Headphones, what do you prefer?

so after seeing the threads for your favorite riding songs and such, what headphones do you like? ive tried ear buds but they always pull out of my ears as i put my helmet on so i was thinking of grabbing a pair of wrap around earbuds and try my luck with those.

so, whats your pleasure?

The best thing I have found that are cheap is get a set of the old school head phones. Take off the metal band and take the speaker and place them in your helmet under the padding near where your ears will be. I can't even tell that they are in my helmet beside the noise they make.

i thought about that but if i don't have ear buds i need to wear ear plugs since my bike is a little loud on the highway between wind noise in the helmet, tires, and exhaust.

After putting my Etymotic buds in my ears, I wrap the wire up and over the top of my ears. This helps to prevent the buds from being pulled out as the helmet goes on!


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The perfect fitting ear buds first. Balaclava second. Pull helnmet over head third. The balaclava will hold the buds in place while the helmet is put on.

I've tried a bunch of different ear buds and headphones and have only recently came upon a winner; 15-dollar Sony "MDR EX10LP" ear buds. The sound is better than average and the fit is very good for my ears. They fit inside the ear without much extrusion so theres not much to "snag" on the helmet.

YMMV of course but its worth a try.

Comply NR-10



They have compressible foam like the disposable earplugs. You roll them between your index finger and thumb then insert into your ear canal- they expand and stay put. Bit pricy but I've had mine for 2 years now with no problems.

I like the looks of those most ear buds after a ride hurt my ear, so this idea is nice that it is something soft in your ears instead of hard plastic.

This is what I do and it works well. The balaclava also helps keep the helmet cleaner. Earbuds are $10 cheapie mushrooms from BestBuy.

Ambient sounds and the music within.

Speakers or buds that do not isolate wind noise in your helmet need to be cranked up to unsafe levels at highway speeds to be heard. This may cause further cumulative permanent hearing loss than wind noise alone.

I had 'Tunz' custom molded in ear buds made to fit my ear canal. These act as earplugs for helmet noise and the volume can be set much lower yet still heard.

Even then I usually prefer to paying attention to often hazardous immediate road and traffic conditions in the 15 Central and South American countries I rode in this past month!
Jay

yea i do wear a balaclava when its cold and that helps but believe it or not, there are some warm days here in seattle.

Say no to ear buds. Because they are basically in your ear canal, there is no way for the sound pressure to dissipate. This places the entire load directly onto your ear drum and it will cause hearing loss. Google Pete Townsend's thoughts on ear buds, headphones and generally listening too loud. He has profound hearing loss from those practices . . . as well a being in one of the world's loudest rock bands.

Seriously, you're going to do permanent damage.

I hate having something stuck in my ear. I have also thought about trying the around the ear design, but on a long ride even sunglasses can get painful. Guess I'll just keep listening to the voices in my head

In the past, I've used the iPod ear buds, but now I use a Scala Rider G4 system with earplugs in my ears. Everything sounds good through the speakers, and the earplugs diminish the wind noise.

Westone CR-1 custom earphones.

Great clarity, fantastic outside noise reduction.

Don't pull out of your year. Comfortable.

I like my etymolic hf-3 earbuds. For me, there is small window where they don't hurt my ears and they still block the wind noise effectively. Once adjusted right, they work well. They also have the three buttons that will raise and lower the volume and start/stop the music. These can be operated even with the helmet and gloves on. This is a big advantage.

I tried several cheaper earbuds but they didn't stay in my ears or block wind noise as well.

Disclaimer: I've not used these for more than 2 hours in a day. They could start to hurt on longer trips. I don't know yet.

JVC Marshmallows
I use them for hearing protection on planes and bikes even when not plugged in. Cheap and available everywhere.

I have just regular sony earbuds. Nothing special, I think they were about 15 bucks. They do get pulled out when I put my helmet on sometimes, but to be honest the wires hanging out of my helmet are more of a pain in the ass than anything. Going from sitting to standing they get snagged on seemingly everything. I wish there were bluetooth ones that actually worked well, I would buy them in a heartbeat.

One thing I do have that I dig the shit out of, is this:



All the ipod controls are now on my watch. Gloves = no problem. Alot easier than searching through a zippered pocket to skip a song, or pause, adjust the volume, etc.

I use H2O Audio earplugs with one of their waterproof 3rd Gen Ipod cases strapped to my left leg. Used JVC Marshmallow plugs for years but these are just as good and stay in my ears better than the JVCs.