it's hard to get them right up against your ears so you lose a little bit there too. That's probably why the 284 in my half helmet sounds so good. The speakers are a little bigger and, being in the ear flaps they are right up against my ears when I cinch up the chin strap.

 

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but those of you who use the J&M products with a full face/modular helmet, do the speaker pods fit into the recesses inside the helmet? I just bought a Shoei Neotec and the Harley speakers, besides putting out terrible sound, don't fit in the recesses and the last thing I want to do is modify an expensive helmet to make them fit.