Audio on the bike

[H8 PVMT]

I have two sets, one is the ER6I

Etymotic Research, Inc. - ER•6i Isolator Earphones

These are simply awesome, the music is fantastic and you don't hear any road noise.

the other set I have are Zagg, I actually got them free when I bought a charger for my iPhone and they are pretty darn good. But, overall the Etymotic are way better IMO. :thumbup:

 

[H8 PVMT]

IMO....nothing beats great speakers and/or headphones. I cannot tolerate poor sound quality. I have tried Skull Kandy's, Sony, and og Ipod head phones.

So far, by far, the best is a set of Bose IE2 for about $100. They are low profile, have 3 sizes of soft touch silicone ear tips.

I have the bose as well and they are great sounding but I haven't tried them under the helmet yet I'm afraid that they won't stay put and there will be too much road noise but I'll give 'em a shot.

 

[Krazyjohnny]

Jim Karam,

i think I am going to muster through and save my pennies for an AutoCom setup. I have talked to several folks who have been using them for some years and would not change to anything different. I am looking at one of the new Logic systems and my only big decision is what earphones to use. The in helmet ones or earbuds?

 

[no.1partsguy]

I have a set of Bose headphones, they are literally the best thing since sliced bread. Very comfortable and great sound and they contour to your ears.

 

[Kazza]

I have a set of Bose headphones, they are literally the best thing since sliced bread. Very comfortable and great sound and they contour to your ears.

^^^^^ What he said.

Cost $149 but they are friggin awesome!

EVERY other pair of ear phones have hurt - Apple, Sony, whatever. These are fantastic :thumbup:

 

[SANGER_A2]

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHN2500-00-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones/dp/B000FTWT0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306318053&sr=8-1"]Active noise-cancelling FTW![/ame] I've use helmet speakers, at least 5 different sets of in-ear headphones, ear-plugs and nothing was good enough. The problem is that if you turn it up loud enough to hear on the motorway/highway over the wind-noise, when you are in the city doing 30mph it drowns out everything else. The noise cancelling ones do actually reduce the wind-noise as long as you have the mic in the right place and also they get louder when you turn it on. So driving round the city I have it turned lowish so I can still hear horns etc (the fact that they are in-ear blocks lots of sound anyway) and when I go above 40-50, I flip the switch, the noise-cancelling starts and the volume gets louder. Awesome! I have it velcro'd to the back of my helmet. Recently found them new for £10 and I've ordered a second pair for when my current ones die.

 

[Krazyjohnny]

Sanger,

Thanks for the link. The AutoComm has noise cancelling built in also. It also has inputs to add other devices to it such as GPS, Two Way radio, etc.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Sanger,

Thanks for the link. The AutoComm has noise cancelling built in also. It also has inputs to add other devices to it such as GPS, Two Way radio, etc.

Sounds really good. Bit pricey for me. I've tried to patch in more than one thing at a time when using my GPS. It was a pain. Eventually, I managed to find a version of Igo that lets you listen to music at the same time as the navigation. I don't use sat-nav much luckily or I'd probably end up shelling out for something like the autocomm or mixit thingy! :BLAA:

 

[jouston]

Quite not understand why the discussion driving to most dangerous way? Listen to music with ear bud while riding is very dangerous! You guys might ignore horn or other signal warning you accident is coming.

I am using Cardo systems Scala Rider G4 and it has more feature than everyone else. Here is another good alternative with less pricy tag is BlueRider/BlueVirtue helmet communication systems.

I love the Scala G4 more because its FM radio, 1 mile far bike-to-bike intercom and work perfectly with iPhone and other smartphones. You got GPS, Radar detector, MP3 player and phone in just one device. The other two devices you need on bike is 12V plug and waterproof phone mount. (interphone has a good one)

I've did two 1000KM trip in May and this set proves work very well in any weather condition.

 

[novaks47]

For me, the key was to find a set of ear buds (headphones, what have you) that sealed in my ears properly. On the first page myself and another guy referenced the MEElectronics M6 earbuds. Those work incredibly well.

I tried Skull Candies but they didn't seal my ear and I still heard loads of wind noise, enough that it ruined the music so there was no point in even having it on.

as i stated earlier, i wear earplugs and have helmet speakers. with this setup i can hear the wind, my engine, horns, etc. and i can hear my music at a comfortable (not loud) listening volume. this is with my ipod cranked all the way up. i don't think i could listen to anything like a podcast, but music comes through just fine. you could give it a try. the speakers are less than 5 bucks. you don't like 'em... just take 'em out.

i've tried earbuds... and had some skullcandy ones that were pretty good. i went this route because i was concerned about my hearing. and some states have laws against earbuds. but not many have any laws against speakers in the helmet.

You both must have better helmets than me then. lol Even with earplugs that block out almost all noises, the wind noise is still very loud and roaring. The earplugs I use would block out most of the music, and either way, I'd have to crack it to unsafe levels just to hear any of it. Although for $5, I could at least have a new audio toy to toy around with. You can never have to much audio gear. I may even try out the M6's, as they seem popular over on headfi, and I want to find out for myself. Out of curiosity, what helmets do you have?

 

[dean owens]

scorpion exo-700 in this color

i still have some wind noise, but the music is still audible. for earplugs i just use the cheap throw away ones you can get at lowe's in a bulk pack. i think they're 32 db plugs.

 

[cap'n]

So let's say I have a pair of earbud speakers I use now with an ipod just fine, and I'm thinking about adding a Com system that will stop the music and route incoming calls to the headset via bluetooth... I would get [insert system here, pease do give me suggestions] system, plug the earbuds into it, wire up the mic to the unit on the helmet, pair it with my phone once, then just keep the phone in my pocket and ride to work everyday happy as a well-connected clam?

 

[DavesFZ]

The Jabra Clipper? I was close to buying that myself. I think some people had problems with pairing multiple devices to it though. For 40 bucks, its pretty hard to beat if it works. Does anyone with this or an older Jabra BT3030 bluetooth dongle have comments? (Search jabra or bluetooth on the forum and you should get a few threads)

 

[cap'n]

The Jabra Clipper? I was close to buying that myself. I think some people had problems with pairing multiple devices to it though. For 40 bucks, its pretty hard to beat if it works. Does anyone with this or an older Jabra BT3030 bluetooth dongle have comments? (Search jabra or bluetooth on the forum and you should get a few threads)

Crap, I forgot to mention I want to be able to link to another helmet as well, so I'd be buying a matched set of some sort.

 

[Nelly]

i start with earplugs. then i have a cheap set of helmet speakers i got of ebay. i think they were 5 bucks shipped. they attach with velcro to the inside of the helmet. plug it into my ipod and i'm good. cranked up it just feels like a normal listening volume. and i know it's not killing my hearing because when i get off the bike and take out my earplugs i'm often annoyed by how loud the world is around me.

Hi Dean,

I would be very interested in helmet speakers. The link that you posted doesn't show them? Have you got any other info?

Nelly

 

[dean owens]

what i got was cheap so there's no brand to look for. i just typed in helmet speakers and selected "item+shipping - cheapest" and went from there. the ones i tried to link in this thread are titled

ATV Motorcycle motorbike Helmet Speaker Volume Control
and are item # 200590784200

not sure why it didn't link it. guess it's the same thing that causes the word "ebay" to automatically link overrode my real link. let me know if that helps. and if you need to i can try and get some pictures of how i put them in my helmet. although it's probably pretty self explanatory when you get them.

 

[SANGER_A2]

what i got was cheap so there's no brand to look for. i just typed in helmet speakers and selected "item+shipping - cheapest" and went from there. the ones i tried to link in this thread are titled

ATV Motorcycle motorbike Helmet Speaker Volume Control
and are item # 200590784200

not sure why it didn't link it. guess it's the same thing that causes the word "ebay" to automatically link overrode my real link. let me know if that helps. and if you need to i can try and get some pictures of how i put them in my helmet. although it's probably pretty self explanatory when you get them.

I just bought the same from the UK Ebay. :thumbup: Altough I'm going to use them to replace my broken pillow speaker. :ban:

 

[dean owens]

pillow speaker?!? :eyebrow:

 

[SANGER_A2]

pillow speaker?!? :eyebrow:

Lol. Pretty much as it sounds! Like this, only full-sized:-
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVLhJ6PREig]YouTube - ‪January 9 and 10 - Sleepsonic Stereo Speaker Pillow‬‏[/ame]

 

[Signal 50]

You both must have better helmets than me then. lol Even with earplugs that block out almost all noises, the wind noise is still very loud and roaring. The earplugs I use would block out most of the music, and either way, I'd have to crack it to unsafe levels just to hear any of it. Although for $5, I could at least have a new audio toy to toy around with. You can never have to much audio gear. I may even try out the M6's, as they seem popular over on headfi, and I want to find out for myself. Out of curiosity, what helmets do you have?

I was using an EXO 1000 until it fell apart. Web Bike World reviewed it as "louder than average" and I would have to agree with them. Wind noise was quite honestly unberable without ear plugs in.

I rode with earplugs for a long time, however that starts to get rather boring on long highway hauls. I can only go so long with "thinking time" before I need a little stimulation.

I tried normal earbuds you get with say a phone or mp3 player. Didn't work for me. They were difficult to to get to stay in place and the wind noise was louder than the music.

Same was true for a slightly more expensive pair of Skull Candies with different tips.

Then I tried the M6's, and was floored. Total silence. Even with music off, there was as much or less wind noise than a pair of contractor grade ear plugs. I have no reservations recommending them. For me, they were "the" solution to audio on my bike.