Earphones

[ElectricFJR]

To mention again, I'd seriously look at the S-Plug guys. A major advantage it has (especially for those with snug helmets), is that the whole thing is in your ear canal, nothing sticks out. You pull it out by the wire (which is made very durable to accomplish this). So while the outside of your ear being moved still transmits some of that movement to the ear canal, there's a lot less discomfort than when just the slightest movement of the outside of your ear is felt because you have this huge glob of silicone in your ear but outside of the ear canal ready to make everything that touches your ear felt.

Totally agree - as I have used the Ety's before which have the same concept. One reason why the S-plugs and Ety's and standard/generic earplugs don't work for all of us is that we have oddly shaped ear canals. I've got tall narrow canals which squishes the round Ety/SPlug forms. After a period of use they put more pressure in one place and hurt, and lose the ability to seal effectively. Wierd canals = $$$.

I totally agree with this. My ear canals are very narrow as well and will not accept any earbuds that have to fit down inside them like the ER6's (which I have tried). I am now on my second pair of Big Ear custom molded ear buds (currently the BE-2CB model with dual transducers and added bass) and have been very happy with them. They are a bit pricey, but work very well for me--comfortable all day and do not pull out when I put on or take off my helmet.

 

[jblanken64]

They fit in the ear, with the cords going over and behind the ear. There's a method to it. But once you get it they never come out.

The ones I have do the same, fit down in the ear with the cords going over, just seem like they have too high of a profile for allow the helmet to go on and off smoothly. I'd like to try the Shures, but I don't think there's a way to tell if the profile will actually be lower.

The ones I have are these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019T37MGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sound is great and fit is great without a helmet.

 

[AlleyCat]

Shure 215K. No substitute.

I was disappointed in the sound quality of the Shure 215. Returned them and went with the RHA MA750i. Big difference in sound quality. The Shure had a nice build quality but the RHA is as well built if not better.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I must have been lucky. My first and only pair of 215's has range and quality unlike any others I've tried. Only nice full headsets for indoor use compare to mine . But nice to know of other options.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Remember to re-learn how to get into and out of your helmet with ear buds. I use the straps to pull the padding way back and kind of roll it onto my head. Do the same when taking it off. Probably takes me an extra second to be sure I have it right, but it makes dealing with ear buds way easier. They don't move very often. Sometimes there's no avoiding it and I just have to start over. The sound and comfort is worth it to me though.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Well said. Pulling the straps apart and rocking it on one side a little before the other becomes second nature.

 

[jblanken64]

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

 

[want2ride]

I have the Sena speakers placed in my helmet. I use regular plugs at times and switch to the Plug Fones when I want good sound for my trip. When I am just jumping around town I stay with the regular plugs as high fidelity doesn't matter that much.

 

[jblanken64]

I have the Sena speakers placed in my helmet. I use regular plugs at times and switch to the Plug Fones when I want good sound for my trip. When I am just jumping around town I stay with the regular plugs as high fidelity doesn't matter that much.

This is what I'm thinking as well.

 

[Tiger_993]

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

I use the Sena speakers 90% of the time, even when on longer rides, because I hate dealing with an earbud cord. However, when I get a wild hair I will plug in some JVC marshmallow earbuds to the Sena, which provide a great improvement in the sound department with a bit less attenuation of wind noise. One of these days when I have an extra Benjamin in my pocket I will try a pair of the IASUS X-sound helmet speakers. Supposedly they are much better than the Sena speakers.

 

[RJAMT]

I have a short commute to work so I just use the Sena speakers. If I'm going to be on the bike longer or on the highway I put in my Etymotic earbuds. They sound far better than the speakers as well as cutting wind noise but aren't worth putting in for a quick trip.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

The odd, and unfortunate, thing for me to discover was that the foam earbuds (from the firing range) that I use with helmet comms do not, no matter how properly inserted, block wind noise as well as the Shure 215K's do. Great for a boom, but for a howl, the comfort whatevertheycallthem foam tips with the shures win out. Music is music, but trash noise management is always hand-in-hand when we're talking about audio. When I was experimenting with 3/4 helmets and was using regular earbuds, I noticed I got less wind noise after a while from my left hear. I kept trying to fiddle with the right bud and the helmet trying to get the wind noise down on the right side to match....... Nope. Next annual job physical, they found mid-range hearing loss on the left side. That was why I "got" less wind noise. Use what you like, but manage the roar, whatever you do.

 

[AlleyCat]

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

I started with the speakers but I did not like the volume being set high in order to hear things properly...so I tried a new setup with ear buds. I was looking for hearing protection as well so my ear buds offer noise isolation (up to 32 dB). What a difference, music was clear, phone calls were so easy to understand and there was no more wind noise. Sure, the setting up was a PITA for short rides (cables etc). But once you get used to it, everything becomes second nature and instinctive. I would not go back to speakers. My ear buds (as mentioned in an earlier post) are the RHA MA750i. I choose these for the over the ear setup (helps keep them in place) but also for the fact that they sit in the ear and they are comfortable when wearing a full face helmet. I have been using these for more than a year without any issues at all.

 

[jblanken64]

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

I started with the speakers but I did not like the volume being set high in order to hear things properly...so I tried a new setup with ear buds. I was looking for hearing protection as well so my ear buds offer noise isolation (up to 32 dB). What a difference, music was clear, phone calls were so easy to understand and there was no more wind noise. Sure, the setting up was a PITA for short rides (cables etc). But once you get used to it, everything becomes second nature and instinctive. I would not go back to speakers. My ear buds (as mentioned in an earlier post) are the RHA MA750i. I choose these for the over the ear setup (helps keep them in place) but also for the fact that they sit in the ear and they are comfortable when wearing a full face helmet. I have been using these for more than a year without any issues at all.

So did you leave your speakers in place or remove them? Just curious about the clearance you might have with these and speakers installed.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

I find that the leaving speakers in place when I am using earphones is a bad combo; since you want the speakers to be touching your ears for best sound, they put pressure on the earphones and make them uncomfortable. For a day ride, it is OK but on a long trip, it gets painful so I remove the helmet speakers. It only takes a couple of minutes to put the helmet speakers in or out.

 

[Uncle Hud]

jblanken64 posted: Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

The Sena speakers are installed in my helmet, but I almost always wear earbuds. I removed the speaker-spacers, however, so the speakers aren't close to my ears any longer. Truth is, I can't see a permanent way to remove the Sena speakers without cutting the speaker wires, and I really don't want to do that. (Right speaker wire is broken anyway -- my helmet and Sena get a lot of use, and therefore a lot of exposure to weather.)

My earbuds are Fuze self-molding, so I have been able to avoid a bulge of "stuff" protruding from my ears. The racing model is also inexpensive, which is good since I'm already on pair #2. The Sena plug/jack combo is situated to put right-angle tension on the earbud wires, and the Fuze earbud wires are slimmer than the Sena speaker wires.

Wish I could unplug the speakers, throw them out, then plug the earbuds into the Sena chassis where the plug/jack points down instead of towards the back. Don't think it's possible. And everything is too microscopic to solder/splice the earbuds onto the Sena speaker wires.

 

[jblanken64]

jblanken64 posted: Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

The Sena speakers are installed in my helmet, but I almost always wear earbuds. I removed the speaker-spacers, however, so the speakers aren't close to my ears any longer. Truth is, I can't see a permanent way to remove the Sena speakers without cutting the speaker wires, and I really don't want to do that. (Right speaker wire is broken anyway -- my helmet and Sena get a lot of use, and therefore a lot of exposure to weather.)

My earbuds are Fuze self-molding, so I have been able to avoid a bulge of "stuff" protruding from my ears. The racing model is also inexpensive, which is good since I'm already on pair #2. The Sena plug/jack combo is situated to put right-angle tension on the earbud wires, and the Fuze earbud wires are slimmer than the Sena speaker wires.

Wish I could unplug the speakers, throw them out, then plug the earbuds into the Sena chassis where the plug/jack points down instead of towards the back. Don't think it's possible. And everything is too microscopic to solder/splice the earbuds onto the Sena speaker wires.

My speakers aren't touching my ears, but unless the earbuds are very low profile, I'd worry about them touching the speakers. I've tried some mold-it-yourself earplugs before (not earbuds) and didn't like the overall performance of them from a comfort and noise reduction standpoint. May have been the material or even the molder (hard to believe).

I'm looking at the Shure's or RHA's, but didn't want to waste money. I also saw some MEE audio M6 Pro's that look appealing.

 

[eflyguy]

(to Uncle Hud)

Tried to send this directly by PM but it says you can't receive new messages..

I could remove them and add a socket for standard earplugs.

I'm handy with wire snips and a soldering iron.

It would be best if you removed the headset or mount that has the speakers attached. Or if it's the kind that has a plug between the speakers/microphone and base unit/mount, then just need the speakers themselves, and I'd attach the socket to the plug..

 

[Uncle Hud]

Thanks, eflyguy. I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, too, thanks to US Navy electronics school. Good idea to solder a jack onto the Sena wires and plug the earbuds into the new jack.

I'm a little scared of cutting the Sena wires, as that would forever remove the possibility of using the helmet speakers as backup.

1) Left photo: headphone jack sticks out the front of the Sena clamp. Earbud wires are tucked into my jacket and are pulled downward whenever they're tugged. (Big device to the left is the boom mike; the two small wires trailing off to the left are the built-in Sena speaker leads.)

2) Right photo: Those two small Sena speaker leads enter the Sena chassis/clamp through a snap-in fitting (maybe?) that isn't easily removed -- at least I couldn't pry it loose without fearing damage. Your concept to snip these wires and solder on a conventional headset jack is a good one, which will become a really good concept the next time I get frustrated with speakers/buds.

Photo courtesy of webBikeWorld; click here for link to article.

 

[eflyguy]

Put a plug on the speaker side and you could still use them if needed..