[coolpepper43]

This year I have started to go to a lot of concerts and I am concerned about hearing loss. I tried using foam earplugs but the sound is very muffled and distorted. Is there something designed for audiophiles to listen to concerts while maintaining our audiophile hearing?

 

[Sarchi]

Yes....go to quieter shows.

 

[monolith]

I'm pretty sure Etymotic makes earplugs designed to preserve relative frequencies. Westone might make them too, actually.

 

[balou]

bring a portable amp and your custom moulded IEMs and hook yourself directly to the soundboard

about those musicians earplugs... I bought a pair of them for about 40$, and while they mostly preserve relative frequency, they do roll off at high frequencies - something not so good for a grado/highs fanboy like me. maybe there are better solutions, I just have to find them...

oh, and about the attenuation: 20dB is often to much, except maybe if you plan to go to the Wacken openair festival. In my oppinion, concerts should be loud - louder than your average headphone listening - just not as loud as to damage your hearing. so 10-15dB at any sane concert should be enough to protect your ears. if a concert is quieter than your once-in-a-while rockout session with headphones, then it's not really enjoyable anymore. fortunately, my earplugs came with interchangeable filters, with about 10,15 and 20dB attenuation

 

[Andrew Pielet]

Er-20's, or get some customs. YOu may be able to get a tax deduction if you can some how make them " work related".

At a concert, the best way to listen would be out from under the balconies, center, right in front ( or behind) the soundboard. Best seat unless the sound engineer sucks!

 

[Todd R]

Etymotic ER-20 earplugs.
Have been using them for years and they work great.

 

[Febs]

Have a look at this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/ea...ncerts-242393/

 

[ph0rk]

I'm fond of the ~12$ "musician earplugs" that seem to be rebranded ety's - sold at musician's friend, zzounds, samedaymusic, etc.

Just put them in a good 15 minutes before the set starts so you have time to adjust to them.

something like: HEAROS.com

They won't attenuate perfectly flat - that's the price paid to keep your hearing.

It's worth it.

 

[cbw]

The ER-20's are definitely a good investment for concerts.

 

[coolpepper43]

Are the ER-20s that bad with making a good seal? Has anyone tried Alpine MusicSafe Natural Sound Professional Musician's Ear Plugs Alpine MusicSafe Natural Sound Professional Musician's Ear Plugs - Music & Concert Plugs ?

 

[balou]

I have the Alpine MusicSafe Natural Sound Professional Musician's Ear Plugs (what a long name - and I also paid 15$ more than the price listed on the website).

they are very comfortable (far more comfortable than the cx300 iems), and also make a good seal. plus you get a total of 3 plugs and 6 interchangeable filters. but like the er-20, they have a higher attenuation at high frequencies, so they also have treble rolloff. but that seems to be a common problem with all earplugs, until you switch to the much more expensive custom moulded versions

 

[jcn3]

i don't think the etys have a bad seal -- i think the issue is that they do such a good job of reducing the volume without distorting frequencies that it could appear that they don't fit well.

 

[coolpepper43]

Well I bought a couple of pairs of the etys. It should come in a couple of days. Thanks to all who replied to my post.

 

[Lonfident]

LOL, if you can hear normally the next day, you didn't get the full effect of the concert.

 

[Nirmalanow]

try these:

Advanced Musician's Ear Plug