Headphones or no headphones? That is the question.
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I’m going to Silverstone for the race this year, the last time I went the cars had v8 engine’s and you therefore needed earphones. I used a pair with radio built in so you could listen to what is happening in the race, kind of killing two birds with on stone. This year though,I’m in a dilemma. I know I won’t need headphones and as a result won’t be able to listen to commentary. Do I go without and take in the atmosphere but maybe miss out on the tannoy commentary, or do I wear headphones with the advantage of said commentary but not be able to hear the cars etc as much?
@mhonners I’ve never been to a race, but perhaps you can put an earphone on one ear and leave the other open.
Or just read a written commentary somewhere (OK, won’t be close to Marray Walker, but it may work…), Fox Sports Asia’s seem not to be too bad, though the last time I tuned in to their written commentary was a few years ago (they were espnstar.com back then) and nowadays they’ve got the Race Mate Live thingie which I assume has also got commentary (except that….I’ve never actually tried it after the name switch and the launch of the aforementioned Race Mate Live thingie).
Yeah that’s not a bad idea actually. If I use normal earphones (like apple ones), they tend to let a lot of background noise through anyway. I was still thinking about big noise cancelling ones. On the written commentary, I do use it for certain things, like the winter testing for example. However for the race it may be a bit of a hindrance! Thanks though!
Wouldn’t Silverstone have commentary at the track through speakers though? I haven’t ever found that particularly useful however that was with the roaring V8s, with the new cars that may not be an issue. I’ll report back after Albert Park, my first race with the new engines.
Otherwise then yes I think the in-ear earphones are the way to go.
Yeah it does have, I went Friday last year but I can’t remember what it was like as you don’t need to listen really for practice. And ok, I’ll look forward to hearing back!
I’d take headphones and a 1-2 pairs of light earphones and experiment at the start of my time at the circuit. You can always forego them if you decide that works better – but keep at least one set of noise cancellers anyway, for the air displays.
You may consider better headphones than the Apple ones. A pair of sealing-type earbuds maybe a better solution, since they do a much better job insulating against noise. That way you can have one in, and one out, and still be able to hear both.
So at yesterday’s race I wore a pair of Apple ear buds plugged into my android phone, then left only one in. Firstly, if you can listen to Porsche Carrera Cup/Supercup cars without ear protection, then you’ll be fine with the new F1 engines – the Carrera Cup was the loudest category of the weekend to my ear. The 2015 cars, I believe, are louder than last year and loud enough to be exciting, but not to the point of needing ear protection. I liked my setup (no way I was going to be able to hear the track speakers), although I think a dedicated radio tuner or possibly better quality earbuds would have improved the experience due to not high enough volume levels and sometimes the signal would drop out and I’d need to adjust the earbuds (which function as the radio antenna). So all in all I’d say if you want to listen to the cars, have a setup that allows you to listen to the radio in one ear and have the other open.
You can still have a good experience with the radio headsets – my dad used them (probably wanting to protect his hearing, although I didn’t ask the question). I just like to hear the cars as loud as possible without being dangerous for my ears.
Right. One in one ear, not the other, problem solved I think. Quite interesting hearing everyone’s views though
When I went to the WEC at Silverstone a few years back, I went with the one ear in, one ear out solution. Best to buy a dedicated radio for the job rather than phone (or else goodbye battery life). Silverstone actually stock radios in the shop for about a tenner I think (and they have a nice big button on them saying “Silverstone Radio” to auto tune to the right station).
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