Best Microphone Location??
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Amateur
Joined: Mar 2014
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From: NJ
Best Microphone Location??
2008 Durango SLT, no EVIC. Stock radio was an REN, just replaced with an RER. Ordered the standalone MOPAR microphone and installed it today. Quick trials this afternoon were surprising to me.
1. The microphone temporarily hanging from the rear view mirror: Reported my audio was hard to understand and breaking up.
2. The microphone at the forward edge of the driver's side sun visor: Reported my audio was excellent, but loud. Lowering my natural inclination to yell helped a lot as did the volume control on the phone in the house! Wind noise could be a problem, I suspect, but it's raining so I couldn't test with the window open (no sunroof).
3. The microphone wedged into the space between the tach and air vent: Reported terrible; breaking up, garbled, etc.
4. The microphone at the bottom on the speedometer: same as #3 above.
I suspect the microphone is picking up vibrations from the 'hard' plastic when it's near the tach or speedometer. The rear view mirror location may be too far from the driver's mouth for clear speech reproduction. I'm really surprised because the MOPAR mirror microphone reportedly works fine.
It looks like the sun visor or A-pillar are where it will reside.
I'd be interested in the experience of others before I commit. I really don't want to spend the bucks for a microphone mirror, so that' snot an option.
By the way - I have been removing, installing and 'modifying' the electronics stacks in cars (and aircraft) for fifty+ years (ham, scanner and general electronics geek) and have NEVER seen a design like that in the Durango. It took me all of 30 seconds to pull the trim and get the radio out. My other current ride is a 2008 VW Passat. Trust me, Hoffbrau House German engineering is a LOT more complex than it needs to be and nowhere near that of our Durangos!
1. The microphone temporarily hanging from the rear view mirror: Reported my audio was hard to understand and breaking up.
2. The microphone at the forward edge of the driver's side sun visor: Reported my audio was excellent, but loud. Lowering my natural inclination to yell helped a lot as did the volume control on the phone in the house! Wind noise could be a problem, I suspect, but it's raining so I couldn't test with the window open (no sunroof).
3. The microphone wedged into the space between the tach and air vent: Reported terrible; breaking up, garbled, etc.
4. The microphone at the bottom on the speedometer: same as #3 above.
I suspect the microphone is picking up vibrations from the 'hard' plastic when it's near the tach or speedometer. The rear view mirror location may be too far from the driver's mouth for clear speech reproduction. I'm really surprised because the MOPAR mirror microphone reportedly works fine.
It looks like the sun visor or A-pillar are where it will reside.
I'd be interested in the experience of others before I commit. I really don't want to spend the bucks for a microphone mirror, so that' snot an option.
By the way - I have been removing, installing and 'modifying' the electronics stacks in cars (and aircraft) for fifty+ years (ham, scanner and general electronics geek) and have NEVER seen a design like that in the Durango. It took me all of 30 seconds to pull the trim and get the radio out. My other current ride is a 2008 VW Passat. Trust me, Hoffbrau House German engineering is a LOT more complex than it needs to be and nowhere near that of our Durangos!