IEM's for motorcycle riding?

[maKe]

Ok I've used the search but it didn't quite cover the answer I was looking for. I've sent email to Etymotic for ER-4s/p and ER-6i, Shure for SE-310 and SE-420 and lastly Sennheiser for IE8, but haven't had response yet either of them.

Now I'm asking you guys what you would recommend? My music taste is mostly hip-hop/Rap and oldskool heavy metal/trash. Most of here blaze the IE8 to have best bass response and all-around best mid/highs.

I'm very noob when it comes to portable stuff, but not when it comes to full-size headphones. I've owned in the past Senn HD600's with Musical Fidelity X-canV2 amp with good tubes and X-psu external power supply. Now I regret that I sold them.

Anyways, back to the business. If I understanded correctly, they need to have good noise isolation, but not too much so you can hear engine sound and other things around you (cars, sirens, horns etc.). My bike pretty much screams **** loudly at 16,000rpm's and it puts out constant 107dB at 6500rpm when commuting at 100km/h speed. I've used regular disposable ear plugs for 2 years and they do their job perfectly. Cuts out excess wind noise and engine sound so my ears dont bleed after 10min ride, lol.

My helmet is full face Shoei and it's really tight fitting, so IEM's need to be comfortable and not stick out too much from ear. I'm leaning toward the Senn IE8's but how is their noise isolation? Also do I need portable amp with high-end iem's ?

Sorry for my bad grammar! English is not my native language.

 

[maKe]

Looks like I'm the only one here with a bike and audiophile addiction.

No shops in 300km range where I could even try something.

 

[K_19]

It seems like either Shure SE530 or Westone 3 should be down your alley. Both have superb mids and lows and in Shure's case (can't speak for W3 since I don't own it), has superb isolation. They don't stick out at all so it should be fine for your helmet wearing.

Portable amp would be definitely help but these phones are good enough to be driven on their own. On a sidenote, is it really the best idea to be wearing those out in traffic?

 

[mark2410]

i think someone recently asked the same question, i cant remember how it turned out but..... dont get the IE8 not big on isolation

i think the last recommendation on that other thread (that i remember anyway) was the klipsch custom series, isolate well (with olives) and dont stick out from your ear at all if you push them right in.

 

[nickdawg]

IEM's for motorcycle riding?

(sigh) (facepalm)

 

[ILikeMusic]

The Etymotic ER6i are very popular with motorcyclists for two reasons... one, they fit well under a helmet and two, they offer very good isolation which is very important on a motorcycle as a IEMs also serve a critical second function in protecting the rider from excessive wind noise exposure.

 

[Azazel90x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickdawg /img/forum/go_quote.gif IEM's for motorcycle riding? (sigh) (facepalm)

Yea, because people in cars with their music blasting is that much better?

Anyways, i do agree with ILikeMusic, the Etymotic ER6i are prob your best bet.

 

[Mangoman81]

I too drive a bike and have a audiophile addiction

And have the Shoei Raid 2 helmet.

Im thinkin of getting the Westone UM1, understand they are very small.

Tell me how it works out for you.

 

[Usama]

ER6i don't have bass quantity. I agree about IE8 they do not have good isolation since they are open IEM's. Maybe the Sennheiser CX6?

 

[ri_toast]

jvc ha-fx66 with triple flange for sennheiser cx300. glue the tips on with superglue otherwise you'll be digging them out with tweezers.

these stay put and have better isolation and are more comfortable than se310s. i've used this combo on the highway under a full face.

like cars and audio, bikes and audio don't mix well imo. the major problem other than audio quality is control. a remote would be most helpful.

 

[shigzeo]

i have used all the phones mentioned here and for size, the er6 is much better than the um1 though that is not a bad choice. if you can use foamie, you will get a better seal for riding as the driver unit will likelly shift a lot and you don't want to fiddle whilst riding. with foamies, the foam shifts as well but you keep seal and with silicon you get loss of seal easily.

but, smaller than er6i and dual driver and much higher construction quality is the ck10 from audio technica. because the japanese yen is so strong, they are expensive but as a former user (i sold because no matter that foamy are great - my ears don't do very well with anything in there) and a bicycle rider which is not the same speeds but way way more sweat and moving my body, so i know these can survive any riding.

ck10: dual driver, small, great cable that is strong and microphonic resistant.

 

[Mangoman81]

For me the most important thing is that the phone don't stick out at all so it should be fine for your helmet wearing. Its very painful otherwise. Number two is if they offer good isolation.

So the Etymotic ER6i doesn't stick out as much as the Westone UM1?

 

[dyoon89]

ultimate ears has good lows for hiphop and metal but the sound isolation wouldn't be good for riding, plus they tend to stick out of your ear. i own superfi.5 pro and they block out enough for city noises, but def not for bike riding.

etymotic has excellent isolation but the bass isn't very enhanced for your music taste. i had er4p but returned them because most of my music are bass heavy, and they stick out your ear as well.

i don't own senn ie8, but my friend told me the isolation isn't as good as etymotic and shure. i'm assuming they don't block out enough for riding.

i agree with K 19, your best choice would be shure se530, which has great sound isolation while giving you great mids and lows.

i never heard of ppl using iem for motorcycle riding..that's something i would never do -_-

 

[shigzeo]

honestly if you can find the ck10: it is much much smaller than the um1, the se530 etc. very smooth and balanced but not as much bass as either the shure or the westone. it is far more robust than either one as well... especially for motorcycle riding.

many people use customs for motorcycle riding. many. i just met with an audiologist whose main customer after musicians is motorcycle riders. they need to protect the hearing and at the same time use phones seems to be popular.

i saw this company for 250$ cdn who make an instant fit custom. the whole process takes 20 minutes and gives you dual drivers and customs without having to post. they are robust but won'st sound as good for reference applications as at, ety or shure/westone's offerings.

 

[Orcin]

Motorcycles aren't dangerous enough... we need to isolate our hearing too?