I have some hard plastic earphones I tried using the other day, to listen to the smartphone while riding a bicycle. But they're uncomfortable, fall out, just don't stay in my ears - so every car that passes is louder completely drowns out what's playing. Can't wear headphones unfortunately, due to having to wear a helmet.
Is there something cheapish that's generally recommended?
Yeah, that's what made me ask… But I think someone said in that (or another related thread about the same/previous model) - that they quickly break.
Xiaomi Piston 3 is what many people will bring up. Typical V shaped earphone that is cheap and bang for the buck.
It feels solid, has remote control (volume control + play button for Android, on iOS only play button will work) and it's under AUD $20 from Chinese vendors. I don't think it offers that much noise isolation considering that it's an in-ear earphone.
If you have an earphone that's an in-ear earphone, what you can usually do is grab different types of silicon tips or foam tips that would provide better fit and better noise isolation.
Is noise isolation like what they do for jet pilot vox sets? (Amplify the inverse signal of any outside noise.) Or does it just refer to how much they 'block' your ear canal?
Where do you find the replacement tips… what I mean is, how do you know they're going to fit?
You have me wondering now if there are external-noise-inverting ones, like pilots use… Hm - time to do a search.
There are two types of noise isolation (I think, noise isolation isn't what I am really interested in, so I might be wrong), active and passive noise isolation.
Active one is what you are referring to (which I wouldn't recommend because they tend to be bulky and I'd assume you wouldn't want to blow $100~200 on a decent noise cancelling one). Also they have additional parts, meaning I doubt you can use it expecting it to be able to withstand rain or some of the harsh conditions you can expose the earphone to (i.e. sweat, accidentally dropping it etc).
Passive noise isolation comes from the earphone physically blocking the ear (in ear ones are better for obvious reason, some designs are better than the other). Depending on how the earphone is made, the ability can vary. If it has duct, it's usually worse, etc etc.
Replacement tips:
I just use eBay but some of the dedicated audio equipment shops would have them in stock.
I never bought one in Australia to be honest, so other people probably would know better than I do.
In terms of how to check, it depends. Comply (one of the biggest Foam tip producers) have different size ones for different sized earphones (it depends on the diameter of the nozzle, the part that you see after you get the tip off). They have a long list of compatiable earphones as well, if you cannot be bothered to check the diameter.
how about for android phone, decent headphone with remote that can adjust volume. sees rare
All the pistons so far were made for Android in mind — volume buttons work on my LG G2.
My Meelec M16p and Logitech UE4000's though, were made for Iphones in mind. I can only use 1 button and the volume buttons do not work.
In any case OP should find some earphones made for sport use, the ones that can clip on your ears and do not fall out when the cable is tugged. For cycling you should ideally use bluetooth headphones to minise cable clutter.
http://www.meelec.com/Sport_Fi_s/397.htm
These guys go pretty good. I got the SP6 from a deal. Sound quality is not that bad, you get what you pay for but the way you insert them and how it wraps around your ears means it wont fall out. I use these running and barely have to adjust them. They have volume, play/pause/skip track button.
I'd be hesitant about getting a lot of noise isolation. What if you don't hear a car approaching and you veer off and it clips you or hits you?
when riding ur bike, its prolly better it doesn't drown out the noise too much, so you are aware of ur surrounding!
To answer the two posts above - I understand, I thought of what you both say too… but cars completely wipe the audio out atm - I can't hear anything, even with the volume so high it would probably damage my hearing. So that means the cars could be doing the same.
Roads are quite wide here (rural area). The other day I got off the bike at one stage and was walking it on the sidewalk - trying to listen to voice/speech. Even at full volume you can forget it. And if someone was going to hit me, because we have ride with out back to cars - I'm not going to be able to get out of the way in time anyway - with or without headphones, LOL.
I assume you have an open earphone? (If you need an example, anything that do not go into your ears, like EarBuds, EarPods etc). Those things don't provide any noise isolation. Grab a cheap in-ear ones. If they don't block that much noise, stick it in further (not shove it in but push it in gently) or change the tip because it means that it's not sealing properly.
http://www.wired.com/2013/11/tnhyui-earphones/
Also, don't ride around with both ears blocked :S It's not exactly safe, I've seen people almost getting run over because they had earphones on.
I use my ostrys everyday for cycling and you can't hear anything. ostry kc06a
@frondono: http://www.head-fi.org/t/734625/review-ostry-kc06a-a-new-win…
The review I found says it's average with noise isolation. I don't know, I am not much of an earphone person.
I know that there are some designs that apparently block noises out more, like for example, Shure's design that covers your ear more (as it was designed for monitoring purposes). Or something like ER4 + tri-flange tips, which goes in far deeper (heh) than many earphones do.
That said, $100 should allow you to grab something decent, the budget isn't small for an earphone.
get some that have earhooks. i have used both soundmagic e30 & ostry kc06a and they will both sound 10x better than anything that comes with the phone.
ostry eats anything I have tried for breakfast and are quite reasonably priced and have very good build quality.
have a look on the head-fi forum
It's actually illegal in some states to wear headphones in or on any type of transport on a public road. I'd be looking into your state laws….. In any case look for the sports type headphones that have an ear wrap. Brand I wouldn't worry about much unless you plan to spend $100 or more
Which states?
I use s6p as marcopolo described. Not noice cancelling, but you wouldn't want that riding a bike, they have inline controls, stay put in the ear and there is an extension cable that comes in handy if you use back pockets on your shirts for your player.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/218423