Helmet-friendly bluetooth earbuds?

[jhenley17]

Anyone use any bluetooth earbuds that are compatible with a full-face helmet? I'm looking for an earplug type, like these that I've been using (same model) since 2007, as they block out noise wind noise well enough and don't require a high volume to be heard.

[marriedman]

I've had no luck in this area either, so I am curious what people are going to say. I personally use my Shure corded earplugs with a bluetooth controller at the moment. But I still would like to do away with all cords.

[wera803]

Big Ear Inc. makes some and even though I am a provider for them, have not tried them. They aren't cheap, but I'm sure they are good. All of the other cheap Bluetooth headsets I have tried (for cutting my grass, exercising, etc) are too big to fit under a helmet.

http://www.bigearinc.com/all-products/all-products#!/BE-BWH-Bluetooth-Wireless-Headset-Custom-Fit/p/43041715/category=2415853

Since I have a Sena, I use the corded version of the custom molded stereo plugs......still not cheap, but work well for me.

[Conedodger]

1 hour ago, marriedman said:

I've had no luck in this area either, so I am curious what people are going to say. I personally use my Shure corded earplugs with a bluetooth controller at the moment. But I still would like to do away with all cords.

I'm doing the same. 

[SCguy]

I've had no luck in this area either, so I am curious what people are going to say. I personally use my Shure corded earplugs with a bluetooth controller at the moment. But I still would like to do away with all cords.

Using the same setup. Hard to beat the comfort.

[marriedman]

20 hours ago, wera803 said:

Big Ear Inc. makes some and even though I am a provider for them, have not tried them. They aren't cheap, but I'm sure they are good. <snip>

http://www.bigearinc.com/all-products/all-products#!/BE-BWH-Bluetooth-Wireless-Headset-Custom-Fit/p/43041715/category=2415853

Holy shit! You aren't kidding! YOWZA!

[DDrymkiew]

You know, I've been looking for something similar for the last few years. I ended up using some Skullcandy ear buds (good), Bose (suck), Beats (oh god they suck), Shure (expensive, but sound amazing), and finally the new iPhone in-ear buds for a time and those worked great.  You should know, they're not the standard ones that comes with their devices, they're $80 separately. I'd have each of these ear buds wired up to my Scala Q3 system and have them hanging out of my helmet (I had strapped them in under the liner). I found this really annoying though as sometimes they would come off during the ride.

Now recently my fiance and I attended a colleague's sons funeral. He was riding and some woman ran a red and crashed into him, killing him instantly. They lady tried to get out of blame for the crash and said he was reckless and ran a red. My colleague had just bought his son a Sena 10C Bluetooth camera system with integrated radio/phone/etc. That video file off the Sena showed him riding at 35 MPH through a green light seconds before it picked up lights coming from the left and slam and crash. I watched my colleague's son die. But that lady is now facing charges for it, and my fiance went and bought me the Sena 10C because she wants me to be protected in case I crash. But I digress. 

What I found out is that though the Sena updating system is a bit glitchy and you need to buy a specific brand/size of micro-SD (Samsung/32GB MAX) for it to save files and update, but that's not a really big deal. The sound from the speakers, however, is AMAZING compared to other systems I've tried. The speakers are quite thick, and you can tell that they're not an afterthought like on a lot of other systems.I find that riding with earplugs in I can still listen to music running 75% volume, and without plugs I don't really ever need to raise the volume above 50%. The call quality is another thing to note, I've been on calls with my fiance, my two best friends, my boss, my colleagues, and no one, NO ONE knew I was riding a motorcycle at the time. You can find the system on Amazon, the price seems to fluctuate between $280-$310, right now they're $280.

http://www.amazon.com/Sena-10C-01-Motorcycle-Bluetooth-Communication/dp/B0100F7QOC/

Good luck!

[Duc2V4]

Just saw this on FB. Looks like it might be something to consider, however, situational awareness is something to keep in mind whenever you're driving or riding. Personally I have no problem using ear plugs with the speakers that came with my Cardo unit.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1421766212/plugfones-bluetooth-earplug-headphones-music-calls?ref=discovery

[RobF]

A few of us explored some of the more expensive earbud solutions in this thread (among others):

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/topic/45178-earbuds-that-fit/

I went down the path of custom-fitted earbuds after having already spent one or two hundred dollars in fits and starts on partial solutions that didn't deliver. I've been very happy with the result.

[Sikorsky]

I ended up trying these:

http://www.samsung.com/ca/wearables/gear-iconx-r150/SM-R150NZKAXAC/

 

Admittedly, they only work with Samsung, so that limits the market. I usually wear a balaclava and it was essential to keep these things in.

 

They worked as advertised, no complaints other than sometimes they would move a smidge out of place and no longer touch the ear. When that happens, that one cuts out.

 

I eventually returned them (yay for Costco's return policy) mainly because after a bit of time they became very uncomfortable. Not the earbuds fault, just my sensitive ears. I decided to stick with the U-Clear comm system I already have. Your experience may vary.

[thepretender]

I use a bluetooth receiver with earbuds (Shure 215's) Freedom of bluetooth and the choice of your favorite earbuds.

https://www.taotronics.com/taotronics-tt-ba08-bluetooth-4.1-transmitter-receiver-aptX-music-adapter.html 

[Skids]

On 02/05/2016 at 5:04 PM, marriedman said:

I've had no luck in this area either, so I am curious what people are going to say. I personally use my Shure corded earplugs with a bluetooth controller at the moment. But I still would like to do away with all cords.

 

I've always stopped short of using them on the bike. I already have to remember to charge the Sena headset and my phone and, especially when I go away, it's another pfaff I could do without. So it's corded in-ear speakers with foam inserts for me which still allows me to control everything I need to and the quality of the music is superb.

 

I am, however, interested in others experiences with bt earbuds; do they keep the wind noise down to a satisfactory level, how long do the batteries last, are they helmet-compliant (ie do they sit flat in the ear? Stuff like that.

[thepretender]

In ear monitors work as well as earplugs to keep down wind noise the blue tooth dongle I linked plays for 20 hrs so a good iron butt worth of riding.

[Woodie]

I ride with earplugs and built in speakers. I use a Sena SMH5 and the helmet is a Shark Speed R. I tried ear buds but found the trailing cords irritating, even though the sound quality was amazing. I have used the Sena for 2-3 years now, on my second set and like DDrymkiew I have held phone conversations, with colleagues and friends. I have even completed a telephone interview for a job as I rode and no-one knew I was on my bike at the time.

 

Without the earplugs the wind noise becomes tiresome but somehow, and I don't understand the dynamics, with the earplugs in I can hear music, directions and out side influences but things like wind noise and exhaust note are very muted.

[Skids]

1 hour ago, Woodie said:

I ride with earplugs and built in speakers. I use a Sena SMH5 and the helmet is a Shark Speed R. I tried ear buds but found the trailing cords irritating, even though the sound quality was amazing. I have used the Sena for 2-3 years now, on my second set and like DDrymkiew I have held phone conversations, with colleagues and friends. I have even completed a telephone interview for a job as I rode and no-one knew I was on my bike at the time.

 

Without the earplugs the wind noise becomes tiresome but somehow, and I don't understand the dynamics, with the earplugs in I can hear music, directions and out side influences but things like wind noise and exhaust note are very muted.

 

Different earplugs will reduce certain frequencies more than others. Seems like yours reduce the "white noise" of wind/exhaust and probably tyre/tarmac friction as well, but less so the human voice or music.

 

I still refuse to have helmet-mounted speakers though. I don't understand the point of trying to listen to something through an earplug. If I want to listen to something, I want to listen clearly, not have it muffled. But each to their own.

[Woodie]

1 hour ago, Skids said:

I still refuse to have helmet-mounted speakers though. I don't understand the point of trying to listen to something through an earplug. If I want to listen to something, I want to listen clearly, not have it muffled. But each to their own.

 

That is my point, speech and music are clear, and I never have it higher than background anyway unless I am in conversation then I can easily turn the volume up for greater clarity. But I don't suffer excessive wind/exhaust noise and any external noise is not dampened sufficiently to make me dangerously unaware.

[duccmann]

Been using these the last year, charge with your laptop and very happy. Great sound and think I paid $35 at wallyworld


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[Skids]

1 hour ago, Woodie said:

 

That is my point, speech and music are clear, and I never have it higher than background anyway unless I am in conversation then I can easily turn the volume up for greater clarity. But I don't suffer excessive wind/exhaust noise and any external noise is not dampened sufficiently to make me dangerously unaware.

 

I agree, but they cannot be as clear as they are with in-ear speakers.

[Rick1]

9 hours ago, duccmann said:

Been using these the last year, charge with your laptop and very happy. Great sound and think I paid $35 at wallyworld


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They do not get caught as you pull on the helmet?

[duccmann]

Nope, I turn them in each ear so the wire is facing backwards and also have a modular helmet so I can pull on the straps when putting it on. They work great and last up to 12 hrs.
Try it and if ya don't like um return it.
Tried two sets of skull candy but hated the wires hanging down, these are Bluetooth as you can see from the box.
Let me know if you try them out


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[Fz6wja]

+1 on the plugfones,  They block out the outside wind noise so you don't have to crank the volume up so high. I never could find any earbuds that  reduced the noise enough to here music/calls etc. without the volume  cranked up (which kinda defeats the purpose of protecting your hearing). The plugfones are very comfortable and don't catch on my helmet  putting it on or off(shoei X14).