[curiousmuffin]

the usual kind of earplugs you can find at drugstores have 20ish db reduction. i was wearing them around the city today and couldn't help notice that it wasn't filtering out much of the noise. and if an iem is only effective as that, i doubt i'll enjoy enough music wearing that around my noisy new city... the models im looking at are westone um3r and earsonic sm3. any more recommendations? i already took out ie8 from the consideration since it's a poor isolator i read. also, the iem i have now are soundmagic pl50 and that also is a poor isolator. if i'm to spend big bucks on an iem it will have to be at least twice as effective an earplug than what pl50 is... any opinions? cheers.

 

[jinx20001]

if you think about it the earplugs put out no noise so your brain is concentrating on the outside still, IEM's will be playing music so that is what you listen to so it will appear the outside is isolated much more, trust me 90% of iems isolate well enough to be enjoyed without any interruption from the outside.
 
what you need is IEM's with a good selection of tips and that fit fairly deep, IE8's are a fairly shallow fit so no they dont isolate too well but again when music is playing it aint so bad if you have the correct tip and fit that is the biggest isolator... the tip. also steer away from dynamic drivers if isolation is key for you even over dare i say, sound. dynamic drivers are usually designed to be vented, a vent will let sound and air out but what can get out can get in.

 

[Br777]

^ dont know much about dynamic drivers, but everything else stated above is accurate.
once the music is playing, there is not much to be concerned with.
IEM's are hugely popular for people in noisy areas for a reason.
If the actual manufacturer doesnt include isolation db levels in its specs, there are plenty of sites that probably have that information.
Some IEM's definitely isolate more than others, sometimes by a fair margin. 
 
FYI - it is pretty widely accepted (correct me if I'm wrong) that Custom IEM's will isolate better than universals, and the silicone tipped customs isolate best of all.  Though at that point i dont think there is much concern one way or the other.
 

 

[curiousmuffin]

i don't want to be drowning out the noise with a volume that would otherwise be too loud in quiet environments. that would certainly not be the best way to preserve my hearing. i play the pl50 at a volume that i listen to in bed sometimes and outside, i can't hear anything besides the muted drumbeats. lol. if i were to take the listenable volume level from the streets to the bed, i would certainly find it harmfully loud. i want an iem that brings quiet environment to my ears so that i can listen to music at a 'normal' volume but maybe i'm asking too much there...

 

[G3n0c|d3]

i dont know about u guys, but most of my IEMs are more than enough to isolate the outside noise pretty well. but the best still would be my DBA - 02 with small silicone tips that isolate so well i cant barely hear anything without turning the music on.
 
 

 

[Br777]

Quote:

i don't want to be drowning out the noise with a volume that would otherwise be too loud in quiet environments. that would certainly not be the best way to preserve my hearing. i play the pl50 at a volume that i listen to in bed sometimes and outside, i can't hear anything besides the muted drumbeats. lol. if i were to take the listenable volume level from the streets to the bed, i would certainly find it harmfully loud. i want an iem that brings quiet environment to my ears so that i can listen to music at a 'normal' volume but maybe i'm asking too much there...

 
you're not asking too much at all. that is exactly what IEM's do.  That's why it is stated so often that IEM's are better for your hearing, b/c you can play them at such low volumes.  

 

[AstralStorm]

When quiet, many IEMs isolate on par with standard earplugs, excluding certain vented models. However, dedicated musician earplugs are still stronger isolation. These are also made by companies well respected here for their IEM tips, such as ACS, Sensaphonics, Comply and Etymoic.

 

[ronrad]

I have custom ear plugs that I had made for motorcycle racing and track day instruction. I picked up some ety hf3s the other day and have started playing with them for all kinds of uses. For one I use them on the busy portions of my bicycle commute.

Another thing I tried them for was riding the street motorcycle They provide as good an isolation as the custom plugs and to my surprise I noticed that I can listen at the same level I listen at in a quiet environment even while doing 80 on a freeway

 

[qwertasdfg24]

i've found Shure olives to provide better noise isolation than most of silicone tips.
I've used my Ety ER-6 with Shure olives for 3 years, and it's the best noise isolation that i've ever experienced. Airplane flights, riding mowers, driving with open window in highway, i can barely hear any of the wind noise. Recently, i've also tried the Shure SE215 with the olives, they work just as well. Some people swear by Ety's original triple flange tip, but i can't get good seal with those.
 
for me, anything that i can attach shure olives onto, is good enough earphones,