Tronsmart S2-Plus
\nColours: Black
\n3 x Earbuds supplied
\nRRP: \u00a319.99
\namazon.co.uk<\/p>\n
We\u2019re had a few wildcards in these pages over the years, but this one is taking things to new places.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not designed for a motorcycle, I didn\u2019t buy it for use on a motorcycle and it will have limitations on a motorcycle, but for the price, they are not an issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p> Indeed, the limitation might make it more attractive to many, because one thing that I hear a lot is that our bikes are our way of getting away from the rest of the world.<\/p>\n It used to be mine, too, but a lot of the time, a bike is my office and I need to be contactable.<\/p>\n So, I wear a Sena 20S: an amazing piece of kit that never ceases to amaze me \u2013 and anyone who rings me on the bike, and I\u2019ve not spoken to anyone yet who has believed me when I tell them where I am \u2013 regardless of which bike, what speed and which helmet I\u2019m wearing.<\/p>\n And if I do want peace and quiet, I simply switch it off … well, actually I don\u2019t, because I am fully embedded in the wired world. I find it easier to tell people I\u2019m on my when I am on my way, not when I\u2019m getting ready, and I spend a lot of time travelling to places I\u2019ve never been to before, with a schedule to meet, so I use SatNav.<\/p>\n Dull, but important.<\/p>\n On occasions, though, when I\u2019m fully off-duty, maybe wearing a helmet that isn\u2019t wired for sound \u2013 or I haven\u2019t got time to switch the Sena from one to another \u2013 there are still times when I would kill for the ability to answer the phone without taking my helmet off \u2013 a screened call, obviously.<\/p>\n And then there is the scenario where I\u2019m in the middle of nowhere, lost, and haven\u2019t got any means of clamping my phone to the handlebars, or to hear what it is saying through my helmet.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where this has proved invaluable.<\/p>\n Full disclosure: this does not work with every helmet. My Davida fits too tight over the ears and it feels as though it is burying the earbuds into the ear canal \u2013 the bass drivers are a fair size \u2013 but then I know it\u2019s a snug helmet at the best of times, so that\u2019s no surprise. Everything else has been fine.<\/p>\n And that kinda gives the game away: this is an inexpensive comms system.<\/p>\n No, not a mobile comms system: what makes the Sena so good is its noise cancelling system on the mic, and while this can cut out city soundscapes, I can\u2019t see it coping with 70mph winds on my Buell, but that\u2019s not what I use it for.<\/p>\n Tell your phone where you want to go, pair the headset, and let your phone give you audible route instructions.<\/p>\n But you already do that with the wired headset that came free with the phone, and yes you can, but your wired headset uses the phone\u2019s headphone socket\u2019s amp, which tends to be on the weedy side, and \u2013 and I can\u2019t stress this strongly enough \u2013 they have wires. That limits where you can put the phone, and means you\u2019ve got wires training all over the place. I hated that before wireless was an option: I loathe it now. Everything is pulling on something.<\/p>\n Not this: you wear the main body round your neck like a flexible \u2018torq\u2019, one end is weighted by the battery, the other by the controller, and the earbud cables run in an open channel between them, with only as much cable as you need released.<\/p>\n As such, it is not unique \u2013 it\u2019s becoming a popular form factor \u2013 and others might be better, but they\u2019ll struggle to be cheaper: this is almost disposable!<\/p>\n The range isn\u2019t brilliant \u2013 the Bluetooth signal starts to break up at ten feet in the real world, which is a long way from the 33ft claimed \u2013 but to be fair, you only want it to reach from wherever you\u2019ve put it on your body. At worst, to a phone mount on your bike, when the wireless thing is a godsend.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got no idea whether it would connect to an Indian Ride Command \u2013 although there\u2019s no reason why it shouldn\u2019t \u2013 just that it certainly won\u2019t with a Boom!Box without a WHIM upgrade.<\/p>\n And why would you want it to?<\/p>\n The clear relay of SatNav instructions and music. And, to be honest, while this is a no-brand, bargain basement offering, the bass drivers aren\u2019t too shabby at all.<\/p>\n Headline numbers. And they make a decent noise, they fold up small and fit in a supplied bag \u2013 the action of coiling them up to fit, goes a long way to reinstating some spring in the \u2018torq\u2019.<\/p>\n An excellent low budget solution for anyone wondering whether it\u2019s worth spending a lot of money on a Sena 20S \u2013 whether they would use it: after all, the Sena is sold as an Intercom more than a comms system, but is so much more.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t in the same league as the Sena, but then it\u2019s \u00a320, intended as a handsfree bluetooth headset and will cope with you working out or jogging through a shower … or a hands-free headphone to free up both hands for typing.<\/p>\n And as a means of relaying SatNav instructions from your phone to your helmeted ear \u2013 subject to it fitting inside your helmet \u2013 it is a serious bargain.<\/p>\n I do need to advise you it could be a gateway drug that could lead you onto a more sophisticated solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tronsmart S2-Plus Colours: Black 3 x Earbuds supplied RRP: \u00a319.99 amazon.co.uk We\u2019re had a few wildcards in these pages over the years, but this one … <\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The battery is good for 24-hours playback or 15 days of standby from a couple of hours of charging,
\n\u2022 Bluetooth 4.1 is very energy efficient,
\n\u2022 CVC 6.0 (Clear Voice Capture) will reduce a lot of backround noise but don\u2019t too\u00a0 excited:
\n\u2022 Splash resistent \u2013 IPX45 is a long way short of IP68 but if the rain comes down, tuck the \u2018torq\u2019 inside your collar. you will lose access to your central \u2018operation\u2019 button and the +\/- volume buttons above and below it, but once the volume is set, you don\u2019t really need them.<\/p>\n