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. Kindler, Gentler Music ......... |
. Earbud Mods |
Music is what separates man from lower order mammals. We can put on a CD like The Joshua Tree and say to ourselves, "This album is ethereal and resonates through my soul. Well, I mean it would if I knew what Bono was talking about. I actually just like the choppy guitar riffs." Play an iconic album like that for a rhino and all you'll get is a blank look from each eyeball split by that angry, pointy horn. If you're like me, sometimes you like listening to music while you ride. And please don't tell me "riding is its own music." There is no "music" when you've been on I-15 for hours in the high desert. What there is is enduring, bone-bending boredom. There's sand and glare and sand and glare. And, there is a need for real music, not the Barney song you can't get out of your head because you were unfortunate enough to hear it on TV just before you mounted your bike. I've tried most music delivery systems under my helmet. Regular headphones aren't loud enough to overcome the road noise, and even the slim ones hurt after a while in the tight confines. The headphone-earbud hybrid units that stick into your ears also get painful pretty quickly. Even earbuds, the smallest of headphones, hurt when smashed by a snug helmet long enough. So here's what I did... |
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That seemingly tiny piece feels like a huge metal bar against the cartilage of your ear after an hour. It had to go so I got out the dremel and started cutting. |
| The goal was to only leave the round piece that inserted directly into the ear canal. Cut only as much as necessary and then bend it until it breaks off. If you try to cut through all the way around, odds are you'll cut through the wire, as I did. This is a second set of earbuds I happened to have. |  |
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Once the "stump" is chopped off, just use electrical tape to secure the wire to the earbud. If you don't do this, you will surely yank the wires out of the solder. |
| Here it is, totally lean, mean, and pain free. Is wearing this in both ears illegal? Well, nothing is illegal until you get caught, is it? It's just "living life large" up to that point. But if you want to be moral about it, hell yes, this is illegal in CA. But so is going over the posted speed limit and crossing double yellows... |  |
Update: If you have the spare change, buy some Etymotic earphones. They have the noise-blocking power of earplugs and the bonus of piping in music to make super-slabbing less dull. I wish I had purchased mine sooner. |
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