Earphones

[Iris]

I just decided to try these panasonics too! Thanks for the thread. I will try them this weekend with my Sena 20 and letcha know.

 

[kieefjr]

I use ER6i plugged into an iPod in my front pocket and a remote on the brake reservoir.

I also have helmet speakers but use those as my radar detector alarm sound. The helmet speakers are handy on the K75.

My FJR had a switchable on & off screamer alarm for its radar detector that I will transfer to its replacement some day.

Ive tried two sets of helmet speakers and neither have the quality of earbuds.

Good tips and suggestions, my buds are getting pretty old.

 

[Madmudder]

Ive tried two sets of helmet speakers and neither have the quality of earbuds.

What speakers did you try?

 

[Uncle Hud]

Madmudder posted: Ive tried two sets of helmet speakers and neither have the quality of earbuds.What speakers did you try?

Only the stock Senas, delivered with the unit. Must be jammed against your ears, however, to maintain fidelity at highway speeds. They're pretty good, but connected through tiny, fragile wires -- and my right speaker wire is now completely severed.

 

[rbentnail]

The problem came when I took them out and tried putting them back in - there was an unpleasant "crunch" noise in my left ear. Didn't sound good, so I took it back out - and the flanged tip stayed in my ear.
This used to happen occasionally with my ER-6is (usually when the tips were getting old), so I calmly got out the tweezers and extracted the tip from inside my ear canal. To my surprise, the end of the earphone was still attached to the tip - it had broken off the rest of the earphone.

This is exactly what happened to me in my right ear about 3 weeks ago. Fuze earbuds lasted about a month with daily use. I threw them in the trash and am currently looking for something else earbud-wise.

I guess I'm gonna try the Etymotic MC5. This will be about the 8th different set of earbuds

.

 

[kieefjr]

The helmet speakers I've used are Tork X2 and the older ones were called Blasters.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

This is exactly what happened to me in my right ear about 3 weeks ago. Fuze earbuds lasted about a month with daily use. I threw them in the trash and am currently looking for something else earbud-wise.
I guess I'm gonna try the Etymotic MC5. This will be about the 8th different set of earbuds

.

I have a set of MC5's, too. I bought them when my ER-6's died. They worked well in my Multitec but stick out too far to be comfortable on my Schuberth. They do stick out a bit - more than the ER-6i for sure. I now use them as my workout 'phones. Very good sound. If they fit your helmet, highly recommended.

Ive tried two sets of helmet speakers and neither have the quality of earbuds. What speakers did you try?
The helmet speakers I've used are Tork X2 and the older ones were called Blasters.

I have these: https://iasus-concepts.com/audio/xs3-helmet-speaker/ in my Schuberth. I bought them after webbikeworld gave them a great review. They are pretty good SQ wise, and actually sound amazing when you don't wear plugs but they really burn up the batteries when you are wearing earplugs. Check the compatibility list, some communicators don't put out enough oomph for them. Not as good as earbuds sound wise, but I use them around town when earbuds are too much trouble.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Jasen and others, if you don't heed this warning, it will cost you money. The Sena SMH10 ear bud base is a misengineered piece of shit. The plug sticks way the Hell out the back and is delicate. I have broken 5 of them. I broke 3 of them before learning how to tie them down to relieve the stress on them. Even with that, I have still broken two. Probably from setting my helmet down or wind. I just got a new one and will have to figure out how to reinforce it. My current damage prevention looks like this:

The coils are around the boom mic and are held in place with small zip-ties. Failing to do this will break one of those pieces of crap very quickly. Once plugged in, don't mess with that end of the cord again.

Now, take your ear bud cord and find the midpoint. Then loop that through the loop in the back of your jacket. The one at the neck where a t-shirt tag is. Tie it so it won't move. Then the buds go your ears and the plug plugs into the end of the coiled cord. Drop that into your jacket and zip up. That configuration prevents the buds from tightening at your neck and pulling out of your ear when you turn your head. A device for that can be bought. Tying it is free.

 

[Niehart]

Zilla, or buy a 20S.

 

[GinaMcD]

Jasen and others, if you don't heed this warning, it will cost you money. The Sena SMH10 ear bud base is a misengineered piece of shit. The plug sticks way the Hell out the back and is delicate. I have broken 5 of them. I broke 3 of them before learning how to tie them down to relieve the stress on them. Even with that, I have still broken two. Probably from setting my helmet down or wind. I just got a new one and will have to figure out how to reinforce it. My current damage prevention looks like this:[img=[URL="https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/rodzilla134/Mobile%20Uploads/20150428_205320.jpg%5D"]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/rodzilla134/Mobile%20Uploads/20150428_205320.jpg][/URL]The coils are around the boom mic and are held in place with small zip-ties. Failing to do this will break one of those pieces of crap very quickly. Once plugged in, don't mess with that end of the cord again.

This should work beautifully.

My husband and I did something similar to this. Take the cord from the coiled extension and loop it up and over the module. Then gently pull the top of the clamp away from the helmet until you open up just enough of a gap to tuck the cord behind it, making sure you leave enough slack so that there is no tension on the plug. And like above, just leave the coiled extension attached to the helmet. The only downside to our technique is that in order to remove the module from the helmet you need to release the slight tension on the clamp by removing the cord. We always left the modules on our helmets even when charging in order to reduce wear and tear on the pins, so the tucked cord wasn't a problem. We never had to replace a clamp, and we finally retired the five year old SMH10s this year when the battery died in mine.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

I suggested earlier in the thread to just fill in the strain relief with JB Weld epoxy, making the headphone plug solid instead of flexible. Make sure you extend the epoxy all the way to the base. Problem solved.

They tend to fail at the worst possible times (the start of a two week trip in my case). Having fixed two of them on the road with JB Weld, I now just do it right away.

Here is a picture of my first field repair, carried out in a hotel room:

Four years later, it is still going strong...

If you do the reinforcement before it fails, it is much easier to make it pretty.

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^ I've never used JB Weld. Gonna have to give that a try.

Edit: I just realized you're talking about those little groves cut into the casing. Smart. It breaks at the end of those every timw. That's how I'll pre-fix this one before I install it.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

I just ordered a set of the earbud tips that Jasen suggested. In all honesty, I don't know how much I will actually use my earbuds with the Sena 20S as I very seldom listen to music while riding. I love music, but find it a little distracting while riding. Who knows? I may change my mind on this later. I use custom molded earplugs for wind noise. The Sena's helmet speakers are plenty loud enough to hear communications through the earplugs.

One thing I was thinking of, if the earbud tips do a decent job of reducing wind noise, I may switch between the earbuds with the new tips and my molded earplugs on a long trip. That way I will be able to give my ears a break from having the same plugs in them all the time. We shall see. A nice long ride to Stowe for NERDS is coming up soon.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Well, rode to work this morning. FJRPittsburgh, not sure how well they'll do for you compared to your custom molded plugs, but against my Howard Leight Laser Lite plugs, there is no comparison. Too loud for what I am used to. I could possibly get used to it but I don't want to. I look forward to your review.

It was nice to actually hear the music without having to crank the system all the way up.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Well, rode to work this morning. FJRPittsburgh, not sure how well they'll do for you compared to your custom molded plugs, but against my Howard Leight Laser Lite plugs, there is no comparison. Too loud for what I am used to. I could possibly get used to it but I don't want to. I look forward to your review.
It was nice to actually hear the music without having to crank the system all the way up.

So the music sound was ok, but not enough protection from wind noise? Maybe other tips would work better?

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Comply seems to have some serious noise isolation earbud tips:

https://www.amazon.com/Comply/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_2529183011?ie=UTF8&node=2529183011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Comply

 

[gixxerjasen]

I've heard of folks cutting down their normal ear plugs then running a hot needle down the middle to achieve a similar effect.

 

[graler]

I am 99% sure that my Shure 215s have comply 100 tips. They do a great job blocking sound. The Shure units are a lot harder to get the helmet on compared to the sennheiser ear buds I normally wear. On my last trip I fought the shures to get the helmet on for one leg. They were wonderful but when I was on the clock for my SS-1000 I didn't even consider the fight I didn't want to burn the time trying to get them to seat just right. Could be an experience thing. Time will tell.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

I've heard of folks cutting down their normal ear plugs then running a hot needle down the middle to achieve a similar effect.

I understand what you're saying, but you kinda need that o-ring end on the ear plugs to lock them on to the earbuds.

 

[GinaMcD]

I've been using the Comply 100 Isolation tips since I bought my Etymotic HF5 earbuds to replace my dead ER6i's. None of the Etymotic tips for the HF5's fit my ears comfortably. The Complys are all day comfortable, more effective at blocking noise than the three flange tips I used with the ER6i's, and almost as good as the Laser-lite earplugs I used before I discovered the joy of riding with a sound track.

The trade off is that the Complys aren't cheap and they don't last as long as the silicone tips. I usually go through two pairs per season (average of 11,000 miles). However, they loose a lot of their density and elasticity if they get wet enough, so forget about washing them and plan on replacing them if you're riding in the rain and have to handle them repeatedly with wet hands.