[ant5150]

Looking to mount some speakers in my helmets for some off road riding music, any suggestions? Headphones, ear plugs, etc. arent cutting it.

 

[danfam17]

hey man, though i have no suggestions for you right now, i too plan on adding some sort of speakers to my helmet. i need music! so if i figure anything out ill let you know.
dan

 

[SVMari]

Speakers

I have been very happy with the mini-blaster speakers in 2 different Shoei helmets. Easy install, and they fit close enough that they make a nice seal to my ear so it blocks a lot of the wind noise. Can't use earplugs and hear too well, even with a Boosteroo in line. I run a Sony mini disc player, it and the boosteroo fit in the chest pocket of my JR coat, and I run the remote control down to the forearm so I can easily control mute/selection functions without looking to far off the road.

Sound is great and I am not attached to the bike, so can hop on and off any bike and enjoy over 5 hours of skip free music per disc. 2 AA batteries last like 50 hours or more of playing, I think I changed them once all last summer unlike my CD player which ate 2 per day of use. I know there are so many different options out there, but for under 200 bucks I really enjoy my tunes while riding.

After all, if you are living life large and riding right, it deserves to have a soundtrack. (Mine available soon on Epic CD's and cassettes.)

 

[svspilot]

Etymotic er 6 isolater earphones are the best, period. Amazing sound, comfortable, and work great just as ear protection when not listening to music. A bit pricey (around 140) but they are definately worth it.

 

[vtwinheaven]

I'm about to throw down for the ER6's. Just sold my cage on Ebay so I have some extra cash for mods. Mods for my ears and mods for the bike!

 

[Novadesigns]

I was considering some Er-6s for my iPod. I was wondering though, won't they stick out a bit too much to get a helmet on? Mine's pretty tight. I couldn't keep the iPod earbuds in my ears and get the helmet on.

 

[wacky_woodchuck]

I have the mini-blasters and tried other speakers and earphones.... Best thing I found are the Sony MDR-71SL in the ear type. They act like an ear plug and work really well. They function on the same principle as the ER-6's. Except alot cheaper ($40 on eBay)

 

[wacky_woodchuck]

I was considering some Er-6s for my iPod. I was wondering though, won't they stick out a bit too much to get a helmet on? Mine's pretty tight. I couldn't keep the iPod earbuds in my ears and get the helmet on.

I use the in-the-ear type's w/ intergral ear plug. The Sony's, Koss or ER-6's will stay in place. They stay better than the typical in-the-ear types, but still fall out if you bump them just right. I wear mine with an Arai RX7RR4 with out any issues of them hitting the sides.

 

[blacktape]

i use my chatterbox for music....i love it

 

[eeeeek]

I have the mini-blasters and tried other speakers and earphones.... Best thing I found are the Sony MDR-71SL in the ear type. They act like an ear plug and work really well. They function on the same principle as the ER-6's. Except alot cheaper ($40 on eBay)

+1

Great setup and you don't have to overpower wind noise.

 

[$chlitz]

i just took the pair of sony headphones that came with my clie (they have those hooks that go around each ear, and thus they suck)...ripped the clips off so it's basically just the speaker. they fit perfectly in the pockets inside my HJC helmet, and they're not right on my ears so i can still hear whats going on around me. my ipod is just loud enough to hear above the wind noise. you could probably use just about any old school foam style headphones...break them down to just the speakers and you'll be all set.

 

[beatpusher]

On my KBC I just took out the ear pads, took a decent pair of headphones, removed the head band, velcro on the back of each speaker, sticks right in place of the earpads.

Feels and sounds great.

 

[eeeeek]

From my experience, I actually hear more of the noises I need to with the in ear plugs/phones. They cancel out the wind noise and I can play the music at low levels. I can hear car horns, sirens, etc. muc better than with no speakers or earplugs. This works much bettter than speakers in the helmet.

 

[wacky_woodchuck]

From my experience, I actually hear more of the noises I need to with the in ear plugs/phones. They cancel out the wind noise and I can play the music at low levels. I can hear car horns, sirens, etc. muc better than with no speakers or earplugs. This works much bettter than speakers in the helmet.

Yup! I agree. WIth the mini-blasters I had to run the volume up around 7~9 on the unit (out of 10). Now with the Sony's I only run around 2 or 3 at most!

Try it. Sony also offers a MDR-51SL for around $20 on ebay. They aren't as hi-tech as the 71's... but still good.

 

[MotorJones]

For mounting headphone speakers in your helmet the best I have found are Koss portapro2. They sound much better than the Sony, Phillips, and assorted others that I have tried in the past. Also the drivers just unsnap from the headset. I use a female/female connector from radio shack and tuck the excess wire in the helmet so no cutting or soldering is needed. 8)

http://reviews.designtechnica.com/user_reviews251.html

 

[sicksv650]

i have an mp3 player i use when i riding. it small, light as hell, and doesnt skip b/c there is no disk of anykind.

 

[vtwinheaven]

I've got an earphone solution that I got out of the Aerostich catalog. This is a poor man's Etymotic ER6 solution.

Get the Koss "The Plug" in ear earphones from Best Buy for $20. They sound real good, I bought a pair last week. They come with different size foam and soft rubber earpieces that are removable.

Get a pair of Etymotic ER20 ear plugs for $15 from Aerostich. The ER20's have a removable center piece that you use to take the plugs out of your ears. Supposedly you can remove that center piece from the earplugs and inset the Koss earphones in the ER20's.

So for 35 bucks you could have a pair of psuedo ER6's.

I'm gonna order the ER20's and try it out. I'll post up and let y'all know how they work.

 

[ZombiesAi]

this is all great info!
I've tried several setups without success. those clip over ear things don't work..and the in-ear ones that aren't plugs just fall out (and the tape i tried really hurts to pull off.

I tried buying some headphones and breaking them down to components, then slipping them in the little side pockets of the helmet..and they only work up until 45 50 mph then you can't hear squat.

I might try some of those koss headphones...cause i just can't justify 140 bucks for this kind of accesory.....unless it had a chaterbox feature.

 

[RandyO]

the long distance touring folks tell me that Autocom, while pricey it the only system worth spending money on
http://www.autocomamerica.com/docs/home.cfm

 

[future2501]

The way I go is that I have a radio built into my cell phone. So I put my head set on and clip my anwser/channel canger to my coat and I am off. Not only do I have a way to talk on my cell phone, I also got tunes.

Check out if your cell phone provider has a radio headset.