How to hear a Zumo 660LM

[peterbulgar]

There is no speaker on this unit, so the only way to hear the directions is via a bluetooth connection to a helmet speaker. I don't want to listen to music, make phone calls, or talk to another rider - just a simple bluetooth connection and speaker. I thought about getting the helmet neckroll bluetooth unit for my Schuberth C-3 Pro, but too many users complained that it restricts head movement and is fiddly to install. Also $$$. I've searched through reviews of Scala and Sena units, but they all do more than I need, and also have various complaints about fitment and quality.

 

Maybe the best I can do is find the smallest helmet mounted unit that will work, and throwing away the microphone and one of the speakers.

Thanks, Peter

San Francisco

R1150R

 

 

[CVA-42]

I have a Zumo 660 and went through this exercise last Fall. Like you, I only wanted a simple bluetooth connection for GPS directions. Wound up with a Sena HMS5 unit. It's capable of doing far more than I want or need but I don't know if anything simpler exists. If it does, I couldn't find it.

[CVA-42]

Correction - - SMH5.

[peterbulgar]

From the digging around I did, the Sena seems like the most reasonable solution. Thanks for your reply.

peter

[willimike]

Have you tried hooking ear plugs directly to the unit?

[TripleThreat]

My Zumo 660 has a speaker. It can be used on a car cradle or on the motorcycle cradle. If nothing is plugged into the headphone jack, even when on the motorcycle cradle, the Zumo speaker works. Once you plug something into the headphone jack, the speaker shuts off...

[peterbulgar]

Are you sure that you have a Zumo 660LM? Mine doesn't have a built-in speaker or headphone jack. There are audio out cables as part of the cradle wiring that could be hooked up to a powered speaker or headphones, but then you'd have wires connecting to your helmet.

Peter

[PadG]

That is just like my Nav V, but when it is connected to the car-mount, the audio comes out of the speaker that is built into the car-mount.

 

BTW, if you want to go the really cheap route of getting the audio into your helmet, why don't you just buy a bluetooth earbud? Or better yet, buy a fairly inexpensive bluetooth receiver that will accept a 3.5 mm audio jack, and plug your earbud of choice into t.....even a mono one, just into one ear!

 

I use this one to link to my iPod to listen to my audiobooks:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJMV0GU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

[TripleThreat]

peterbulgar,

 

Nope... your are correct, mine is just a Zumo 660. Have had it for years.

 

 

[Paul In Australia]

LM just designates lifetime maps. It is a 660. If no sound comes out when giving directions, you have the sound muted. Read manual. Where you can adjust volume on screen, there is a mute tick box. Un tick it.

You can't hear music on the 660 without a headset either BT paired or hard wired.

[TripleThreat]

LM just designates lifetime maps. It is a 660. If no sound comes out when giving directions, you have the sound muted. Read manual. Where you can adjust volume on screen, there is a mute tick box. Un tick it.

You can't hear music on the 660 without a headset either BT paired or hard wired.

 

This is not true with my 660 - It is not a lifetime maps version, but I did purchase lifetime maps for it separately - I bought my 660 long before Garmin was selling any units as LM units.

 

Perhaps Garmin changed the 660 Specs at some point, but I do not need a headset to listen to music or directions from mine. It has a speaker built into the back of the unit.

 

I use it that way in my Volvo... In my Land Rover I installed a motorcycle cradle and wired it into my stereo system, so the spoken directions come through the stereo and I can also listen to the MP3s on the Zumo through the stereo.

 

On my recently purchased BMW R1150RT, I did a temporary installation of the Zumo 660 and if I don't pair the Sena SMH10 to it, or if I turn off bluetooth, the speaker on the back of the Zumo works, even in the motorcycle cradle because I do not have a headset plugged into the cable.

 

I'm not sure if Garmin changed the specs on the 660 at some point and removed the internal speaker, but mine clearly has one. In fact, under battery power, sitting in my house, not in any cradle, I can listen to the MP3s - not that I would ordinarily do that, because the Garmin speaker quality sucks... but it does work...

[peterbulgar]

It looks like Garmin "improved" the 660 at some point. Mine was purchased in December of 2014 and it does not have a speaker. When the audio screen comes up there is a message that says something to the effect that audio requires a bluetooth connection or a powered speaker.

[Paul In Australia]

Mine has a speaker in the back of it. Can u post a photo of the front( with the unit turned on ) and the back of the unit??

Got to ask this, no insult intended, but are u sure you have a 660 and not a BMW Nav IV or V?

[Sweendog]

There is a speaker on the 66o

Did you try resetting the settings?

 

1. TouchTools>Settings.

2. TouchRestore.

3. TouchYes.

[Bill_Walker]

My 660 has a speaker in the back - and it is automatically muted when I put it in the motorcycle mount which is connected to my Autocom. If it's NOT connected to my Autocom, then audio plays through the speaker. Somehow it knows whether the audio output of the wiring harness is connected. That being said, the OP is on an R1150R. He's not going to hear prompts from the built-in speaker anyway.

 

For those of us still using wires, here's a tip: the 660's audio out is stereo, unlike my prior Navigator II, which was mono. I have an iPod plugged into the stereo input of my Autocom for music and didn't want to give that up. I had to get a special isolator cable made to be able to plug the 660 into the same mono input on my Autocom that I used for the Nav II. When I tried plugging it directly into the mono input, the 660 didn't recognize it and used the internal speaker.

[peterbulgar]

Well, this is certainly embarrassing. What I actually have is a Zumo 590, and not a 660. It was a Christmas present, and I opened it, logged on to Garmin and loaded map updates, then set it aside until recently when I decided to wire it up to my bike. I'd remembered that there wasn't a speaker, but for some reason had it in my head that I had a 660. Sorry for all the confusion.

 

Still, I'm left with the issue of needing some kind of sound. There are several good suggestions on this thread and I'll look into them. Thanks to everyone who responded.

Peter, San Francisco

R1150R

Suzuki DL650

[Stan Walker]

What I actually have is a Zumo 590, and not a 660

 

Yep, no speaker. No where no how. There is a hardwired socket you can plug an earphone into.

 

Before you get too worried about Bluetooth, hard wiring, etc. You might want to investigate the cradle it comes with and figure out how you will deal with it. There is a maze of cables to route, hide, or cut off. On my RT I ran them all under the skins and coiled them up in the bottom of the glove box. Except for power that was routed to a convenient place. But what I did on the RT makes the cradle and wiring permanent and it sounded like that isn't what you want.

 

Back to Bluetooth. Mine is paired nicely to my Sena 20. I added a memory card to the 590 and have tons of music that I don't listen to while riding, but sometimes when I am not. Mostly I just listen to route directions while riding.

 

Feel free to ask questions if you like.

 

Stan

[TripleThreat]

No worries peterbulgar...

 

As mentioned, SENA is a great bluetooth solution. You have several options for configuration. I have mine set up in my helmet with just a microphone and I plug a set of custom made earplug speakers into a headphone jack on the SENA mount. This serves dual purposes for me of killing the rustling wind noise, that is mainly responsible for hearing loss among motorcyclists, and allowing me to run the sound at much lower volumes as a result. Crystal clear sound quality, in stereo... On my daughters' and wife's helmets, I have the speakers installed in the helmets. They can choose to wear foam earplugs or not and still be able to have stereo sound.

 

Not only does this provide great audio quality with the Zumo, but it also offers rider to pillion, or even bike-to-bike bluetooth intercom as well. Plus it integrates with my phone.

 

I have the SENA SMH10s and have been very happy with them.