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Earphones - help with purchase

Glad to hear people can ride in silence... definitely not for me... love listening to the radio when I'm on the bike for hours at the time...

Silence? No silence.

I enjoy the three "S's"
The Sights, Sounds and Smells of the journey!

I always get good reception too! :whistle
 
Not addressed to any one person...

But think about what you are doing.
Wind noise isn't kept to anything. It's being masked.
One noise is overriding another.
Ear buds at a low level in a low level environment is one thing.
In a louder environment you are just adding to the ear damage. :ear

Find a good earplug and listen to the voices in your head.
My earplugs almost touch each other they are so far in.
I used to listen to music but as the novelty wore off so did the 'need'.

For me now it's high speed solitude. Well, me and all my 'inside' friends... :brad

Sorry, that is not true. You're thinking of ear buds which provide zero sound reduction. Actual insert-earphones provide 20dB or more (typically) of noise reduction - just like ear plugs do. The speaker is inserted in the plug, so you don't have to play it loud to hear it well. The ER6i's filter so well (rated at 28dB NR) I don't really feel comfortable using them in traffic situations and relegate them to use in the yard. The ER6's (more comfortable for me anyway) are rated at 24dB NR so I can still hear traffic around me provided I don't crank up the music too much.

There are all sorts of examples of this from Etymotic, Shure, Bose, Sony, Koss, custom made plugs like those from the Earplug Company, etc. If the technical specs do NOT specify a noise reduction (NR) rating - they are earbuds and will not isolate you from environmental noises. Like all NR ratings, take them with a grain of salt and, if possible, try them to check fit, and just how much reduction they provide. Etymotic recently "re-graded" their earphones and claim 34-36dB reduction, which I feel is bogus, but its definitely in the middle 20's matching very good earplugs for noise isolation.

The need to listen to music is an individual preference, if you don't like and/or find it distracting, don't listen to it. I personally find it keeps me awake, entertained, and alert. I can even chew gum at the same time ;) There are times I just turn it off to 'think' but most of the times tunes are playing.
 
Not addressed to any one person...

But think about what you are doing.
Wind noise isn't kept to anything. It's being masked.
One noise is overriding another.
Ear buds at a low level in a low level environment is one thing.
In a louder environment you are just adding to the ear damage. :ear

Find a good earplug and listen to the voices in your head.
My earplugs almost touch each other they are so far in.
I used to listen to music but as the novelty wore off so did the 'need'.

For me now it's high speed solitude. Well, me and all my 'inside' friends... :brad

I get my hearing checked every year. When I do ride with music, the volume is keep very, very soft, just loud enough for me to hear it. Without the music, those same earbuds do just as good a job as my disposal earplugs at eliminating the wind buffeting. I ask the folks who check my ears, as well as my doctor, and they both have told me that having the volume low with earbuds will not adversely affect my hearing. I also have helmet speakers but the audiologist has explained that the helmet speakers can contribute to deafness as they have to drown out the existing wind noise in order to be heard.

Having said that, I tend to listen to music only near the end of a long day of riding when I am beginning to get a bit tired. The music revives me, big time and keeps me alert. For the most part, earbuds are for me, a pain to keep inserted with the helmet and the wires seem to be the constantly in the way as well. Custom made earplug speakers were totally useless; permitting almost as much wind noise as wearing no earplugs at all.
 
Having said that, I tend to listen to music only near the end of a long day of riding when I am beginning to get a bit tired. The music revives me, big time and keeps me alert. For the most part, earbuds are for me, a pain to keep inserted with the helmet and the wires seem to be the constantly in the way as well. Custom made earplug speakers were totally useless; permitting almost as much wind noise as wearing no earplugs at all.

DItto... Maybe I'm getting old and cranky but the annoyance over rides the enjoyment of the iPod(s).
I'm left using foam plugs.
I made the joke earlier that they are in so far that they practically touch each other because I see many folks w/ earplugs jammed in the opening of their ear and not down in the ear canal.

Just roll 'em between your fingers to a point and if needed pull up on your ear to facilitate the earplug getting into the ear canal and stopping short the eardrum. They need to seal to work well.
 

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I made the joke earlier that they are in so far that they practically touch each other because I see many folks w/ earplugs jammed in the opening of their ear and not down in the ear canal.
As I said, on the two occasions that the helmet pushed them too far into my ear, not only was it embarrassing for me to ask a total stranger (with long nails) to pull them out, it must have been totally repulsive for them (even though I keep my ears clean). I know carry tweezers just in case that should ever happen again.

Of course, I lost my useless custom made speaker/ear plugs two years ago; lost my ER6is last year and this season the cord to the Shures became unattached, dangled and melted near the engine. I am truly cursed when it comes to owning earbuds and listening to music as I ride. I do use a lot of regular laser lite foam ear plugs.
 
As I said, on the two occasions that the helmet pushed them too far into my ear...

Not to argue... How is that possible?
I've worn full face since 1978.
Granted they are tight. Mine is so tight I can't chew gum... (no jokes)
I bite the insides of my mouth. But pushing an ear plug in?
I had a set stuck once. They were smaller bullet shaped...
The flanged ones work well as they are flared at the ends.

Given that... Yer braver than me to ask someone to pull out an ear plug.

Oh... And sorry for the Hijack. This thread is about earphones. Not earplugs... :hungover
 
I am not so interested in music as hearing the GPS talk to me. My sight (near) is fading and I have to concentrate fairly hard to read anything near anymore, so I will be relying on the voice directions from my Zumo. The music will be used to fight boredom, or just for a mood change.

I have always relied on my hearing for defensive riding, and do not want to block out all that is going on outside. In case it is suggested, I prefer not to wear bifocals while I ride, the line of sight for the GPS is too high, and I think it will be too uncomfortable. I will occasionally wear them when using a map in the tankbag, however the line of sight for the map is much lower than the GPS.
 
As I said, on the two occasions that the helmet pushed them too far into my ear, not only was it embarrassing for me to ask a total stranger (with long nails) to pull them out

Leatherman tool works. DAMHIK
 
Not to argue... How is that possible?
I've worn full face since 1978.
Granted they are tight. Mine is so tight I can't chew gum... (no jokes)
I bite the insides of my mouth. But pushing an ear plug in?
I had a set stuck once. They were smaller bullet shaped...
The flanged ones work well as they are flared at the ends.

Given that... Yer braver than me to ask someone to pull out an ear plug.

Oh... And sorry for the Hijack. This thread is about earphones. Not earplugs... :hungover

These are ER6is speaker earplugs. In order for them to work for me they need to be inserted well into the ear canal in order to isolate extraneous sounds. Normally not a problem with the helmet. However on two different occasions, as I pulled the helmet over my head, I could feel the earbud slide further inside the ear canal. It was very painful on each occasion. The plastic ends of the ER6is were not conductive to gripping by my fingers or my nails. Hence the need for assistance. Call me a clumsy or unlucky old man who most likely inserted the plugs just a touch too far, but not realizing it until the helmet gave the final push.

The design of the Shure is such that they could never be pushed in too far as part of the speaker earbud design is at a right angle to the part inserted.
 
The design of the Shure is such that they could never be pushed in too far as part of the speaker earbud design is at a right angle to the part inserted.

What it comes down to is the design of your ears.
 
Don't laugh, but the best earphones I have found, especially for the money, I purchased at Walmart. They are made by Koss, model # KEB20DVD and run about $25.00. They have very good base and claim to cover 10 specturms or something like that. They have a volume control and have a 3.5 RCA jack and come with a little carrying case. While not really noise canceling, they call them noise isolating and they work fantastic. I just pop them on before putting they helmet on and plug them in the Zumo. Now I just gotta find a suitable microphone I can plug into the Zumo so I can talk back to someone who calls me on the phone.
 
Noise Reducing Ear Buds

Not to hijack this, but I too am interested in some ear phones, but need to be able to put them in my N102. Is there a kit out there, or does anyone have any suggestions? I can be pretty creative, but I do not want to take a chance on tearing up a good helmet.

Thanks

I have a pair of Big Ears.:ear I plug them into my Zumo 550 so I can hear verbal directions from my co pilot in the GPS. I can also listen to music XM or MP3.

This company hits most of the bike shows and ralleys. They actually are molded to fit your ear canal. Great fit, very comfortable and they reduce the ambient wind and associated riding noises, however you can still hear and you do not have to mount or glue them into your helmet. Just put them in and slid you helmet on. You might want to check out thier web site. They have different models, they sold me the clear ones ( B1-C model I think )


http://www.bigearinc.com/home/Default.aspx

Hope this helps.
 
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I have a pair of Big Ears.:ear I plug them into my Zumo 550 so I can hear verbal directions from my co pilot in the GPS. I can also listen to music XM or MP3.

This company hits most of the bike shows and ralleys. They actually are molded to fit your ear canal. Great fit, very comfortable and they reduce the ambient wind and associated riding noises, however you can still hear. and you do not have to mount or glue them into your helmet. Just put them in and slid you helmet on. You might want to check out thier web site. They have different models, they sold me the clear ones ( B1-C model I think )


http://www.bigearinc.com/home/Default.aspx

Hope this helps.

I have a set of the Etomics, like them a lot, but on my ride to California last year, after three 12 hour days, my ears were sore. Just that little bit of pressure pushing on my ear canals built up over that time to pain.

I had heard of the Big Ear speakers from someone at the local bike shop, so I looked them up at the ractrack.
They had sets you could listen to, and i am glad. Their 225 dollar plugs were far inferior sound wise to the Etomics. The next set were 400 dollars. iwas in a quandry, I wanted the in ear monitors for noise reduction and sound, but was not willing to pay that much.

Luckily Big ear was not the only company selling molded in ear monitors.
I ended up with a pair from Now Hear this. The were less money than the big ear set, and I could not tell the difference in sound from the Etomics, which was a big plus for me.

Now hear this doesn't have a web site, they can be reached at 305-477-2333.


Just my experience and $.02
 
Ear Protection

I have a set of the Etomics, like them a lot, but on my ride to California last year, after three 12 hour days, my ears were sore. Just that little bit of pressure pushing on my ear canals built up over that time to pain.

I had heard of the Big Ear speakers from someone at the local bike shop, so I looked them up at the ractrack.
They had sets you could listen to, and i am glad. Their 225 dollar plugs were far inferior sound wise to the Etomics. The next set were 400 dollars. iwas in a quandry, I wanted the in ear monitors for noise reduction and sound, but was not willing to pay that much.

Luckily Big ear was not the only company selling molded in ear monitors.
I ended up with a pair from Now Hear this. The were less money than the big ear set, and I could not tell the difference in sound from the Etomics, which was a big plus for me.

Now hear this doesn't have a web site, they can be reached at 305-477-2333.


Just my experience and $.02

They were pricey.

Thanks for the info.
 
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