Garmin Zumo Newbie Questions????

[tommcgee]

We use Etymotic ER-6i earbuds...they are noise cancelling and work for wind & background issues when not listening to the Garmin Girl or tunes.

Minor point. They are isolating, rather than canceling.

A noise canceling system is an active system that uses microphones to pick up ambient sound (noise), electronically inverts it, and then adds it to the wanted signal (out of phase) so the noise component is effectively canceled. This system can give you about 10 decibels of noise attenuation in addition to whatever you're getting from the isolation factor of the earbuds you're using.

The noise cancellation is higher at low frequencies, say 50-1.5kHz.

Sony makes noise canceling earbuds and I own a set, but they're a bit too big to fit under the helmet. I use the Etymotic ER-6i installed in custom molds instead.

[kantuckid]

I just read some reviews on the Etymotics and it seems to me that they may be dangerous for riding a MC. One guy said he felt he had to be very observant just riding a bicycle when using for an ipod. For a guy like me with noise induced hearing loss in the first place I need to consider staying alive first. I wear foam plugs(ALWAYS!) and do hear traffic sounds such as horns and human voices when at a traffic stop-if loudly spoken. I don't want anything that cause me to loose touch or lose hearing I cannot afford to lose!, in order to hear the Zumo...

[Robsara]

I just read some reviews on the Etymotics and it seems to me that they may be dangerous for riding a MC. One guy said he felt he had to be very observant just riding a bicycle when using for an ipod. For a guy like me with noise induced hearing loss in the first place I need to consider staying alive first. I wear foam plugs(ALWAYS!) and do hear traffic sounds such as horns and human voices when at a traffic stop-if loudly spoken. I don't want anything that cause me to loose touch or lose hearing I cannot afford to lose!, in order to hear the Zumo...

I'm not sure what this guy is talking about.

I use the Etymotics ear plugs. Great design. I find that I'm MORE aware of the sounds around me with them in. Provided the sounds are semi loud to begin with (think: traffic, horns, sirens, screeching tires, engine noise, wind noise)

They don't have a db rating that is very high, compared to some other foam plugs.

For me, the foam plugs or various brands of ear plugs seem to seal my ear off, and you more or less hear through your skull, and most noises sound muffled and you only hear the bass side of things.

The Etymotic plugs are supposed to be high fidelity, meaning you hear all the tones. But you hear them quieter. Think of it as having a volume control for the outside world. You turn it all down, where you can hear it still, but the edge is gone. This IMHO allows you to hear various sounds, where previously they are all muddy together.

All that said, if you have the headphone version, you are going to turn down the outside noise, then add back in sound. On a bicycle, I don't know if that's so bright. On a motorcycle, it sounds brilliant. Certainly you don't have to have the volume too high, as you are pumping it right in. Especially for directions.

FWIW