Autocom and Ear Buds

[Dan B.]

For you autocom xperts out there, will a set of normal mp3 type ear buds work with the Autocom system if you wanted to sometimes use the buds instead of the helmet speakers?? (Like if I was not using my helmet that day) and I just wanted to plug the Ear Buds into something through the Autocom system???

I am not concerned about transmitting at this point.

Thanks,

 

[Whip]

Helmet speakers suck, you can use the ear buds(inner ear speakers work even better) all the time if ya get the right cable.

 

here

 

I love the ER6Is

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan B.]

Thanks, thats just what I have been looking for. BTW I also have the ER6ls and they do sound great and I can use a lower volume setting on my Garmin 550.

[johnlt]

I have and use both the helmet speakers and ear buds depending on the ride. I use the helmet speakers for in town and local riding and have foam spacers in back of the speakers so they actually press lightly on my ears. Volume is excellent and fidelity is fine at lower speeds (up to 70) above 70 I loose a lot of fidelity but can still hear clearly and communicate with GMRS or Cell phone. On long rides, I remove the foam spacers so the speakers go back into the recess and use ear buds. Better fidelity at any speeds but a PITA putting them on and off. My ears also get sore after several hours.

[Angel]

FWIW,

Iv'e been using Bose earbuds with my autocom over the past year. They come with 3 (differently sized) sets of silicone ear inserts that attach to the earbud. They have worked perfectly for me. I tried many different types of earbuds looking for the right balance between fidelity (particularly bass response) and comfort under the helmet. At the time of purchase they were the cheapest alternative to the custom fitted earphone plugs, I paid $100. for them.

Oh, and I agree with whip helmet speakers DO SUCK!

 

 

[Sidmariner]

Earbuds work really well...if you are careful and not too cheap when it comes to selecting them. I've been through several makes and I found that even the expensive Etymotic in-ear speakers caused discomfort after a few hours when they press against the cartilage in my ear.

 

I am now saving up for custom-molded earbuds.

[Albert]

I have a slightly different take. I actually prefer the helmet speakers if I'm using the Autocom only for communication (cell phone and gps). I can hear fine with them and not having to fumble with the extra wires is a plus for me. I did find the ear buds are pretty much essential if you want to listen to music (I have a pair of Sony's). The fidelity of the helmet speakers makes music sound tinny and shrill.

 

One note (in case Tom is listening from Autocom ), it would be quite nice to have a switch on the headset wiring that lets a user switch off the helmet speakers when the ear buds are being used. I found that with both active there was a significant decrease in volume. Having to adjust the volume every time I switched was somewhat of a pain. Perhaps a switched jack in the accessory plug would do the trick. Just a thought.

[Woodie]

FYI, if you contact Autocom UK directly, they make a special harness for earbuds, so the earbuds plug into the helmet harness, rather than the cord.

 

Al: I use the autocom extension cable w/ the plug for the ER6i's, and I thought it did cut out the speakers. ??

 

[Albert]

FYI, if you contact Autocom UK directly, they make a special harness for earbuds, so the earbuds plug into the helmet harness, rather than the cord.

 

Al: I use the autocom extension cable w/ the plug for the ER6i's, and I thought it did cut out the speakers. ??

 

Woodie, that's the one I use too but I didn't think the speakers cut out. I'll have to check, I could certainly be wrong on that.

[Ken H.]

I'm pretty sure the Autocom 1188 part cuts out the helmet speakers when earbud are plugged in. At least that's the way ours work. And Donna goes back and forth quite a bit.

[Tom B]

The sound pressure level of any earplug speakers will vary according to the impedance of the speakers and their sensitivity.

 

The Autocom helmet speakers will produce X amount of volume depending on their positioning!the volume control settings on your music system and the main Autocom control unit.

 

Different types of in-ear-speakers will produce various sound pressure levels that could be the same, more, or less volume than our helmet speaker depending on the specs. So unfortunately we cannot set our adaptor leads to make all in-ear speakers match the same sound pressure levels as each other or our speaker. This is why we fit independent master volume controls for the rider and passenger so that you can preset the volume level required to suit your needs.

 

If people report back to us that typically they find it too loud or too low when used with earplug speaker (compared to our helmet speakers) we will make adjustments to our leads to suit the majority of customer feedback, so come on all you in-ear speaker earplug uses; let us know so that we can improve our products for you.

 

Question;

Holding our helmet speakers directly over and pressed up to your ears (out of the helmet to eliminate incorrect fitting and correctly positioned over your ears) set the sound level of some nice music to suit your preference. Now test your in-ear-speakers without changing any volume levels and let us know if the volume is OK, too loud or too low?

 

Depending on the outcome of this survey we will adjust the attenuation level of our adaptor leads to suit the majority of customer’s preference. If you include the details of your in-ear-speakers we can also make a list of what customers can expect with various types.

 

Other interesting news for in-ear speaker uses is that we will have a range of new headset looms (in the New Year) that are designed for in-ear speaker users which has a 3.5mm in-line socket on a short lead hanging out of the helmet for to you to plug your in-ear speakers into. (saves having the in-line box on the headset lead) One type has no provision for helmet speakers (saves costs) and one has mini sockets so you can add a choice of helmet speakers.

 

Another interesting update you may be interested to know is our new 2009 products have virtually ZERO hiss from the amps and this improvement will be noticed far more by in-ear speaker users, because as Ken said, earplugs speakers are brutishly honest at highlighting such things.

 

Hope this helps

 

Autocom UK Tom

 

[rtpitt]

Thats all good stuff, but....when are the wires going to DISAPPEAR

[Tom B]

Well I tried telepathy with you and you didn’t respond so it seems you will need wires for the time being. However for those who still feel that they would prefer not to be connected to the bike or to each other we will have a wireless hub-to hub system available in the New Year.

 

Given the growing number of people requesting wireless product from Autocom, it would suggest that the wireless products available today are not delivering what many people want, so I expect these people will be delighted with our new developments over the coming months.

 

Sorry I cannot deliver in time for Christmas

 

Over the next couple of weeks our new site www.autocom.co.uk will have full details about the new products and where you can see and try them out.

 

Hope this helps

 

Autocom UK Tom

 

[Tom B]

BTW

If you meant the wires to your ear bud speakers, I don’t imagine them ever going if you want quality sound with reasonable battery duration, so if that’s what your meant then sorry the wire is probably here to stay, unless you can master your telepathy!