I might go for a pair of Panasonic headphones for this. They were really horrible when I got 'em last time: I maxed out the volume and could still hear people talk, they sounded quiet, and people could hear 'em across the room. More noise went out into the room around me than into my ears.

Which is great.

If I keep the volume low (very low), not only should I not have a lot of loud music; but I should have complete background music, with the sounds of the road dominating. Though mostly I'm trying to work out how to get my language studies done while commuting, since I typically do that in the car. (Yeah, that'll be fun, riding down the road talking to myself in Japanese and Romanian)

Anyone found a solution to introduce music or other audio into your commute without blocking out the sounds around you?

I like the passive noise cancellation headphone earplugs that seal to your ears like swimming goggles. The seal is so great that you can put the music on lower volume and it will still sound good. Traffic noise is still going to be loud enough to penetrate this seal if you don't pump the volume to high. No more hearing people jib jab about stupid stuff anymore.

Yeah, not so interested in noise cancellation. I'm often listening to the rush of cars quite a distance away, sometimes out of my sight. I like being able to hear them approach.

But I also like learning languages.

I don't think you can have it both ways. So if you want to hear the rush of cars, you will also have to deal with people yapping away.

I'm pretty sure that's not a problem. My other option is waterproof bike speakers, but they're heavier and also annoy people around me (and then I look cool racing down a hill with Switchblade 327 blaring out of a 500W pair of bike speakers!)

You might be wired differently than me, but if I had to learn from an audio source- I would have to focus on that. Which would distract me from paying attention to my surroundings. I have an mp3 player for the bus part of my multimodal commute, but I put it away whenever I get on the bike. Of course, me being legally blind and having to rely on my hearing more than most people probably do may have something to do with it.

I like my Koss PortaPro headphones. They're only 30 bucks and considered about the best dollar for dollar among audiophiles. When I use them while riding it's like driving my car with the stereo cranked. I'm sure these are superior to the Panasonics your looking at. I understand Best Buy carries a version that has the cloth covered wire like the 25th anniversary version had. Either version is the same except cosmetics. You can check out www.head-fi.org and do a search on the PortaPro if you're still checking for opinions.

I use Shure SE-210 sound isolating earphones for music only. Tried to listen to talk shows, etc. and found that I couldn't focus on other cars and things around me. I also use a rear view mirror so I have a heightened level of awareness of everything around me.

Ride safe,

Jeff

Remember that it is illegal in some states to use two earphones while riding a bike. Check your laws.