I purchased the Sena20s intercom system and the speakers are horrible for music. I see many of you are using the Bose noise cancelling earbuds ((and that's what's highly recommended online)) but they come with that large electronic box you have to dangle at your chest or somehow affix to your helmet. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and electronic music and want something with some really good bass response but would also love to block out the sound of my very loud Austin racing GP exhaust. Anyone care to share what they are using? I'm not looking for just any cheapo earbuds as a solution and want to spend around $200. I thank you in advance!
Great topic. Bose is crap. Get noise isolating ear buds such as Shure or Ultimate Ears. These will simply plug into Sena clamp. As they are noise isolating, no need for battery.
More drivers mean better sound. Pick what fits your budget.
Awesome information! Sounds like you know your stuff LOL I'm going to order both of those and just return whatever one doesn't make the cut. I also ordered the $99 Shure buds before I read your post as well as the sound sport wired Bose headphones and the Klipsch S4 headphones and the Bose soundtrue ultra ear headphones. I'm going to try out all of them and report back my findings next week.
The klipsche s4 are noise isolating but I have a very good feeling that the shure 315 model you recommended is going to be the one. I see it got some amazing reviews online
You're right. I confused them with the x series. Shure has a lower profile. It will be easier to keep them in place while you slide your helmet on. Check out comply earbud tips. Also, my buddy @PittsDriver will apply some neosporin before he inserts his earbuds.
I switched from the Neosporin +Pain ointment to something called Oto-Ease but you have to make sure you don't get an old bottle of the stuff. It was recalled a few years ago. It's just a lubricant used by audiologists for when they do ear molds or by hearing aid wearers to get a proper seal. It's slick as eel snot and make it easy to get a complete seal for noise attenuation. You can find it at drug stores and on Amazon.
Or you could just do what I see Vale and Marquez do - stick them in your mouth and get them all slobbery and then stick them in your ears.
Do you have the single or dual speakers in each ear? If single, is the volumn loud enough to hear it clearly without having it cranked up to distortion?
I normally can not stand wearing ear plugs, especially under a helmet, but these being custom molded to my ears with soft rubber, may be pretty comfy.... For $300+, they better be quiet, clear and comfy...
I have the wireless Bose soundsport headphones and they're awesome... but they don't fit under the Helmet. I ordered the "wired" soundsport version and they are horrible they don't even compare to the wireless model. Just my 2c for anyone else reading this post
I have these https://www.hearsmartsolutions.com/afe-1-single.html and they're great. The quality is awesome, although I don't listen at high volumes because I want to save whats left of my hearing, the quality is amazing, and I only have the single driver version, they have a dual and triple available as well. I don't tend to wear them in the city or when commuting, being able to hear traffic around me has kept me alive more than once, but when on the highway or track they're awesome. Keep in mind the above is a Canadian site though, being in Canada I wanted to buy from Canada.
I've tried a few and found these to be pretty good. They are almost noise canceling because they keep the road noise out too well. so i dont have to turn up the volume to hear the music.
I had them for about a year before they were stolen, and I will go back to buy them again. Very well made, does not have a "cheap" feeling, and the sound quality is pretty up there. I also bought the new Bose wireless soundsport for when working out, but they're huge and no way will be able to fit in a helmet.
As for Amazon ratings, I dont find all the reviews to be accurate. I bought mine from the Apple Store because they would accept returns, Best Buy in Canada does not accept returns on headphones and a bunch of other things (Im guessing for sanitary reasons, not that they sell boxers).. Decided to keep them! RHA was pretty good to me.
My 20s was too quiet to even be useful when I first got it so I went back to the SMH10.
After the 1.6 update the volume was much louder, still not good quality speakers, but they are louder now.
The Sena isn't supposed to be some audiophile perfection headset, its made for being overly loud and all highs so you can hear over the wind noise and exhaust note.
Something I did find is your helmet makes all the difference in how it sounds too.
My 20s was too quiet to even be useful when I first got it so I went back to the SMH10.
After the 1.6 update the volume was much louder, still not good quality speakers, but they are louder now.
The Sena isn't supposed to be some audiophile perfection headset, its made for being overly loud and all highs so you can hear over the wind noise and exhaust note.
Something I did find is your helmet makes all the difference in how it sounds too.
I have real problems with the simple "earplug" style earbuds, especially with my left ear. They keep falling out, and then I really have to jam them in to make them stay, which leads to the skin getting chafed raw and bleeding, which is really painful on day-long rides day after day on a long trip.
So, I found these, pretty cheap, and they are really comfortable. Sometimes the little silicone tips fall off (just the tip! on the older model I used (think they fixed that with the grip 200), and the wires are silicone instead of PTFE (teflon) coated so they snag and tangle on everything, sometimes yanking the earbuds out of your ears when riding if they snag on your collar or glove. But, they work for me.
What I want to do to my Shoei RF1200 helmet is put some padding in the empty ear pockets of the helmet to lessen the noise so I can turn the music volume down when riding.
What I REALLY want to do, is put some foam in the ear pockets and get some hi-fidelity speakers to mount permanently in the helmet. Still looking......
What I REALLY want to do, is put some foam in the ear pockets and get some hi-fidelity speakers to mount permanently in the helmet. Still looking......
I think you're going to find that solution less than satisfying. I installed a set of aviation headset gel seals around my speakers in a helmet. It provided a small fraction of the noise attenuation effectiveness of cheap foamy ear plugs.
Let me save everyone some time, a lot of money, and your hearing and just say that you should go out and buy the best hearing protection money can buy with earphones built in - Sensaphonics. Yeah, they are expensive but they are a fraction of the cost of hearing aids and the huge impact on your quality of life when you begin to lose your hearing.
Otherwise, what most people do is dick around with cheap, ineffective solutions; going through a number of iterations of better solutions but still find out they're not good; and then drop the coin on the Sensaphonics.
I'll say it what I've said before on here - people will go out and spend absolutely stupid amounts of money on carbon fiber that makes no difference at all other than bling but will choke on good hearing protection. Dumb.
Totally agree with you. People go cheap on most important purchases.
I don't listen to music while riding. I use replaceable foam earbuds (blocks ~32 DBs). Do you have any better suggestions for hearing protection? Some people swear by custom earbud molds, but read mixed reviews about them. My bike is loud, so looking for best protection I can get.
Initial impression off the bike was that the Bose sounds better. Fuller sound w/ deeper bass... but after the putting helmet on, the Bose kind of gets squished in your ear and the sound is muffled. The 1More sounds decent on the bike and blocks outside sound very well and they don't protrude off your head as much.. very comfy in the helmet but sound quality not that great. Not impressed with either. Can't wait to try the others that arrive Monday.
Custom earbuds are expensive but worth the cost. They sound great, do a great job of noise reduction, super easy to use with a helmet, they last a long time and the good ones are usually repairable if you damage them and I can wear them literally all day without pain. As for the lube a little spit works great! I have Wired units from AZ Ear protection and both wired and Bluetooth from Fit Ear, My wife has hers made by Big Ear. Also when they make them they usually will make you silicon earpieces without audio that make awesome earplugs for shooting, working in noisy enviorments and sleeping in noisy hotels, so much more comfortable than any over the counter ear bud or plug.
I usually wear my Bose noise canceling earbuds. The fit is pretty good. The helmet applies just enough back pressure to hold them in.
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