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General Category => General Banter => Topic started by: allonm on June 13, 2012, 08:22:21 AM

Title: Earphones
Post by: allonm on June 13, 2012, 08:22:21 AM
What earphones are you recommending to use under the helmet with your MP3 players when riding your motorcycles? For so many years I have resisted it, but next week I have some long distance riding to  do and maybe this would be a good opportunity to  check this option out.

Thanks,
Allon
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: beedawg on June 13, 2012, 08:49:46 AM
I used custom earphones for years, but since I broke them and haven't fixed them, I've been using my Etymotic ER6i earphones

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B0002ZW5W4#replacementWidget (http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B0002ZW5W4#replacementWidget)

which have apparently been superceded:

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolating-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B003S3RFIQ/ref=dp_ob_title_ce (http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolating-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B003S3RFIQ/ref=dp_ob_title_ce)

The custom earphones are more comfortable for long days, and they cut out more noise, but the Etymotics sound great and work pretty well for their price.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Greg on June 13, 2012, 09:11:36 AM
Best $200 I ever spent. I actually own 2 pairs, one as back up if the other set fails. (Though they never have in years of use)

The company used to have a booth at the motorcycle show at the convention center.

http://www.plugup.com/custom_made_earplug_speakers_stereo_earbudss_s/73.htm (http://www.plugup.com/custom_made_earplug_speakers_stereo_earbudss_s/73.htm)
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: motorrad on June 13, 2012, 09:12:45 AM
+1 on the Etymotics. They're quite good.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: aschendel on June 13, 2012, 09:17:44 AM
i use the ER6i's as well, for riding occasionally, but mostly for when I'm mowing, etc.

a.s.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Ray916MN on June 13, 2012, 12:45:23 PM
I use Etymotic ER6is and have multiple pairs. If you're patient and lucky you can still find them used for a reasonable price. I bought my last pair last month. I'm debating having a set molded into custom ear plugs.

I recently bought a pair of Klipsch S4 earbuds as they were recommended on a forum and available for less than $30. They worked pretty well although they don't provide as much isolation as the ER6i. I also have some other sets but none of them work well enough under a helmet for me to use them when riding. So much of this comes down to fit in the end, so what works will to some degree depends on how well they fit.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Joel S on June 13, 2012, 01:44:18 PM
like everyone else, i have a set of er6is but the page is showing discontinued. http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx (http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx)
the seal is very good, and it blocks out wind noise and they seem to stay put.  amazon is showing a mc5 as a replacement, but they look much longer, not sure how they would function.

My gift to my self were a set of fitear molded stereo plugs. http://www.fit-ear.com/products-page/motorcycle-stereo-plugs/ (http://www.fit-ear.com/products-page/motorcycle-stereo-plugs/)  i have the m2xb and have been super happy with them. the price is up there but great sound and fit. not sure how the ones greg uses compares for sound quality, but wind noise and filling ears with music seems like a more economical approach. seems like both of ours came from the cycle show. guess that wont help you in a week or two.

next gadget for tunes is my remote. i have a http://www.buyijet.com/remotes.html (http://www.buyijet.com/remotes.html) nav boss v2, use to have the standard black. i have it on my clutch master for easy reach. lets me play, pause, volume up and down next and back. it works great!!   Now if only i can find something similar for my android phone i would be golden.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: allonm on June 13, 2012, 10:40:16 PM
Thanks for everyone for the suggestions. I will give  Etymotic a try.

Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: allonm on July 12, 2012, 07:31:41 PM
Bought the Etymotic Research ER6i and between Mankato to Worthington MN (The first leg of my 3200 mile trip) I found out I can't stand them. Honestly, my ears are very sensitive and most foam plugs will irritate me.

Bought them last month for $110 on Amazon. Selling for $55. Used them once on the motorcycle and once on the treadmill.

LMK  if you want them. 

Allon
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: aschendel on July 12, 2012, 10:20:51 PM
did you try the other tips?  i switched immediately to the grey rubber ones...  i'll take them if you really end up not liking them.  and i agree, ears are a very sensitive body part.

a.s.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: 4kless on July 13, 2012, 12:27:23 PM
Allon, sent you a PM on the earphones. I'll take them if you still have them
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: carlson_mn on July 13, 2012, 04:41:53 PM
I hated the ER6's - but thanks to Best Buy for their return policy.  I have used apple's in-ear phones for a couple years now and I am very impressed.  Pretty good sound isolation, they're very comfortable and the price is great, not to mention you can control your ipod or smart phone with the little in line controller that dangles right outside the helmet in a perfect spot.

I hate boomy earphones but the Ety's were too flat down low and a bit bright up top.  Apple's fit somewhere in between.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Hope2Ride on July 17, 2012, 12:49:25 AM
I've used a lot of headphones while riding and I really like the Bose in ear headphones. They are rubber and have 3 different sizes. Cost is $100 and you can even get them at Target. Sound quality is good and they fit well under my helmet. Some earbuds really "stick out" if your ear and are terrible under helmets but the Bose have a flatter shape which I like.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Aprilian on July 17, 2012, 09:48:51 AM
Hope,  Don't the Bose have grills on the outside that let some external noise in?
Matt,   You should play with the custom equalizer on your iphone/ipod to fine tune any earbuds you use.

I use the equalizer to push A) the 4k band where I hae some hearing loss and B) the frequencies the same as wind noise to compensate for the helmet noise.

I would like to try the Beats earbuds, but while I have my Sensaphonics custom dual drive monitors, there is no reason to buy a set just to try.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: carlson_mn on July 17, 2012, 04:46:30 PM
That's a good tip to boost the EQ.  I'll research what f wind noise is, guessing about 300-500hz. 
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: Aprilian on July 17, 2012, 06:29:49 PM
That depends on helmet and fairing.   With fairing if the turbulence is at your neck it will be low hZ.  Naked bike with ill fitting face shield will be much higher frequency - think whistling.  I tend to push the spoken word frequencies for best personal enjoyment (think bell curve on equalizer).
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: T.W. Day on July 24, 2012, 10:06:02 AM
I did a Geezer column on this silliness a while back and it turned out to be one of the most inflammatory things I'd written. (http://home.comcast.net/~twday60/geezer/geezer77.htm (http://home.comcast.net/~twday60/geezer/geezer77.htm)) I even had  goofballs claiming one of my sources, Sarah Angerman from the UofM, was invented. It was pretty hilarious, since this territory is where  make my living and most of the ranting letter writers were obviously freaked out about their current loss of hearing.

My personal favorite comment was, "Wearing ear plugs, I can't ride for more than 100 miles listening to my tinnitus screaming in my head. . . " This guy went on to tell me that he'd rather go deaf than be stuck hearing that self-generated noise. That's not how it works. The more "deaf" you get, the louder the tinnitus will become as the neural-generated tinnitus "tones" overwhelm the acoustic signals sent from the vanishing cilia in your cochlea. Clapton, Townshend, and Phil Collins describe their tinnitus symptoms as "a loud metallic waterfall that never lets up and is always the loudest thing in whatever room I'm in."

Audiologists are looking forward to your future business (http://children.webmd.com/guide/hearing-loss-mp3s (http://children.webmd.com/guide/hearing-loss-mp3s)). Yep, it's true. They do call the 18-40 year old group, the "MP3 Generation." You are going to be big money makers for the hearing aid manufacturers, since you're going deaf faster than my generation. More 30 year olds are hearing impaired than 60 year-olds, percentage wise. Get ready for a lifetime of "get an ear horn" jokes from the few of you who can hear.
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: smokechaser on July 24, 2012, 12:38:36 PM
Audiologists are looking forward to your future business ([url]http://children.webmd.com/guide/hearing-loss-mp3s[/url] ([url]http://children.webmd.com/guide/hearing-loss-mp3s[/url])). Yep, it's true. They do call the 18-40 year old group, the "MP3 Generation." You are going to be big money makers for the hearing aid manufacturers, since you're going deaf faster than my generation. More 30 year olds are hearing impaired than 60 year-olds, percentage wise. Get ready for a lifetime of "get an ear horn" jokes from the few of you who can hear.


What are your recommendations, still staying within the MN laws?  One noise canceling earbud with music only?  One earbud and one earplug?  Two ear plugs?

I have noticed the ringing in my ears after a long ride.  At this point it still goes away, would like to prevent it from being permanent!
Title: Re: Earphones
Post by: T.W. Day on July 24, 2012, 04:30:51 PM
A pretty good rule of thumb is both "if it hurts to hear, it's hurting your hearing" and if you experience noise that causes ringing, you've done some amount of permanent damage. We're all different, but the hearing mechanism is incredibly fragile and not that well designed for the modern environment. I recommend shelving the ear phones and going for the best ear plugs you can find. Both ears, almost all of the time.

The math is pretty straight forward and solidly points in every direction away from sound in the helmet. I use in-ear phones, all the time, to mix in live recording environments. That's, even, pushing the boundaries of safe practice. In R&R situations, I put my Shure in-ears (36dB of isolation, mid-band) inside of my industrial ear protectors (38dB of isolation from 250Hz to 12.5kHz and 29dB of isolation from 62.5-250Hz) to give myself a little dynamic range while monitoring the recording. Helmets are miserable protection, sometimes actually magnifying air flow and SPL inside the helmet. So, I don't count that as any sort of protection. Many audiologists (and me) have done measurements in a helmet at highway speeds and the general consensus is that the noise level in a helmet is between 85dBSPL and 120+SPL; depending on the helmet (3/4 helmets are the worst offenders), fairing and windshield, motorcycle exhaust noise, speed, and environmental conditions. So, getting 36dB of attenuation from your ear plugs or in-ears just brings the noise level down to "marginally harmful" in many/most cases.