Before anything, I have to warn you: the Headwave TAG Concert Capsule is not your HiFi vinyl player connected to your Sennheiser HD800S headphones. If these are your expectations, you might as well toss a coin to help you choose between staying at home and enjoying your music collection, a glass of Laphroaig and a pipe filled with Dunhill 965 tobacco on one hand, and enjoying a ride on your motorcycle while having a nice musical background on the other.
Likewise, if you plan to listen to a new album to get to know it and experience its subtleties, then being on a motorcycle or ATV is definitely not the way to do it. But if you want to enjoy your ride, wherever it may take you, and have a musical backdrop consisting of your fav tracks, then the Headwave TAG might be the one gadget you were looking for.
No, the TAG will not blow you away, at least not in the way your high-spec, expensive loudspeakers at home would. The TAG was not engineered to be used as a studio reference monitor, and neither will it stack too well against using in-ears, simply because the philosophy behind this gadget is different.
The Headwave TAG Concert Capsule will immerse you in a new world whose sound is the one of your choice. The “concert” does not refer to the serene atmosphere in the philharmonic hall, but to the seemingly ubiquitous sound around rock or metal open air festivals. And this is yet another thing that made me enjoy the TAG.
I play metal, and I also do festivals, both on the stage and in the audience, and yes, the Headwave TAG Concert Capsule resembles the vibe I get on the concert grounds. The sound is not fully detailed, yet it is present and almost omnipresent. The fact that the TAG uses the helmet shell to create sound makes its source harder to pinpoint, and this contributes to the sensation of immersion.
One of the nice things is that the TAG manages to deliver bass, too, though in limited amounts. I played some Skrillex and other bass-intensive tracks to check how the Concert Capsule responds, and even though my expectations were more on the high side, I was not disappointed. The low-end will not make your teeth rattle, but then again, nothing would unless you’re using headphones.
Instead, the TAG will also let you hear more sounds coming from around you, adding a bit to the safety in traffic. Honking horns, weird engine noises, buddies crashing behind you and all, they will penetrate the sonic soundstage created by the TAG, and this is good.
So, is it worth it?
This being the first commercial incarnation of the Headwave TAG, I must say that certain refinements and tweaks can be implemented. For starters, the peak volume could be a little bit higher. When riding the Yamaha Grizzly 660 ATV and the 990 Adventure with Akrapovic cans and no db-killers, I had to play everything close to the max volume.
This or better sound production using the helmet shell could be a glorious upgrade. Playing tracks at max volume is a no-no because of at least two things: it’s fatiguing and can damage hearing, and the whole assembly can be pushed into overdrive and cause sonic distortions, which are anything but pleasant.
When using quieter motorcycles (Transalp, R1200RT) things are better, so how loud your vehicle is makes a significant difference. Also, it depends what type of music you’re playing. I went through some Abba, slow death metal (Obituary, see the video), fast and furious black metal, Skrillex, hip-hop, soft pop-ish stuff in the vein of Avril Lavigne, as well as mellower music from Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.
Each has its own response, but just like in a live open air concert, you’d better know your fav songs well. Basically, the fuller the sound of the track, the better the TAG’s response. Likewise, the quality of the track plays a major role. Listening to lossless music differs quite a lot from crappy YouTube songs.
Navigation using Google Maps with voice guidance may be a bit tricky if relying on the lady telling you where to turn, but this has nothing to do with the TAG. Just place your phone in its case on the bars and peek at the map when in doubt and you should be okay. Since I didn’t have the Bluetooth-enabled Garmin with me, I can’t offer any info on using it with the TAG.
Obviously, the helmet also plays a role in sound reproduction, and I’m so curious to see if a carbon fiber shell is better at this game. After all, violins and cellos are made from carbon fiber, too, so there must be something to this. Also, I suspect that full-face helmets might be better at producing sound, as I noticed that closing the Bell Revolver improved the audio a bit. Or was it because of less wind noise…
Speaking of noise, my 990 Adventure has a short windscreen for off-road purpose, and the head area can sometimes be way noisier than a bike with a tall windshield. I am also positive that better wind protection will improve the audio of the Headwave TAG Concert Capsule.
Haven’t gotten to depleting the batteries of the TAG, but the Plantronics Bluetooth headset I use when behind the wheel gave me another idea about an improvement Headwave could implement in the future versions. Upon powering on the TAG, it could tell the rider how much streaming time the battery offers, just in case the unit is not fully charged. This would allow better usage management and improve the rider experience. Also, playing a sound when the phone rings instead of simply pausing the track could also be sweet.
All in all, my personal conclusion as a rider who’s not that keen on listening to music while on the bike or ATV is that the Headwave TAG Concert Capsule is a neat solution that makes ends meet. It delivers way much better sonic quality than what skimpy headphones that go in the helmet liner offer, and the omnidirectional sensation makes the TAG less fatiguing. It also produces a fuller sound that has more bass than other solutions, and is only surpassed by in-ears. It allows for sounds in the vicinity of the rider to reach his or her ears and this is critical. Plus, it’s easy to use, and you have zero chances of forgetting it somewhere.
If you want to ride your bike while feeling you’re at a concert, then head over to the Headwave shop and get one. I doubt you’ll regret the move or want anything else.
P.S.: And yes, a mic for two-way audio would be stellar as well, but that’s another story.
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