[ckellyne]

I had been riding without any tunes and have been missing out big time. I researched on this forum about various WIRED solutions other riders have used and pulled the trigger buying a set of Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator Earphones on ebay for $66 (including shipping). They include **EDIT - Isolation technology** which is awesome. I rode in this morning to work and it is a whole different ride They fit perfectly and riding with my full face shield up (awesome weather today) literally all wind noise was gone since they fit snuggly and comfortably into the ear canal with normal volume level set on player.

Previously, I was just using foam earplugs to block out wind noise which don't even come close to blocking out the wind noise the Etymotic Research ER6i earphones do with the added benefit of hearing my tunes / listening to the radio.

Play on! :hurray:

 

[tmcgee]

They only provide isolation, not noise cancellation.

 

[ckellyne]

They only provide isolation, not noise cancellation.

My bad, you are CORRECT..they provide "isolation". I looked up the difference between Isolation and Noise Cancellation which may be useful to others (starting with me!) . I have a set of Bose noise cancelling earphones too, but no way those babies are going to fit in my helmet.

**Isolating Earphones**
Sound Isolating Earphones prevent outside noise from entering your ear canal. The ear inserts are routinely surrounded by foam or rubber sleeves, and can be put tightly inside your ear. This type of earphone calls for no additional wires or batteries. Because this kind of earphones could block extra noise from coming into your ear, you are then able to enjoy your music at lower volumes, seeing as that music is not competing with traffic or voice noises from outside.

**Noise Cancelling Headphones**
Noise Cancelling Headphones use electronic circuits to cancel out noise after it penetrates the earcup. Microphones inside noise cancellation earcups pick up the outside noise, and a circuit creates an inverse noise which it sends out with the music you are listening to. The real noise and the artificially created anti-noise cancel each other out, permitting nothing but the music to come through. The microphones and also the circuitry which are part of the Bose QuietComfort 2 Noise Cancelling Headphones need their own batteries which let them operate.

 

[FireDog45]

I've heard that these are another option for riders:

http://av.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028224&pathId=110&page=1

IIRC it was on the Pace podcast and they said they did a very good job of staying in without undue pressure as well as doing a very good job at isolating road noise.

How are you connected to your music source? iPod, Zumo...? And how are you controlling the volume? Do you set it at the beginning of the ride or can you mess with it? If you're using an external amp/controller, which one are you using?

If you have an iPod/iPhone there's an app that will change the volume based on speed. Right now it's $.99 at the iTunes store.

 

[tmcgee]

You can add noise cancellation to earphones. I have an adapter from Shure around here somewhere. It's less than perfect since the mics aren't at your ears, but is still effective for 10db attention at some frequencies.

 

[ckellyne]

I haven't upgraded to ipod / iphone yet. I'm using a combination of my blackberry (which has audio player) and a cheap knockaround Coby 4GB mp3 player. The Coby is cheap, easy and functional but will upgrade now that I have the right ear gear to enjoy music again!