Wilsons Sandbox

dcorym@... wrote:

> What's the best affordable way (affordable=carry tunes on the KLR? I've heard fairly bad things about MP3 >players, so I'm inclined toward a portable CD/AM/FM unit, but have >never owned one and don't have much opinion on the offerings. >

I've tried a few things. Bud earphones didn't work, and neither did fitting speakers in the helmet liner. The best sound I've had to far is to wear foam earplugs ("hearo's" or some other very soft type), then insert the 1/4" thick speakers gutted from a pair of headphones between the liner and your ear. You'll hear a good mix of treble/mid/base, and still hear car horns, etc. Best for highway, I wouldn't ride in town like this. You can't put enough noise through the earplugs to damage your hearing AFAICT. A "weatherproof" AM/FM radio, quit when it got wet. And certain stations got interference from the ignition on my XJ700. Plain old Sony cassette "sport" walkman. Bulletproof, but will warble a bit on rough roads if you don't put it in a backpack, pocket, or on a pile of clothes in the tankbag. Had the thing fall out of a pocket at 30mph and take a big slide, still worked. 45min per side isn't enough music. Apple 5gig ipod. Holds a sh*tload of music, and had just enough power to drive the headphone speakers over the windnoise and through the earplugs. Aerostich sells an AA powered amplifier, I'm still deciding if it helps proportional to it's cost. It's the first iPod, starting to look like a brick compared to the new ones BUT maybe you can get one cheap on Ebay. And they make a car adaptor that you could wire into the city lighting connector. Any other MP3 player that can be fitted with 256mb at the least, will be pretty nice. You'll likely need the amp though. What bad things have you heard? You should be able to get something decent for around $150. -- Devon Brooklyn, NY A15-Z '01 KLR650 '81 SR500 cafe racer "The truth's not too popular these days....." Arnold Schwarzenneger, in The Running Man

> Any other MP3 player that can be fitted with 256mb at the least, will be > pretty nice. You'll likely need the amp though. What bad things have you > heard? You should be able to get something decent for around $150.

Also, some MP3 players put out more power than others, and hence don't need an amp (as much?). I think the Creative Labs and iRiver hard drive players are good in this respect, but I haven't looked at them closely lately. -Lujo [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Lujo Bauer wrote:

> > Any other MP3 player that can be fitted with 256mb at the least,

will be

> > pretty nice. You'll likely need the amp though. What bad things

have you

> > heard? You should be able to get something decent for around $150. > > Also, some MP3 players put out more power than others, and hence

don't

> need an amp (as much?). I think the Creative Labs and iRiver hard

drive

> players are good in this respect, but I haven't looked at them

closely

> lately. > > -Lujo > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have had an RCA Lyra and now have a Creative Labs Nomad IIc which has been discontinued. Both could cause me deafness in the long term. I have NEVER heard of needing an "amp" for an MP3 player. What I did find was that all headphones are NOT created equal. I currently use the phones that came with my RCA. They are cheap (if you can get them) but give extraordinary volume, clarity and bass. Find a store that displays headphones so you try various ones. My Creative is currently set up with 64 Meg on board and extended internal memory of 128 Meg with an add on Smart Media card. I compress all MP3 files to WMA's. Martin in Canada A16/2002

Thanks for replies on this. The reason I was leaning toward a CD- based system was that I had heard several times the quality of MP3 players was inferior, but I suppose at 75 mph that doesn't matter much. On the other hand, I don't want to spend much time converting/downloading/storing MP3s. I'd rather just grab a few CDs and go. And I know that the earphones/plugs/buds/whatever are really a bigger issue in a way. I've never been impressed with RCA stuff, but Lujo's convinced me to give them a try at least. I'm surprised nobody's talked about durability or skip-resistance. Don't any of you drop things or ride in the dirt? And what kind(s) of helmets do you use these with? I have an HJC CL-12 which I would rate as moderately noisy, but very comfortable. Don't know how well ear-thingies would fit, though. Oh, as for whistling or humming - if I do that very much, I'll be stopping a lot more often just to get a break from the sound of myself! Dan --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Martin Waters" wrote:

> --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Lujo Bauer wrote: > > > Any other MP3 player that can be fitted with 256mb at the

least,

> will be > > > pretty nice. You'll likely need the amp though. What bad things > have you > > > heard? You should be able to get something decent for around

$150.

> > > > Also, some MP3 players put out more power than others, and hence > don't > > need an amp (as much?). I think the Creative Labs and iRiver

hard

> drive > > players are good in this respect, but I haven't looked at them > closely > > lately. > > > > -Lujo > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > I have had an RCA Lyra and now have a Creative Labs Nomad IIc which > has been discontinued. Both could cause me deafness in the long > term. I have NEVER heard of needing an "amp" for an MP3 player. > What I did find was that all headphones are NOT created equal. I > currently use the phones that came with my RCA. They are cheap (if > you can get them) but give extraordinary volume, clarity and bass. > Find a store that displays headphones so you try various ones. My > Creative is currently set up with 64 Meg on board and extended > internal memory of 128 Meg with an add on Smart Media card. I > compress all MP3 files to WMA's. > > Martin in Canada > A16/2002

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "deadtvs" wrote:

> I've seen some discussion of this, but definitely not enough to make > a conclusion. What's the best affordable way (affordable= carry tunes on the KLR? I've heard fairly bad things about MP3 > players, so I'm inclined toward a portable CD/AM/FM unit, but have > never owned one and don't have much opinion on the offerings. So, oh > great and wise KLRistas - educate me! > > TIA, > > Dan

Save the money, just sing to yourself in your helmet. Dooden A15 Green Ape

On Tue, Apr 20, 2004 at 10:23:20PM -0400, bigfatgreenbike wrote:

> > > dcorym@... wrote: > > > What's the best affordable way (affordable= >carry tunes on the KLR? I've heard fairly bad things about MP3 > >players, so I'm inclined toward a portable CD/AM/FM unit, but have > >never owned one and don't have much opinion on the offerings. > > > > I've tried a few things. Bud earphones didn't work, and neither did > fitting speakers in the helmet liner. The best sound I've had to far is > to wear foam earplugs ("hearo's" or some other very soft type), then > insert the 1/4" thick speakers gutted from a pair of headphones between > the liner and your ear. You'll hear a good mix of treble/mid/base, and > still hear car horns, etc. Best for highway, I wouldn't ride in town > like this. You can't put enough noise through the earplugs to damage > your hearing AFAICT.

I still swear by my Etymotic ER-6 bud earphones. They come with two noise-isolating surrounds for the actual sound-making apparatus, one silicone and one foam. The silicone ones, when they fit right, kill a *lot* of noise but are not very comfortable. The foam ones seem almost as good as disposable foam earplugs, and are very comfortable besides. I chose the ER-6 over the ER-4 because the ER6 is cheaper *and* sticks out of the ears a lot less, so doesn't interfere with the helmet. Even going 80MPH in pouring rain, the Etymotics let me clearly hear my tunes with the MP3 player set a couple of notches down from full volume. They're pricy, but they're *really* worth it. Thor

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "deadtvs" wrote:

> I've seen some discussion of this, but definitely not enough to make > a conclusion. What's the best affordable way (affordable= carry tunes on the KLR? I've heard fairly bad things about MP3 > players, so I'm inclined toward a portable CD/AM/FM unit, but have > never owned one and don't have much opinion on the offerings. So, oh > great and wise KLRistas - educate me! > > TIA, > > Dan

I don't know what the best player is but this link shows how to make a pair of earbuds that rock. They seal out most of the wind/engine/road noise so you don't have to turn it up so loud. Works great for me. http://www.fixup.net/tips/earbud/30db_sealed_earphone.htm

$150 isn't going to get you very far. I've tried every set up over the past few years. The only thing I have found that works and works well is an MP3 player with some Etymotic headphones. MP3's are the only way to go, they don't skip and you don't have to carry CD's with you. The Etymotic head phones block most of the ambient noise and delivera very clear sound. You also don't have to crank them up all the way to hear the music. The only drawback is the cost. The MP3 player is about $200 and the earphones are about $120. r --- deadtvs wrote:

> I've seen some discussion of this, but definitely > not enough to make > a conclusion. What's the best affordable way > (affordable= carry tunes on the KLR? I've heard fairly bad things > about MP3 > players, so I'm inclined toward a portable CD/AM/FM > unit, but have > never owned one and don't have much opinion on the > offerings. So, oh > great and wise KLRistas - educate me! > > TIA, > > Dan > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris > Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > >

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