EARPHONES MEGATHREAD - All questions on earphones for riding asked and answered here

silentbutdeadly

has some good things to say
I'm definitely keen on these, there's only one review I can find that has actually used them and it says that they're not very bassy. I do like my prodigy and Crystal MEthod at times, which requires healthy bass. Wish there were more reviews I could see!
Can't help you with internet reviews but as something of a Shpongle fan and being reasonably familiar with Nineties and Noughties electronic music...and having the home system capable of dealing with it...the mid range Audiofly units do just fine, bass wise.
 

wesdadude

ウェスド アドゥーデ
Err.... these...
I have the pro version of these, which are a bit out of Johnny's budget. Reviews mentioned they sound better than compared to what you have. They're a bit thin compared to over ear cans but overall I like them. My sound preference is for faithful reproduction so flat is good not bad.
 

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
Bringing this back up with a question...

Staying at home means time to finally get around to doing that cable mod on my Beyerdynamics I've been meaning to do for years... But... Can anyone point me to an Australian (i.e. no international shipping) website that's good for buying components - specifically decent quality gold plated jacks/sockets?
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Jaycar got anything ok?

I went looking for my old Grados in the shed to try and fix them, but I think I must have ditched them when we moved - it was also a cable replacement / mod project that I'd been stalling on for years.

Panic bought some new Beyers for working from home anyway, but would love some Grados again.
 

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
Jaycar got anything ok?
Nothing particularly inspiring, and all the female components are junk. I've found a mix of stuff scattered across various sites and eBay etc that'll come together to do the job (also replacing pads/cushion) but thought there might be a specialist audio supplier I hadn't come across...
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Has anyone ventured into the True Wireless Earbud space yet?

These caught my eye first
Mifo 05 True Wireless Earbuds

7 hours play, 100 hours with the case, look like they sit with a fairly low protuberance, but reading between the lines, the sound quality is uninspiring.

But then I found these
Audiofly AFT1

I'm assuming the sound would be on par with the units mentioned above.

Basically I have a one-time-only $200ish to spend and I don't want to waste it. I like a bigger bass hit to counteract the wind on the bike, and I'm tiring of my cord getting snagged on branches.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Just bought the JBL REflect Flow true wireless joints, but can't get the app to see them (which I need to do custom sound settings).

Anyone else had troubles with the JBL app and found a solution?

FWIW, I also got the JBL Charge 5 speaker, what a fucking ripper than thing is. Unbelievable sound for $168/Bing Lee.
 

Minlak

custom titis
Just bought the JBL REflect Flow true wireless joints, but can't get the app to see them (which I need to do custom sound settings).

Anyone else had troubles with the JBL app and found a solution?

FWIW, I also got the JBL Charge 5 speaker, what a fucking ripper than thing is. Unbelievable sound for $168/Bing Lee.
I don’t know what you have done so
You actually have to take one out of the holder I think right one for it to go to pairing - you pair it with the Bluetooth on the phone first - have you got the latest version of the app have you got the right app?
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Yes to all of the above - that's what I have and what I have done.

I open the app, after the device is paired with my phone (playing tunes) I open the app and it tells me I have no devices and offers me to choose the device I'm pairing with - I choose the right buds and it tells me that they're not connected to blutooth.
 

Minlak

custom titis
Yes to all of the above - that's what I have and what I have done.

I open the app, after the device is paired with my phone (playing tunes) I open the app and it tells me I have no devices and offers me to choose the device I'm pairing with - I choose the right buds and it tells me that they're not connected to blutooth.
So we know Bluetooth is working and we know the buds are working - I would remove from Bluetooth - reset earbuds (there will be a key combination usually) remove the app - turn the phone off completely - restart phone - pair earbuds - reinstall app
 

bear the bear

Is a real bear
Yes to all of the above - that's what I have and what I have done.

I open the app, after the device is paired with my phone (playing tunes) I open the app and it tells me I have no devices and offers me to choose the device I'm pairing with - I choose the right buds and it tells me that they're not connected to blutooth.
new phone time... ;)
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Saw these Mofos on FarceBook maybe 18 months ago and was curious, but not curious enough to give the FB Scammer $180.

390520


FFwd to April just gone and Man Child requests a pair for his birthday in May. They're still being advertised, and reduced to $130, so it's worth the punt. If they sound crappy it's his problem not mine.

Between ordering and receiving them, he reveals he has lost his Garmin Vivofit watch. Mrs George decrees if he's managed to lose a watch there is no way he'll keep track of earbuds and claims them for herself.

I gave them a run before handing them over. The sound cancelling blocks out my printing press and there's a transparency mode so I can hear others if I need to. The charging case is made fom alloy, is solid and doubles as an emergency phone charger. 7hrs playtime from each bud plus 100hrs of charge in the case. So they claim. Each bud can connect independently.

Now, I like good sounding earbuds, but I'm no audiophile, so I won't try to describe the sound. Suffice to say I'm happy with them. All I had to do was lift the top end up with the native samsung equaliser to clean it up a bit. But that could be the industrial deafness playing a part too.

Longevity is my only doubt. Hopefully I'm not disappointed.
 

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I was curious about those too, they seemed to review very well but it almost seemed too good to be true. I felt like the ads were pushing too hard and it couldn't be legit.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
So my JBL REflect Flwo wireless earbuds have decent sound, are okish for staying in the ear (have to push them in every now and then), have average built in controls but have problems with the contacts in the case when trying to charge them, but most of all, fucking SUCK for windrush when I'm riding. So, two questions:
  1. Does the noise cancelling function that some earbuds have cancel out the sound of wind rush?
  2. Is anyone using any wireless earbuds that have low wind rush that they'd recommend (need to be bassy, can't stand a tinnie-sounding earbud)
I find myself turning the music/podcast up too loud to hear over the wind rush with these things and I'm going to damage my hearing if I'm not careful.

1697713390053.png
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
So my JBL REflect Flwo wireless earbuds have decent sound, are okish for staying in the ear (have to push them in every now and then), have average built in controls but have problems with the contacts in the case when trying to charge them, but most of all, fucking SUCK for windrush when I'm riding. So, two questions:
  1. Does the noise cancelling function that some earbuds have cancel out the sound of wind rush?
  2. Is anyone using any wireless earbuds that have low wind rush that they'd recommend (need to be bassy, can't stand a tinnie-sounding earbud)
I find myself turning the music/podcast up too loud to hear over the wind rush with these things and I'm going to damage my hearing if I'm not careful.

View attachment 403591
I’ve got Sony Linkbuds S. They suffer from wind rush in ambient mode, but are dead quiet in full noise cancelling mode, so depends on how you want to use them while riding. They’re highly rated for sound quality, pretty close to the WF-1000XM4.
 

DougalStrachan

Likes Dirt
  1. Does the noise cancelling function that some earbuds have cancel out the sound of wind rush?
  2. Is anyone using any wireless earbuds that have low wind rush that they'd recommend (need to be bassy, can't stand a tinnie-sounding earbud)
Went through a couple of sets of ear buds that supposedly had great nose cancelling for wind etc with pass through. Might work for running but at higher speeds they are pretty ordinary and nearly seem to end up amplify wind noise. The ones with full noise cancelling were pretty good but you can't hear anything else, not ideal on the bike. As a bit of a gamble went for bone conducting, they are bloody brilliant. Got the Shokz Open run pro and they tick all the boxes for me, I thought the band around the back of the head might sux, but it doesn't. I feel comfortable riding in traffic as I can hear plenty (they will still drown out car noise if you have them too loud etc, but you know, don't do that) and they don't amplify wind noise. In the bush I can just rock out and enjoy. You'll still get wind noise 'cos it's still there etc. just think of it as a speaker that only you can hear. And to be honest the sound quality is really good, if you have golden ears in a quiet room you'll probably notice but when riding there is so much else going on you won't. I like songs with a bit of bass, and these aren't disappointing me so it's another win.

TL DR - Shokz Open Run Pro is gud
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
I’ve got Sony Linkbuds S. They suffer from wind rush in ambient mode, but are dead quiet in full noise cancelling mode, so depends on how you want to use them while riding. They’re highly rated for sound quality, pretty close to the WF-1000XM4.
Only interested in listening to music and podcasts whilst I commute, don't really care about answering calls.

Those Sonys look pretty decent. The best sound quality I've ever had in a set of buds were some old Sonys about 10 years back. I have been looking at some of the Sony range, the other ones that look good are the https://www.sony.com.au/headphones/products/wf-c700n they have a decent water/dust rating as well so the sweat and light rain won't hurt them.

Went through a couple of sets of ear buds that supposedly had great nose cancelling for wind etc with pass through. Might work for running but at higher speeds they are pretty ordinary and nearly seem to end up amplify wind noise. The ones with full noise cancelling were pretty good but you can't hear anything else, not ideal on the bike. As a bit of a gamble went for bone conducting, they are bloody brilliant. Got the Shokz Open run pro and they tick all the boxes for me, I thought the band around the back of the head might sux, but it doesn't. I feel comfortable riding in traffic as I can hear plenty (they will still drown out car noise if you have them too loud etc, but you know, don't do that) and they don't amplify wind noise. In the bush I can just rock out and enjoy. You'll still get wind noise 'cos it's still there etc. just think of it as a speaker that only you can hear. And to be honest the sound quality is really good, if you have golden ears in a quiet room you'll probably notice but when riding there is so much else going on you won't. I like songs with a bit of bass, and these aren't disappointing me so it's another win.

TL DR - Shokz Open Run Pro is gud
I don't really ride the road much at all, so I'm keen to block out as much noise as possible. The passive isolation of most earbuds is enough for me when I'm at work (which is required with my chatty team...), it's just the wind noise when I'm riding that I want to minimise.

Given that I still need some level of isolation in a noisy work environment the bone style earphones don't tick all boxes, unfortunately.
 
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