Chatterbox XBi2 - Part 2

Chatterbox XBi2 Bluetooth Motorcycle Intercom

Part 2:  User Impressions and Use

by H.B.C. for webBikeWorld.com

More on wBW
▪  Owner Comments (Below)
▪  Motorcycle Bluetooth Intercom Page
▪  Motorcycle Intercom Page
▪  wBW Reviews Home

See Also:  
▪  Part 1: Chatterbox XBi2 Review
▪  Chatterbox XBi Review
▪  Chatterbox iCombi BT Adapters

Chatterbox XBi2 Part 2:  Summary
This section describes user impressions of the Chatterbox XBi2 system; using the system; a summary of the features; the "Bottom Line Ratings"; and the conclusion.

Chatterbox XBi2 User Impressions

Controls:  Having five separate controls: On/Off, Mode and Intercom, along with Volume Up and Volume Down, seems like one or two too many, but after a few minutes of use, the concern proves to be unfounded.  The smallish pressure buttons are easy to find and use, with a solid feel and positive feedback when pushed.

Basic phone control is provided, although not all the features of the HTC Touch can be utilized from the XBi2, a bit of a shortfall when compared to other multi-function headsets.  From a safety point of view however, the essentials work just fine.

Intercom Mode:  The first day of full use went without a hitch and only after over six hours of almost constant intercom use did the systems initiate their low power warning tones in the background.  This type of performance has been typical for the systems on a daily basis - pretty good I would say.

Rider-to-Rider:  Communications out to 450 to 500 metres was the norm - about what should be possible for a good Class One (100mW) system.  Once activated by a quick push of the Intercom button, the duplex link remains ‘on’, so very little of any conversation session is lost unless ambient noise levels are very high.

Accordingly and without an active automatic gain control (AGC) function working in the background, volume levels need to be adjusted from time to time.

Outside of ambient noise levels, two other things will cause the link to become noisy: when distance, power levels and environmental conditions become dominant factors; and, when the interleaved audio from the higher priority (GPS) device is present – more on that later…

Battery Life:  We purposefully ran with the Intercom for over 30 minutes once the low battery warning sounded on both modules.  But outside of slightly lower audio levels and increased noise, communications could still be maintained at 100 to 250m – impressive.

The battery recharges in less than three hours.  The first unit took 2.5 hours and the second unit close to three hours.  When charging, the small LED on the adapter glows Red and the module LED is a steady Blue.  Once charged, the adapter LED changes to Green and the module LED goes out.

Battery level status can be ascertained visually by using the Power button to activate a status sequence, or more directly by the alarm beeps that will sound in the headset once voltage drops below a certain level.  The unit will switch itself off once the minimum voltage level is reached.

Audio Quality:  In general: very good.  The headset does not have the absolute fidelity of higher priced systems, but compared to the other brands on hand these are near the top.  Music from higher powered and high quality peripheral devices that users typically carry today is faithfully reproduced - we have zing.

Volume:  Only on the highest audio setting can a trace of distortion be heard, usually during Intercom use and some of this can be traced to the active feedback loop in the system.

Some distortion of external audio can be induced, but typically only when the external device is ‘cranked up’, something that the Chatterbox unit has little control over.

Even at freeway speeds with high ambient noise levels the intercom was still viable, without having to crank the volume to its maximum setting.  The lowest and highest volume settings are announced by a short double tone in the headset.

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Something to Note
While using the systems it was discovered that both devices allow music audio from a high priority audio connection (i.e., Garmin GPS), to continue when the second priority intercom is in use.  The music playing on the GPS is weak and distorted, but it can be heard in both headsets.

From a programmed prioritization perspective, audio from a paired phone or GPS navigation instructions are the highest priority and typically the MP3 music stream is assigned a lower priority (i.e., third priority behind the intercom).  So something seems amiss here...

When the GPS navigation audio is activated however, the background MP3 stream stops but resumes when the navigation session is finished.  It would seem some channelization is happening and/or one or both of the devices are not recognizing or managing the priorities, allowing the music to bleed-over.

The Editor and I put the issue forward to Chatterbox and in short order, got a very informative response back.  The information provided confirmed that occasionally, when using their models with the Garmin (zumo) 550, the music does bleed over and the user will hear it while trying to communicate in intercom mode and, this bleed-over has also been noted between two units.

So obviously the issue that has been experienced by Chatterbox is being recreated by the evaluation configuration, as it was the Garmin zumo 550 that was allowing the scenario.  Having now finished the XBi evaluation and in recreating the environment, I can state that the issue exists with them as well.

According to Chatterbox the solution or in reality, a workaround, is to bypass the Bluetooth from the Garmin and use a compatible BTA, like the iCombi AG12 with the zumo, which would address both situations experienced.  Another workaround of course is to connect the Garmin and headset together via the 3.5mm auxiliary port.

I don’t see this as a critical issue per se, but it does degrade or detract from the clarity of the intercom, or could, but that is probably the worst of it.  I thank Chatterbox for getting back to us so quickly and in confirming the issue.

On a related technical note, I’m not alone in having experienced Bluetooth connectivity and streaming issues with some Garmin models, so there may or may not be a relationship here.

Chatterbox XBi2 Published Specifications

Conclusion
The Chatterbox XBi2 system is an extremely well designed and very functional system.  Less the concurrent audio streaming issue -- which is a nuisance, not a show-stopper -- everything else works as advertised.

Apples to apples, the Class 1 Intercom is on par with my previous distance and clarity favourite that being the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 system.  The XBi2 intercom is also the clear distance winner over the intercom feature of the updated Midland BT2D system (review).

The Chatterbox XBi2 system is in the ‘reward’ classification, for many reasons.

This is another one of those systems that has all the basics I am looking for and does everything really well.  It’s a good thing that more than one helmet is available to keep this system mounted up and ready for use.

See Also:  Part 1: Chatterbox XBi2 Review  |  Chatterbox XBi Review  |  Chatterbox iCombi BT Adapters

More wBW:  Motorcycle Bluetooth Intercom Page  |  Motorcycle Intercom Page  |  wBW Reviews Home

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Details and Owner Comments in Part 1 of the Chatterbox XBi2 Review