Musicians' "high fidelity" earplugs

[Starship Krupa]

Starting with my first set of audiologist-fitted Etymotics 30 years ago, I've been searching for the best flatter-response earplugs.

The Etymotics were an improvement over those squishy foam logs you'd wear to a shooting range, but not by that much for me. But since I'd like to keep my hearing as long as possible, I wore them at gigs and shows. I don't know if I'm more sensitive to response curves than most (I have my thoughts about that), but nothing I've tried has actually lived up to the advertising hype, they never sound like just turning down the volume, always have a big rolloff above 2K or so.

About 6 years ago, when I took up drums, I went looking again and found Earasers, which I got at Guitar Center for $35. After swapping them for the small instead of medium size, they were an improvement. I wore them at a Winter NAMM Show and playing drums, and they were good at stopping loud sounds, but still not perfect as far as roll-off. An unfortunate lapse of having my act together resulted in their taking a trip through the washer and dryer, and they've never been quite the same.

This year Santa is supposed to be bringing me a set of Earos Ones, and we'll see how they compare. My hope is that every few years sees an improvement in technology and these things get great reviews and look like they have a good convenience factor. Next birthday I will be 60, and I suppose I am glad to have whatever hearing I have left after all the years playing in rock bands and now drums.

Any wisdom/experience from the Coffee House? Brands and types that sound true? I know that active in-ear monitors have been a thing every since Sinead O-Connor's famous ear-slapping-and-grimacing pantomime on the Grammys 30-some years ago, but I have no need for such fancy things (I don't think I do, anyway).

Edited December 18, 2020 by Starship Krupa
Add quotes around "high fidelity"

[Gswitz]

I think this is a joke. High fidelity ear plugs just aren't really a thing.

You can mess around to find the thing that bugs you least but they all massively distort the sound in the room.

I'm not saying not to use ear plugs. I totally do when I'm listening to a loud band up-close. I'm just saying I think the search is fruitless.

Honestly, I find cheap earplugs to be my go-to b/c they are easy to get at the drug store on your way to the gig.

[Gswitz]

This is Jerry Garcia playing to Phil Lesh's son, Grahame on stage. Note he isn't wearing standard earplugs. I'm pretty sure those headphones do not have a music feed from the board. I think they are just like the things you wear at the gun range. I think this because of Phil's book. He talks about this photo in the book. 

This is Phil and Grahame more recently...

I can't tell for sure, but it looks like Phil is wearing in-ear monitors.

In his book, Phil does talk about how he felt in-ear monitors actually damaged their hearing faster because of the sound they were used to. He wasn't a big fan of them at the time he wrote his book.

But if he's wearing them on stage now, he must have worked out some of the kinks.

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Gswitz

[Notes_Norton]

I've used either Westone or Etymotic hi-fi ear plugs for decades.

Since we play wit less that 100dba volumes on stage, the rather flat 15db inserts into the audiologist mold work rather well.

For me I just have to make sure the audiologist makes the mold deep enough or the bone conduction of my saxophone will make it sound way to loud in my head.

If there is something much better out there, I'd be happy to know.

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[henkejs]

Also interested to hear other people's experiences. Everything I've tried so far has been disappointing.

[bitflipper]

I agree with Gswitz: there isn't really any such thing as high-fidelity earplugs.

I have a pair of Etymotics, that I chose after careful research and finding that they are popular with classical orchestras. Yes, even all-acoustic music can damage your ears. A full orchestra going full-tilt can hit 130 dBSPL, waaay beyond the threshold of irreversible damage.

I bought them because I'd just joined a rock band. It had been years since I'd been subjected to that level of aural assault, and I found the high volume annoying. I wasn't just concerned with protecting my already-compromised hearing , but also just trying to be able to hear what the heck was going on in the band.

Long story short, I found them uncomfortable. Not the fit, that was fine. It was uncomfortable because everything sounded unnatural. Muffled. They're 1000x better than the foam inserts you get at the hardware store, but still definitely nonlinear. I stopped using them and shifted my strategy to talking the band into playing at lower volume. That worked.

[Bapu]

1 hour ago, bitflipper said:

... shifted my strategy to talking the band into playing at lower volume. That worked.

Obviously you have the one and only band of wimps on earth.

 

Well done.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Bapu

[Starship Krupa]

5 hours ago, Gswitz said:

High fidelity ear plugs just aren't really a thing.

You can mess around to find the thing that bugs you least

Well, I did say flattER response. I, too, believe that anything that goes between the air and the eardrum is going to affect the frequency response. I should have put quotes around "high fidelity."

However, as I said, I've personally experienced increasingly better response from these things over the years. It's not a joke, it's (for me at least) empirical. Playing and listening with these vs. the foam stoppers is better (for me). I don't play or attend shows to have it sound like it's coming from the next room. Maybe they'll never sound like pulling the fader down, but in matters of technology, I don't say "never." It used to be considered futile to attempt to emulate audio hardware with computer code, but not so much any more.

4 hours ago, Gswitz said:

I can't tell for sure, but it looks like Phil is wearing in-ear monitors.

Actually, those look kinda like the Earos I'm going to be trying.

1 hour ago, bitflipper said:

I stopped using them and shifted my strategy to talking the band into playing at lower volume. That worked.

You are my hero! ?

The hitch in even this strategy (seldom been successful for me) is that it's hard to turn drums down. Yes, the drummer can hit more softly, play with rods, but it does affect the feel and energy. And these days, I'm most often the drummer.

[Notes_Norton]

The Westone  and Etymotic musician's ear plugs are something you have to get used to.  They are a huge improvement over the foam inserts, and the response of the 15db inserts is reasonably flat. If you need the 25s they have some high frequence roll off.

But they don't sound like naked ears.

It's a compromise so that you can still hear when you get old and grey.

It's a personal choice, but if you get old and grey and wished you would have worn them, there is no fix to the problem.

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[craigb]

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

"Increased response" usually comes to phones that have more mids and high mids, as the human ear is more sensitive in that region. People often prefer those phones for monitoring while they record, but will use something else when listening to music. One of those phones is the Beyerdynamic DT100.

[Brian Walton]

I have a few pairs of the Westones

 

TRU 16

TRU 25

And the cheaper WR20s

I've also tried the Etymotic Research ER20 (but no longer use them)

 

Hi-fi is certainly a bit of a streatch but if you put these in your ears and can't tell a quality difference between these and the straight foam style then your hearing is shot beyond all hope.  You can't expect a flat response or what your naked ears sound like.  But I'll take that modified version over hearing loss personally.  You have to get used to them and you can never really trust fine tone tweaks with them.  

 

Honeslty you need something like the Westone custom molded ones.  While they use the same filter as the TRU lineup, having a consistant seal and fit really helps you get the same type of results each time and that you can start to learn to adjust for.

 

The stick in your ear tips kind will have different levels of attenuation simply based on how you insert them in the canal each time and that itself is annoying.

 

 

[Starship Krupa]

I got the Earos and have tried them out a few times at the drum kit.

Impressions so far: I prefer these to anything I've used in the past as far as fit. The Etymotics and Earasers never quite felt like I got a consistent seal.

As far as attenuation and clarity, they seem about on par with the Earasers, which I liked better than the Etymotics. There aren't little pieces that can fall out and get lost, either. Conversation is easy to hear.

They come with 2 sizes of insert, the default ones work great in my ear canal.

Unless you don't care about (or can't tell) the difference between ear protection designed for jackhammer operators and ear protection designed for musicians, check them out. Otherwise, rock out with your foam in.

[Notes_Norton]

I use the custom fit earmolds that I get at an audiologist's office. IMO they are worth the price.

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