Weird headset results?

[lkraus]

IF you have not done this already, try adjusting the volume control on the headset while the problem is occurring. That is, while a distorted instruction is being given, or during that silence where you expected to hear a direction. The timing on this can be difficult, since the directions can be very short.

With my Sena headset and Zumo 595, music sounded great, but navigation instructions were garbled until I lowered the volume with the headset control at the same time the instruction was being given. This did not change the music volume. Somehow the Sena distinguishes between the sound sources and maintains different volume levels for each.

[WillumEr6]

It's been a while. In short, nothing has been - or will be - resolved.

Round and round in circles, no answers that told me why it wouldn't work, or why I could hear music/phone calls but not the Nav. No explanation as to how the system worked, so I could try and identify a headset function that was needed.
I lost the will to live in the end and offered them some plain opinions on the usefulness of their Customer Support system/whatever term it has these days.

The more I read about the competence of the BT side, the less I trust it. Far too many users seem to have problems, it surely can't be almost every headset manufacturer - and why are Garmin so secretive about it, for heaven's sake?

Anyway. I need a headset that will work, I've invested far too much in the XT to replace it.

What is the consensus of opinion regarding which route to go down - without busting the bank? (Edit: using Bluetooth, not hard wired)

I ride alone, don't care about music, or phone calls, I just want the Nav Instruction.

[colirv]

Sena works. Out of touch with prices.

[rbentnail]

.... so clearly there is an issue with Bluetooth on the XT....

Garmin and Bluetooth have never been compatible or reliable. These issues go back at least 10 yrs on zumos and nuvis before that. I'm surprised that people still try to get it to work. Try this instead- smack yourself in the head repeatedly with a baseball bat (here in The States. Adapt to your local sports equipment as needed) then you too can write code compatible with Garmin Bluetooth.

[WillumEr6]

.... so clearly there is an issue with Bluetooth on the XT....

Garmin and Bluetooth have never been compatible or reliable. These issues go back at least 10 yrs on zumos and nuvis before that. I'm surprised that people still try to get it to work. Try this instead- smack yourself in the head repeatedly with a baseball bat (here in The States. Adapt to your local sports equipment as needed) then you too can write code compatible with Garmin Bluetooth.

............... as I've discovered the hard way. Here in the UK, it would be a cricket bat. Probably just as effective, albeit a little more unwieldy.
I really am annoyed at myself for not researching and seeing all the problems the Zumo has before I wasted my money.
Just who do they employ to write their software? The first muppet that strolls up to the door and says:
"Hello. I is software riter, innit. Gi'iz a job, I is cheep, innit".

[rufasim]

HI Willum. I just have a couple of questions. The first, what head set are you using that is giving you these problems. It seems you think it may be the head set, especially where it worked perfectly on your brothers Cardo. I myself have the Sena 20S Evo but because of the snow I have yet been able to try using it on my bike. I got my Garmin for Christmas.
Second, Have you tried pairing the Zumo and the phone directly to the headset, rather than having the phone directly paired to the Zumo ? To get routes out of the computer you can use the cable provided rather than using bluetooth. Knowing that there is an issue with Garmin bluetooth, why not use the most minimum you can?
I am by no means an expert in bluetooth so if any of this make no sense and I don't know what I am talking about, I apologize. I ride a 2015 Goldwing and have been using the Nav that came with the bike. I just paired the infotainment from my bike directly to the headset, as well as my phone. I could make and receive calls from my phone and listen to sat nav and stereo at the same time. The voice commands over rode the music, but not the phone calls

[WillumEr6]

Ahh! Apologies for the ignorance of not replying. I seemed to have missed your post.

After a hiatus of a few months (reasons not worth troubling you with) I've submitted and bought a Sena SMH 5 BT headset. I shouldn't have to - but I want to hear the nav commands. The Sena at least works with the XT - or what I really should be saying is that the XT will actually work with the Sena. Sadly the quality of the BT out of the XT can only be described as apalling. The Sena is crystal clear for everything else, it's a simple headset, no noise cancelling, nothing fancy to confuse the XT - but it's still apalling when receiving nav commands from it. It's like she's trying to speak with a mouthfull of crisps.
I tackled Garmin for a long time and completely wasted every moment of it. The same suggestions repeated over and over again. In the end they actually got quite snotty when I tried to pin them down on the BT protocol they are using - but still refused to tell me.
The other problem is with their update software, Garmin Drive .......... and much to my chagrin, that has transferred to a motorhome nav system that turns out to be a rebadged Garmin as well.
If you don't have a reasonably fast broadband connection (we don't) Garmin Drive will happily eat all your (expensive) allowance of data whilst failing to download and update the satnav. The killer is they have increased the size of the (motorhome) files so much that they will not load onto the built in memory, you have to fit an SD card - and the inbuilt wifi which previously inexplicably but happily did manage to download and update the system will not download and update to the memory card.
I think I said earlier in the thread that I bitterly regret not reading up enough and finding out just how bad the Garmin is. I thought I had a simple BT problem and that's why I came looking for answers. Seems the whole Garmin satnav system has serious flaws and they are utterly unwilling to address any of them.
I will never buy anything else from them.

[lkraus]

Try turning the volume down on the Sena while the navigation instructions are being given. It might take a couple attempts if the instructions are short and you are not prepared.

This cleared up the sound on my SMH10 and 20S which remember separate volume levels for each audio source.

[WillumEr6]

Thanks for the hint. I'll give it a try - although I have to say that judging by the sound quality of other inputs, it sems to be the Zumo that is transmitting poor quality audio.
Nevertheless, I'll try anything that might improve it.