Zumo 396 Bluetooth Earbud Alternatives

[Gomer]

I am going to use earbuds for connection to my Zumo 396 as that is what I used with my Zumo 550 and I am quite comfortable with them. I want a better option than relying on the battery of bluetooth earbuds and the hassle of making sure they are charged up for the days ride. So I am trying to find a 12 volt DC powered bluetooth receiver with a 3.5 mm output jack that will work with a set of earbuds.

I found these: Wet Sounds WW-BT UR Universal Marine Bluetooth Receiver.
They looked like the right setup, re-paired to device when powered up. 3.5 mm output jack, waterproof. So I contacted the company and they were clueless, said they were designed to feed an amp and didn't know if they would drive earbuds or what to do about volume control. There are a lot of these devices out there with dual RCA jacks but not sure if any of them would work either. Will the Zumo adjust volume of the bluetooth device if not available on the earbuds?

I can't be the first and only person on the globe to want to do this? I am not an audiophile or an electronics guru so I get lost in the technical jargon of it all.

So I am throwing myself on the mercy of the "Zumo Forum" and asking for help.

Gomer

[SamStone]

I assume something like the Sena 20s Evo is not your cup of tea? You can connect any earbuds to the module via direct 3.5mm plug (bypassing the helmet mounted speakers) and it connects to everything.


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[Dusty ST]

I assume something like the Sena 20s Evo is not your cup of tea? You can connect any earbuds to the module via direct 3.5mm plug (bypassing the helmet mounted speakers) and it connects to everything.


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Probably the best solution, or a Cardo (my Packtalk has a 3.5mm female socket you can use for any ear buds etc)
but OP also wanted a 12v powered device so maybe something from Autocom?

[Gomer]

thanks for the responses, the sena thing is not for me and i'll check out autocom.

[CollingsBob]

I use a Cardo Freecom 1 to connect to both my Garmin zumo 396 and my iPhone. 10 hr battery life. I can answer calls easily while listening to music and turn instructions from the garmin come through clearly. For short rides I use the helmet speakers, for long rides I use a pair of Sennheiser earbuds.

[Gomer]

My point is I am trying to get away from the whole earbud charge thing.

[SamStone]

Just FYI - the Bluetooth sets like sena, cardo, uclear, etc have very good battery life generally. I think much better than Bluetooth earbuds (that must have much smaller batteries).


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[pidjones]

I bought one of these and have bern pleased so far. I use it to feed my GoldWing Aux input, but it has plenty to drive earbuds.

https://www.droking.com/Portab...-for-D ... ome-Stereo

https://www.amazon.com/Receive...ronics ... B07P94Z9XR

[Gomer]

I am looking at one of these or wet sounds makes one too that are waterproof and have the volume control on board too.
nvx xubt3 universal bluetooth controller

Need to find out if the can drive earbuds yet though.

[Gomer]

Update....
Ended up buying a Fiio BTR3 bluetooth to 3.5mm designed for pre bluetooth headphones. It paired nicely to the 396. I could not get an answer on the other devices, that are 12 vdc powered, on whether they would drive a set of earbuds as they are made to plug into an amplifier. Either no one ever emailed me back from customer support or if they did they just plain didn't know.

One weird thing I have is I am getting a static crackle on every bluetooth device I have tried on my 396. I get it when I play music, haven't noticed it when getting map directions. It doesn't sound like static more like a bad connection, not all the time either. I've tried different bluetooth devices and get the same crackle, tried the bluetooth devices on my PC and they work fine. I'm going on a trip end of January and will have a bigger sample size to see if its Garmin's problem or not.

Thanks to everyone that has tried to help.
Gomer