Burgman Scooter Product Review – Custom Molded Earphones
Even though I wear a full face helmet, the wind noise is still irritating on a long ride. Recently I started wearing foam ear plugs, the cheap foam kind that you roll up and stick in your ears. They reduce the high end fluttering sound. The specifications on those say that they reduce sound by 29 decibels.
After trying the cheap ones and wanting to be able to listen to my iPod and GPS while riding, the solution was to get a pair of custom molded earpieces. A custom earpiece can reduce a lot of sound, fits comfortably and normally you don’t need to worry about them falling out.
I’ve had a custom molded earpiece in the past, an IFB for my TV interview appearances, so I was familiar with how comfortable they can be.
I hunted around and found Avery Sound that had a lot of experience in incorporating a custom molded earpiece with earphones. I already owned my favorite set of Shure 310 ear phones.
Now there is no need to purchase such a high-end set of earphones for this. And normally I would not purchase such an expensive set of earphones but I was editing a video piece on my laptop while waiting at London City airport and my old earphones started to fade and I needed a new pair before I got on the plane, and the Shure 310 is what the nearest store had.
After having invested in them, I figured I might as well use them for my custom molded earphone. The lab incorporated them without a problem.
Final Custom Molded Earphones
The process was relatively simple. I had to send a custom mold of my ears to the lab with my earphones. I had the molds made at a local audiologist for $30 a ear. Avery Sound has a home impression kit that you can use to make a custom impression of your own ear.
The custom molded earphones arrived back from the lab recently and fit very nicely. I had mine colored red so I could find them easily if I put them down. I’m middle age challenged at times. You know what I mean.
You can get them made in a wide range of colors and even add sparkle if you would like to make a fashion statement. Me, not so much so.
Custom Earphone
With the earphones tucked safely in place they do reduce the noise a bit more than the foam earplugs did but I can easily still hear traffic and noises around me. With the iPod plugged in I can control what I hear simply by adjusting the volume on the iPod. I can also plug the headphones into my GPS and hear that while on the road and the Sat Nav will play MP3s that I can listen to also.
My full face helmet fits easily over the custom molded earphones and they are comfortable to wear when I ride.
Overall I’d recommend getting a pair of custom molded earphones and the service from Avery Sound was wonderful.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Those look great!
I’ve got a set of Etymotic 6i ear phones that I like a lot when I’m riding and want to cut the wind noise but still listen to my MP3.
If I’m just riding with no music, I use a set of Hearo Skull Screws. They work great also.
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What I’d like to hear about is a device that lets you listen to the IPOD and your GPS simultaneously. I know there are a few out there, but US$600 isn’t in my budget for something so simple. I’d guess that maybe US$100 would be more reasonable for something that would have two plugs for devices (1 & 2) and one for your ear phones and give priority to the device in the number one plug most likely your GPS.
My current solution is to plug my molded in place ear plugs with speakers into the GPS and then wear helmet speakers over that plugged into my other device, but that’s far from Ideal.
Richard,
My TomTom GPS lets me upload MP3s to it and listen to them and then interrupts the audio for directions.
Steve
Steve,
It isn’t MP3’s that I listen to. It’s an FRS/GMRS radio on group rides. That lets me lead a group and talk to the people in the rear so I know what’s going on back there.
I have found that music, when riding, thru ear plugs is just too intrusive and distracts me from what I’m supposed to be doing. I have never used it since. It would be fine if I wanted to make major changes to the bike so I could add external speakers and an amplifier, but as I said, I’m not willing to make those changes to my bike.
It turns out on long distance rides I don’t mind being alone and quiet so I can hear myself thinking.
That also would not solve my problem with hearing both my two way radio and my GPS.
Mixit 2 is the solution!!!
I know this is going to sound a bit old fashioned but, I really like looking after my hearing and whilst I do agree with the preceding poster and I really hope I do not get shot down for stating this, but I think it is important to take all things in moderation.
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