Helmets, speakers and ear plugs

[itlives]

If you have a helmet with built-in speakers, do you still wear ear plugs?

My ears can't handle wind noise so I always wear earplugs. I can imagine a helmet that fits so perfectly it covers the ears and has speakers. But, I don't know if such an animal exists.
If it did, I would think it is the $500 + helmets.
Someone school me, please and thank you.

 

[Grey1one]

On my Goldwing with the giant stock windshield I can use my helmet with speakers earplug free. With the cut down screen I use for summer I still need the plugs, on the NC I use them with the vStream or stock screen on it.
There is less wind noise with the vStream, but still more than I like.

 

[RinconVTR]

Yes, ear plugs with music...but I've done this only once with waffle like speakers in my helmet. Didn't last long before I removed them.

If I were to try this again, I'd buy noise cancelling ear buds to play music.

 

[itlives]

I bought some noise cancelling ear buds once. They lasted about two weeks before one speaker gave out. They didn't sound very good, either.
Maybe if I throw more money at them they would work longer and sound better.

 

[RinconVTR]

I bought some noise cancelling ear buds once. They lasted about two weeks before one speaker gave out. They didn't sound very good, either.
Maybe if I throw more money at them they would work longer and sound better.

I'd say $50 is a minimum dollar for decent noise cancelling buds. And the more you spend...to a point...the better. Bose have some killer units, but I cant justify throwing down that sort of cash unless I could get a TON of use out of them.

 

[dduelin]

I have Sena speakers in my helmet and typically always wear earplugs.

 

[Old Can Ride]

All of the newer communications systems work great and can be used with ear plugs. All are bluetooth.
Some of the newer communications systems do hook up with other brands for bike to bike communications.
Cycle Gear from time to time does put some of the better brands on sale.
If you are going to travel a lot get a good communications system.
Sena, Uclear, Interphone F5, and Cardo are the good systems I know, but I am sure there are many more.

Cycle Gear - Search

 

[itlives]

I have Sena speakers in my helmet and typically always wear earplugs.

That kind of answers what I was wondering. I was wondering if the speakers are loud enough to hear good through the plugs. I really like wearing my plugs.

 

[Old Can Ride]

That kind of answers what I was wondering. I was wondering if the speakers are loud enough to hear good through the plugs. I really like wearing my plugs.

Yes, the better communication systems have volume controls that let you adjust the volume. Like Dave said, you will be able to hear just fine.

 

[bamamate]

I also have Sena and wear ear plugs. I actually prefer the sound with ear plugs. Doesn't have to compete with wind noise and adds in a little bass and keeps the treble from being screechy. I do have to turn the volume up but not to max.

I also wear ear plugs at concerts. No ringing ears and the sound is actually better with the plugs.

 

[StratTuner]

If you have a helmet with built-in speakers, do you still wear ear plugs?

My ears can't handle wind noise so I always wear earplugs. I can imagine a helmet that fits so perfectly it covers the ears and has speakers. But, I don't know if such an animal exists.
If it did, I would think it is the $500 + helmets.
Someone school me, please and thank you.

I can't school you, but I can tell you what I settled on.

I got a pair of headphones with my cell phone...the ear bud kind that come with different sized rubber ear pieces.
I put on the biggest ones I had and put those in...
the rubber ear piece seals against my ear (like and ear plug), but it also plays music.

For me, it was the best of both worlds. I'll go and get links for the ear buds and the big rubber ear pieces.

Samsung ear buds (with mic. and volume control ON THE WIRE) [HERE].
[HERE] are the replacement (BIG) earpieces that fit on the ear buds.
(actually, they'd fit on any ear buds you like...it's the sealing against the ear part that is important...shuts out the wind noise so you can hear the music.)

 

[BerndM]

I have found what for me is the very best solution.
I use the earbuds that came with my Samsung Galaxy S-5 phone.
They work really well as earplugs blocking about 25db of sound and when I plug them into my mp3 player they sound beyond fantastic.
All road and wind noise disappears and all I hear is my favorite 1200 songs in random order.

 

[L.B.S.]

It can depend on so many factors...

helmet fit/brand/ear pocket position/type of speaker/power of player/etc., etc.

What works for me is an Icon Variant, with the speakers in the Sena 3S-W Bluetooth system, my iphone 6, and silicone earplugs.

I had to hollow out the Styrofoam in the helmet ear pockets a wee bit, as the 3S speakers are slightly thicker than the other Sena products, due to the batteries and hardware being built in to the speakers, rather than the pod stuck on the exterior of the helmet.

I cannot wear normal foam earplugs as they give me killer earaches, so I use the silicone blob style, which kind of just smoosh into your outer ear, rather than get pushed very far into the canal. They work awesome for me. The sound, especially the bass is much better with earplugs than without. It sounds tinny, and wind noisy- the worst of both worlds, without wearing any plugs.

The 3S + iphone isn't very powerful I would imagine, but I don't have to have it anywhere near pegged to be comfortable listening up to about 70-75 mph. Over that, it's a bit too much, and I don't care for either riding at that speed, or listening to full cranked volume.

I haven't found a set of earbuds yet, that seem to work for me in a helmet. They always end up bothering my ears after a short time, or annoying the ever living heck out of me, by getting the confounded wires caught on everything, and halfway pulling them out of an ear just as you get your gloves on. The worst is in the rain!

Wireless helmet speakers rock

 

[kpinvt]

I started looking into helmet speakers last fall and have been wondering how they would work with the Moldex Glide Corded 6945 foam ear plugs:

moldex

These ear plugs are the most comfortable ones for me that I have found. I had been using Moldex Rockets from the time I started riding 12 years ago up until the middle of the last riding season. In the last couple of years they would start to hurt a couple of hours into a ride. I don't have to stuff the Glides in as deep as I had to with the Rockets to make them effective. The Glides are all-day comfortable for me.

I considered using a Quiet Ride Muffs setup for my Scorpion EXO900 helmet:

Quiet Ride Ear Muffs for Snowmobile Helmets and Mortorcycle Helmets

But now I'm looking at a dual Sena SmH5-FM blue tooth helmet intercom setup so I can communicate with our son Max when we're out riding together:

Sena SMH5-FM Review - webBikeWorld

Max returned to riding after a 6 year break and is now a very cautious rider, so cautious he tended to ride about 10 miles below the limit on any of the dirt or paved roads we rode this past fall. I figure an intercom will work better than pulling over to the side of the road every time he has a parade of vehicles backed up behind him. It would very nice to be able to communicate without stopping, to be able to encourage and direct him while riding. I hope I can hear the Sena speakers with the Glides in place. If not I'll give a pair of these Prosounds XPRO Hearing Protection ear plugs a try:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/prosounds-x-pro-earplugs#/story

It has a push button on the end that opens the plug to more sound.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I also wear ear plugs with my Interphone intercom. I could not be without them nowadays. It is still possible to hear the communications except at speeds above 115/120kph when wind roar will distort the sound somewhat. I have two helmets, one being a Schuberth C3 which is supposed to be quiet, the other being a Shoei Multitec. Both were fairly expensive helmets. The position of the various screens will also play a part in wind noise.

 

[Beemerphile]

When i travel with tunes, which is almost never, I use custom fitted earphones with a pocketed Fiio X5ii DAP or with a Sena 10. Mostly I use them with the DAP while mowing the lawns, but either way I can listen at low music volume levels in loud ambient noise. Since I already have tinnitus, I don't want to aggravate it. They have been plenty sturdy. Another advantage is that they take very little power from the Bluetooth headset, so the batteries last much longer between recharges.

 

[ld_rider]

If you have a helmet with built-in speakers, do you still wear ear plugs?

I always ride with ear plugs and often listen to audio through the Schuberth headphones in my C3Pro modular.

The combination is great. I know it sounds counter-intuitive....I was thinking the foam ear plugs would mute the audio too much but it actually makes music sound better!
I believe the reason is that all the background noise is eliminated.

Have no problems listening to GPS directions, different music sources or even the beep of the Valentine One ;-)

 

[itlives]

Wow! I just checked the price of your set up. That's just a LITTLE more than I can let go of.

I guess I'll have find a cheap set of in he!met speakers or upgrade to a helmet with built-ins.
Are there any recommendations for that?

Btw- ld_rider I just noticed you IBA #. I'm impressed! Mine is somewhere in the 60,000's

 

[Banjoferg]

You've seen my setup, and I love it. My speakers are great, but on the highway I wouldn't be able to hear anything without earplugs.

 

[RetroRob]

I use J&M helmet speakers with the old Integratr IV Intercom / FM radio box and learned early on with my old HJX Sy-Max II that I could not enjoy the music at highway speeds. I started experimenting with various ear plugs and found that the No-Noise motorsport noise filtering plugs work best for me. It's a good compromise between overall noise reduction yet I can still enjoy the music. I now use a newer HJC IS Max II helmet with the same set up and it's even better.