Ear plugs for DJing

[Jon]

I have decided I want to make an investment in protecting my ears. I currently own a £15 pair of noise cancelling ear plugs which prevent my ears from getting damaged but muffle sound considerably and make mixing difficult at clubs, often to the extent that I have to take them out when mixing so I can hear what I'm doing, often resulting in me getting mild tinnitus afterwards and sometimes into the following morning. I want to still be able to hear by the time I'm 30, so I want to invest in a pair of ear plugs that protect my ears and preserve audio quality and clarity.

 

Does anyone own any specialist ear plugs for DJing/Live Performance that have good clarity and are preferably in ear so that they are comfortable when using headphones for monitoring?

 

A friend has recommended me ProGuard Custom Attenuating Earplugs, which are just over £100 including getting ear impressions made. Are there any other brands I should be aware of? The Proguard ones are around the maximum price I'd be willing to pay, but I'd consider forking out a little bit more. You only get one pair of ears after all!

 

Thanks in advance

[johnny 1 move]

I got mine from specsavers - they were meant to be 180 bit I got them for 130.

 

The woman there said there was no difference in price but I was worried I'd get the cheaper ones which were just for protection rather than for musicians so I pointed out the prices in the brochure

 

She went very pale cos she'd just told me she'd kitted out the entire Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with the 180 quid ones at 130 quid a piece - ouch!

 

Fair do's she still gave me them for 130.... but I digress...

 

I got some moulded ER9 plugs, which give 9db reduction across the frequency spectrum, whereas cheaper ones cut more highs than lows (which is why they sound muffled).

 

They still take a bit of the hi-end sparkle off but after a while wearing them in a club I find myself taking them out to make sure they are still in... they are that transparent you can sometimes forget you've got them in.

 

ER15 (or 23 etc)will give you more protection but you can't really perform with them in, it's a bit too weird sounding IMO... ER9s give you enough protection in a club (as long as your head's not in a speaker) and you can still hear clearly enough to mix and that. Specsavers told me I could swap the filters if I wanted to within a week which is pretty cool - and you can buy different filters for about 50 notes anyway (you can pop them in and out...)

 

Take it from someone who used to be deaf... it's well worth the money!

[djdiggla]

http://www.sensaphonics.com/prod_erseries_customs.html

 

^^Those are supposed to be the hands down best.

 

Also, another option is using in-ear headphones: http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Earphones/ESeries/us_pa_E4c_content

 

 

This is a good article about the subject:

http://www.gigacrate.com/Blog/?p=71

[johnny 1 move]

Those look exactly the same as mine but I don't they're called sensaphonics, I think they're either ACS or prophonics.

 

might just be us/uk branding thing, but they look the spit i.e the little blue/red dot for left/right and the same colours to differentiate different filter strengths...