New helmet Audio this season Part 2 of 3: 3rd Gen iPod Shuffle

va_rider

va_rider

Wizard
fz1boone.blogspot.com
so, part 2 in the new helmet audio setup is the music player.
The last part I wrote about was the FiiO E5 Headphone Amplifier:
http://www.998cc.org/forum/product-reviews/7409-fiio-e5-headphone-amplifier.html

My requirements for the player were:
  • decent capacity
  • good battery life
  • light-weight
  • good sound quality

The Shuffle would be replacing my iPod Touch for motorcycle duties, as the Touch is a bit large, and I really don't need it for anything other than music on trips.... I figured that the iPod shuffle would meet all of these requirements... I was actually looking for the previous generation Shuffle (the postage stamp looking one) but, they were selling on eBay for $70+ ... and I wasn't willing to spend that much.

So, I got on eBay... found a few Shuffle auctions that were about to end, and tossed a $15 max bid on 5 of them... thinking I might get one... turns out, I got 3... so... I kept a silver 4GB for myself, gave my wife the pink 2GB, and my buddy Josh wanted the silver 2GB model. All were brand new and factory sealed.

On to the testing / review.

They sync just like any other iPod... although they use that BS USB to 3.5mm plug adapter, and it sync's through the headphone jack.... so, there's no such thing as charging and listening at the same time. I just set up a "Shuffle" Playlist with iTunes, and set it to only sync that playlist to the shuffle.


Next, let's talk controls. This thing is abysmal. There are no buttons anywhere on the iPod, other than the multi-function power button (3 position: Off; On Shuffle; and On non-shuffle) ... the controls are all via the headphone cable mounted remote.
new-small-apple-ipod-shuffle.jpg

It functions thusly:
Squeeze the top the the remote: Volume up.
Squeeze bottom of remote: Volume down.

Center of remote:
Squeeze once: Play / Pause
Squeeze Twice: Fast-Forward Track
Squeeze 3 Times: Rewind Track
Squeeze and hold: Change playlist.

Now... this remote is built onto the headphone cable in such a way that it hits you about chin level, or slightly below. If you sat down with a pen and paper, and tried to design the absolute worst design you possibly could for a MP3 player, this would be it. Want to use it at the gym? The remote will smack you in the chin and neck while you're on the treadmill, and the slight added weight from the built-on remote will pull the headphone from your ear. Do you have a GREAT pair of headphones or helmet speakers that you'd like to use? Too bad. Without the wired remote, the iPod shuffle makes a rather fancy paper-clip.

However, 3rd party to the rescue.
belkin_shuffle_main.jpg

That's the Belkin iPod Shuffle adapter, which allows you to use whatever headphones / speakers you'd like with your Shuffle... however, this means that the following will be my connection for this riding season:
iAsus XSJ Helmet speakers:
xsj-500x500.jpg

will connect to the Fiio E5 Headphone Amplifier:
fiio-e5.jpg

which will hook up to the Belkin adapter:
belkin_shuffle_main.jpg

which will then hook up to the shuffle:
ipod-shuffle.jpg



That's a lot of connections.


So... summary:
Good:
  • Good sound quality
  • 4gb is plenty of storage for riding music
  • It's tiny
  • Good battery life

The bad:
  • Remote is abysmal... the whole idea is moronic.
  • Charging is a pain. Have to carry around that dumb USB to 3.5mm jack, and either a computer or a USB charging adapter
  • Lose the headphones / remote, you can't use the iPod at all. It'll play everything in order... at 50% volume.

Overall... it's a horrible little invention. They took a definite step back from the last iteration of the iPod shuffle. Yet another example of: "If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is." It's easy to understand now why I got three 3rd Gen iPod shuffles for $15 each, while the 2nd Gen Shuffle is going for $70...

Part 1 - Headphone Amplifier
http://www.998cc.org/forum/product-...son-part-1-3-fiio-e5-headphone-amplifier.html

Part 2 - iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen
http://www.998cc.org/forum/product-...dio-season-part-2-3-3rd-gen-ipod-shuffle.html
Part 3 - Iasus Speakers / Whole System
http://www.998cc.org/forum/product-...t-3-3-iasus-helmet-speakers-whole-system.html
 
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Nice write-up Aaron! I'd never given it much thought since I don't listen to music while riding but it certainly enlightens me when and if I decide to start and what to look out for.

My Scala Q2 headset does have an FM receiver in it and I've used it a couple times for music but the reception comes and goes rather quickly even with some of the better stations so I simply gave up. What I do use it for is to receive the GPS as it does transmit FM. The GPS also has a micro SD card and I can play MP# through this but it's not quality sound, thus once again, disappointing enough to not want to use it for music. The final option I've not tried is my Sanza clip player with the 3.5 mm cable direct to the Scala. That would be a quaility sound with full stereo. So, I'll have to fish out the Sanza and charge it, charge the Scala and give it a shot this week on the way to work. :D
 
Yeah, I've never had good luck with FM radio on the bike... always in and out of the trees and whatnot...

But, I've gotta have music on the bike... when riding the highway, it keeps me from going insane and just doing 170mph to get the trip over with...

On good curvy stretches, the music gets cranked with some high BPM music and allows me to just focus on the road and the ride.... I suppose I should preface all of this by saying that I have problems with being able to focus... and in order to truly focus on one thing, I have to have multiple things going on... Example: Right now, I'm watching Scrubs, monitoring the forum, helping my wife with the taxes, and writing a paper for my Environment of Business Law class.... take one of those things out of the equation, and the paper won't get written... I'll sit and stare at a blank page...

Music on the bike does that for me... It blocks out everything else my brain is trying to do, and allows me to just focus on the ride...
 
While I am not the same Aaron, I know and completely understand. I have a couple more friends that, like you, need to be "energized" from multiple directions to get things done.

I'm also going to guess that like me, you don't require a lot of sleep? My issue is that sleep, or trying to get to sleep, causes some anxiety because to me, it is a waste of time... time I could be spending doing all sorts of things. I can easily function on less than 3 hrs a night for a while. My typical nights are under 6 hrs and then, there's a weekend that comes about every 4 - 6 weeks where I go to sleep in the wee hours Sat. morning and sleep for about 12 hours straight. I call that my "reboot" weekend. I'm both a night owl and a morning person at the same time.

Music while riding though... I've never, in all my years, had a custom stereo in a vehicle nor do I listen to a lot of loud music. There are many times where I shut off the stereo in the truck and don't listen to anything at all. I just think... about solutions to any challenge, big or small, that I am currently facing. On the bike, I think the most clearly though.
 
You're dead on with the sleep issue... and we seem to have the same patterns.... except fr me, it's about once every 3 months that I take that 12-hour "reset button" sleep...

I gotta have music at pretty much all times... in the car, on the bike, mowing the lawn, taking a hike... whatever... different music allows me to modify my mood for what I need at the time... for driving the car... most of the time, it's classic rock / pop music.... same with mowing the yard.... doing homework, it's Chopin. My Chopin playlist contains everything ever written by Chopin... and that stuff helps me concentrate like no other...

On the bike... it's hard rock... it keeps the mind moving quickly, and the reflexes functioning at full tilt.... Without the music, my brain starts with: Does the bike always run like this? Should I be keeping it at this high RPM for this long? The chain sounds HORRIBLE!!! What's that other sound?
 
How are those speakers relative to in ear, ear buds? I dont normally listen to music but when I rode to Seattle last year I used a techmounted-Iphone for IPod, phone and GPS (and weather maps) and with the exception of the fact that I went through two phones on the trip it worked quite well! But I didnt like the ear buds when it came to getting the helmet on and off and occasionally one or the other bud sould slip out a bit.
 
I haven't gotten a chance to really test the helmet speakers yet.... which is why I'm doing the review in 3 parts... the 3rd part will cover how everything works together.... and will occur after next weekend.... Easter weekend, I'll be heading to Southwest VA (basically Staunton VA through Lexington, VA With a trip out 33 from Harrisonburg into WV... then down either 219 or 220... down to 39 to head back east, back into VA....)
So... I'll get a good chance to try these puppies out....


The issue is, at the end of last season, I put my bike up with exactly enough tread left on the tires to get up to VA to Fort Defiance to change them... so... these few nice days we've had, I haven't been able to enjoy them... even though have a 4 foot high stack of tires waiting for me in VA.... that doesn't do me much good right now... so.... the first "ride" of the season will me on I-81 from NC to Fort Defiance VA.... I'll be trying out the speakers during that part, so I'll be able to give 70-90mph highway impressions... then while up there having fun, I'll be able to provide 70-140mph 10,000RPM-13,000RPM curvy road impressions...

I wish I had a few extra helmets to see how they would function in different helmets... the area around the ears on my Scorpion is rather shallow... so I'm sure the speakers will be close to my ears, and provide good sound... I'm already wondering how they'd work on helmets that had more distance between my ears and the shell of the helmet...

Edit:

Oh... and I typically use earbuds... but, I've gotten sick of the hassle of earbuds... trying to get them to stay in when putting on/removing my helmet... not to mention, after a while, they hurt the inside of my ear canals like crazy... so... this is why I'm trying the speakers this year.
 
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I am using my Element Blue Tooth Helmet along with my iPhone for my tunes wirelessly. I freaking hate messing with the cables and the volume knob on the clutch side of the helmet is easy to locate and adjust.

My only wish is that it would be a tiny bit louder. The good news is that I can still hear engine and road noise no problem.
 
I still use the gen one shuffle when riding, no problem moving using the controls through my leather jacket with gloves on. That's why I did not up grade, this works perfect. Just need new helmet speakers, not sure who makes the best sound to carry a lot of base. Any input any one? As VA mentioned, the buds are to uncomfortable.
 
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Legit? Hell no.

They may be mp3 players... but made by Apple? Hell no. They might work, and be functional and all that.... but... not legit.

Would that keep me from getting one? Probably not.... but... I don't order directly from Hong Kong, and as a general rule, I don't buy knockoffs.... I bought a 32GB SD Memory card direct from Hong Kong, and it was DOA.... nothing I could do about it, seller got off of eBay... PayPal got me my money back... so I opened the SD Card up... and there was nothing inside...

I'd buy a used 1st/2nd gen shuffle before buying a knock-off from Hong Kong.
 
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