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Challenger ear phone question

4K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  Bobmws 
#1 ·
I'm about to take the plunge and buy a set of Challengers. I asked this question in another thread but it was sort of buried and I didn't get a response.

Does anyone know the difference between the Challenger C and the Challenger M. Looks like the two vendors here on this site that carry Challenger have two different Models. The C is $175 at one vendor and the M is $200 at the other. The S is $213 or something like that but I think the M is recommended for motorcycling over the S.

Thanks,
Jerry
 
#3 ·
milkman said:
Seems to be some confusion here....I'm thinking more than one company is using the name "Challenger"...check out http://www.customearpiece.com/monitor.mainpage.html ....
http://www.earplugco.com/prod01.htm doesn't even offer a "G"
No confusion. Challenger is the trademark of the manufacturer. All of the base Challengers offer the same electronics. The M has a twisted pair cord it's entire length. The C, which I have sold for 8 years, currently uses the twisted pair from the junction to the earplug, with a heavier cord from the junction to the miniplug. Both of these use the same JB100 earplug material. The G is a generic flanged tip that I offer, but it is very large and will NOT fit most people's canals deep enought to be worn under a helmet.
The Challengers with the higher quality sound (dual drivers) are generally not acceptable for use under a helmet as they are a hard shell, full helix mold (think hearing aids).
HTH.
 
#5 ·
Stephejl said:
Bob,
Why do you carry the C instead of the M? --Jerry
The current C cord has a heavier section from the junction to the music source, and will hold up better for rougher service. The electronics and earplugs are 100% identical.
Why would I offer something that *I believe* will have a greater failure rate?
 
#6 ·
Sorry I was in a hurry and my post was shorter than it should have been. I understand that the "M" stands for motorcycle and you are a motorcycle guy and chose the C instead to I wondered why. I see your answer is that you think the C holds up better. I like that answer and will place my order tonight. The answer to this question has been holding up my order for a few days.

Now I just have to figure out how to get the impressions made.

--Jerry
 
#8 ·
Bobmws said:
Jerry,
The M stands for Monitor. The C stands for Custom. Those are the manufacturers designations.
Bob,
Thanks for all your help. I went back and re-read your competition's description and although they never actually say that the M is for motorcycle, they strongly imply it and and say "Challenger M model is specifically designed for extended wear under a helmet." Thanks for straightening this out.

Today I found an audiologist who is willing to make me a FREE set of molds in return for some tips I gave him. He is very interested in the motorcycle business here in the area. The audiologists all carry the Westone M-1 which doesn't look as beefy and doesn't claim as much attenuation as the Challenger.

Thanks,
Jerry
 
#9 ·
Bob,
Again thanks for the crisp answers to my questions. My impressions and check finally got in the mail earlier this week after several delays. I'm looking forward to recieveing my challengers back. --Jerry
 
#10 ·
Got my challengers tonight. Rode them a few miles with the MP3 player and a few miles with the Satelite radio. The sound is great (not doing an audiophile comparison to my Mirage speakers but compared to other mobile forms of music they are so superior to others I've tried it'll take me a while to get used to them before I can make even a minor criticism). The wind noise is reduced to an occasional whoof...!!! I can still hear the bike, the traffic, and things around me,although quieter. Before heading out on the bike I put them in and checked my e-mail. Sitting here at the computer I could hear the wine cellar cooler start behing me. What that shows it that your ears have a tremendous ability to discern DIFFERENCES in acoustic level, even it it is low dB vs very low dB.

The only problem is that the helmet makes my ears uncomfortable with them in. I'm between a medium and a large (22.75 in circumference) and I have my head squeezed into a med helmet. I've been thinking of trying a Large as perhaps more comfortable so this may be what does it for me. I'll take them to a bike shop tomorrow and try some helmets one.

Cheers,
Jerry
 
#11 ·
Stephejl said:
The only problem is that the helmet makes my ears uncomfortable with them in. I'm between a medium and a large (22.75 in circumference) and I have my head squeezed into a med helmet. I've been thinking of trying a Large as perhaps more comfortable so this may be what does it for me. I'll take them to a bike shop tomorrow and try some helmets one.

Cheers,
Jerry
Jerry,
This should help, every helmet I've used has been different and required some adjustment:
A few words about custom earplugs and helmet use. These earplugs are a full helix design, which basically means they fill the outer ear and extend into the ear canal past the second bend, a deep mold. Helmet manufacturers make a helmet quieter by adding foam padding to isolate your ear from wind noise. Your ear isn't always exactly centered where the helmet manufacturers place the ear "cavity". If this padding causes your ear to deflect it can "rock" the earplug and cause a pressure point where the plug extends into the ear canal. This is easily remedied by pulling down the helmet liner and removing some of the foam rubber padding from around the ear area. Trim the foam rubber until your ears are relatively free in the pocket.

CAUTION: DO NOT REMOVE OR OTHERWISE MODIFY THE STYROFOAM SHOCK ABSORBTION MATERIAL INSIDE YOUR HELMET.
 
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