Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)

I should add that although I'm ordering several, they aren't at all fragile. The one I have has survived longer than any other earbuds and I wear them constantly.

But as often happens, they get caught on something, I close my case with one hanging out and squeeze the cable, or do something else which breaks them.

These are very strongly built but nothing will every avoid accidents forever.

Comply foam tips - if you want a bit more isolation or find memory foam more comfortable, you can get them here:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/cofotipeco1p.html

(I don't know the size - the page has changed and I just got the single earphone size they had several months ago)

jmelski wrote:what about friction noise in the cord? my current in-ear buds have a deafening rustle every time the cord hits or rubs against something.

Thats because you aren't following directions. All of the in-ear phones should have the cord looped over the ear. That way the sound of the cord rubbing on something never reaches your ear drum.

smtatertot13 wrote:apparently i have small or giant ear canals, as do at least 2 of my co-workers. we can't wear the "standard" ear buds - they fall out because they aren't big/small enough. any thoughts if the "levels" effect will help us? or will these fall out like every other ear bud?

It looks like you might be able to find replacement buds that will fit your ears here: http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/cofotipeco1p.html (thanks thomasz for the link).

HOWEVER, know that by using different buds than the originals provided will most likely result in a lower NRR.

How long is the cord? My ipod earbuds aren't long enough.

Here's the 100% OSHA approved sibling to the Blockade - the E-A-R Buds Headphone.

They're made by the same company, but these reduce the max volume to 82dB, which is below the maximum exposure limit established by OSHA for an 8 hour period. Might be worth looking into if you are planning on wearing these headphones all day in a noisy environment.

And in all the surfing around looking for as much information as I can find, I came across one tidbit that some people might care to know. 3M is the parent company of Aearo Technologies, the company that makes the Blockade earbuds.

stumpefamily wrote:I use these with my IPOD on long plane trips (8 hours)and don't notice any difference from my regular earbuds in battery life.

How about blocking out sound on the plane.

Let me pile on and give an endorsement of there earbuds. I have tried many ear plugs and ear phones trying to get noise protection and music. This model works great for both. Now I can work and enjoy my ipod. They are even good as earphones for other uses even when not looking for noise protection. I just wish I would have gotten this deal. *sigh*

Two points and a whattaboutit...

1) Only certifiable crazy people would use stereo noise-blocking earplugs while riding a motorcycle or other vehicle. Not only is it illegal in all 50 states, but is dangerous and foolhardy to be so completely unaware of your environment while riding. You can get away with it if you use only ONE earpiece, leaving the other ear free.

2) The benefit of noise attenuation is directly related to the noise level of the ambient environment. Which obviously means, if noise is 60db around you, the headset may attenuate half of it. If the noise level os 90db, then you get only 25% reduction. These are not magic noise blockers, after all.

Any in-ear headset from this company, Sony, Sennheiser, Shure or whomever will give you ± 25db of sound attenuation if inserted in your ears properly. Whether that's enough to completely block the outside depends entirely on how loud that outside is.

As for the whattaboutit...

What about naming the various comic references in the description? I counted at least 10 that I recognized without even trying. Can anyone list all the comic characters (Superman, The Hulk) they recognize in the story?

I forgot the obligatory noise chart:

Extremely Loud
110 dB = rock music, model airplane
106 dB = timpani and bass drum rolls
100 dB = snowmobile, chain saw, pneumatic drill
90 dB = lawnmower, shop tools, truck traffic, subway

Very Loud
80 dB = alarm clock, busy street
70 dB = busy traffic, vacuum cleaner
60 dB = conversation, dishwasher

Moderate
50 dB = moderate rainfall
40 dB = quiet room

Faint
30 dB = whisper, quiet library

Batteries? I don't see batteries mentioned. Isn't this electronic?

Tufflaw wrote:Anyone actually use these? I really need something to use at the gym. I read the stationary bike several times a week for 60 minutes at a time, and try to watch movies on a portable media player, and no matter when I go, I always seem to be there at the exact same time as this MANIAC, he looks like his head is covered by a poodle.

He uses the precor two rows behind me and for the entire time he's on it, he's yelling and clapping his hands and making weird popping noises, it's absolutely unbearable.

Even with the sound cranked up I still hear this stupid poodle head popping and clapping and yelling, I can't take it anymore!!

Anyway, if these things work I'll take em.

I've never myself read a stationary bike

Will these stay in my ears when jogging/running?

Are these comforatble for long periods? I used to use some blue ear protectors that looked like these on the firing range, and they would start to hurt after about 30 minutes.

In for three ~ total of six. Great price in order to keep a stock since my teens lose them constantly or end up tearing up the ones they have.

[quote postid="3555256" user="grtgrfx"]Two points and a whattaboutit...

"1) Only certifiable crazy people would use stereo noise-blocking earplugs while riding a motorcycle or other vehicle." Blah, blah, blah......

It makes no difference whether or not I am listening to music while I ride when people in cars are texting/talking on their phones and not paying attention to their surroundings. I guarantee I am MUCH more aware of what they are doing then they are of me.

Amidaous wrote:No battery in it. just volume control

Got it, Coolio.

These should work great for my late night adult movie watching, so I dont disturb the roommates.

"Only certifiable crazy people would use stereo noise-blocking earplugs while riding a motorcycle". You obviously don't know what the heck you are talking about. Anyone with real riding experience knows and understands the importance of wearing ear protection while riding a motorcycle. I wear audiologist fitted hearing protection that also includes audio speakers that can be plugged into mp3 players, etc. I block out the wind noise and probably just like you do in your car, listen to music, books, etc. By far, I am more aware of things around me at high speed with hearing protection and a few tunes playing too. These ear buds are not going to offer up the quality of hearing protection and music playing ability of my purpose fitted solution.

happy motorcycle riding!

toadfish63 wrote:"Only certifiable crazy people would use stereo noise-blocking earplugs while riding a motorcycle". You obviously don't know what the heck you are talking about. Anyone with real riding experience knows and understands the importance of wearing ear protection while riding a motorcycle. I wear audiologist fitted hearing protection that also includes audio speakers that can be plugged into mp3 players, etc. I block out the wind noise and probably just like you do in your car, listen to music, books, etc. By far, I am more aware of things around me at high speed with hearing protection and a few tunes playing too. These ear buds are not going to offer up the quality of hearing protection and music playing ability of my purpose fitted solution.

happy motorcycle riding!

Well said and keep the rubber side down!!!

afkrypto wrote:For the curious, here's the numbers by frequency of the noise reductions:



Here's the source:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/earplugstore/Blockade.pdf

^ should be a quality post. Note though that NRR 24 is not very high relative to some of the nicer disposable and even the reusable earplugs on the market, so don't get these if you need serious hearing protection - you might end up turning up your music too loud and doing hearing damage anyway.

Can anyone comment as to the fit and comfort of the earbuds? I may be a freak, but i have never found a set of buds that stays in my ears, I've tried them all.

grtgrfx wrote:Extremely Loud
110 dB = rock music, model airplane

Model airplane, eh?

Where did you get that list? USA Today?

shonnelizabeth wrote:
It makes no difference whether or not I am listening to music while I ride when people in cars are texting/talking on their phones and not paying attention to their surroundings. I guarantee I am MUCH more aware of what they are doing then they are of me.

Yeah, I may be stupid and breaking the law, but I'm not as stupid as that guy!

I've used a pair of these on a daily basis under my helmet for commuting until my dog ate them. Pretty good, especially for the price.

TheLonliestMonk wrote:Do these work like the apple earbuds in that they will let you switch from music to a incoming phone call without going to the iPhone?

I don't believe so- these are standard headphones and have no special connection to the iPhone at all. Any changes of audio source must be adjusted at the source.

bought one, my first woot!

bought one, my first woot!

defibrillator wrote:I make my own "noise-cancelling" in-ear earbuds. I take a standard set of in-ear buds and remove the plastic flange part. Then I drill holes longitudinally through a couple of those cylindrical foam in-canal earplugs you can buy at the drug store for like $10 for 10 pair. Cover buds with earplugs, insert into ears. Basically you're wearing earplugs with your earbuds inserted.

I think it's the same concept as this woot but you can use earbud drivers of your choice (possibly better).

I tried to do that but I could never get the foam plugs to stay still for the drill to make the hole. I used a clamp, but that didn't help any. And I sure wasn't going to drill while holding it in my hand.

So, how were you able to do it?

In for one set. Been looking for some noise isolators anyway, don't need super audio quality (I use 99 cent store headphones now), just comfort and noise isolation.

Kingmiwok wrote:The volume control looks like it has soft touch type buttons, which generally means a powered circuit. Is there a battery in there to provide power? If not, what does?

I'm thinking the same thing. There has to be battery in here, right? Or, maybe it somehow extracts a few milliwatts from the headphone circuit to run the volume control circuit?
Curious...

thomasz wrote:These work great on my motorcycle (with iPod or other device, both audiobooks or podcasts and music).

Blocks the noise so you can hear the music.

These do OSHA HEARING PROTECTOR level sound blocking, far better than any other "isolation" earbuds.

They come with extra flanges in case you lose one.

The flanges come in one size and their only drawback it they can irritate the ear canal (anything can do this) but I'm very picky and although I can feel them I can wear them on a long ride.

You can get replacement memory foam tips from http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/ which will fit on these if you want more isolation.

I couldn't find these for a long while (It was at a farm supply store that generally has everything but was on a trip) and I'm ordering 3 sets.

schmendel wrote:Will these stay in my ears when jogging/running?

I don't believe that these earphones can either jog or run, so that should not be a problem.

DCno10 wrote:here they are on amazon for $34.00

and here's a review on yahoo

and one on macworld

thank you SO much for that macworld review. i was really considering buying these until i read that. for those who are too lazy to click the link, it basically says the sound quality is worse than stock ipod headphones. some garbage.

Phew, got mine 6 minutes before they sold out. :D

afkrypto wrote:Here's the 100% OSHA approved sibling to the Blockade - the E-A-R Buds Headphone.

They're made by the same company, but these reduce the max volume to 82dB, which is below the maximum exposure limit established by OSHA for an 8 hour period. Might be worth looking into if you are planning on wearing these headphones all day in a noisy environment.
...

Actually they have a 26NRR as compared to the woot's 24. The 82dB max you read was a limit placed on the audio coming in through the wire, a safety feature so you don't destroy your eardrums with that devil music you kids listen to...

What the hell is up with woot They take orders never advise you and ship it when they feel like it. Sorry woot a deal is only a deal when I have it not a month later.

toadfish63 wrote:"Only certifiable crazy people would use stereo noise-blocking earplugs while riding a motorcycle". You obviously don't know what the heck you are talking about. Anyone with real riding experience knows and understands the importance of wearing ear protection while riding a motorcycle. I wear audiologist fitted hearing protection that also includes audio speakers that can be plugged into mp3 players, etc. I block out the wind noise and probably just like you do in your car, listen to music, books, etc. By far, I am more aware of things around me at high speed with hearing protection and a few tunes playing too. These ear buds are not going to offer up the quality of hearing protection and music playing ability of my purpose fitted solution.

happy motorcycle riding!

Agreed...I never ride without ear protection, and the tunes keep me focused. Anyone who thinks you can't hear cars and the road has never ridden a bike with plugs, and has naturally created their own isolation caused by hearing loss.

I bought plantronics in ear taps, and the tube slips onto the end of cheap (radioshack, Koss) isolation ear buds. Problem is those Plantronics cost $15 just for the taps.

I got a set of these to see if they work as well.

slapshot579 wrote:thank you SO much for that macworld review. i was really considering buying these until i read that. for those who are too lazy to click the link, it basically says the sound quality is worse than stock ipod headphones. some garbage.

Not everyone needs Shure/Grado/Sennheiser/whatever quality. If I can hear everything clearly, they're comfortable, and the noise isolation is good, then they're good for me. Besides, do you expect high-grade sound quality at this price?

How do these compare to the Bose?