Head phones/music setup

NOcageRus

NOcageRus

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I currently rock one head phone in my ear always when I ride. I play music from my phone that I keep inside my chest pocket of my jacket. The battery life is pretty good for a day of riding.

I use head phones that rap around my ear which helps a lot to keep them in place better than just the ear buds. After a couple hours of riding my ear starts to get sore though. Which gets pretty irritating but I need my music so I fight through it. I also rotate which ear I have the head phone in.You get a custom to the sound of your bike, the exhaust, and traffic through that one ear. So it gets annoying when you keep switching the headphone to the other ear.

It would be nice to have comfortable head phones the entire ride!

So I ask, what's your set up? headphone type/music source e.g.:cell phone,ipod,etc

Also where do you store your source of music? e.g.: tank bag,jacket or you just said ****** it and got fed up with headphones and got speakers.
 
Um music sucks without stereo.
A quality set of earphones provide both top notch reproduction and sufficient ambient noise isolation to protect your hearing. ( -25 to -30 dB )
In addition set up properly you can still hear a Scala or Senna that are mounted in the helmet for phone calls or rider to rider.

I just keep the music source in my shirt pocket.
The iPhone is BTed to the Scala and the music plays through the wired earbuds.

I prefer earphones that have an inline on off switch. I use Ultimate Ears

71uEgjVX2qL._SL1500_.jpg


http://www.complyfoam.com

The Comply TX foam 500 are the best for sound and isolation - the clear ones shown are durable but don't isolate as well.
The Comply wear out :(

There are other good ones out there but you get what you pay for.

I've seen mine as low as $59.

I use a very thin balaclava from Oxford...holds the headphones in place and acts as a helmet liner - easy to wash. Without it the headphones can sometimes be hard to keep in.

Some have very long sound channels to get around that Etymotic ER6i's

er6i-side_old.jpg

.....I have not tried them but they might be my next pair.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx
 
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I have just the basic Skull Candy ear buds and yeah, after awhile they do tend to irritate my ears due to the pressure from my lid. I use the smallest rubber cover that comes with them so that helps a bit. I just take them out when gassing up on long rides and sometimes have no music between fill ups.
 
If they can take replacement foam - the Comply are comfy for a price...the Skull Candy do look kinda bulky tho
 
Ipod shuffle clipped to pocket with in ear earbuds. The shuffle is best because it has only the controls you need, and its easily accessible with gloves on...You can't skip through songs or play/pause with your phone in your pocket.
 
klipsch-s4i-headphones.jpg


I use these with Comply Foam Tips when going on the longer rides. Works like a charm, they completely block out wind noise and the audio is plenty loud even at 30-40% using an ipod classic. Once the helmet is on the buds do not move at all. The remote is a little awkward to use with bulky gloves but when I use some crappy shorty's the buttons are easy to press. I just set up a playlist usually and leave it in my jacket, but I'm thinking about attaching the ipod with some velcro mod to my tank.
 
SENA SMH10 Bluetooth module + Speakers in helmet. Android phone for music/radio playback.
 
MacDoc said:
If they can take replacement foam - the Comply are comfy for a price...the Skull Candy do look kinda bulky tho
Click to expand...

I saw that they sell the Comply products at Target in the States. I wonder if the Targets here will be selling them.
 
Scala is probably the best setup. I hate ear-buds and like to hear other cars around me
 
Earbuds are not really a good idea, they isolate other sounds around, to which you must be paying attention. Why increase your chances of having an accident?

Scala, Uclear, Sena are good helmet setups that give you the features you're looking for.
 
ZX600 said:
Scala is probably the best setup. I hate ear-buds and like to hear other cars around me
Click to expand...

I always thought those Scala headsets looked to bulky and ugly. I just checked out a video review about the G4 and it's smaller than I thought. Hmmm might have to check this out.
 
El Cockblock said:
Earbuds are not really a good idea, they isolate other sounds around, to which you must be paying attention. Why increase your chances of having an accident?

Scala, Uclear, Sena are good helmet setups that give you the features you're looking for.
Click to expand...

I only wear one headphone when I ride. I can hear everything I need to hear around me with my other ear.
 
Earbuds are not really a good idea, they isolate other sounds around, to which you must be paying attention. Why increase your chances of having an accident?
Click to expand...

THAT is a crock.
First you CAN hear everything around you and at levels that will not damage your hearing

Second - doctors recommend wearing -33 dB ear plugs to protect your hearing when riding at highway speeds and that's way more than the -23--28 of even the best earphones.

Third ...study after study has shown lower fatigue and more attentiveness when not assaulted by noise. That applies big time to motorcycling....more relaxed and aware as your ears are being shut down by the wind noise if you are not wearing them.
Your hearing adjusts and ear plugs and earphones do not eliminate the outside noises - they just keep them to a level where your hearing does not clamp down.

If you are riding without hearing protection for any length of time your hearing WILL be damaged..period.

I do like to have a set that has the button on the cable so I can easily switch them off if I want to chat with someone and the button skips the song as well.

With decent earphones you can not only hear whats going on but also hear the Scala or Senna if you use your phone as a phone and nav device or chatting while riding...all of which I do.....and all without damaging your hearing or getting fatigued.

I don't find any of the BT setups have decent sound quality compared to good earphones with regard to music...they are geared to voice which they do quite well but music is tinny compared to good earphones.
 
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El Cockblock said:
Scala, Uclear, Sena are good helmet setups that give you the features you're looking for.
Click to expand...

I keep on seeing this suggestion, but I don't get it (mostly because I've never tried one of these setups). How do they actually block out highway wind noise compared to ear buds?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
They don't. I still use earplugs with the Scala or earphones ( ear buds are a little different - like the cheapies that come with an iPod )
As result they have to have circuits that adjust the volume up and down with the wind noise.
I just put the volume up full with the earphones in and the scala then sounds fine.
The iPhone juggles between sources but it took a while before the tech got there. It can still be iffy.
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