mp3 welding hoods

[tsalagi]

harcosparky, those are some cool earplugs/phones. i might wear something like that working arround the house so i can't hear the wife. shye gets to a pretty high decible herself.

[harcosparky]

harcosparky, those are some cool earplugs/phones. i might wear something like that working arround the house so i can't hear the wife. shye gets to a pretty high decible herself.

Well I got a pair of these last friday. Went for a motorcycle ride with them in and first thing I noticed was they were flush inside the ear and felt comfortable. Put on the full coverage helmet and they still felt comfortable.

Hit the road with my iPod playing and noticed that between songs I could not hear the engine as I could with a pair of Sony in-ear phones. Also the Sonys protruded enough as to be uncomfortable after a while.

These were expensive, but seem to be worth it. If they survive me for 6 months then they are good.

I was going through 3 - 4 sets from Sony a year.

[JonnyTIG]

Custom fit ear plugs come with all sorts of goodies! I've used custom plugs for almost ten years, and have never had a complaint. I've used vented plugs and solid plugs. A friend of mine is a DJ, and he had a set made with the earphones built in so he could mix songs without hearing the background music, he can't imagine not using them at a large gig now days. Here in Canada, custom fit ear plugs cost about $65.00 / pair, I don't know what they cost with built in head phones, but I can say they would be worth every penny.

[Anti-GMAW]

That helmet you mentioned with the FM tuner can play anything you want to play on it. You can buy a litle FM transmiter for about $15, they plug into a standard headphone jack. It's pretymuch the same thing as using one of those casset adapters only for radio instead. Try Radioshack or Wall-Mart.

[weld_13]

I thought i would bring this one back to the top for more to read because i found it interesting. As for the mp3 question if you have an ipod I would get one of the fm transmitters that plugs into the bottom like when you plug it up to the computer and use it because i have tried them and I like them alot. This way you dont have it mounted in your hood but can still listen to you ipod or mp3 player

[garybdavis]

I have to agree with the custom molded ear plugs. I got my ears done at a motorcycle show. The company was "Now Hear This" and the lady who did my ears has years of experience doing ear plugs.

I had three sets made: regular ear plugs that I use in the shop, ear plugs with speaker transducers installed with a mono plug that I use for my intercom/scanner when going on motorcycle rides or to NASCAR races, and ear plugs that accept my Sure E3 MP3 ear bud speakers. I use these anytime I listen to my MP3 player.

If you get a good, custom ear mold set, they provide as much hearing protection as the best fit you can get from foam plugs - even with speakers installed in them. But, you must have someone that knows what they are doing. I had my first set of custom ear buds done at a race shop and they were $175 of crap.

The lady who did such a good job on mine was Marilyn at www.plugup.com. She is an audioologist and knows her stuff.

Custom ear molds are a bit expensive, but like all of our tools, the higher quality stuff just costs more. Once you damage your hearing, it won't come back, so money well spent in my oppinion.

[fun4now]

garybdavis, those look good. i knoiw the ones that came with my new MP3 player are garbage and they have 3 diferent ruber options you can interchange with the speaker to make them fit. fit, yea right i picked up a pair at the $ store for $1.08 and they are a better fit. go figure.

[dabar39]

I'm not too keen on having any kind of head phones on when I'm working. Yes, I do have a radio playing while I work, but I would also like to hear whats going on around me at all times. If I've got a set of headphones blasting in my ear how am I going to hear the other guys screaming in agony when he sets himself on fire or drops an axle on his foot, or some other kind of emergency??? Dave

[weld_13]

I like the earphones under the earmuffs so the grinder doesn't drown out the music

[fun4now]

dabar39, just do what i do when i'm driveing. only use one ear to listen and leve the other one open to here around you.