Earphones or speakers???

[mattiesettlement]

What do you all use? I've tried a pair of Koss earplug speakers but they were a little too loud. I've always used earplugs when I ride so excess noise bothers me. My ears are a little sensitive. Anyway what do you use, what have you used and do you like the setup?
Thanks! :04biker:

[NormanPCN]

If you have used foam earplugs, and inserted them properly, and now want sound and want a similar level of noise reduction your only and probably best choice are custom earmold earplugs with speakers. Foam earplugs properly inserted have 30-33dB attenuation. Custom earplugs have about 25-27dB. Any other type speaker earplug will only have from 9-19dB depending on the design. Most will be 9-12dB. If you have speaker in your helmet and foam earplugs the speaker have to compete with the ambient noise. With custom earplug speakers the ambient has been attenuated by 25-27dB.

Helmet noise at hiway speeds typically 100+ dB, unless you run with a windshield big/high enough to push the ari around your helmet.

[BC Rider]

I have an autocom which comes with speakers. When I run it with earplugs I cannot really hear the music well. When I run it without earplugs I get too much ambient noise unless I put the windshield full up (which I don't care for). I'm in the process of converting the autocom to an earbud (3.5 mm) tap. I've used Koss earbuds but they fall out too easy. I've tried some others, similar problem and after several hours they become painfull.



I did not mean the above to sound like a litany, as all of the things I've tried have worked to some extent, but none of my solutions to date have satisfied my desire to block out the bad noise and listen to the good stuff.

My conclusion is that the best option is custom earmold earphones such as the challengers. There are several people out there who swear by them. I just need to find someone who will do up the molds for me.

[campernh]

Hi Guys,
Are these something you buy from an audiologist or from somewhere on line???
Thanks,
Brian :confused:

[Fireball18]

I have the J&M CB unit on my bike. It comes with an accessory audio cable on it, which I plug into my mini disc player. I also have the J&M helmet headset. I get plenty of high quality audio, and I also wear the foam earplugs.

[John Anthony]

My medical co-op (Group Health, one of the better ones) has an audiology wing that did the impressions for me. Westone labs did the actual plugs. Price was around $100 and for an extra $50 I could have had audio installed, but I decided to pass.

There are lots of different options for ear plugs and there is a pretty good chance that after they come back from the lab (takes about 2 weeks) the audiologist will have to do a little tweaking to get them to fit comfortably. This is not something I'd want to do 100% mail order.

[Mike]

Well I finally pulled the trigger and bought a set of Etymotic ER6i earphones, this after being disapponted with the Autocom speakers.

I jacked the earphones into the Autocom #26 adapter, all I can say is yeehaa.

Great ambient noise suppression, great stereo sound, easy to get the helmet on and off, should have bought theses a long time ago.

[dond]

For my ears it's cuSTom plugs with Sony MDR-EX51Lp Fontopias. I had the plugs made for the Sonys that I buy at a good price via the internet. The plugs were $90 at the IMS from the lovely and talented Marylin Navia at www.plugup.com/ Very quiet and very easy to live with. Oh yea, the sound rox.

[nunns]

I had some custom molded earplugs with speakers made up by a vendor at the Honda Hoot several years ago. They were a bit pricey ($130) but I have been extremely pleased with them. Very rugged, very comfortable, good music quality, good ambient sound attenuation, and they absolutely won't fall out while in use. Sorry, I don't have a phone or address for the vendor. Nunns

[mhscriven]

I love my Koss "The Plug" earphones. Best $20 i spent. Kinda a pain to insert, but sound is good and they stay in place. Would like to try some Etymotic ER6i sometime. They seem highly rated.

[racer1735]

Not wanting to drop $150 on earbuds, I picked up some Phillips noise cancelling earbuds at Wal-Mart for $45 with the thought that if they don't work, at least I'm not out a hundred bucks.

Initial impression is favorable...the earbuds have a volume control and feature a 'double-flange' type rubber ear bud insert (so they tend to stay and seal in the ear). Downside is that they don't have different sized earbuds to use (as the higher priced sets do).

Might be something you want to look into.

[Mike]

Went here for custom fit that I could use the ER6i with.

http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/cusfitearmol1.html

Pricey but I hope they will be more comfortable for those long multi day rides, ear plugs bug me after a couple of days.

I was able to get the ER6i from buy.com for 56$ shipped, this using the credit they give for opening an account with them. Best deal on them I have yet to see!

[tricky_micky]

Hi Guys,
Are these something you buy from an audiologist or from somewhere on line???
Thanks,
Brian :confused:

Brian

Try these people!

They supplied the whole of Staffordshire Police here and told me that they would supply any civilian biker that turned up for them. They would rather supply the plugs at an attractive price (£14.00 or about $27.00 your end) rather than operate at a later date for Tinitus. This was for two pair by the way. Damn good value, so it is wotrth approaching them

Better get moving, wifey gone to bed, sitting here playing about in 2006, got a nice single malt by my side, so what the heck, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you ALL.

Mick

[blumax]

I use the Shure earphones. They sound a lot better than the Eyetomic.

[crp5]

+1 for the Shure E2C...

Started with the Sony MDXL-71's then moved up to the ER6i because of all the raving reviews. IMHO I found the ER6i's to be tinny and lacking base. (I don't listen to rap, just a broad range of country, rock and classical) I tried both sets of tips and changed the screens without remedy The orange foam tips provided a much better seal and improved the sound, but not what I was looking for.

The Shures give me a much fuller sound and are more comfortable for long days. It may just be my ear canal or loss of hearing, the ER6i's get rave reviews all over the net.

[Louie Louie]

I use the er6's w/ my Shuffle and am very pleased. Always open to new ideas though!

[Highrider]

NUNNS

I highly recommend these - The vendor at the Honda Hoot would be Marilyn Navia, Miami, FL phone (305)477-2333. I had her make a set of ear plugs for me 3 years ago at the Hoot. 2 years ago I ran into her at the Chicago Bike Show and had a set with audio transducers made. I have not found a better option to listen to music on my bike. I can wear them 14 hours a day when I ride and they are very comfortable. They perform almost as good as a pro grade Sennheiser headset I have for my home stereo.

Dave
:biker:

[AuntyGranty]

Brian

Try these people!

They supplied the whole of Staffordshire Police here and told me that they would supply any civilian biker that turned up for them. They would rather supply the plugs at an attractive price (£14.00 or about $27.00 your end) rather than operate at a later date for Tinitus. This was for two pair by the way. Damn good value, so it is wotrth approaching them

Better get moving, wifey gone to bed, sitting here playing about in 2006, got a nice single malt by my side, so what the heck, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you ALL.

Mick
Mick,

That price looks really great and a good excuse for a ride. :rolleyes:
Have you got the contact details for the people you mention above?
Any piccies of the units they made for you?

Cheers

Grant.

:06biker:

[mhscriven]

I use the Shure earphones. They sound a lot better than the Eyetomic.

Would you please give us a model # for your Shures? Thx.

[blumax]

I use the Shure E3c. They are a little more than the 2c but are worth the money. Do a search on the net and you can find them for about $150.

[Medicine Bear]

I use the Shure E3c. They are a little more than the 2c but are worth the money. Do a search on the net and you can find them for about $150.

Just a quick search but I found them for $129/no tax/free shipping here:

http://www.djdeals.com/shureE3.htm

Fred :03biker:

[Mike]

Anybody have Challenger M series? They look pretty good and no bud sticking out the ear canal.

[tricky_micky]

Mick,

That price looks really great and a good excuse for a ride. :rolleyes:
Have you got the contact details for the people you mention above?
Any piccies of the units they made for you?

Cheers

Grant.

:06biker:

Grant

Sorry about this, I thought I had already posted a reply for you. Take a look on the link below:

http://www.twowheeladvancedtraining.co.uk/eardefenders.htm

You will see the contact number as I last knew, but the Infirmary is situated in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, bit of a 'Yak' ride for you! It may be worth calling into your local ENT Department first.

For the Staffs Hospital, you have to make two visits. The first is for the hearing test and moulding of the units, and the second visit is for the fitting.

Sorry I do not have any pics at the moment, but they just fit snuggly into the ear...well worth it if you can get them.

Mick