StromTrooper banner

Head Phones what do you think about them?

3K views 26 replies 23 participants last post by  Kieth 
#1 ·
On long trips like my hour ride on the interstate to work I pull out the trusty MP3 player and ear buds and rock out to some tunes on the way to work pluse it breaks up the menotiny of the wind noise but I have been catching some attitude from some people about it but I realy dont see the problem with it due to the Gold wings and harleys with there intercoms and CB's and Sterio systems and talking gps systems what's the proablem with a little MP3 player and head phones its not like i cant hear the super swamper cager runing up beside me or the fire truck police etc..?
 
#3 ·
When I take a long trip, I like using the Zumo as an MP3 player.
 
G
#15 ·
+1 on this!!!

Note:
I only listen to music if I'm cruising down the Interstate...or a straight road.
If I'm in "twisties" or city traffic, never.
I find the music DOES "lessen" my senses to what's going on around me.

BTD.
 
#4 ·
Let me know

I have just gotten an MP3 player and am still looking for a good set of ear plugs. The ones that came with them are worthless pass 20 miles an hour.
The next ones had the ear hook to hold them in position so the helmet doesn't wipe them off, also worthless due to wind noise at speed. I am looking for the ones that plug into the ear with a rubber noise barrier next, altough I don't expect them to do much better. I will probably work my way up to the $35. or $40. range before I give it up. Music would be nice but it just isnt that important to me. If you find something that works, post it. There's bound to be a few more that are tight wads and are having this problem too.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The main reason that it's considered so dangerous is that they can act like ear plugs for the things around you and then pump sound into your ears after that. So you silence the things you're supposed to be paying attention to, and then crank the stuff you're not.


That said, I am a die hard musician ( my old band: http://www.myspace.com/themusicofessex ) and if I don't have music playing to me at all times I am dead inside. So I came up with an answer to my delima.

I bought some sony Sport Over the Ear headphones that had a speaker that was small but designed for playing out instead of playing straight into your ear. I disassembled them and took only the speaker and the wire with me to my helmet.

I then took an Xacto knife and carefully hollowed out some of the styrofoam near where the straps connected to the helmet (Shoei). I made sure not to damage the construction of the helmet. I hollowed out maybe less than 1 sq inch, maybe 1/4 inch deep.. The speaker did not want to fit in this area (which is a good thing) because I want the speaker to stay in place. So I pushed pretty hard to get it lodged in there. I covered it back up with the side padding and voila, I have sound!

There are three great things about my set up.

1. They don't move around when you slide the helmet on, or rip your ears off when you pull the helmet off.

2. It is not loud enough to inhibit my ability to hear everything I need to hear. But it is plenty loud to keep my going strong.

3. No more fiddling around with whatever just to hear music when I'm going. I put the helmet on, plug in to my Zune and I've got tunes.

If anybody wants to do this too I can make a thread of my exact steps with pics.




Total cost: $20 and time. Scissors can be substituted for the Xacto knife.

P.S. I've found a program called MP3Gain to up the dB on the music in my library so that where my Zune fails in volume, my actual MP3's will make up. Just to get a little louder for the freeway.
 
#6 ·
I've got some Phillips in-the-ear buds for my iPod that do a decent job of reducing wind noise and sound good, and the rubber part actually keeps them in my ear while I pull my helmet on. Having music keeps me a little more sane both around town and on long trips. I don't think its completely safe to ride with them in (and its illegal in some (most?) places) but I try to constantly scan around myself anyway, and I can still hear sirens with them in.
 
#7 ·
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665194451

SONY
Model Number: MDR-EX85LP/BLKBud Style Headphones
Pump up the volume with these super-light, in-the-ear, studio monitor-quality bud style headphones.


this the pare I have and there sound quality is the best iv ever herd out of some ear buds but this is my first set with the soft cushon in the ear but there pritty good going in i have a full face scorpion exo-400 octain helmet but comming off is a nother story there is some discomfort to pulling the helmet off the bud will come out of my ear but going on the buds dont come out but not that bad if I say so my self and I use a SONY WALKMAN NWZ-A818 very nice like it better than the IPOD my brother in law has
 
#25 ·
#10 ·
Strangely I use the stock Ipod earbuds.

I know everyone says they are crap (which they are to some extent).

I like them because they put the music directly into my ear so I can hear it, but they don't block out any other sounds like the noise attenuation earbuds (the foam ones).

I keep the volume even lower when I ride then when I am listening at home or whatever. Just loud enough that I can hear it, but it doesn't mask anything.

Plus, they are pretty comfy because they are not wedged in there.

I have the madstad and CalSci Tall, so it is pretty quite back there.
 
#11 ·
I use a chatterbox which gives me speakers in the helmet instead of earbuds or the like. Earbuds for me block too much of the exterior sounds I feel I need to hear.
The Cahtterbox also has the volume control on the box on the side of the helmet for quick access with gloves (heavy or light) so I can turn down the volume when the sh*t gets deep. I keep it as light background and then turn it up when the traffic gets light.
Works for me.
You mileage may vary.
bill.
bill
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
i bought some cheap over the ear headphones at wallyworld, took the clips off so it was just the speakers, and used that heavy duty plastic velcro to attach them in the gaps that were already in the ear area of my fulmer modus helmet, then just run the wire down to near the seat where i have an extension wire that runs up to my mio gps to listen to mp3's

the speakers not beign right on my ears lets me still hear everything around me, and at full volume on the gps, i can just barely hear the music and navigation cues
 
#16 ·
+1 Shure Earphones!!! I always wear them on the road.

When off road I do not wear anything as I like to hear the engine and how the bike is responding to my commands.
 
#21 ·
The Zumo doesn't do stereo bluetooth and the volume is low. I use M-audio IE 10 earphones or inexpensive Skullcandy Ink'd earbuds. Putting long hours in on trips can cause irritation so I'm thinking about custom jobs.
 
#22 ·
I ride with headphone most all the time. I have cheapo sony wrap around the ear kind. 12 bucks. I still hear stuff I need to hear just fine. With my ipod in my pants pocket I can stop, start, fast fwd and reverse. Headphones or not it isn't going to help if some person decides to try to run you over. Gota keep the old head on a swivel at all times.... Rock On
 
#23 · (Edited)
I generally don't wear them if just running around town. I think hearing everything is a plus.

However, on long road or off-road rides I love having the tunes on. Tried the std earbuds that came with my ipod and there was too much outside/wind noise. Got some noise cancelling earbuds that worked great - cancelled most but not all exterior noise (much like the soft earplugs I sometimes wear on long rides).

One problem was occaisonally "catching" the wire on something while riding, getting on/off etc... and jerking the bud out of my ear. Lost this set toward end of my Copper Canyon/Baja trip in March (tunes were invaluable on this trip) and replaced them with a noise cancelling set of earbuds with an over the ear hanger by Sony

(http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony...06142/catOid/-12938/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do.)

This has been much better. Same result cancelling most exterior noise while letting some desirable engine sound in while saving my inner ears from an occaisonal tug on the wire.

Also, they happened to come with an extension so when getting off/on the bike I just disconnect the 2 wires in the middle leaving one wire connected to the ipod on the bike and the other wire connected to the earbuds and cliped to me to keep some extra slack.

One other tip: I like to ride standing up when off road or when I just need to stretch while on the bike. I suspended a short bungee across the dip in my handlebars (kind of like a motocross cross-bar) and I hang/clip the ipod to that. It works great as a "suspension", keeps it in a relatively calm air pocket, and I can see it, and work it easily as needed.
 
#24 ·
I generally don't wear them if just running around town. I think hearing everything is a plus.

However, on long road or off-road rides I love having the tunes on. Tried the std earbuds that came with my ipod and there was too much outside/wind noise. Got some noise cancelling earbuds that worked great - cancelled most but not all exterior noise (much like the soft earplugs I sometimes wear on long rides).

One problem was occaisonally "catching" the wire on something while riding, getting on/off etc... and jerking the bud out of my ear. Lost this set toward end of my Copper Canyon/Baja trip in March (tunes were invaluable on this trip) and replaced them with a noise cancelling set of earbuds with an over the ear hanger by Sony

(http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony...06142/catOid/-12938/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do.) //
It says they're not sound canceling in the specs?
 
#26 ·
Philips headphones....

I've tried a couple of different "helmet speakers" and several headphones.

The helmet speakers are pretty useless above 20 mph or so - even minor wind and engine noise overwhelms them.

The best headphones are the ones that insert into the ear and block out some of the noise. I've found the Philips SHN2500 ones (around $20 or less) the best so far - they have a "noise cancelling" feature that amplifies the sound and supposedly blocks some noise (I'm not so sure about this feature). But they're comfortable and enable me to listen to tunes while I ride.
 
#27 ·
In ear speakers

If you want the ultimate in in ear speakers get a set of custom made ones. If you want to try something first buy a set of Etomotic Research ER6i's, If the fit you properly you will never go back. headroom sells these for about $90.00. They sound great, the only problem after a little use the wires are too frail and they will fail. Then you can call me or some others and get a set of Challenger in ear speakers custom made. about 175.00.
As to the problem of blocking noise out on the bike, if you ride without earplugs or in ear speakers that block noise out, do not worry , you will loose your hearing due to the wind noise. I read a article many years ago in motorcycle consumer news, called "Do you hear what I hear" it was very informative. To sum it up, wind on a bike is a bass tone, and a bass tone travels through anything, your helmet, etc. without some form of ear plug the wind noise makes your ear drum go back and forth all the time you are riding. This will first show up as tenitis (ringing in your ears) and this eventually leads to tone deafness. Wear ear plugs, or wear -20 to -25db in ear speakers, this keeps you from going deaf, keeps you from having to turn up the volume so loud on the music you listen to, and you can still hear the stuff around you. Kieth in Tulsa HUH???:var_27:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top