Ear Monitors or not?

[NeilF]

I've had enough of the (UltimateEar) ear monitors. Fed up of them not working, hurting my ear, and having to send them off for reworking, repair or cleaning ("blocked with earwax"). At £125 to buy, and something like £25 per return, they're one of my least successful investments. And wifey couldn't get on with them - period.

On the plus side they were tremendously effective at reducing wind noise, and the quality of sound from pillion / bike-to-bike and satNav has been excellent. From a rider benefits perspective I'd totally recommend them.

But they are actually a high maintenance PITA otherwise.

So I've gone back to the earpiece speakers in the helmet. Or will do, once I can get the buggers working!

Anyone else "tried and failed" with these?


Cheers,

Neil.

 

[The Burpster]

I wonder why you have had so many probs?

Neil, I've had mine for 18months and 10k miles and not had one problem! I only use them on 40min plus journeys and use 'blockers' for the shorter trips, and enjoy the GS to the max! Yes on trips it means carrying two sets but I can live with that.
Bob.

 

[DavidHale]

Try Green Leopard. schiannini (Fil) on this forum is an agent for them, and I can highly recommend both his service and the goods

 

[NeilF]

Try Green Leopard. schiannini (Fil) on this forum is an agent for them, and I can highly recommend both his service and the goods

My issue now, David, is that I've spent probably close to £200 on my current monitors and haven't been impressed with the nett results. It's not like trying on a jacket - you have to pay up to get them moulded etc. so I'd be very reluctant to invest the same amount for potentially a repeat experience . . .

I know it's horses for courses. From my original 'negative' post we've already seen two 'positive' responses - hopefully as we receive more responses, we'll be able to show the forum readers our collective experiences so they can decide whether £125 is a good investment for them . . .

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[Droopy Dick]

Your experience is exactly mine.

I am not a heavy ear wax producer, but twice I've had to send them back 'cos one stopped working to be told that they were blocked with wax. And it's not just the £25 charge. It's the time they take. Oh, and the fact that they managed to 'misplace' mine for 3 weeks until I suggested that I send them the moulds and they prepare a new set for me

I suspect the little tool they give you is totally inadequate for the job. Part of the problem, surely, is that the wax, when it enters the plug, is fairly molten so a little loop of fine wire is damn all use at ucking it out.

I have been wondering about trying some isopropanol to wash out the little buggers - it should do no damage to the transducers.

On the other hand, there is a company at Shoreham Airport that tell me their monitors rarely get blocked with ear wax.

However, I have been very impressed with the audio quality of the Ultimate monitors. They handle everything from Pink Floyd to Simon & Garfunkel with aplomb, and using them with my radio set-up has been superb.

Specsavers now do moulded earplugs with or without speakers.

 

[chippelmike]

I tried a set of moulded ear plugs........... absolutly Kin useless !!! too hard.... not good enough at keeping noise out..... dont expand and contract with your ear as temperature varies..waste of money !! Just buy a box of foam plugs and chuck them away after use ! Better. Cheaper. Hygenic.
The way to go !
Mike.

 

[Pukmeister]

FWIW, I've had a set of ultimate ears for a month now, and they have been brilliant from the first use. The only problem I have is my Autocom satnav audio cable picks up interference from the bike so I can't use it with the in ear monitors until I get the screening sorted (in ear monitors are more sensitive, I never noticed the noise with in-helmet speakers), other than that they are perfect.

 

[mrTickle]

FWIW, I've had a set of ultimate ears for a month now, and they have been brilliant from the first use. The only problem I have is my Autocom satnav audio cable picks up interference from the bike so I can't use it with the in ear monitors until I get the screening sorted (in ear monitors are more sensitive, I never noticed the noise with in-helmet speakers), other than that they are perfect.

Is your GPS a Garmin 2820 because all 2820's seem dodgy when used with an Autocom unit. Some ( well mine does anyway ) seem to hum even when just using MP3 playback and using my Autocom is impossibly uncomfortable. This loud feedback happens on regular earphones as well so it's not unique to your in ear monitors.

As for the earwax - i put mine in a sealed plastic bag and then put the bag in mug of boiling water - the wax melts straight out of them. Not had any problems other than the wax - quite happy with mine - 3 years of use and still work fine

 

[cookie]

i have clear monitors, maybe that will help me shovel the wax out

 

[Dale]

Try Green Leopard. schiannini (Fil) on this forum is an agent for them, and I can highly recommend both his service and the goods

Yup,would have to agree with David.

FWIW, Schiannini's ones dont have the speaker mounted in the earpiece, the sounds travels from the speaker to your ear through a little hollow tube. If the tube gets blocked, I just push it through a little and trim the blocked bit off Dont have a pic handy but I'm sure schiannini will post one if you ask him.

One thing you do need to do is to route the tubes from the helmet under your jacket ... if they flap in the wind you get that wind noise transmitted directly to your ear

Dale

 

[Steptoe]

I've been using Ultimate moniters for a year and a half. Never one single problem, and that's with being used all the time, and includes two moroccan trips . But i'm not heavy handed or a waxy person

 

[NeilF]

The only problem I have is my Autocom satnav audio cable picks up interference from the bike so I can't use it with the in ear monitors until I get the screening sorted.

I found this problem also, t'other week when I was visting Autocom for PMR cables. Richard there was brilliant, and reckoned the satnav lead towards my Autocom was too close to the HT leads - so he re-routed the cable across the top of the yoke. Much reduced interference.

Cheers,

Neil.