I have Etymotic Research ER20 plugs. Very good. It took a few concerts for my ears to "accept" them, but now I'm sure I'll have no trouble wearing them all day for three days in the upcoming summer festivals...

The sound quality is not compromised at all - as far as I can tell - I can forget that I'm wearing them (except in the sense that the music doesn't hurt my ears when I have them on ;)).

I have plugs similar to Etymotic ER20 (gray plugs, round black box). These are third pair I have, it's good to go for a new pair every other year or so. I had to modify the last pair a bit but the plugs I currently have sound fantastic as is! These really are worth the 20 euros!

René: Are the Ronell plugs custom mold? In Finland it costs about 150-170 euros to get plugs custom made for one's ear. I think I'll get such plugs this summer since "Etymotic" plugs tend to come out of my ear by themselves. I have to stick them back deeper once in a while. That's annoying...

Yep, the Ronell are custom mold. We got a bit discount, because we ordered through Atak with 10 to 15 people ;)
On the Etymotic: Don't know them, but they seem similair to the Alpine ones I have. In the "manual" of the Alpines they mention you can make them fit better by "trimming" them with a pair of scissors IIRC. (Never needed to do that though)

I have been using a set of these Hearos http://www.hearos.com/products-00211.htm earplugs for almost 12 months and found them to make a huge difference. They really cut the volume without badly effecting the sound quality. Since I have started using them I have found the incidence of ringing in the ear to greatly reduced.

There are many plugs on the market that LOOK like Etymotic but are nothing compared to them. In "real" Etymotic-style plugs there are three parts: Cone (or christmas tree...) shaped plug, plastic handle (a tube connected to the plug) and small muffler inside the handle. The handle is often made of two parts, smaller tube inside a larger one. In many "clone-Etymotic" plugs the whole plug is just one single peace. These are not really worth the price.

I guess the first thing to check for the "christmas tree"-style plugs (if for some reason you cannot find reviews online) is that there needs to be a small hole at the christmas tree's tip. So they're somewhat hollow (it's not that big). I'm pretty sure the hollow part is needed to carry the high frequnecy part of the sounds, and I've seen cheap (5 euros) plugs without that, and they're not good (the owner said).

Often (or always?) the inner tube of the handle part along with this small hole is covered with some kind of sheath. So, checking for the hole can be troublesome... But I guess you can figure out if the plugs are "real" christmas trees or not just by checking the price (~5e vs. ~20e).

You're absolutely right. The hole (or actually the tube) inside the plugs is the key thing! Tree shaped plug and the handle are there only to fit the muffler (inside the handle, in the tube) to your ear properly and tightly. Of course the handle assembly and the rubber plug itself affect the sound to some extent, but the controlled damping is acchieved mainly by the damper inside the plug.

Some in-ear monitor systems are built on similar tree shaped plugs. The handle and damper are replaced by a small speaker and its casing. Using in-ear monitors for hearing protection could be nice feature on some gigs: One could listen to his/her favourite music while shooting... :D (Ok, not to be taken seriously)

The other end, the end which goes into your ear :). At least my plugs have a hole at that end.

Oh, sorry, sily me... :D Obviously the hole goes right through.

But then again, a friend of mine had these fake christmas trees, which had small hole at the tip of the plug. It was not deeper than 1mm but fooled me once to believe there was a hole.

I just use the squiggly foam plugs. I noticed that while wearing them at the club a band could play and I could hear people talking through the noise. Pul them out and all I heard was the band.

Works for me.

Sure the squiggly type plug reduces noise at 10/20 dB, but not at all frequencies, so for the duration of a gig u can still receive hearing damage ( over a period of months ) and i bet when u get home, laying in bed, your ears are ringing (from the low frequencies passing through the squiggly and rattling your eardrum and ossicles ). Where as a well made custom molded inear plug is designed to be totally flat (or close to) across the whole frequency range from 10/15/25 dB of reduction depending on what u buy.
As an audio engineer i do recommend getting some plugs made for your ears :)

Not sure what exactly is squiggly, but the foam plugs are used widely in all sorts of industries as hearing protection. Properly inserted (not shallowly), I'm pretty sure they'll dampen the noise at least as effectively as the "hifi-plugs". They aren't flat in reducing noise, but I think they recue noise too much rather than too little on sume frequencies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earplug

I agree that the custom made plugs are far superior and yes, one day I will get them. (used to do sound and light loong time ago) I also want westone custome made in-ear monitors for my ipod. And near-field speakers to the laptop for video editing ;-) (easier to get sync right if I can hear everything)

Now, I did an eye test the other day and found that my accute hearing is still there. During the "field vision" test I could hear a tiny beep when the LED came on. Very easy to fake test results. Told them and they went "what?" well, I hear TVs in standby mode as well.

/E

Fortunately for my usualy theatre work, i don't need them, but moving more into music i am looking to find some.

Anyone have any Aussie links?

Rob

Couldn't find my data for this thread, Sorry Kalle about the Squiggly word i normally call them foam plugs as well. Back in 2003 at ACP (Australian Concert Productions) i ran some tests with various styles of ear plugs using a heeble block (air aided concrete) 30mm square. Drilled a hole threw it to fit a calibration microphone and a rubber ear attached with plaster then stacked 4 x 21" turbo sound subs and 2 x flashlite turbo top boxes on top and ran pink noise threw the system at ascending levels from 85db to 125db. I recorded all the measurements using SIA Smaartlive.
www.siasoft.com
Basically the results were staggering, from memory the foam plugs reduced the top end quite well but failed in the under 100hz department ( as most industrial machines don't produce 60hz @ 115-120db like concert subwoofers do)
The Etymotic style Christmas tree plugs were really good as the outer rings ( when inserted in the ear ) trap the air between each ring and act as mini bass traps thus reducing the low end reaching the ear. And the hole threw the center with "muffler" lets an even proportion of mids and highs threw to give u an overall semi flat response.
As for the custom molded in ear type plugs (from memory) were only slightly flatter in response to the best Etymotic research types but felt good wearing them.
So i have given myself a mission to do these tests again in a couple of weeks and i will post the response charts for u guys/girls.
Rob...depending where u live u could get a set of hearos like Richard or spend $100 odd and go to your local audiologist and he will sort u out. I had my ear molds made at the local hearing testing house then sent the molds to the US to get UE7 pro in ear monitors made (because thats what most the bands that come over hear are using )and at a little extra cost a -15 and -25db plugs thrown in

Thanks for the info Ricky.

Rob

I have Etymotics, whatever the strongest dampening is ... fitted by shooting white gook into my ear until it hardened and then pulling that plug out and using it to make the actual earplugs into which you can insert attentuators of varying strengths or earspeakers if you like. You should have seen my face when I first used them ... I stood right in front of a large (about 4' tall) bass speaker cabinet where I usually put my Pelican cases when setting up during a ZZ Top concert ... the speakers were bouncing me around but my ears were very comfortable. I love them! My ears never ring after a concert anymore and some of them are very loud at the casino. If you are a concert shooter you really have to be using earplugs. I am 62 and my hearing is very fragile but precious to me ... I will lose it more than fast enough without the help of bands.

I used to use the foam earplugs. Always carried a small bag of them in my camera bag. Then I attended a trade show and Sensaphonics had a booth set up and after talking to them I decided to have impressions made and ordered a set of earplugs. All I can say is WOW!!! A huge difference from the foam plugs. I can now wear them and comfortably hear the music. In between sets I can carry on a conversation while still wearing the plugs. I would highly recommend these earplugs to anyone that regularly attends concerts or just in any loud surroundings. The Sensaphonics brand give you the option of changing a small plug in each ear to change the level decibal reduction. Best investment I've made and a vital part of my equipment.

PEACE

Mark M.

No concert without earplugs.
Like many others I had those foam plugs in the beginning...but they´re totally uncomfortable and the sound is just bad with those.

So I found the earplugs called Alpine Music Safe Pro, seem to be the same as those the thread starter had mentioned. :)
Good alternative to the very expensive one in my opinion. Here in Germany you get them for about 20-25 Euros. Talking is still possible, the sound is still good and you don´t even feel them after a while. :)

I was thinking about those earplugs that are custom made...but they´re way too expensive I´d say. Would be annoying if you lost them.

I used the foam earplugs from any generic pharmacy for years. $5 gets you 14 or so. They cut the dB level dramatically, but not evenly. Everything sounded muffled. They are great for sleeping, though :)

Last year I went to an Audiologist who took molds for custom Westone plugs. They fit great! I can switch between 9dB, 15dB, and 25dB filters. So far, I have only tried the 15dB. The volume doesn't seem to go down much (so if you are someplace crazy loud, try the 25dB), but it cuts it to a comfortable level during the show and I feel great afterwards. A great thing about these custom plugs w/musician's filters - they cut the dB level evenly across the frequencies! No more muffled plug sound!

I've been shooting Major Concert for 8 years now, and not once have i worn earplugs.. i'm lucky i can steal hear well...

Radko, you're still a young man and indeed lucky, though I wouldn't hold out on your hearing being as clear if you keep on frequenting concerts for the next 8 years. It'll start as not being able to clearly make out small talk in 'busy' places like canteens or shopping malls, where there is a constant background noise; you might then notice your hearing being a little wooly at times, or other symptoms like high pitched noise/faint whistling when it's quiet like at night. It's irreversible.

Whilst you still can, I would highly recommend that you really think about ear defenders, so that you can enjoy your current quality of hearing for a lot longer, rather than a lesser quality when you realize that it's not as sharp as it used to be.

I went to my nearest Amplivox and had impressions made a couple of weeks ago, currently waiting on delivery of my custom made ear defenders. I don't know the make/model but they have the music filters; cost a packet too (240eur). Their lifespan is said to be 10 years even with regular use, which I see as spending 24eur a year on the yellow foam plugs, or other types. But it's only one set/pair so a bugger if I lose them (though I don't have a habit of losing stuff) & have to shell out for another set! Even if they last me the next few years I'll have no qualms about their expense. It's a health insurance policy that's actually working (not just paying in and not using it) - I guess it's health 'assurance' ;)

I have enough dental problems now that are costing a small fortune to try and fix because I enjoyed many years of carefree habits. At least teeth can be fixed in day surgery, hearing is another matter. Don't let it go to pot.

All the best

Stas

Edit: They finally arrived today and fit really comfortably. They are Advanced Communication Solutions ER-15 Custom Protectors
http://www.hearingprotection.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=vie...