Tunes for the road

I have been experimenting with music while riding with ear plugs. I
have found success with this technique: after I put on my helmet, I poke
earbud headphones into my helmet *behind* each ear (rotated so the
speaker presses against my (thick) skull. It works VERY well with
earplugs - I can hear the music as well as engine and traffic sounds on
city streets. At freeway speeds I have to crank it up, but I can still
hear the engine. Above 80mph (on a closed track the wind noise
overwhelms the music at max volume - and I'm not sure amping up the
music to drown out that noise would be safe.

 

Might wanna try the Etyomic Research earbuds. I got a pair of the ER-6 (I
think that's it) and they sit further in your ear and don't interfere with
putting on the helmet as much. Still, better to use a Slik headliner and
the helmet will pop on without using the fingering-your-ears-afterwards
method. They block the wind noise a bit better than the other's I've tried,
although the Koss "The Plugs" work if you like more bass and are far cheaper
($15 or so at Best Buy and they like). You can buy the Ety's from the
Earbud store off Yahoo (Google it) for about $100. E.R. says their ER-4P
model has more bass and runs off the mp3 players as well but maybe $300 or
so.

Mine work well with my new iRiver iFP-899T player. Cannot skip (1 gig flash
drive). Runs maybe 40-200 hours between a single AA battery replacement
(the 200 hr is estimated with the Energizer Lithium AA L-91 battery form
Radio Shack). Normal life is supposedly 40 hours on regular AA alkaline.
Couldn't get into the hard-drive units as battery life is too short and many
require you to send them to the company for battery replacement (yearly?) at
a hefty price. Okay, they'll head crash too which can cause more expense.

Maybe 34 hours of music loads into the iRiver iFP-899 player depending on
your rip compression.

B~

 

I tried Koss "The Plugs" - they didn't cut much of the wind noise - I
need to use good foam earplugs on the highway. I am not willing to bet
$100 that the Etyomic's work better.

I use the best ear protection I can find and mediocre earphones because
preserving my hearing is a higher priority than tunes while I ride.

BTW: I also tried 'hook on' ear phones ($10) - if I use a silk my helmet
slides right over them - there is enough room in the liner so they don't
pinch my ears. They even block a bit more of the road noise (it is
kinda like having ear muffs on over my ear plugs).

 

Actually, the Ety's sit down in your ear canal further than any others.
They are mostly silicon and swell at the portion that is in the canal. They
tend to be a bit "brighter" (i.e. more treble) than most buds and drown out
the low frequency noise on a bike. I do know they seal against most wind
and air pressure on the eardrums which is what bothers me most. Helmet
never strikes them as the cords are pointing downward. Others I ride with
need to yell at me at stops and there are times I cannot hear them they seal
that well.
Aerostitch sells them at list $140 and has another pair (Etyomics ET-4)
above that around $300. I held off several years thinking the same thing as
you (I'm a T.A. with $$$ too). Now I'm a believer - sort of like your first
experience with heated clothing.

But if you're interested in some molded earphones like musicians wear, then
try an Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pro ear monitor.
http://www.ultimateears.com/ Price? $900.00!! (maybe next year) plus mold
cost at an audiologist. I've heard they do not seal as well as the Ety's
though.

A hundred buck earphone isn't a lot nowadays. Buy the best and cry once.

B~

 

I use the ER-6's too, they are great! Nothing like a full ipod on shuffle
play dancing the highways and byways for hours and hours

they fit like nice earplugs, so when there is no music it is like having
earplugs in. minimal wind noise, not a problem.

I have a Schuberth Concept helmet if that matters

David