Ear phones

[Noggie]

I'm about to go for custom molded earphones.
Meaning he fill my ear with foam to make a mold, and then make earphones from that. So they should not fall out.
Some 12 years ago I got some earplugs made like that. Still use them.
Excellent earplugs, but no speakers in them.
Now I'm looking into having some made, I have found a place that make some, although it more towards the high end music market, musicians etc., with prices ranging from £350-1000. They did have a MC version, but that was more for communication, and the speaker did not provide a full range suitable for music.
I'm currently on the fence if I should spend £350 on a single speaker version, or £650 for a triple speaker version, the 5 speaker version is out of the question.

The company I have been in contact with also do molds that you can attach to any regular earphones for about £150.

Please note that these prices are in Norway and could be significantly lower in your country.

 

[craigieboy]

I'm about to go for custom molded earphones.
Meaning he fill my ear with foam to make a mold, and then make earphones from that. So they should not fall out.
Some 12 years ago I got some earplugs made like that. Still use them.
Excellent earplugs, but no speakers in them.
Now I'm looking into having some made, I have found a place that make some, although it more towards the high end music market, musicians etc., with prices ranging from £350-1000. They did have a MC version, but that was more for communication, and the speaker did not provide a full range suitable for music.
I'm currently on the fence if I should spend £350 on a single speaker version, or £650 for a triple speaker version, the 5 speaker version is out of the question.

The company I have been in contact with also do molds that you can attach to any regular earphones for about £150.

Please note that these prices are in Norway and could be significantly lower in your country.

Save yourself £650 notes and tune yourself in to the MT's Soundtrack

Joking aside ive never felt the desire to listen to anything while riding yet, I do use earplugs though.

Do you ever find it distracting ??? That's probably what puts me off.

 

[Noggie]

Save yourself £650 notes and tune yourself in to the MT's Soundtrack

Joking aside ive never felt the desire to listen to anything while riding yet, I do use earplugs though.

Do you ever find it distracting ??? That's probably what puts me off.

In the beginning I did not use anything, and the Mt's soundtrack is not the issue, the wind noise is.
I have a Sena 20s that I use for hands free (phone) , and intercom when out with friends, this thing also has a radio, and can stream music, or navi commands. Great little gadget, albeit intercom range could be better.

The one thing that bothered me with the Sena speakers (velcroed to the inside of the helmet) was that there was no bass since that were so far form my ears.
I had an old pair of Logitech earphones I got with a computer many years ago, so I tried to use them once.
This was when I realized just how much wind noise there actually is inside my helmet, and I decided I needed to protect my hearing.
These earplugs are hard to put in, and 50% of the times fall out or partly fall out when putting on my helmet. Guess I have the same issue as Eddie.

I like having music when riding alone, and with the Sena voice control I can switch it on and off with ease.
I don't have music on when in the city or heavy traffic, but on the motorways, or open country roads I like it.
Also the phones provide reasonable hearing protection from the wind noise when not used.

 

[Eddieh93]

Hold tight strange ear shape gang haha

Its not that the sound track is rubbish, its just the wind noise is brutal after a while and I love music and listen all the time at work, at home, with friends so why not on the bike.

 

[addy]

I tried headphones once, didn't like it. I felt like I had no idea what was going on around me so now I use a sena 20s with earplugs.

The problem with headphones is that most are not going to give you protection from wind noise like earplugs so you're just covering the wind noise with music. I would rather protect my hearing with some proper earplugs.

 

[Eddieh93]

Yes most normal headphones are pathetic at wind noise protection but I assume that the moulded headphones will block out a lot of noise.

Also seen this thing called Soundwrap and there meant to be the new best thing nut I don't reckon they will be that good to be honest. Soundwrap - Syphon Sound Here is the link.

 

[Noggie]

I used earplugs with this soft mushroom looking rubber thing that goes into your ear. Those did block out a lot of wind noise, and I got decent audio too when I had music on.
To fit speakers to the helmet will not work for music, simply because all the bass is lost, works well for intercom.

Today I used my custom molded earplugs. Comfort wise they were good, did not fall out or shift when putting on my helmet, and noise cancellation was excellent...... Possibly a bit too good actually..... Did miss being able to play music though.

I guess the molded ones will be somewhere in between the mushroom earphones and the molded plugs, but with the added benefit of good audio quality.

 

[sdrio]

My worry with spending £650 on headphones would be what happens when I hook the cable round the clutch lever and tear it out.

If it trash my 10 quid Sonys, I'd tut a bit and get some more. When my £80 audio tecnica ones stopped working in one ear I was a bit annoyed, but if I busted half a grands worth, I'd be furious.

But, I am a clumsy sod, so maybe it's just me.

 

[Noggie]

My worry with spending £650 on headphones would be what happens when I hook the cable round the clutch lever and tear it out.

If it trash my 10 quid Sonys, I'd tut a bit and get some more. When my £80 audio tecnica ones stopped working in one ear I was a bit annoyed, but if I busted half a grands worth, I'd be furious.

But, I am a clumsy sod, so maybe it's just me.

I guess it depends where you plug them in. I plug mine into the Sena docking on the side of my helmet, and tuck the cord inside my jacket before I even get on the bike, so there is no real chance to tear them out just like that.

I think they have a model where you can replace the cable too.

But, I agree 600 is A LOT for a set of earphones, so I might settle for the 350 version.

 

[Eddieh93]

Ye it might be worth having a look at Snugz Noggie

 

[Noggie]

Ye it might be worth having a look at Snugz Noggie

Well, ordering from abroad means shipping, vat, and difficult to claim warranty.
I prefer shopping "locally" when I can for those reasons.

I'm looking into a company called Hantek audio, but they are Norwegian only. They deliver earphones to audiophiles, and to tv shows and musicians.
I believe they also do hearing aids so this is top of the line stuff.
I can also get a mold made for £100 that I can use with any other brand earphones.

Still not decided what to do. They have a model called "Heir" that comes with replaceable cables, but the smallest model is a 3 speaker one at £600.

 

[bubbles]

I've had my "squidgy" custom ear plugs from Ultimate Ear for the last 9 months and they are awesome. I can still hear everything around me but muffled and massively reduced wind noise, I like biking but I like my hearing more.

I would recommend to anyone, ear plugs and back protectors are utterly essential but some riders see them as optional

Each to their own I suppose

 

[Yaminator]

I used to use earphones until I got these.. Look at this on eBay Freedconn Motorcycle Helmet Bluetooth Intercom Headset Motorbike Interphone D4V3 | eBay

 

[mejson]

I use similar from HK - brilliant and cheap

 

[menzic]

Anyone use earphones, and which ones?

I have a shoei gt-air helmet and I don't need ear plugs for noise, I have had no problems with noice in day trips so I don't feel that I need them for that. The wind noise is not an issue before I get past 100kph, and I don't go at those speeds for long times as the highest speed limit in my area is 90 on the motorway, and motorways are boring on a bike.

I do have a Sena 20s and I use this for music, however I think the speakers are a but too far away from my ears to provide good music sound, they work great for intercom, but with music there is no bass, so I just hear the treble and voice.

The Sena can accommodate any ear phones, so I was thinking about getting a set, and the main focus is good music sound.
I was thinking about the Bose QC20, they have noice canceling, but that is just a nice to have.

Anyone care to share their experience with ear phones??

I have the Bose QC20i earbuds, I bought them mainly because I fly a lot and they are great for long flights. The bonus for me was on the bike, th noise cancelling just about kills all engine noise and wind noise is never loud enough to overwhelm the music even when the volume isn't turned up high. The warranty if pretty good on them, a replacement unit during the two year period and afterwards about £100 to get them replaced.