Earphones

[AlleyCat]

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

I started with the speakers but I did not like the volume being set high in order to hear things properly...so I tried a new setup with ear buds. I was looking for hearing protection as well so my ear buds offer noise isolation (up to 32 dB). What a difference, music was clear, phone calls were so easy to understand and there was no more wind noise. Sure, the setting up was a PITA for short rides (cables etc). But once you get used to it, everything becomes second nature and instinctive. I would not go back to speakers. My ear buds (as mentioned in an earlier post) are the RHA MA750i. I choose these for the over the ear setup (helps keep them in place) but also for the fact that they sit in the ear and they are comfortable when wearing a full face helmet. I have been using these for more than a year without any issues at all.

So did you leave your speakers in place or remove them? Just curious about the clearance you might have with these and speakers installed.

Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

I started with the speakers but I did not like the volume being set high in order to hear things properly...so I tried a new setup with ear buds. I was looking for hearing protection as well so my ear buds offer noise isolation (up to 32 dB). What a difference, music was clear, phone calls were so easy to understand and there was no more wind noise. Sure, the setting up was a PITA for short rides (cables etc). But once you get used to it, everything becomes second nature and instinctive. I would not go back to speakers. My ear buds (as mentioned in an earlier post) are the RHA MA750i. I choose these for the over the ear setup (helps keep them in place) but also for the fact that they sit in the ear and they are comfortable when wearing a full face helmet. I have been using these for more than a year without any issues at all.

So did you leave your speakers in place or remove them? Just curious about the clearance you might have with these and speakers installed.

I removed the speakers completely and I replaced the Sena base with this one (which allows you to use earphones/ear buds) : https://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/sena-smh-10-helmet-clamp-kit-for-earbuds.html

With the speakers installed, I would believe that clearance would be too restricted.

 

[Gaoler]

I don't think there is perfect solution to the in helmet entertainment situation.

Speakers, buds... They each have their own short comings.

My buds never stay put and the speakers I tried just didn't sassify.

What I need is a helmet that has a high quality sound system built in...

 

[Panotaker]

I like audiophile quality when I ride, so I use a pair of the new Etymotic ER4SR earbuds, plugged into my Sena 20S, and listen to the music on my iPhone. That's about as good as it gets for portable earbuds. They sound fantastic, right up there with my home headphones. They go into your ear canal, so they take a while to get used to if you are not used to ear canal earbuds. That also means that they block out just about all traffic noise, so you need to pay attention to your surroundings while you ride. I can barely hear the engine running, but they are high end, audiophile quality, which is what I like.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

I have a set of the older ER4's and they stick out too far for my helmet. The old ER-6i was the best in-helmet phone, IMO.

 

[sliick2]

Hi Guys, 4 me I got tiered of trying new ear buds ( I have about 6 pair that are in a drawer) .I went and got custom ear phones. I contacted Hearing Dynamics (in NJ ) & they located a hearing place near me. They did the moulds & I sent the moulds to Hearing Dynamics to have them turned into ear phones. Beth is very nice to work with. They are a little chubby in price ,but they fit great & the sound of the music is terrific.Also I find that I don't have to turn up the volume either. Good luck with yours. Sliick

 

[bigjohnsd]

jblanken64 posted: Does anyone leave the regular speakers from their Sena unit in place as well or just exclusively use the ear phones?

The Sena speakers are installed in my helmet, but I almost always wear earbuds. I removed the speaker-spacers, however, so the speakers aren't close to my ears any longer. Truth is, I can't see a permanent way to remove the Sena speakers without cutting the speaker wires, and I really don't want to do that. (Right speaker wire is broken anyway -- my helmet and Sena get a lot of use, and therefore a lot of exposure to weather.)

My earbuds are Fuze self-molding, so I have been able to avoid a bulge of "stuff" protruding from my ears. The racing model is also inexpensive, which is good since I'm already on pair #2. The Sena plug/jack combo is situated to put right-angle tension on the earbud wires, and the Fuze earbud wires are slimmer than the Sena speaker wires.

Wish I could unplug the speakers, throw them out, then plug the earbuds into the Sena chassis where the plug/jack points down instead of towards the back. Don't think it's possible. And everything is too microscopic to solder/splice the earbuds onto the Sena speaker wires.

Hud, my Sena 20 offers the ability to remove the speakers and just run with the plug in Ear Buds. I ordered a set of the Fuze Self-Molding Earbuds today based upon your sterling endorsement

 

[Niehart]

I use the Sena 20S helmet speakers in town when the helmet comes off and back on a bunch of times.

When I'm traveling or just riding all day, I plug in my Big Ear ear buds which shuts off the helmet speakers.

It's a great setup and ear bud wire setup quite a lot better on the 20S than they were on my SMH10.

 

[Viper Pilot]

Custom molded dual speaker ear buds from 'Now Hear This'. Awesome!

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

I ordered a pair of the Ear Fuze custom headphones. Everything went well initially. I put them in my ears, mixed up the solution and did the mold. Easy. While waiting for curing I listened to some music - they are OK but a bit muddy. Not as good as my current HiFiMan 400's (or any of my other Shure or Etymotic phones) but probably OK for the bike. The problem came when I took them out and tried putting them back in - there was an unpleasant "crunch" noise in my left ear. Didn't sound good, so I took it back out - and the flanged tip stayed in my ear.

This used to happen occasionally with my ER-6is (usually when the tips were getting old), so I calmly got out the tweezers and extracted the tip from inside my ear canal. To my surprise, the end of the earphone was still attached to the tip - it had broken off the rest of the earphone.

I sent them an email requesting a replacement pair yesterday but no answer so far. Will keep everyone posted on what happens but I'd be careful with these.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Wow! Haven't heard that one before. They were good with a replacement pair for me a year ago ... hope they make you happy, too.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Fuze Self-Molding Earbuds arrived yesterday, too busy to mold the plugs but I have tested the Ear Pieces and they sound good enough for these old Naval Gunfire Support damaged ears.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I've been following along with you guys on this. I have the Sena SMH10, but I wear earplugs so even with the sound all the way up, I can't hear it well enough to justify its use. I use it from time to time but mostly it's background music and trying to use the phone feature is an exercise in frustration. I've been considering the earbud route for a while and this thread has kicked me back into gear.

Ordered up the earbud clamp from Sena, now need to find some earbuds. I'm not an audiophile by any means, I just want to hear what I'm listening to without it sounding like total crap. That said, I've had a pair of shures in the past and shelling out a hundred bucks for a set of earphones, that did sound really good, but developed electrical issues at the jack in a very short time, has turned me off from expensive earbuds. I'm exploring some of the suggestions in this thread, but if there's any more that would fit the bill I'd like to hear about them.

Also, it seems like if the clamp is on the helmet and the earbuds are in the helmet, there's going to be a lot of excess cord hanging out. How do you guys deal with that? Shortening the cord seems like a good approach, but again, I don't want to go cutting up expensive earbuds to achieve this.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

If I have excess cabling, I fold it over a few times to get the right length and then slip the bundle into some heat shrink tubing and shrink it down. Works well without having to mess with cutting cables.

 

[BigOgre]

Also, it seems like if the clamp is on the helmet and the earbuds are in the helmet, there's going to be a lot of excess cord hanging out. How do you guys deal with that? Shortening the cord seems like a good approach, but again, I don't want to go cutting up expensive earbuds to achieve this.

I've just dropped it all inside the jacket but I like Mr. CH's idea above. Remember though that you'll need enough slack for when you take the helmet off although I've found the below useful if you'd rather disconnect before removing said helmet. Easy to do even with gloves and you can just leave the little extender dangling.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Interesting, the Sena clamp kit comes with a coiled cable that I guess is supposed to serve that purpose. Looks like I'll have to find some earbuds and start playing around with it.

 

[Uncle Hud]

BigOgre posted:
I've just dropped it all inside the jacket but I like Mr. CH's idea above. Remember though that you'll need enough slack for when you take the helmet off although I've found the below useful if you'd rather disconnect before removing said helmet. Easy to do even with gloves and you can just leave the little extender dangling.

Been looking for something like that to take the strain off my earbud jack. Wires get stuffed inside my jacket to avoid having them flail around in the wind, but that means the earbud jack sticks out forward and horizontally (on the 20S), while the wires dangle vertically into the jacket. Any tugging on the wires puts a strain on them at the jack. Nobody seems to make a simple 90-degree "elbow" for stereo plugs, but that pictured pigtail will work perfectly.

Got the Amazon.com address in the photo URL, so I'm off to go internet shopping.

=======================================================================

<edit 5 mins later> Adapter is $2.99, shipping is $6.00 -- twice as much as the adapter. Surely there's one in a store in metro Atlanta.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

Remember though that you'll need enough slack for when you take the helmet off although I've found the below useful if you'd rather disconnect before removing said helmet. Easy to do even with gloves and you can just leave the little extender dangling.

That is a great idea. Plugging headphones into the SMH-10 is easy but the SM-20 is much more difficult with the helmet on.

GixxerJason - do yourself a favor and put some JBWeld on the Sena mount to reinforce the strain relief on the SMH-10 headphone jack. It will fail otherwise and I have repaired mine and some friend's by JBWelding them after failure (once in a hotel room while on the second day of a two week trip). Doing it right away is a good way to prevent the inevitable failure.

 

[07FJRVegas]

I've been using Etymotic ER20XS for about a year in conjunction with a Sena communicator. They stay in my ears, reduce wind/road noise and enhance the quality of music or voice when talking on phone/bike to bike (although you have to turn up volume a bit). These say these plugs are designed for musicians and reduce the decibel level by 20 across the board. Cost about $20.00/set.

I can hear better from the Sena speakers much clearer with plugs than without the plugs. Found they reduce fatigue also.

The 3-flanged insert (standard size) is too large for my wife – I contacted the company and they are sending me smaller foam-tip replacements for her to try.

 

[gixxerjasen]

That is a great idea. Plugging headphones into the SMH-10 is easy but the SM-20 is much more difficult with the helmet on.
GixxerJason - do yourself a favor and put some JBWeld on the Sena mount to reinforce the strain relief on the SMH-10 headphone jack. It will fail otherwise and I have repaired mine and some friend's by JBWelding them after failure (once in a hotel room while on the second day of a two week trip). Doing it right away is a good way to prevent the inevitable failure.

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought of using jbweld on those, even if you pointed out that it needed some type of fixing. Thanks for the tip.

 

[graler]

I put the extra cord in the jacket and zip it up. If I am being really particular I will push the cord into my shirt collar as well. I had the 10 then moved to the 20 ( wanted the multiple GPS profiles to avoid the hand shaking between the phone and the zumo ...).

As far as head phones go - I forked over a 100 (actually I had a gift card that I applied to them so it didn't feel like a 100). It is hard to put the helmet on and have them stay in place. When I do succeed it sounds great. I use Seinnheiser ear buds. Low profile seems to be the key. There is no sound comparison between helmet speakers and ear buds. The buds just work that much better.