I'm thinking about getting a pair of matched headsets for two reasons: to talk to my passenger, and to be able to talk on the phone.

We are planning a trip out west w/ the family this summer. I want to take the Wee and meet the family in Las Vegas. Then rent a car and caravan to many of the National Parks that are out that way. My wife is not too keen on the idea of having a bike and a rental car out there - because last year we did something similar and could not communicate between the bike and the car - we kept getting separated.

I know zilch about the headsets. That being said, here is what I was thinking of doing:
Get a Scala Rider Q2 Multiset (or something similar) and bluetooth it (like that? I made "bluetooth" a verb ) to my blackberry. That way I can talk to the car in a pinch. In addition to the helmet speakers, I would want to continue to use my ear buds for my iPod, as everything I read says the helmet speakers are pretty crappy when it comes to music.

Are these units/helmet speakers loud enough to hear when ear buds are in? Clearly, I would need to turn the iPod off in order to hear the helmet speakers, but will I be able to hear those speakers on the highway when my ears are plugged by the ear buds?

Any advice will be appreciated. I really want an affordable way to overcome the communication dilemma. Without doing so, I will have a difficult time convincing the wife that we should bring the bike - and being out there without it will REALLY blow.