For the past four years or so custom moulded in-ear audio monitors, manufactured by Ultimate Ear, have been an integral component of my motorcycle navigation/communications/entertainment system.
During this time I’ve covered over 36000 miles during which time these monitors have proved extremely effective, trouble free & reliable.
Last week I started getting a broken signal to my right ear & subsequently noticed that the cord had become fractured & frayed just as it entered the silcone monitor moulding itself.
Currently the technicians at Ultimate Ear are examining my monitors before deciding whether they are repairable or not. Please see update below.
I made it quite clear that I was simply treating this as a ‘fair wear & tear’ issue rather than a complaint about a manufacturing or materials defect.
I should say at this point that Ultimate Ear have been extremely prompt & efficient at dealing with this issue despite beinq very busy at this time of the year so I’ll await their judgement with interest before deciding on a replacement.
Meanwhile I’m left with the considerable problem of delivering audio to my ears whilst riding the ‘bike.
As I have no speakers built into my helmet I needed to find a temporary, comfortable, effective and low cost alternative to the custom moulded monitors.
I’ve tried many different generic ear buds, earphones & monitors in the past, none of which have really suited my requirements but extensive research of current products revealed a potentially viable solution in the form of JVC HA-FX66 in-ear canal headphones.
Supplied with three different sizes of silicone rubber ear pieces & one set of ‘memory foam’ ear pieces it didn’t take long to get them to fit snugly & comfortably in my ear canals.
Yesterday I tried them on the bike for the first time & was extremely surprised at the high quality of both speech & stereo music reproduction, especially bass & treble response.
These headphones really are tiny and the soft silicone ‘Air Cushion’ does a fair job of eliminating background noise, certainly up to about 70mph, after which wind/road/engine noise takes over, despite the automatic noise sensitive volume controls on my Baehr communications system.
I’m not sure I could live with these JVC headphones long-term as they are a compromise over the custom moulded monitors but at £16.00 they are about a tenth of the cost and certainly a viable temporary substitute.
UPDATE: Ultimate Ear decided that my monitors were repairable & for £45.00 they replaced the entire cable & plug using much a higher standard of parts than those used originally. They are now fit for another few years use. Great service from Ultimate Ear!
