Audiophile grade hearing protection
Jun 27, 2011 at 8:20 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16

Stitch

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I have no idea where to put it and if these actualy exist....
 
I am visiting concerts are a regular basis and my ear plugs are from Alpine(motosafePro) which i bought for motocycle riding.
They have the music version(MusicsafePro) but though the filters have different colours it seems they are the same as the moto ones.
Not everyhing is damped equally, which i understand. Low frequency die harder than highs.
The main issue is that vocals are verry hard to hear, even the lower pitched ones. 
I am gonna get the Ety plugs and see what they do, cant go wrong for 12 bucks.
Does anyone know of "higher grade" plugs?
 
 
Jun 27, 2011 at 10:43 AM Post #2 of 16
I'm a big fan of the Ety ER20s. I always wear them at concerts since they attenuate the sound without muffling it. 
 
They also work well when I'm trying to listen to music in surroundings that are exceptionally loud. I've been known to slip ER20s under my Ultrasones to block out annoying voices. Works exceptionally well.
 
Jun 27, 2011 at 6:30 PM Post #3 of 16
Apart from that that post looks like shameless advert, i will check the site as i find it interesting. Its not much talked about in these parts it seems. 
 
I lost you at the ety ER15 and your DM pgrade. Can i just pop them on the ER20?
 
edit; you gotta be **** me. Just noticed DEC is a dutch company.
 
Jun 28, 2011 at 8:14 PM Post #6 of 16
What about UE, and i think JH makes hearing protection. Their custom
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Jun 28, 2011 at 9:27 PM Post #7 of 16
Weston makes custom hearing protection too.  I use the Ety ER-20 and I have walked out of some concerts because they were too loud even with the ER-20.  It would be nice to have customs with inserts for different levels of attenuation.
 
Doing a quick google search, Ety and Sensaphonics also make custom musician's ear plugs with interchangeable inserts.
 
Jun 29, 2011 at 3:03 AM Post #8 of 16
For what it's worth, I use foam earplugs and a noise-blocking headset when I go shooting. The headset might not look cool at a concert, but this does a great job with guns.
 
Jun 29, 2011 at 4:50 AM Post #9 of 16
There is a huge amount of difference in the performance of an industrial filter and a true music filter used with custom moulds. Music reproduction requires the attenuation response to be flat across all frequencies, whilst the attenuation of an industrial filter typically rises as frequency increases e.g. from 12dB to 28dB therefore giving poor music reproduction. Industrial filters are normally a resistive design being little more than a restricted tube or hole, whilst a music filter can have various types of membrane, chambers etc to provide a flat response then tuned to compensate for the ears natural resonance at approximately 2.5-2.7kHz, resulting in a flat attenuation response for the user.
Foam plugs certainly reduce the noise level very effectively but score a big 0 for music applications.
 
Numerous companies make custom mould hearing protection, the combination of the custom mould and the filter being the 'product', it's this product that is certified; objective testing of the protective performance. Like everything to do with music reproduction subjective testing can have different results. I should point out that 2 custom mould manufacturers could use the same filter but have differing performance, this is due to the canal design, shore hardness, fit and sealing in the ear canal.
 
Hope that helps and notice that no companies were hurt in the production of this reply
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Jul 6, 2011 at 5:54 PM Post #11 of 16
I've owned and used ERxx custom-moulded earplugs for years; and they are a truly excellent investment.
 
I actually bought a pair of the Etymotic ER20 yesterday, just to try them, and think they are a cost-effective solution that you could call 'audiophile-grade' as far as earplugs go - the frequency balance when wearing the ER20 remained similar to what I would hear with my naked ear - but created an effect that was like turning down the volume on a radio - and was similar to the custom moulded ERxx plugs I use. I A/B'd the ER20 very briefly with my ER custom moulded plugs and found that the custom moulded plugs were far more comfortable and sounded more preferable to me.
 
I wouldn't listen to music from a stereo with either of those earplugs, but I've found and find the molded plugs indispensible, especially for attending concerts and performing music. I've never left home without my moulded plugs for years. 
 
FYI: with ERxx custom moulded earplugs, you can purchase different filters for different levels of noise attenuation. I've also noticed the ERxx plugs to be available via many hearing centres.

 
Here's some more info on the moulded plugs I describe - link
 
 
 
 
 
Jul 6, 2011 at 6:12 PM Post #12 of 16


Quote:
I actually bought a pair of the Etymotic ER20 yesterday, just to try them, and think they are a cost-effective solution that you could call 'audiophile-grade' as far as earplugs go - the frequency balance when wearing the ER20 remained similar to what I would hear with my naked ear - but created an effect that was like turning down the volume on a radio - 
 

 
 
 

 
I got the ER20''s in the mail today, I can confirm your statement. It was quite a susprise actualy, the alpines kinda deform the sound while the ety's only seem to lower the volume, even double checked the fit to be sure. On first note it seems they "sound" better than my moulded plugs i have at work. I'll take them to work tomorrow and see what happens.
Ordered the large and normal fit. The large feel pretty good, better than the alpine plugs. The normal ones go in too deep, deep enough to poke something i dont want them to poke.
I guess i can make a friend happy with them.

 
 

 
 
 

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