Summary
An inexpensive way to listen to music while riding.
Both devices are relatively easy to use and quickly pair
with everything I've thrown at them.
Introduction
Many webBikeWorld visitors have asked about a wireless
system that would allow them to listen to their MP3
player, iPod, GPS or other electronic device while
riding.
Most of the intercom systems we've
reviewed provide this type of connectivity, but if all
you want to do is listen to an iPod, spending several
hundred dollars isn't logical.
Of course, all you really need is a pair of small
earbuds that will fit comfortable under a helmet.
Pop your MP3 player in a jacket pocket and you're all
set.
But for true wireless connectivity that provides more
capabilities, like connecting with a cell phone, a radio
or GPS, a simple, lightweight and relatively inexpensive
Bluetooth adapter and headset is the way to go.
We
have reviewed a couple of Bluetooth adapters which
are made by motorcycle intercom manufacturers, and for
the most part, these can also be used with any output
device that will accept the 3.5 mm standard adapter
jack.
However, the Bluetooth adapters made by the intercom
manufacturers do seem rather expensive and they can also
be difficult to buy -- it's not like you can go into
your local Best Buy and find a wiRevo hanging on the
rack.
Sony TMR-BT10A Bluetooth Adapter (L). Sony
DR-BT100CX Bluetooth Headset (R).
Why a Bluetooth Adapter?
In simple terms for my simple mind, a Bluetooth adapter
is a device that plugs into an MP3 player or pretty much
any other device that will accept a standard 3.5 mm
jack.
The Bluetooth adapter (aka BTA) then acts as a tiny
transmitter that takes the output from the music player
or GPS and wirelessly transmits it to a paired Bluetooth
headset.
A Bluetooth headset is a receiver that pairs with the
Bluetooth adapter and accepts the data stream and turns
it back into music. Simple.
In theory, a Bluetooth adapter can turn any device
that outputs sound and has a 3.5 mm plug into what is,
for all practical purposes, a miniature radio station.
Since the range of a Bluetooth transmission is measured
in feet (or a couple of meters), you don't even need a
broadcasting license!
Many webBikeWorld visitors have been asking for a
wireless solution like this to listen to their radios or
GPS units and this Sony duo might just be the solution.
Me and Bluetooth
Just to allow for full disclosure, I'll admit that I'm a
purist when it comes to motorcycle riding. When
I'm riding alone, I stuff in the best pair of disposable
ear plugs I can find (either
Pura-Fit 6800 or EARsoft Grippers are my all-time
favorites) and ride -- no music, no GPS, no
distractions. Just me, the wind and the sound of
the Ducati's V-twin pounding away underneath.
But I'm old-fashioned -- I don't even own an HD TV!
We do use intercoms for multi-person rides and they're
especially useful when we're out on a ride evaluating
new products. In that case, it's a simple
Interphone (review) or
Scala-Rider (review) system because they can be
easily switched among helmets and riders.
Because I don't use a GPS very often, I'm not sure
how many GPS units even have a 3.5 mm output. I do
know that at this point in time, it's usually the more
expensive units that include built-in Bluetooth.
But don't forget that it might be possible to add a 3.5
mm output jack or even Bluetooth capability to an
inexpensive GPS; check out our articles on
making your own Bluetooth adapter or
adding a 3.5 mm output jack to a GPS to learn more.
Charging cradle and owner's manual for the Sony
Bluetooth adapter.
The Search Is On
After many emails from webBikeWorld visitors asking
about simple Bluetooth connectivity, curiosity got the
better of me, and off I went, looking for a solution.
The criteria include a Bluetooth device that is
"generic"; i.e., commercially available and (relatively)
easy to find. And inexpensive. I was looking
for a Bluetooth adapter that could be used with any
music device, and a set of Bluetooth headphones to
match.
When I started the search, I thought it would be
easy. Surely in 2009 there must be dozens of
Bluetooth adapters and headphones, along with all sorts
of Bluetooth MP3 players, no? Uh...no.
To my surprise, the search was much more difficult
than I anticipated. As it turns out, Bluetooth
adapters (aka "Bluetooth wireless transmitters") and
Bluetooth stereo headphones just aren't all that easy to
find, and you'd think by now just about every MP3 player
sold would have built-in Bluetooth to transmit to a set
of matching Bluetooth headphones.
I Googled, Bing-ed, searched CNet, PCMag and
Amazon.com. I visited Walmart, Radio Shack, Best
Buy, J&R and B&H. It's not that they don't exist,
but for some reason, Bluetooth just doesn't seem to be
as ubiquitous (there's that word again) as it
should/could or might be. Especially when it comes
to Bluetooth MP3 players.
Thankfully, Sony and Samsung are in somewhat of a
Bluetooth battle, although Samsung's renowned T9 and P2
Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players are getting a bit long in
the tooth and it's not clear if they're going to add
that feature to future products.
As for Sony, well, you'd think you could find one of
their Bluetooth adapters and Bluetooth headset just
about anywhere electronics are sold, but these products
seem to be very difficult to find. Just the fact
that Sony calls the Bluetooth adapter the "TMR-BT10A
Portable Stereo Transmitter" and the Bluetooth
headphones are officially known as the "DR-BT100CX
Wireless Stereo Headset" tells you something.
Why don't they have one of those geeky electronic
names for these things? At the very least, you'd
think they'd call it simply the "Sony Bluetooth Adapter"
or the "Sony Bluetooth Headset". Uh-uh.
Sony Bluetooth Headset Control Unit (L) has volume and
other controls. Sony Bluetooth Adapter Unit (R).
Bluetooth Pros and Cons
A nice Bluetooth stereo headset paired with a Bluetooth
adapter is a solution, but maybe not the perfect
solution. For one thing, having the Bluetooth
adapter hanging off your iPod makes for a slightly
clumsy setup and, in fact, the adapter is bigger than an
iPod nano.
Also, don't forget that Bluetooth devices are
powered, and even though one of the advantages of
Bluetooth is that it draws just a tiny amount of juice,
it will have to be charged occasionally.
The best solution is if the GPS or MP3 player has its
own built-in Bluetooth transmitter, and then all you'd
need is a Bluetooth headset. Or if you want to
spend a lot of money, you could connect the Bluetooth
radio with a Bluetooth helmet or intercom system, and
we've
reviewed plenty of those -- just take a look at the
right-hand column.
The Sony TMR-BT10A Bluetooth Adapter
Of course, a helmet-based or independent Bluetooth
intercom system provides a lot more functionality than a
simple Bluetooth adapter and headset, but again, if all
you want to do is stream music or GPS instructions,
there's an easier way to do it.
The Sony Bluetooth adapter lists for $69.99 and it
can be purchased directly from Sony, but we got this one
through our Amazon.com affiliate link (of course)
for only $47.99 brand new. Be careful -- there are
some used TMR-BT10A's out there, and earlier versions,
but I suggest buying the latest edition brand new.
The Sony adapter is a small device, about the size of
a box of matches. It only weighs 21 grams,
including the ~100 mm jack cord. It uses the
standard 3.5 mm output jack.
It comes with a cradle charger and a 110V converter
that can be plugged into a standard home outlet.
The detailed and well-written owner's manual says it
will take about 3 hours to charge the internal 3.7 V
lithium-ion battery from completely empty, and that's
about right. But once it's charged, it will last
for about 10-11 hours before the indicator starts
blinking.
This is actually a pretty sophisticated device, even
though it doesn't have an LCD screen to tell you what's
up. For example, when you press the button in the
rear to turn on the adapter, the low battery indicator
light will flash 3 times if the battery is fully
charged; 2 times at mid-charge and once if it's low.
When it's really low, the red light will flash
continuously and finally the unit will turn off when the
battery is fully depleted.
The owner's manual goes into all sorts of detail
about pairing, and you have to pay attention to the
blinking lights to tell what's happening. The
TMR-BT10A has enough memory to remember 8 different
paired devices, which should be enough for just about
anyone.
So in other words, once you pair it with
another Bluetooth device, like a set of headphones or
cell phone, it will remember that and we found that it
very reliably and quickly connects with those devices
whenever they're used again.
This is quite different than some of the first
generation Bluetooth motorcycle intercoms and other
devices we've reviewed in the past, many/most of which
had a lot of problems pairing even once. In fact,
I'm very pleased and a little bit surprised to see how
easy the Sony TMR-BT10A works -- the promises of
Bluetooth are finally here!
The TMR-BT10A has a fairly big clip on the back that
allows the device to be attached to a pocket or
elsewhere, but I simply plug the adapter into my old
iRiver MP3 player, throw them into the tank bag or an
upper pocket and I can listen to the radio or MP3 music
while riding or messing about.
The Sony adapter is a Power Class 2 device and it
uses Bluetooth 2.0, broadcasting in the 2.4 GHz band.
Sony claims a line-of-sight range of about 10 m (30
ft.), and that's just about right. It also uses
A2DP, so it broadcasts in stereo.
Of course, a Bluetooth adapter is only half of the
required system. You'll need a set of Bluetooth
headphones or a Bluetooth helmet or intercom set to
listen to the music.
The Sony Bluetooth headset charges via a USB port.
The red light goes out when charging is complete.
wBW
Video: Sony Bluetooth Headset and Bluetooth Adapter
Sony DR-BT100CX Wireless Bluetooth Headset
The Sony Bluetooth headset (or headphones) is a more
sophisticated device than the simply Bluetooth adapter.
The headset pairs with the Sony Bluetooth adapter or a
Bluetooth cell phone or other device with built-in
Bluetooth.
But it also has a volume control, fast forward or
pause controls (for devices that allow this) and even a
built-in microphone and cell phone connector button that
allows the Sony Bluetooth headset to be used as a
Bluetooth cell phone device!
Of course, talking on the phone isn't recommended
while riding and the noise of the bike and the
environment quickly overwhelms the microphone, but the
functionality is there to use at home anyway.
The best part about the Sony headset is how quickly
it paired with any of the Bluetooth devices we tried.
The owner's manual for the headset is pretty thick and
it details all of the functions of the product.
The headset control unit has the same built-in
lithium-ion 3.7V battery, but this one doesn't come with
a charging cradle. It is charged via a USB port
hidden under a cover on the side of the module and the
headset comes with a one-meter long USB cable.
The only problem with this is that some USB ports,
like on my Dell 8400 desktop, are not powered when the
computer is powered down or put into standby. So
the computer must be running to charge the headset,
which seems like a waste of energy. Sony does sell
an external 110V charger for the headset, however.
The headset takes about 2.5 hours to charge from
empty and the battery gives about 8 hours of connection
time. Sony says it has a standby time of 120
hours. Note, by the way, that any of these battery
charge times are dependant upon ambient temperatures.
The headset also uses a series of flashing lights to
communicate what's happening; there are actually 10
different combinations of light flashes, so you may
either want to take a copy of the page from the owner's
manual or memorize the series to know what's going on.
This is the downside of not having an LCD screen.
In reality, however, once it's paired, there's not
much else you need to know. Working the controls
is intuitive and they're marked. If the sending
device uses the AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control
Profile), then some or all functions can be controlled
with the Sony headset control unit.
For example, I can fast-forward, reverse or play over
songs, change volume, advance to the next tune, etc.
with the Sony Bluetooth adapter connected to the iRiver
MP3 player and the same for both cell phones. The
older XM MyFi radio apparently does not have the AVRCP
feature though.
The headset can also be used to both initiate and
receive calls, although other than a brief trial to
confirm this, I don't use it for this purpose.
Sound Quality
I have a well-tuned ear for audio quality, and I think
the Sony headset has surprisingly good sound quality
right out of the box. The bass is a little
lacking, as it usually is with the combination of
Bluetooth and a set of cheap earbuds, but the clarity is
good and it's better than I expected and it also seems
like a perfect compromise for listening to a combination
of talking and music while riding a motorcycle.
The Sony DR-BT100CX has a list price of $79.99 and
can be purchased directly from Sony, or it can also be
purchased
through our Amazon.com affiliate link for $49.24.
Clockwise, starting at top: Sony Bluetooth headset; Sony
Bluetooth adapter; XM MyFi radio; LG Glance cell phone;
Motorola V9M Razr cell phone.
Conclusion
Both of these Sony Bluetooth devices work very nicely to
add a lot of capability to old (or new) music players,
radios and other electronics. They're much easier
to use and to set up than any of the original Bluetooth
devices I've tried in the past.
Obviously, they're not comparable with a true motorcycle
intercom system -- Bluetooth or otherwise -- but they
have many uses on the bike and at home and they are a
quick and easy solution to help make your ride more
enjoyable.
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From "S.K." (9/09): "In the U.S.,
many states do not allow earphones or their subset
earbuds because they are considered to cause diminished
hearing. The AMA site
has a listing of what is allowed for helmet speakers
and many address the use of headsets.
I actually prefer using my headset with the speakers
mounted within the helmet. I bought an off-brand
“Super BT Interphone” With rider2rider, rider2pillion,
and A2DP Stereo in a pair for about double the Sony set
and split the cost with a friend who also usually rides
alone. It’s not had a single issue in over a month
of use now, rain or shine, mostly for music, but it’s
nice to be able to say, “Hey, let me call you right back
when I stop next” to caller as well."
