Bobros,

My son uses a set of helmet speakers in his full face helmet from this Internet store.

http://www.helmetaudio.com/

They are only $20and they sound really good. I was thinking about getting a set for my 3/4 helmet. They are easy to install, you simply run the wire between the liner and the helmet and velcro the flat ear speakers into the holes next to your ears. I don't know how you could make them work with a half helmet.

 

Many riders don't use helmet speakers but noise cancelling in canal ear phones. One can still enjoy the Harley riding sensations but have a higher quality sound with nasty wind noise blocked by these kinds of speakers. A popular model are these...

http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/inde...136212602;pf;1

So I tuck the iPod/MP3 player in a pocket, insert the er6i ear phones, put on the helmet, and I'm good to go. Pricey but worth it.

 

Good idea, but it's nuts to pay that much. You can get those very speakers on Buy.com for $81, with a further $20 off if you use Google checkout. Click here.

Here's my experience. I'm using a Garmin 2730 GPS on my FLSTCI. The GPS has integrated XM radio as well as voice guidance. I tried two different sets of helmet speakers in my HJC AC12 full-face helmet, which is equipped with pockets for helmet speakers. One set was the Chatterbox brand, and the other was a more expensive brand which included a volume adjuster on the cord.

Without using earplugs, which I normally use, I had to turn the volume on the Garmin up to 100% at 75mph before I could make out, over the sound of the exhaust and wind, what tune was playing. I had similar results with my iPod; that is, it was hard to make out the song over the ambient noise.

When I inserted the earplugs, I could hardly hear the music at all, which pretty much defeated the purpose of having helmet speakers at all.

I also bought a headphone audio booster and splitter called a Boostaroo, seen here, for a very reasonable $29. This thing works amazingly well. It plugs into the headphone outlet of the Garmin (or the iPod), and has three input plugs to plug your headphones or helmet speakers into. That means both you and a passenger can plug their headphones into it. I just tossed it into the windshield bag along with the XM antenna/receiver "hockey puck." It works on two AA batteries.

So, using the Boostaroo AND earplugs, I could hear fairly well through the helmet speakers at 100% volume at 75 mph. My concern, however, was that the overall volume was so high, using the Boostaroo, that it had to be bad for the ears over time.

Taking the advice of others, I then ordered the Etymotic ER6i earphones mentioned above. They come with both flanged tips and disposable soft foam earplug-type ends, which I used for their superior seal and bass response. The only criticism of the Ety's is that the wires are very thin and prone to failure, especially if the cord flaps around in the wind (such as if it stretches from my ears to the windshield bag, where they were plugged into the Boostaroo).

My solution was to buy a simple coiled cord from Chatterbox for $9.99 and a male-to-female adapter from Radio Shack. I let the Ety cord fall down the inside of the front of my jacket (tied short enough to just poke out the bottom of the jacket). One end of the coiled cord plugs into the Boostaroo inside the windshield bag; the cord itself lies across the tank, ending near my crotch. I then plug the Ety cord where it emerges from under my jacket into the coiled cord.

The result is superb music quality from the Garmin at 45-50% volume at 75 mph, with the foam tips acting like earplugs eliminating almost all ambient noise. The iPod is clear as a bell at half-volume as well, when I plug the Boostaroo into it instead of into the Garmin.

An additional advantage of this setup is that it works equally well with a full-face of half-helmet. That's important to me, as I switch between the two from time to time.

Hope this helps someone.

Philip

 

I bought a set on ebay $20.00

Will need a full face to appreciate it

 

Ditto here - a 2-3 hour drive without music is fine - longer than that......?

 

Well... you could always invest in a chatter box... That way you can have bike-to-bike communication AND you can add your ipod.

HJC helmets typically have a pocket in the ear area on their helmets to hold the speaker from the Chatter box... other than that they do come with velcro. The ChatterBox also has a rider-to-passenger intercom on it as well. And it has a line-in for your MP3 player.

When I ride down to Daytona in march I am just going to use my iPod's earbuds. they seem to sit in a good position and I can still hear other stuff around me.

 

Very interesting thread - my co-worker is almost ready to buy an audio setup in the helmet.

Nolan makes a special version of the N102 helmet (very popular helmet by the way) with something they call N-com. It has hookups for GPS / MP3 / CB / Intercom etc. It is built properly into the helmet.

I don't know how it sounds, have never tried it. Has anyone out there used the Nolan N-Com system?

 

I'm using the ipod with my chatterbox when I go to Daytona this year. Riding down with 5 other guys and it'll take care of some of the boredom on the long stretches.

Wilbur