Bulk Earphones Compared: Why Bits Model M108 Beats the Competition for Open-Top Tours
- Msupport Team
- 8 okt 2025
- 3 minuten om te lezen
When choosing bulk earphones for open-top bus tours, many companies only look at price. But when your tour depends on clear narration and happy passengers, performance is just as important. To help tour operators make the right choice, Bits4Tours tested our own Bits Model M108 (VRD108T01) against a similar earphone from another brand. Both models cost about the same and are designed for group audio systems.
The result? Model M108 offers clearer sound, better balance between left and right earphones, which results in more comfort over time.
Bulk Earphone Comparison: M108 vs. Competitor Performance Results
Model M108 Makes Speech Easier to Hear
Model M108 increases sound in the talking range (1–5 kHz) by +6.49 dB compared to the other brand. This helps your guests hear words more clearly, even with background noise
Less Hiss and More Comfort
The other earphone had too much high-pitched sound, which can cause hiss and be tiring. Model M108 reduces this by 7.29 dB, so it's more comfortable for long tours
More Consistent Left/Right Sound
Model M108 had a small difference (4.7 dB) between left and right earphones. The other brand had a big difference (over 21 dB), which can make the sound feel unbalanced or off-center.
Thicker, More Durable Cabling
We also measured the wire gauge. The competitor used thinner 13/26 wiring, while Model M108 uses thicker 14/28 cabling. Thinner wires are more likely to break, especially with longer cords or frequent use. They can also cause weaker audio quality. The thicker wire in M108 adds strength and supports a better sound signal.
How We Tested the Bulk Earphone Sets
We used special sound equipment (NTi XL2) and a standard earphone fixture to test:
Balance between left and right channels
Sound levels in bass, middle, and treble ranges
Fit and stability in normal use
Both earphones were new and taken from recent deliveries. All tests were done in a quiet room using a standard test sound.
Download the full test report below.
Why Good Earphones Matter for Group Tours
Open-top buses are noisy. There is loud engine noise, wind, and traffic sounds. Most tour programs are mainly spoken, not a lot of music. So the earphones need to make speech easy to understand.
The best bulk earphones for group tours should:
Make speech clearer by boosting the sound range for talking (1–5 kHz)
Avoid too much high-pitched sound that causes hiss and ear fatigue
Keep both left and right earphones sounding the same
We tested both models to see which one does these things best.
Cheap earphones may seem like a good deal, but they can lead to unhappy customers and bad reviews. With Model M108, you get:
Clear, easy-to-hear narration
Less ear fatigue, even on longer tours
Reliable performance, every time
All without paying more than other basic models.
M108: A Bulk Earphone Designed for Spoken Tours
Our earphones are designed with 80% spoken narration and 20% music or sound effects in mind. Open-top tours require strong speech clarity in noisy environments. Music and effects add value, but speech must always come through clearly.
We took this seriously when developing Model M108. In fact, we redesigned our earlier M106 and M107 models to stay within the same budget-friendly price while improving sound.
This meant producing and testing nearly 20 different prototypes using various earphone housings and speaker combinations. We made small but powerful proprietary adjustments to tuning and structure—our little secrets—to optimize performance.
We tested all of these models in real-life open-top bus tours using multilingual audio systems in high-traffic areas of central London.
The clear winner in the budget range was the Bits M108, offering the best combination of sound quality and cost. It’s truly our best performer for its price. And good news, our M108 (like all our other models) is available with our more sustainable Prime-P lead, so you don't have to compromise on your values.
Building on the M108: Our Top-Tier Bulk Earphones
While developing M108, we also created two higher-end models with top-level sound—still affordable and still in the "bulk earphones" category.
One of these models is now used by Big Bus, a world leader in sightseeing tours.
If you want to test the difference for yourself, check out our full range of earphones or contact us for a sample pack.
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