After using my wife's ER20's at the U2 concert I finally decided to get myself a set of good Musician's quality earplugs. So, I thought I would post a review. Although the ER20's were very good I decided to go with the Alpine Music Safe Pro's. They come from Europe and are a little harder to get in the U.S. (the dealer in the link is one of the few places you can get them). They Alpines are supposedly the most popular earplug in Europe and I can see why. I chose these over the ER20's for two reasons. 1) They are made from a very soft thermoplastic material which softens and molds to the inside of your ear when they warm up. Consequently they are VERY comfortable. 2) They allow adjustable attenuation by changing a small filter. Here's the chart of the filter attenuation performance.
____________________________ Hz 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
Gold Filter (High Protection)
_____dB 18.8 15.6 16.0 18.5 27.7 23.9 22.0
Silver Filter (Medium Protection)
_dB 14.8 15.0 15.7 18.7 26.6 24.4 18.9
White Filter (Low Protection)
____dB 10.2 11.2 14.3 17.9 24.0 23.4 18.0
They make three models, depending on what you want in filters:
-The
MusicSafe Party Plug includes only the silver filter for $13.40 This is a great deal for good hearing protection on a budget.
-The
MusicSafe Classic includes the Gold and Silver filters for $20.
-The
MusicSafe Pro includes all three filters. This is the one I purchased for $25.
(They charged $4 for shipping.)
Notes:
-The Classic and Pro models come with a nice carrying case.
-The Pro model also includes a third
plug in case you loose one (but no extra filters).
-If you buy two there is a substantial price break so consider getting a second set.
Review:
I've had them a few days but I'm really happy with them so far. I haven't tested them in concert conditions yet (I have little kids so concerts are not a common thing in my life and the
DSP at work doesn't allow anything to get over 90db). However, I do have a 12" sub and plenty of
power in my car stereo (
it's a swagger wagon) and the performance there was great. They are very comfortable and light weight, I barely notice they are there. I think they are significantly more comfortable than the ER20's. The sound is very good, the sound is still really crisp and
clear. My guess is the sound performance is about the same as my wife's ER 20's. I'm especially excited about the white filter that only takes off just a little. When I go to a concert I want it to be loud, just not THAT loud. AT the U2 wearing the ER 20's I found myself playing with them trying to get them to not quite perfectly fit in order to allow just a little more sound in. With these little white filters I should be able to back the volume off a little without sacrificing the total experience... or my hearing.
Gaff says two thumbs up.