Earbuds cut down outside sounds so you don't need to crank the volume so high. Makes everything clearer.
I own a couple sets of the UClears. I think they're amazing to be honest, but not without some complaints.
1> They could be louder maybe? Without earplugs in, they're plenty loud. But with earplugs in (which I wear on longer trips) they're "ok" for me... but my wife cannot understand anything at all with earplugs in. Maybe for the younger crowd this isn't an issue, maybe it's just my wife. She seems to think she has some hearing problems but... :dontknow: We even tried the
Surefire Ear Defenders which are supposed to allow sounds under 85db to pass through... didn't help her, but so far I can't complain.
2> Music from my HTC EVO (android) is way short on bass. Uclear says that they've never had a complaint before so they're wondering if it's my android phone. I haven't really messed with it since. I didn't buy this to listen to music, but I have to give fair warning for those who might. Uclear will take them back if you're not happy.
That's really all the negatives. If they had an earbud plugin then #1 would be solved and probably #2 as well. Then they would be perfect. I have contacted the company requesting this feature and have actually talked with one of their engineers about it. I'm waiting for info about possibly making my own adapter that allows the microphone array to remain connected while bypassing the speakers into a plug for earbuds. Who knows if that will happen anytime soon tho.
I absolutely love not having a boom in my face. I don't even notice it's installed. It's smaller than the others.
It's very easy to install (in the helmets I have anyhow). Came with double mounting sets so you can do 2 helmets. Takes 10 seconds to switch from one to another that way. I moved my wife's set to my brother's helmet in 2 minutes so he could try it out...
Easy to use. Buttons are not too bad to find with gloves on but could be better (the Sena is probably the best interface for gloved hands.)
Not sure on the battery life yet. Haven't had any trips long enough to drain it.
Range of the bike to bike is fairly short... maybe 100 yards or so. Good enough for some things, need to use the phone if you get separated. They do have a module that connects to most FRS/GMRS radios to use them with the Uclear wirelessly.
The noise cancellation is very good. I've had conversations while on the highway with people who couldn't tell I was riding. One of them even said "Oh! New bluetooth? Sounds great!" YMMV of course. I was also impressed with the sound quality of voice/phone.
Still hoping for earbud interface myself...
Take a look at his new BT com system. I found it pretty interesting. No boom mic, excellent audio quality and very small. The initial release does have a few issues but it looks like these people are on the right track.:chat:
