[motorider]

I just accepted that they would not stay seated and the seal wasn't perfect. some tunes is better than none. however these new soundmagic e30's sit flush in my ear and should work great inside my helmet. my helmet is the Shark RSR 2 and it has no special spots for earbuds.
 
there was some discomfort in wearing mine, but it was very very minor. only bothered me after about 4 hours of continuous wear.

 

[Mungo2]

Has anyone here looked at products from the Phillips lineup?
                Admittedly they're not in the same league as say HiFi mans RE262/72 series. However I would happily put the (p)9850s up against my Klipsch S4 II's anyday, having a neutral, if bass heavy sound. What makes theme stand out for me is the isolation. They incorparate a hard shell inner casing surrounded by a unique sillicon type outer which kinda gels in the outer ear with next to no micophonics (when zipped up inside your jacket). And the best thing is the value for money factor. I picked mine up for $40 AUD delivered. I mean if you do a lot of m/bike riding then you'll know that when using IEM's they then to have a life expectency of about a quarter when compared to everyday use by the simply fact of- helmet on, helmet off, helmet on , helmet off etc.
      Just my 2 cents....
 
 
     Now to the topic of IEMs while riding and those commenting on it. For those commenting I say this..... Are you commenting on personal experience? Or are you an expert on the field with proven data to back up your vast knowledge on this topic?
                   PROVE in ANY way that listening to anything in particular may INCREASE the risk of any dangerous situation from occuring (to ones self or to others)? My experience is that you see and occationally feel potential danger while riding, nothing else. Hear danger? What potential risk can you hear, apart from maybe a bike malfunction, which you usually 'feel' rather then hear. Sirens from emergency vehicles? If you cant see the sirens then maybe your actually not looking at whats going on around you, all of which you should have been taught before you actually got a licence. I could go on and on about rthe different situations,  however in 12 years of riding daily to and from work and also 'scratchin it' on the weekends I have never spoken or heard of anyone who has admitted they have been put in a 'riskier' situation by having earphones in while riding. Admittedly its not for some people who would rather listen to the road and thats great. Everyone rides to thier own comfort levels.
                       However to assume you 'think' it may be better not to wear them is just plain naive. And lastly what are you saying in the end, That people who are deaf or hearing impaired are at a greater risk then they rest and maybe they shouldn't ride?.....Please for the sake of not looking like a fool to the rest of us then keep it to yourself. 

 

[Pudu]

             ...          However to assume you 'think' it may be better not to wear them is just plain naive. And lastly what are you saying in the end, That people who are deaf or hearing impaired are at a greater risk then they rest and maybe they shouldn't ride?.....Please for the sake of not looking like a fool to the rest of us then keep it to yourself. 

I rode for many years, and I have no doubt whatsoever that reducing your situation awareness by handicapping your hearing puts you at greater risk - to argue otherwise is a bit silly in my opinion. But it's a risk I chose and many, many others choose to take... just as choosing to ride (hearing impaired or not) adds an element of risk that isn't there if you are driving around in a Bronco. No need to be defensive about it.

 

[KungFuGrip]

Just to throw my 2 cents in I have been riding with Shure IEMs for 10 plus years. Im not going to tell anyone to do it or not to do it. It's all your level of comfort. I ride everywhere from city, twisties, and track and I dont think I have gone without IEMs a single time as far back as I can remember. In fact several of my friends ride with ear plugs. I could argue that I'm actually more focused...
 
I found this thread because my Shures are finished and I need to find replacements. I'm thinking about getting another pair of them, but some of the other suggestions have caught my attention. In particular the RE-262s.

 

[gg48gg]

Hi All.  I have 15 years riding experience.  I'd say that during 14 of those years or more, I have  used IEM's.  I have taken 3 MSF courses, always wear full gear, and am extremely safety conscious.  Motorcycle riding was my choice after learning about the risks, how to statistically reduce those risks, and weighing those with my riding enjoyment.   I usually take long rides and only commute in town out of necessity, due to what I feel is increased risk of getting hurt.  Therefore, my riding is normally on the highway, mountain roads, and necessarily cruising through small towns on the way to another open road.  I write this to give you a feel for my philosophy about riding safety. 
 
That being said, it is almost universally recommended, by people who are in the know, to wear hearing protection while riding.  This is regardless of helmet and motorcycle type.  Reason being, wind noise, even at speeds as low as 20-30 MPH, can damage your hearing.  Again, this is regardless of helmet and motorcycle type.  Therefore, practically speaking, you mostly can't hear your environment while you're riding, WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE WARING HEARING PROTECTION.  I personally always ride with hearing protection.  A well known acronym by motorcyclists,  ATGATT, stands for "All The Gear All The Time" and is commonly used while talking about motorcycle risk management and safety.  For me, ATGATT includes hearing protection.
 
Since you can't hear your environment anyway, why not listen to some music while it's safe?
 
I personally believe that INFREQUENTLY, it IS possible to be able to hear a useful warning.  Examples are screeching tires, a horn, siren, and other sounds.  These are ONLY audible while stopped or at slow speeds, when wind noise is lower.  While cruising through towns, I normally turn off my music for this reason.
 
Personally, I use an Autocom system which senses and adapts the volume to match ambient noise.  The system also allows for me to listen to music, GPS navigation prompts, and have a conversation with my passenger or other motorcycle riders I am riding with, via GMRS or CB radio.  I prefer IEMs with maximum sound isolation, minimizing  the need to increase volume levels to compensate for ambient noise.
 
I have full control over the volume of my devices at all times, similar to when driving a car.  As when you are in a car, you choose the appropriate volume of the system at the appropriate time.
 
I did not come here to discuss whether or not using IEMs is acceptable, but I had to share what I have come to know about the subject after reading the discussion. 
 
I came here to ask the community a few IEM related questions and share with you my experience while using IEMs for motorcycle riding.
 
SOOOOOOOOO......   Here is what I actually came for in my next post...
[size=9.5pt][/size]
[size=9.5pt][/size]

 

[gg48gg]

I am currently trying to improve a few aspects of my IEM use and was hoping the community would be able to help me…
 
1)      I have been using a set of Westone UM2’s for the last 5 years or so.  They are adequate for isolation, and just OK for sound quality.  I feel the bass is lacking and so is the clarity of the highs.  I use Shure, yellow foam tips with these.  I’m looking to improve sound quality and hopefully isolation as well. 
 
2)      I currently use foam tips which work OK but cause irritation and itching, mostly after taking them out. I think this might be due to the abrasiveness of the foam or maybe due to touching the tips with dirty fingers.  I don’t like having to touch the foam tips with dirty fingers, then insert them however I don’t feel that double or triple flange tips are as good for isolation.  So, I’m looking for a different kind of tip.  Perhaps custom, but…
 
3)      I have a set of acrylic, custom tipped IEMs that I really like, but I can't use them for motorcycle use.  Reason being, the pressure of the helmet on my ears causes my ears to be pinned back causing the customs to leak air/sound.  Additionally the hard acrylic hurts my ears while removing my helmet, as the helmet presses the bottom of my ears upwards.
 
Is there, perhaps, a custom tip available that is flexible enough to not leak when my ears get pinned back from the helmet, and also have some give when removing it?  It doesn't appear that the custom silicone molds, that are readily available, are flexible/expandable enough to be able to fill that void and seal the leak when my ears get pinned back.  Any custom options you'd recommend?  Other suggestions?

 

[senorx12562]

With Shure 215s and Westone UM2s and UM3Xs, I've always gotten the best seal and isolation with triple flange tips, but acceptable seal and better comfort with long Comply tips. I also have a set of custom silicone molds that fit on the same phones (with the center tubes from some used Comply tips to increase the diameter of the tubes) but they end up falling off the phones and on the ground too often, and the improvements in seal/comfort over either the triple flanges or the comply tips are marginal, so not worth the inconvenience. Although the triple flanges are my favorites for riding, (partly because you can clean them) I can see how they might be uncomfortable for some as they go pretty deep. In an effort to get more comfort for a longer period of use, I sent my UM2s to In Ear Customs for reshelling, but they haven't finished them yet. I'm somewhat skeptical, especially since the company is totally unresponsive (see the thread entitled "Cheapest Reshells..." for a recounting of the lovely customer service of this company) but if the result is good, it will be worth it given the relatively low price. I'm pretty sure that a custom is the way to go for comfort and seal, and if I had the wherewithal, I'd probably go with the ES5s, or maybe the JH13s. I might have gone with having my UM3Xs reshelled as they do sound way better than the UM2s, but didn't because:
 
1) They're still under warranty and I don't want to void it;
 
2) My skepticism re: the results; and
 
3) I couldn't face sending my favorite iems off into the apparent black hole known as "In Ear Custom" for an unknown period of time.
 
I'll post the results when (if?) I get them back. As to the wisdom of iems on a motorcycle, In 30 years, I've never had a helmet that attenuated any appreciable amount of the wind noise from riding, and have the hearing loss to prove it. Said wind noise pretty much blocks out most other sounds anyway. I have however noticed that I've been surprised by emergency vehicles because I heard them late, but the same thing happens in a car with the stereo on so.... (shrug).

 

[gg48gg]

Thanks senor.  I just ordered some MEEelevronics A161P IEMs along with some comply foam tips.  I hope these will sound and fit to my liking.  I'm a bit worried they might stick out too much, but we'll see.  The IEMs come with triple and double flange tips and I plan to try the foam tips and the flanged tips on back to back rides.  I will report back after some experimentation.

 

[senorx12562]

I've also recently (and for the first time) started wearing a modular helmet, which allows you to spread apart the cheek pads of the helmet if you leave the front up when putting the helmet on, allowing much more adjustment of the position of the phones and cables w/ respect to your ears and the helmet.
 

 

[GSARider]

Have used an autocom system in the past for many years, now onto a Bluetooth system, which is okay. IEM's - if needs be, I've always just used a set of CX-300's as they're small enough that they don't hurt under my helmet. Usually though I have ear protectors in and just link my iPhone to the Bluetooth system and I get low level music piped into my helmet.

 

[gg48gg]

Are you using IEM's with your bluetooth unit?  Which BT headset do you have?

 

[senorx12562]

Everyone I know who has a BT they use on a m/c uses them with in-helmet speakers, which I've tried without success because the ambient noise makes it impossible to hear the music at any reasonable volume. Incidentally, the SQ of the speakers sucks anyway. Are there BT options that allow one to listen to music with reasonable fidelity (i.e. with iems) and still use the intercom functions? I assume that BT also requires a BT capable source? Forgive my ignorance.

 

[gg48gg]

Yes, the sena SMH-10 is one of the best bluetooth headsets (still) according to reviews and you can attach "earbuds", AKA IEMs.  More info here...
 
http://www.amazon.com/Sena-SMH-A0303-Helmet-Clamp-Earbuds/dp/B003YD3O7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371962946&sr=8-1&keywords=sena+smh10+earbuds
 
And yes, to listen to music on a BT headset, you would need a source capable of outputing in bluetooth "A2DP".  There are add on BT A2DP transmitters available that input from a 3.5mm stereo jack (lets say from an I-pod or walkman even.  yes I just said Walkman, I'm an 80s child) and output BT A2DP compatible with a BT headset.

 

[davidcotton]

Take a look at cosmic ears ma models...

 

[gg48gg]

I went with the MEElectronics A161P. They sound very balanced to me. With about 2 db increase at 60 and 250 hz (slight increase), they sound perfect to my ears. Very clear. I haven't tried them on the bike yet, but the isolation seems very good. I will report back after my 8 day ride and let you know what I think.