Head phones/music setup

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MacDoc said:
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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So, you use earphones and comm device and listen to music and nav instructions and chat...

Do you have a camera too?
 
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I took the cheapest headphones i could find at Walmart, ripped off the head band piece and put the speakers into my helmet pockets for them. Putting that together with ear plugs works great as I get to listen to music when I ride and also hear things around me. But at highway speeds I can still hear music well.
I only ride with music when out of the city for a longer ride as I prefer to hear everything for commuting in the city. It's just more comfortable for me.
 
So, you use earphones and comm device and listen to music and nav instructions and chat...
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Yes and that's chat with another rider or on the phone with clients - you do understand they are hierarchal

Do you have a camera too?
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yes and occasionally I'll one hand it.

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Your point being??
 
I have Scala and the speakers are attached inside the helmet, primarily used for communication. I use 33db earplugs at the same time and I can hear my scala just fine, even on highway. If I feel like music, I'll replace the earplugs with earbuds to my iPod. (Skipping the bluetooth to really stretch out the battery of the scala for 2way chat).

Hear loss is permanent. Take every precaution to minimize the deterioration. On top of hearing loss, you feel less fatigue when you cut down the wind noise with ear plugs.
 
I use Scala G4 and bluetooth to my i-phone 5. Siri allows me to listen to music and skip through my playlist or listen to Songza etc. The volume controls are on the g4 itself. Sure its not as good as earbuds but I like the control no wires and the ability to hear my bike...
 
This will probably be the best solution for comfort
http://www.earfuze.com

Every ear is different, and this is fits to your ear perfectly. I bought them to use just for ear plugs and am very happy with them. Takes about 20 mins per ear, but once its done, its done. Not a bad price either.

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wonderings said:
This will probably be the best solution for comfort
http://www.earfuze.com

Every ear is different, and this is fits to your ear perfectly. I bought them to use just for ear plugs and am very happy with them. Takes about 20 mins per ear, but once its done, its done. Not a bad price either.

That looks like a pretty good product. The only thing is the actual ear bud tip is still in your ear. Where you run the risk of having irritated ears that are now firmly secured in your ear.

The DIY way has the ear bud embedded in the ear mold not your ear, this way it locks into the contours of your ear and you only have the soft spongy ear piece in your ear.

Pros for both: both end up with ear pieces that are a snug fit and won't fall out.

DIY is of course cheaper. Probably go to a Micheal's art craft store and by a larger quantity of some sort of silicone molding kit products and be able to make lots of custom ear pieces.

The Fuze custom fit is specially designed for this. Also having the ear plug in your ear prior to sticking in the mold protects yourself from pushing the malleable mold to far in your ear canal and causing serious damage.

Cons for both: The Fuze costs more than the DIY way but not a huge expense.

DIY way with something from Micheals you run the risk of having some sort of irritation because it might not be meant for skin contact. So instead you use the Radian product which is meant for skin contact which is a good thing, but you still run the risk of damaging your ear canal.

The Fuze product has the actual ear bud in your ear so you still might have the same problem of having an irritated ear.

I'm definitely going to be going one of these routes maybe some more inputs on this would be appreciated.

Also I still want to know what your music set up is with a full face.

Thanks
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Dont know how well they fit under a helmet... wanna get a pair of these

http://www.aftershokz.com/

they let you hear whats around you and hear your music clearly.
 
I have a set of molded earplugs which are great for blocking out noise. They don't move around, fall out or irritate my ears. I agree with Mac doc, cutting out wind noise is a huge help to reduce fatigue and I'm preserving what little hearing I have left. I am nervous about not hearing anything when I'm at a stop but, in my opinion, being watchful is more important. When I'm stopped I flip to a free app called hearing aid which turns on the mic of my iPhone.
 
I have Scala and the speakers are attached inside the helmet, primarily used for communication. I use 33db earplugs at the same time and I can hear my scala just fine, even on highway. If I feel like music, I'll replace the earplugs with earbuds to my iPod. (Skipping the bluetooth to really stretch out the battery of the scala for 2way chat).

Hear loss is permanent. Take every precaution to minimize the deterioration. On top of hearing loss, you feel less fatigue when you cut down the wind noise with ear plugs.
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Yep exactly

they let you hear whats around you and hear your music clearly.
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so do ear plugs and earphones...
bone conduction is crap - there is no detail.
Why is it so hard to get people to understand the physics of sound and the need for hearing protection.

Attenuation that reduces the sound levels does not block the sounds - it reduces them like turning down a radio volume.
The attenuation is what protects your hearing.
Your hearing clamps down itself at a certain level but cannot do indefinitely.

Anything over 90 db sustained will damage your hearing eventually.
The best helmets alone might get you down to 100 dB which government standards say 1 hour is max without damage but even that level is not at freeway speeds of 120 kph or so where it gets to 105+.

IN addition - helmets have the worst noise levels at the frequencies we need most - which is for speech.

Earphones get the attenuation down 23 to 28 dB on average and will protect your hearing and let you listen to music or nav aid at conversational levles.
Earplugs get it down even further -33 to totally relaxed levels, dB is logarithmic so even a small change can help or harm.

For instance 90 db is tolerable for 8 hours a day without damage but 92 dB only 6 hours and 100 dB for only 2 hours yet the very best helmets rarely get under 100 and the worst at 108....where even a half hour can do damage.
One extensive British study noted below had all helmets at 100 db at 70 mph regardless of design.

Sure if you are just going down to the local store you don't need hearing protection ( I don't either ).
Get on the highway even for 1/2 an hour and you do and the noise on the 400 at 120 kph is horrendous given the additional truck tire whine and buffetting.
Helmets - closed face in particular magnify certain frequencies as they are resonant....they are designed to protect your head not your hearing.

By choosing the attenuation level ( you can get earplugs that do so ) you choose your sound environment and protect your ears and you can still hear what's going on around you.

Good over view

http://www.ridermagazine.com/motorcycle-gear-buyers-guides/hearing-protection-for-motorcyclists.htm/

From this report - this for earplugs

The Bottom Line?
The best bet are foamies; cheap but very effective. Some vendors can provide convenient sampler packs, like www.aerostich.com. Buy ’em all and try ’em all. Practice inserting them correctly. Find a pair that fit your particular ears well, and then buy ’em in bulk. For even greater protection, you may want to step up to the Etymotic Musician custom ear plugs. With their optional attenuation levels of 9, 15 and 25 dB and the comfort of the added custom ear mold, these are the true Gold Standard for attenuation. Comfy and effective. I wear my 25s religiously now, and wish I had for the last 20 years.
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Now he selected -25 attenuation ...that's right in the ballpark for good earphones.

I find my I5s with foam tips okay, with the stock tips a bit noisy.

My -33 foam earplugs is fall asleep relaxing, I can still hear the Scala for chatting but I miss the music.

Everyone will have different preferences....EVERYONE will suffer hearing loss from highway riding without some attenuation ...the helmets simply do not change a thing and in some cases make it worse.

If we up the ante to a more reasonable pace, say, 75-80 mph, we subject ourselves to approximately 105 dB wind noise. OSHA recommends exposure at that level be limited to one hour. Does that sound like fun on a long trip? Nope. So, what can we do?
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That would be slabbing and even the ear plugs barely manage to make it reasonable.

Your call but at least now you have some physics and hearing standards to make your decisions on.
 
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Such a multi-tasker...
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Not really - the music goes when the phone rings - buddy gets cut off when the phone rings etc. and the GPS rules them all.
Hellishly easier than trying to read a map on a tank bag or stop for a phone call and having comm while riding with a buddy is both enjoyable and big safety aspect - one of the reasons I got the Scala. Originally...the main reason.
 
I tried ordering the Radians from Amazon but apparently they won`t ship them to Canada. But apparently Bass bro sells them for 15 bucks for one pair, but don`t quote me.

So I went to Micheals today and picked up a product called Easy Mold made by Castin`Craft. Its a half pound of the two compounds. There`s enough putty there to make a bunch of these ear pieces. Also I got it for 40% off. Just go on their website on your phone and show them the coupon at the cash register and they will scan your phone.

I found a pair of old head phones and made my very on custom molded ear phones. They actually turned out great. I just have to practice smoothing the outer ear piece out more so it becomes more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Oh and the only colour you can get with this product is purple.

I did the same look as the fuze headphones. Where the ear bud sits in your ear canal and the mold goes around the bud and outer ear so not to get the compound deep in your ear. After reading some horror story reviews about the compound not curing and then trying to get the soft compound out of your ear not fun. So that`s why if you`re going to do this put the ear bud in first.

So before, I mentioned about how the ear bud in my ear was irritating. Watch this link and see how I figured out to solve this. So I now have the custom ear piece and I add on also what you are going to see in this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0m_RseMrok



End result I love them. Now I just have to wait for some better weather to test these bad boys out on the bike.
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