Sick of ear buds

[spud786]

Has anyone grown sick of ear buds in their ears?

I need sonar, so that pretty much means my right ear and the left is for the radio, its just the inner canal ear buds get very uncomfortable after many hours.

I've though of some kinda helmet speakers and wear regular ear plugs, have you found a solution?

[Veefer800Canuck]

What about custom molded earplugs with speakers in them?

http://www.bigearinc.com/Products/Products.aspx

http://plugup.com/cart/index.php

I'm sure there are others, I have no experience and nothing to add except Good Luck!

[SEBSPEED]

What about custom molded earplugs with speakers in them?

http://www.bigearinc.com/Products/Products.aspx

http://plugup.com/cart/index.php

I'm sure there are others, I have no experience and nothing to add except Good Luck!

The Big Ear plugs work very well, and the fit couldn't be better! They feel the same after 8 minutes or 8hrs. :beer:

[Monk]

I stick my soft ear plugs on my ear buds, can ride all day and not feel a thing.

[swimmer]

I have had pretty good experience with eytmotics er6i but if I do not seat them properly they can get uncomfy. Great sound though and very durable.

[vfrcapn]

All I can add is I switched from foam ear buds to the silicon style last year and couldn't be happier. The foam got irritating after a few hours, the silicon style I use all day and have no discomfort.

[YoshiHNS]

What about custom molded earplugs with speakers in them?

http://www.bigearinc.com/Products/Products.aspx

http://plugup.com/cart/index.php

I'm sure there are others, I have no experience and nothing to add except Good Luck!

The Big Ear plugs work very well, and the fit couldn't be better! They feel the same after 8 minutes or 8hrs. :beer:

I :beer: :beer: :fing02: :fing02: :fing02: :fing02: this suggestion. I switched from foamies to these and couldn't be happier. Now I am going to go write that review I've been meaning to write for so long.

EDIT: REVIEW LINK

[AZTraveler]

I've been using the Sena SMH10 bluetooth for a couple of weeks paired with my blackberry and couldn't be happier. I had similar problems with ear buds and custom molded earpieces, now I wouldn't go back, but it is a personal preference.

[ECHO]

Personally I can't get any earbud to stay in my ear when putting on my helmet; and if they do making adjustment while riding is impossible.

I ordered a basic set of helmet speakers but the sound quality wasn't very good. It works but left plenty of desire for better sound. So I was off to find an alternative speaker that I could mount in the helmet. After a full day of checking Radio Shack, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Hastings without much luck I remembered I'd seen some Ipod accessories in one of the Ross Dress for Less stores.

You read that correctly - ROSS has a section of goodies like earbuds, As Seen on TV stuff, and other accessories. It usually a complete unorganized mess in that area, but with some effort I found this set of over the ear speakers: and for $5 bucks.....it was worth it!

They have much better sound quality over the motorcycle specific pair I'd ordered.

I pulled off the ear piece as well as the plastic dome covering the outer surface, attached some velcro then routed the extra cable in the helmet:

For a couple weeks I used an older MP3 player my son used to use (shown below), but it's only 1Gig so I removed it and now simply route speakers to my inside pocket, or I can use an extension to my tank bag when road tripping.. It's really convenient to have the player on the helmet when expecting to be on and off the bike, but not so much for changing songs or volume control. I really like having the player in front of me in the tank bag.

Don't get me wrong - the sound quality is diminished at higher speeds or windy conditions, but I can still hear the beats and vocals enough to enjoy it. I can still use ear plugs if needed but really can't hear it very well with those in.

I've been using my 3rd Gen Ipod but it's not aging well and really doesn't like riding along :). I've just grabbed the SANSA Fuze MP3 player. It's as 8GB with SD expansion slot; more than enough for me. The sound quality is soooo much better than the Ipod (at least the one I have). I'll be riding tomorrow with this new player and can't wait to compare it at speeds.

If I was to get a replacement I would go with the Ear Fuze brand ear buds. I know some others here have them, so maybe they can offer an opinion.

[choco]

I wonder if you could just get a caulking gun and squirt some silicone in your ears. Sound like it would work. Someone want to try it? :laughing6-hehe:

[timmythecop]

I did just about the same as echo, except I just went to walgreens and bough the best looking headphones they had, snapped off the speakers and tucker them into the spot for them in my nolan. I routed the wires to go out of the little snap off cover that is there if you but thier n-com reciever. no prob yet. i think I spent 20 bucks.

[vfr_steve]

Riding slower will help :laughing6-hehe:

[SEBSPEED]

I made a post a while ago about doing this:

Here's the thread: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/53584-custom-earphones-for-your-helmet/page__p__634895__fromsearch__1#entry634895

[superfunkomatic]

I've been using helmet speakers for about 4 years now and they work great.

I wear my earplugs and put these in the earflaps of my helmet (HJC CL-SP).

I also bought a Boosteroo amp to make the speakers a bit louder to go over the wind noise.

Tork X-Pro Helmet Speakers

Boosteroo

[gpd211]

I have had pretty good experience with eytmotics er6i but if I do not seat them properly they can get uncomfy. Great sound though and very durable.

+1 on the Etymotic Isolator Earphones ER-6i. All day comfort and decent sound.

[Monk]

The problem I see with ear speakers, even wearing ear plugs. IMO it requires the overall sounds to be high to over ride the wind with, or without ear plugs. The reason I think this, is from doing the three different ways with the same mp3 with the same recorded songs. The results are, the loudest I had to have the mp3 was with the speakers, with and with out ear plugs, and the lowest I had to set the volume was with the ear-buds stuck inside my ear plug. I'm guessing a proper set of custom made music ear-buds would work even better..... But just an FYI from an Old Fart...... Try to find something that will get the overall sound levels down...... Or not.....

[hoss8640]

I need to find something as well to fix this issue. I was talking to a LEO the other night and was told that the MI laws state earbuds in both ears is illegal but he was not sure if just having one was ok. Speakers sound like a good idea, I just want something to give a little noise and liven up the ride a little bit more.

[Monk]

I need to find something as well to fix this issue. I was talking to a LEO the other night and was told that the MI laws state earbuds in both ears is illegal but he was not sure if just having one was ok. Speakers sound like a good idea, I just want something to give a little noise and liven up the ride a little bit more.

Helmet Speakers No Restrictions

http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp?state=mi

[superfunkomatic]

You may be right.

Wouldn't the wind noise be louder than the headphones anyway?

I know with my helmet the wind noise is still much more powerful than the speakers - which means the wind is really doing the damage to your hearing, likely not the speakers. So the ear plugs are really doing their work in both cases.

I use the music as background noise and don't try to compete with the wind - so I doubt it's causing any additional hearing loss.

The problem I see with ear speakers, even wearing ear plugs. IMO it requires the overall sounds to be high to over ride the wind with, or without ear plugs. The reason I think this, is from doing the three different ways with the same mp3 with the same recorded songs. The results are, the loudest I had to have the mp3 was with the speakers, with and with out ear plugs, and the lowest I had to set the volume was with the ear-buds stuck inside my ear plug. I'm guessing a proper set of custom made music ear-buds would work even better..... But just an FYI from an Old Fart...... Try to find something that will get the overall sound levels down...... Or not.....

[hoss8640]

I need to find something as well to fix this issue. I was talking to a LEO the other night and was told that the MI laws state earbuds in both ears is illegal but he was not sure if just having one was ok. Speakers sound like a good idea, I just want something to give a little noise and liven up the ride a little bit more.

Helmet Speakers No Restrictions

http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp?state=mi

Thanks Monk. I just need to convince the wife that having music is necessary! The question I am getting now is "why can't you just ride without?" and the answer is because it's not as enjoyable and much like riding in a car with no radio.

[spud786]

I made a post a while ago about doing this:

Here's the thread: http://www.vfrdiscus...__1#entry634895

Lots of comments Thx all

seb, are you using earplugs in addition to those speakers? I need to be able to here my sonar detection

Monk, I've been using severla howard leight ponges over last few years, presently running some Radio shack fomies. I found the phillips around the ear type , super comfortable but poor seal to the ear. wind noise too much

Echo , you seem to be similar to seb

[SEBSPEED]

seb, are you using earplugs in addition to those speakers? I need to be able to here my sonar detection

Yes, I wear earplugs pretty much all the time - any ride longer than say, 45min, and I'm wearing earplugs. To be honest though, I don't like riding with music and only use the speakers for my GPS. Works fine in town/traffic situations, if I'm moving at highway speeds, I don't so much hear the directions, as much as hearing a noise that tells me to look down at the GPS for directions. Haven't used them a whole lot for that purpose though, could be as simple as turning the volume up higher, and I'm sure you could hear your detector telling you to slow down.

[spud786]

seb, are you using earplugs in addition to those speakers? I need to be able to here my sonar detection

Yes, I wear earplugs pretty much all the time - any ride longer than say, 45min, and I'm wearing earplugs. To be honest though, I don't like riding with music and only use the speakers for my GPS. Works fine in town/traffic situations, if I'm moving at highway speeds, I don't so much hear the directions, as much as hearing a noise that tells me to look down at the GPS for directions. Haven't used them a whole lot for that purpose though, could be as simple as turning the volume up higher, and I'm sure you could hear your detector telling you to slow down.

Yeh I'm debating hooking up a full 12 vdc speaker that came with my RD, a whole 1/2 mile radious would hear my alarm is the only issue.

Where's Baily rock, is he running a wire to his ear on the V1 or leting it blast openly?

[SEBSPEED]

Where's Baily rock, is he running a wire to his ear on the V1 or leting it blast openly?

He's running a helmet speaker.

[Bthomas]

I use $15 (Ebay) V-Moda earbuds encased in custom silicone ear plugs... The silicone plugs cost between $50 and $100 and will probably outlast many sets of earbuds so make sure you get them molded around earbuds that will be around for a while... (You'll want to be able to snap new earbuds into the silicone plugs when your earbuds eventually die, get a frayed cord, etc.)

These plugs cut several decibels of outside noise (way more -- not even in the same league as earbuds) and allow you to listen to music at pretty tame levels... I don't adjust my volume at all between 20MPH and 80MPH...It all sounds the same.

The pic shows the earplugs in bright orange... Sorry it's not a better pic. Anyway, I tried several different earbuds, Sony sports earbuds with the arms that grab your ears, helmet speakers, and this is the absolute best. Since they are molded to your ears they never make you sore, cut outside noise by probably 20 decibels, and if you're careful, they will last forever (silicone).

I Googled "custom earplugs" in my hometown and found a guy who makes them in the Portland area. You can probably do the same wherever you live -- takes an hour and it cost me $65.