EARPHONES AND SPEAKERS
Apple AirPods Pro
These connect very dependably and work well with the TT-BA07 transmitter we tested. Cons are the low volume due to not being able to turn them up (Apple only allows Apple products to do this), and relatively short battery life of something like 5 hours. They were also definitely a bit difficult to connect at first. Pros are that they connect very well and automatically once the connection was established. I sometimes heard a small amount of feedback in tight helmets at higher altitudes in the aircraft, which leads to the lower rating.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 8
Tested in these helmets: Tonfly 2X, Square1 FX, Kiss
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
Apple Earpods with 3.5 mm Headphone Plug
These earphones truly sound extraordinary with SonoAlti G2V—as they do with anything else—and I can't imagine much better quality. The only negative in my experience, which was quite annoying to me personally, is that the cable is long and it I personally don't like messing with a wired earphone in a helmet, especially in the closed-face ones.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 10
Tested in these helmets: Tonfly 2X, Square1 FX, Kiss
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
UCLEAR Digital Pulse Wired Drop-In Helmet Speakers
It is hard to imagine a better pair of wired in-helmet speakers for the purposes of skydiving. The audio can be quite loud and is crystal clear. Perhaps the only disadvantage is that the cable is short, but this actually was an advantage in the helmets we tested it in, as there wasn't any excess cable hanging off to deal with. These speakers can also be placed quite exactly as they have velcro backings.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 16
Tested in these helmets: Tonfly 2X, Kiss
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
IASUS XSound 2.1 Helmet Speaker with a 3.5mm Audio Plug
These have good dimensions and sound but are significantly quieter than the UCLEAR Digital Pulse Speakers above, for which reason I would not recommend them.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 1
Tested in these helmets: Tonfly 2X
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
JZAQ Motorcycle Helmet Bluetooth Headset
Not much good to say about these. The biggest problem was their lack of dependability in connecting to and staying connected to a Bluetooth transmitter. There were also a good number of dropouts and a few times where it did not even work in freefall. I am surprised these are an Amazon Best Seller.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 5
Tested in these helmets: Tonfly 2X
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
TaoTronics Sound Libery 79
I tested these on tandems. The flight up was always good, there is no noise cancellation so it just dampened the flight sound with the earphones themselves, which was good for hearing protection. They connected very well to TaoTroncics TX module. When I put my helmet on (a Kiss helmet that is already slightly tight on me) it was a bit difficult to get it on as they are a bit bulkier than Airpods, for example, but once I did everything sealed in. One issue was that the earbuds went way far into the ear and was therefore difficult to hear my passenger; it may be better to use one on just one side. The tight seal made it easy to hear the altimeter the whole way down, and they were relatively comfortable.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 8
Tested in these helmets: Kiss
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
HELMETS
Square1 Kiss
This is generally a decent helmet for SonoAlti G2V. In order to properly fit in the side audible ports when using the voice function, one has to invert the side plates (see
this video). There is more wind noise in this helmet than in something like a Tonfly helmet or a Cookie G4, but SonoAlti G2V can still be audible in this helmet, depending on the audio setup. Wired earphones provided the best result, and earbuds felt a bit tight in a helmet that was already a bit small for me, but still worked. Helmet speakers have not yet worked well.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 16
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
Square1 FX
This helmet is not generally good for audible altimeters in my opinion. The audible pocket is loose and the side pillows seem to fall out. Nonetheless, I found it easier to use wired earphones with this helmet than in the closed-face helmets, and that the most successful setup we tested in this was Apple's Earpods with 3.5 mm Headphone Plug. I would not generally recommend this helmet for a jumper using an audible or visual indicator.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 10
Tested by: Casey Mongoven
Cookie G4
This helmet still (along with G3) seems to be a bit loud and tight to accomodate the use of helmet speakers, especially for higher speed disciplines. The padding in the helmet also prevents one from having the possibility of a stereo setup with helmet speakers as well. For this reason, SonoAlti G2V with helmet speakers is not generally recommended for SonoAlti G2V.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 2
Tested by: Tara Bidwell
Tonfly 2X
Tonfly really knows how to make a good helmet for audibles as well as visual alert devices. Our tests of SonoAlti G2V in the Tonfly 2X were truly spectacular. I personally most preferred it with Uclear Digital's Pulse in-helmet speakers, but it sounded and worked great with everything we tested. This one takes the cake.
Overall rating:
Number of jumps done with this piece of equipment: 12
Tested by: Casey Mongoven