I've Got Big Ears

[Ari Rankum]

Anybody else who bought Big Ears at the DC Motorcycle Show in January may be interested to know that my order arrived yesterday, well ahead of schedule. YMMV.

 

[jekirby]

Great news. I ordered a pair as well. Did you get any heads up before shipment? Reviews?

John

 

[Niehart]

Did mine at the Seattle show. Love them! Use them with my Zumo XM.

 

[Ari Rankum]

Great news. I ordered a pair as well. Did you get any heads up before shipment? Reviews?
John

Hey John,

I got no warning. They showed up in my mailbox, which kind of surprised me - I would have expected a confirmed delivery service.

I haven't tried them under a helmet yet. But I did compare to computer speakers and high-end headphones. The Big Ears finished 3rd of three in terms of sound quality. ( I bought one rung below the highest quality at ~$300.) I was expecting a little more from the audio than I got. The dynamic range seems rather limited. Plus, there's a constant noise source I hear from 3 different drivers, so I think it's in the Big Ears, not in each of the sources. Because my helmet is so noisy, however, it's possible none of this will be noticeable on the bike.

I had thought about using these in the gym instead of the ear buds I have for my mp3 player, but I'm afraid the sound is not as good, so I'll stick with the ear buds in that environment. I wish the review were better, but it is what it is. Who knows? On the bike, they may be the best since sliced bread.

Regards.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread to share my thoughts on the Big Ears that I purchased at the Lonestar Rally (Galveston, TX) in Nov 2008 (they came in on Jan 28th 2009). Big Ears Link

I use them with my Zumo 550. I had previously tried 4 or 5 various brands of ear buds. The ones that I liked best were from Phillips, and run about $30 at Wal- Mart. When I checked out the Big Ears, the $350 price seemed way out of whack, but I decided to give them a listen anyways. The Big Ears booth people gave me a generic set to hook up to my Zumo to try out. Right away I noticed that I needed to lower the volume on my Zumo because they were much louder. I could also hear more detail in the music ( I played some Emerson, Lake and Plamer for the demo). I went ahead and got fitted for them, and paid for them. They took about 2 months to come in.

I gotta say, I've been using them for a couple of weeks now, and I love em. Worth the $350. They fit well and really seal out noise and let the music come in. I used to run my Zumo at about 6 bars of volume, but now am running the same music at 2-3 bars of volume. I am also hearing instruments that I had not noticed before in some songs.

I give em 2 thumbs up! :clapping:

 

[odot]

I give EMP......nothing.....not even a thumbs down.

 

[zorkler]

I have had a set for 3 years now they sound great . Problem is if you are pron to have heavy ear wax build up you better q tip your ears before you use them , And then clean them out . the 3 piece kit they give you .You will need too use the longest one of the 3 insert it and move it around pull it out . Then use the u shaped one and give it a couple of turns . Belive me the tinyest piece of wax can cause loss of sound . Also the wire is not coated very well if it gets caught in your jacket zipper it might short out . I have had 2 shorts and have had to send them back 4 other times to be cleaned out and have new filters put in , As i am typing this i am waiting for them to come back and it takes at least 2 weeks because big ear does not make the product there the middle man . The people at big ear are very nice people on the phone and try to do the right thing on 2 occasions they did not charge me . And they just retooled if you want to call it there product to a different filter becuse of the ear wax problem . The salesman at the show which is the owner can sell you the brooklyn bridge he is that good . P.S. When i first recived my set there was air flowing into my ear i called them up (There in C.O. )and she said someone would get back to me 2 hours later the owner calls me and said i am in N.J. i will drive to you house and shoot you another pair at the time i lived in Staten Island which was 25 minutes away . i said give me the adress to your hotel and i will come over . The only reason he was there was because he was doing another show . So that gives you some back round on the co. Are they worth the cash i have nothing to test them against so i can not give you a yes or no . To all that purchased the product i hope you dont have a WAX problem and watch out for your zippers .

 

[zorkler]

Just came back from the bike show in SC . talked to the owner of big ear about my problems with there product .Hes reply was lets shoot another set and when you recived your set back if there are any problems i will make you a new pair . I asked he how much will the cost be more than 3 times and his reply was we will work something out . Will post up if a new set is in order .

 

[Auburn]

Did mine at the Seattle show. Love them! Use them with my Zumo XM.

Same, here. Saturday was my first chance to try them with my Starcom. They are awesome, worth every penny. Use them with the Garmin 2730, XM, iPod, V1, sound is very good, I can turn down the amplification on the Starcom to less than half with the the volume out on the 2730 at 50%.