funkshn (Regular)  |
| Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:31 pm |
| Earbuds (headphones) with or without music? |
I've been using foam earplugs for a long time, but it's a bit of a pain to get them rolled up and inserted properly. If they're not right, sometimes I don't find out until I'm on the freeway, and then it's a real hassle to stop and redo them.
So I decided to try a pair of noise-reducing earbuds. I'm too cheap to buy the really excellent ones, like the Etymotic ER-6 mentioned in the recent "quietest helmet" thread. But I dropped $20 on Scosche HP155M earbuds. I rode with them inserted but not connected to a music player, and they were pretty good. Slightly more noisy than the foam earplugs but less wind noise.
Last night and this morning I tried riding with them connected to an iPod. I'm kind of undecided about whether I like this. I've always ridden without music. I can still pick up sounds around me, even through foam earplugs, and I'm thinking that I used these sounds at kind of a subconscious level. The music takes many of those sounds away. On the other hand, music is enjoyable, sometimes.
With the Scosche, the level of insertion is critical. This morning it sounded like I had very little bass response. When I took the helmet off at the end of the ride, and pushed the earbuds in another millimeter or so, there was a dramatic difference. I guess I need to check that more closely before putting on the helmet. The Scosche are small, so there's not a lot of inadvertent earbud-dragging when the helmet goes on.
The other thing that bothers me about playing music is that there's no easy way to pause it or make other changes when I'm on the bike. The iPod is in my inside jacket pocket - I don't really want it out in the tank bag, etc. There's a control button on the earbud cord but it's tiny, hard to locate, and doesn't work with gloves. I want the ability, in critical situations, to silence the music. ("Good morning, officer!") If I can't get that, I'll probably go back to music-less rides.
I don't think I'd ever be interested in helmet speakers instead of earbuds. Those would just add loud music to an already loud environment.
I'm curious about others' experiences with earplugs, earbuds, and music.
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Earbuds (headphones) with or without music? — funkshn, Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:31 pm -
Re: Earbuds (headphones) with or without music? — AJinNoHills, Thu Oct 07, 2010 4:31 pm
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There are ways around that "feature" — BrianM, Thu Oct 07, 2010 4:53 pm
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LOL - I went a different route — AJinNoHills, Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:03 pm
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That's what I have too... — BrianM, Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:05 pm
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If you're using an Ipod, then buy an Ijet remote. — BrianM, Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:09 pm
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Actually, the iPod was a gift — funkshn, Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:30 pm