FINALLY. Riding with tunes!

[Harry]

I had been trying to figure out how to listen to music while riding and just came up with something that works perfectly.

I bought an ipod "shuffle" and at first tried using the ear buds which come with it. But they kept popping out while pulling on my helmet. And even when they didn't pop out, wind noise made listening to music impossible.

After checking around, I found that the company "Westone" makes custom molded ear phones.

I made an appointment with a local audiologist. She squirted some jelly into my ears, allowed it to set and then sent the molds off to have the speakers implanted into them and in about a week, they were ready.

No more distracting wind. And they never pop out. Hell, they're practically locked into my ears.

I only wear the ear phones while on highway rides of at least twenty miles and I keep the volume down low enough so that I can still hear what's going on around me.

What's great is that the speakers reach so far down into my ears that they don't require much volume at all.

The ear phones ARE NOT cheap. $180. was the cheapest price that I could find here in Maryland. But I considered it a worth-while investment.

After all. The voices in your head will only keep you company for so long...

[scottybooj]

there's another brand everyone likes that is about half of what you spent.

it's called Etymotics.

[Harry]

Good for anyone who saved money. I had heard of Westone before and they offered me a three month warranty.

[DJ Downunder]

I have these...the speakers are those little black things at the end of the curly clear tubing. http://www.earmold.com.au/content/view/25/39/

DJ

[R4R&R]

I went to http://www.earmold.com to find a local place to get the custom molds done. It was a local Ear specialist (Audiologist?) and I paid about $200, so your 180 was a littel better than mine. It was a flat rate price for them and they came with a 1 year warranty (which has expured). So far they are still working great.

[rdsmith3]

there's another brand everyone likes that is about half of what you spent.

it's called Etymotics.

The etymotic er6i is an amazing earbud for motorcycle use. The triple flange really blocks out the outside noise. I really like them.

[bimrluvr]

I've got the Etymotics, too. Paid about $130 and the sound is excellent, and it reduces the noise by about 15dB.
Caveat, it takes a tiny bit of practice to get them into your ear canals properly.

[R4R&R]

I've got the Etymotics, too. Paid about $130 and the sound is excellent, and it reduces the noise by about 15dB.
Caveat, it takes a tiny bit of practice to get them into your ear canals properly.

A buddy of mine has them, and refers to the insertion of them as feeling 'violated'.

[GeoffJ]

I use helmet mounted speakers in both my open and full face helmets.

[sweatmark]

Ditto the bang-for-the buck performance of the Etymotic ER6i !!! Great performance in the helmet and while relaxing with iPod. Good sensitivity/volume for portable music applications.

I also have the ER-4P "audiophile" in-ear transducers, but the amazing sounds comes at a price: they really require a dedicated headphone amp to get best response. For this reason - and because they stick out too far from my big fat head - I don't use 'em for riding. BTW, I'm a fan of HeadRoom (http://www.headphone.com) for all things headphone-ish.

Has anybody found a good way to eliminate the buzz of the earbud cords while riding at speed? The cords vibrate in the wind so bad sometimes I can't hear music, or bike motor, or impending doom due to soccer mom/mini-van/cell phone interactions. That's the only reason I end up doing without the good sound of the Ety ER6i, opting instead for the OK sound of the original Autocom in-helmet speakers.


Mark
Oregon

[BigJugs]

Can anyone recommend a decently priced portable headphone amp? I just got a Sirius radio and it doesn't put out enough dB to enjoy the music. I'm using Sony Noise Cancelling ear buds ($99) from Radio Shack that do a good job of reducing wind and road noise.

I've seen some cheapies (Boostaroo) $30 and some expensive ones (Headroom Airhead) $150+ but don't know if I need to spend the extra dough for decent tunes. Recommendations???

Cheers,

[TonyT607]

Sweatmark, I also use the ER6i's and love them. I use the little soft spongy inserts instead of the white flange things; they seem to work better for me.

In any case, to answer your question, what I did to elliminate the "wire flapping in the wind thing" was to run the wires out of my helmet and down my neck into my jacket inside pocket. I bought an earphone extension cord (non-coileld) from radio shack (about $6-$7) which is black and much sturdier than the thin headphone cord. I connect that to the earphone cord, run it out of my pocket and out teh bottom of my jacket. The wire travels a short distance to my Accessories Workshop splitter which it joins my iPod (or XM) output and my Valentine audio together. The splitter I have Dual-locked to my clutch reservoir cover under the V1. It all works very well and the headphones will last alot longer without the stress on those thin cables.

[rdsmith3]

Has anybody found a good way to eliminate the buzz of the earbud cords while riding at speed? The cords vibrate in the wind so bad sometimes I can't hear music, or bike motor, or impending doom due to soccer mom/mini-van/cell phone interactions. That's the only reason I end up doing without the good sound of the Ety ER6i, opting instead for the OK sound of the original Autocom in-helmet speakers.


Mark
Oregon

Mark

I use the Etymotic cord winder (see pic). The $5 price is a bit high for a piece of plastic. That takes up the slack and puts some weight on the cord so it does not flap as much. Then I clip the cord to my tank bag. It works for me.

I use the triple flange rubber tips, which fit me the best and do a good job of keeping out the wind noise up to about 70 mph or so.

[drevil]

i use the sony in ear buds and they work great inside the helmet. i've heard of the other ones, and even noise canceling ones, but i like ot be able to hear at least somewhat of what is going on around me. the in ear buds are like 40$ and provide me a comfortable fit inside the helmet and plenty of volume with my shuffle. which by the way is the greatest riding tunes invention of all time. for the sirius radio, it should have an internal preamp setting that you can crank up, or at least mine does.

[circuitrider]

Can anyone recommend a decently priced portable headphone amp? I just got a Sirius radio and it doesn't put out enough dB to enjoy the music. I'm using Sony Noise Cancelling ear buds ($99) from Radio Shack that do a good job of reducing wind and road noise.

I've seen some cheapies (Boostaroo) $30 and some expensive ones (Headroom Airhead) $150+ but don't know if I need to spend the extra dough for decent tunes. Recommendations???

Cheers,

I don't own one but you could try this: http://www.tesseractcorp.com/

[username]

i use a set-up similar to a few posted here, but recently added the final piece.

i listen to an ipod. i've got the etymotic ER6i earbuds. (they are amazing. at 80mph, i can keep the volume way low, and still hear details in the music.) i added a grffin air click remote.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airclick/

i used to keep the ipod in the tank bag, but now with this RF remote, i keep it in my jacket's pocket. i run the cords inside the jacket, and the remote is mounted near the left grip. so i can easily start/stop and volume adjust the ipod without taking my eyes off the road. i've also got ZERO exposed cabling, so it won't flap or rub, and won't get caught on things. this also makes pee/gas stops less complicated, because i don't have to unplug from the tank bag any more.

iPod $200.
er6i earbuds $100.
griffin RF remote $20.
not peeing on my headphone cord? PRICELESS.

[DJ Downunder]

I love my iPod air click thingie.

DJ