Music to my ears

BMUUsed · Jun 4, 2016

Over the years I've experimented with different systems for listening to music on long rides (10-12 hrs. per day). To make matters worse, I wear a modular helmet and like to ride with my face shield open, wearing sunglasses, so wind noise is a factor.

A couple of years ago, I discovered Ear Fuze do it yourself molded earbuds. My bluetooth set uses a dongle/controller that clips to my chinstrap. The main drawbacks are that the unit is not weatherproof and the battery life is only about 4 hours. Most bluetooth earbuds seem to have the same range of playing time before needing to be recharged.

At that point, I usually revert to the old iPod in the chest pocket, but then I can't control the volume or pause the music without digging out the player.

At this point, I think I just need a good set of ear buds (noise canceling or noise isolating?) with a weatherproof inline volume controller, but I'm open to suggestions.

What do you folks use to listen to music, and what do you like or dislike about it?

Anyname · Jun 4, 2016

I recently used a set of Bose active noise cancelling earbuds under my Schuberth helmet. The noise reduction was amazing and they are more comfortable over long periods of time than passive earbuds that jam into your ears.. I plan to use the headphone with a Outdoor Tech "Adapt" bluetooth dongle, although I could plug them into my iPhone. The plan is to have the phone attached to the bike so I can keep it charged and connect through bluetooth so I won't walk away from the bike while still wired to it.

I also have a pair of the Etymotic ER6i passive headphones that work well, but are no longer available and do become uncomfortable after several hours.

http://www.outdoortechnology.com/Shop/Adapt/

BMUUsed · Jun 4, 2016

I have the NoiseHush, which seems to be the same as the Adapt or Jumbl. Does the active noise cancelation make a significant difference dealing with the wind noise?

Anyname · Jun 4, 2016

I'd say that the Bose earbuds are at least as effective dealing with wind noise as the Etymotics or regular ear plugs. I'd really like to see Schuberth (in my opinion about the quietest helmets) partner with a electronics company to build a noise suppression helmet. Then I wouldn't have to remember to use ear plugs etc.

nelliott · Jun 4, 2016

Anyname said:
I recently used a set of Bose active noise cancelling earbuds under my Schuberth helmet. The noise reduction was amazing and they are more comfortable over long periods of time than passive earbuds that jam into your ears.. I plan to use the headphone with a Outdoor Tech "Adapt" bluetooth dongle, although I could plug them into my iPhone. The plan is to have the phone attached to the bike so I can keep it charged and connect through bluetooth so I won't walk away from the bike while still wired to it.

I also have a pair of the Etymotic ER6i passive headphones that work well, but are no longer available and do become uncomfortable after several hours.

http://www.outdoortechnology.com/Shop/Adapt/

Specifically which Bose model?

robsryder · Jun 5, 2016

The Bose QC 20 noise cancelling earphones are the model that I tried. For my application, modular helmet (Nolan or Shoei) with R1100RS and tall parabellum windshield, I did not find these earphones to be satisfactory. The apparent noise was still quite high; the in-ear fit wasn't as snug as I would have liked (experimented with different sizes of tips, but to no avail) and it didn't seem that the cancellation was keeping up with the "white noise" present.
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products...cancelling-headphones.html#v=qc20_apple_black

I have been more pleased with the Eymotic ER6 earphones. Good sound isolation and good sound quality. Alas, as noted, these are no longer available. I have tried some of the replacements, i.e. HF5, MC5, and MK5 models, and these were ok, but to me, not as good as the ER6 earphones (very subjective).
http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones.html

Some inexpensive sound isolation earphones, with various tip types, can be had from Plugphones. I've tried these and they are ok - not as good as the ER6, though.
https://www.plugfones.com/product/m...Z8-S0qg.0&utm_referrer=https://www.google.com
https://www.plugfones.com/?ver=mayc...Z8-S0qg.1&utm_referrer=https://www.google.com

A few more links to other opinions and info on earphones for motorcycle use -
https://rideapart.com/articles/headphones-that-work-on-motorcycles
https://rideapart.com/articles/ask-rideapart-best-earbuds-for-motorcycle-riding
http://www.zhoss.com/best-earbuds-for-motorcycle-riding/

Note: Use of earphones while riding a motorcycle may not be legal in many locations.

Anyname · Jun 5, 2016

I just saw that Bose has announced a new Bluetooth version of their noise cancelling headphones. The neck ring might look odd walking down the street, but they look like they would be more convenient than wired earbuds:

http://gizmodo.com/boses-best-noise-canceling-headphones-finally-go-wirele-1779953346

The bad news is that they won't be available for a while.

Anyname · Jun 5, 2016

nelliott said:
Specifically which Bose model?

Mine are QC 20 for Apple devices. They also make them for Android. Apparently the difference is in the signaling for the little remote thats on the cable.

Anyname · Jun 5, 2016

robsryder said:
The Bose QC 20 noise cancelling earphones are the model that I tried. For my application, modular helmet (Nolan or Shoei) with R1100RS and tall parabellum windshield, I did not find these earphones to be satisfactory. The apparent noise was still quite high; the in-ear fit wasn't as snug as I would have liked (experimented with different sizes of tips, but to no avail) and it didn't seem that the cancellation was keeping up with the "white noise" present.
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products...cancelling-headphones.html#v=qc20_apple_black

I have been more pleased with the Eymotic ER6 earphones. Good sound isolation and good sound quality. Alas, as noted, these are no longer available. I have tried some of the replacements, i.e. HF5, MC5, and MK5 models, and these were ok, but to me, not as good as the ER6 earphones (very subjective).
http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones.html

Some inexpensive sound isolation earphones, with various tip types, can be had from Plugphones. I've tried these and they are ok - not as good as the ER6, though.
https://www.plugfones.com/product/m...Z8-S0qg.0&utm_referrer=https://www.google.com
https://www.plugfones.com/?ver=mayc...Z8-S0qg.1&utm_referrer=https://www.google.com

A few more links to other opinions and info on earphones for motorcycle use -
https://rideapart.com/articles/headphones-that-work-on-motorcycles
https://rideapart.com/articles/ask-rideapart-best-earbuds-for-motorcycle-riding
http://www.zhoss.com/best-earbuds-for-motorcycle-riding/

Note: Use of earphones while riding a motorcycle may not be legal in many locations.

I have a Nolan modular I bought during the time that Schuberth didn't have a US importer. Changing from my old Schuberth to the Nolan I thought that the Nolan was appallingly loud even at low speeds. I swapped back to a Schuberth as soon as the C3 was available in the US. I also have tried a Arai which was advertised as "quiet". Arai makes a great helmet, but quiet they aren't.

I will admit that the trade off with a Schuberth is that at slow speeds I need to crack the face place open at low speeds for ventilation when the weather is warm.

Music to my ears

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