Earful

I've mentioned Far End Gear before. They make those one ear bud things with their "stereo-to-mono circuitry (that) mixes both stereo channels (left and right) together into one earphone."  I'm deaf in one ear, so it's nice to be able to hear Ozzy crazy-training in both ears.

I bought mine way back in 2012, and after all these years of use, they're still doing fine.   Seems like the cord has gotten stiffer tho.  I think.

Anyways, I was on the site the other day, and I noticed that they swapped over to a fabric-reinforced cord.  In.

Ordered up a new pair of XDU™ Single Earphone(s).  I got the single ear Short Buds with the 15" cord because I clip my Shuffle to my bib straps.

New cord on the left, stiff and much older cord on the right.

They've been updated quite a bit since I bought mine so many years ago.

Maybe an audiophile can tell the differences just by looking, but the improvement in sound quality was ridiculous.  I had to turn the volume down quite a bit from where it used to be, and the bass is now something that can be "felt."

I sent a quick email asking what was up... and the long/short of the response:

"The driver has gone through a few changes trying to improve the sound.
The circuitry has also gone through a change to minimize impact on the audio quality."

"There are still some short cord earbuds out there that don't have all of these upgrades, especially on Amazon. Best bet to get one is to order through the website and send a support ticket requesting the latest and greatest."

I used them this weekend riding in Uwahrrie, and I can say that it was money well spent (@$23, and I used a FaceBook coupon for free shipping).

Steve Tilford recently wrote about the importance of being able to hear your bike and the disadvantages of riding with music in your ears.

I get it.  If I rode a geared bike, I'd probably wanna keep an ear out for things falling apart.  The only time I ever missed a cue from my single speed was when I didn't tighten my rotor bolts well enough while building my bike up for the Sierra Tahoe 100.  When they came loose and started falling out, I was never the wiser... until I was down to two left.  Sads.

I'm guessing a normal hearing equipped person would pick up on that kind of stuff if they used the one ear bud option.

Before I get lambasted, I do pay attention to other trail users/racers when I'm listening to music.  I look over my shoulder, pop the ear bud out any time I think I'm gonna have to deal with traffic... in other words, I'm not an asshole.

Anyways, just thought I'd share the information that one-eared music enjoyment has never been better.

That is all.