The Bottom Line
Fantastic audio fidelity, serious comfort, and reliable protection from high SPLs in the studio, on stage, or in the concert crowd -- the Sensaphonics custom musician's earplugs are worth every penny. They're easily one of the best investments you could make if you plan to make a living with your music.
Pros
- Extremely comfortable, soft silicone construction.
- Reliable SPL protection, perfect for engineers and musicians.
- Relativley low price.
Cons
- Requires custom fitting via audiologist; extra $50+ fee.
- Might require re-fitting; some custom products do. Mine came perfect - Depends on impression.
Description
- 9, 15, or 25 decibel protection with limited high-end and high-mid attenuation; very natural sound.
- Custom-fit for reliable protection and optimal sound quality.
- Quick turn-around, great customer service.
Guide Review - Sensaphonics Custom Musician's Earplugs
This past year, I mixed 173 concerts. In front of those speakers, every night, I was getting exposed to a lot of sound pressure -- and those decibels could be potentially a hazard to my long-term hearing health. The rest of the time, I've been in studios working with bands on perfecting their material for release.
Mixing shows is great -- it's what I enjoy most about my job as an audio engineer -- but it exposes me to a lot of loud volume levels, sometimes day after day.
Sensaphonics' hearing protection is made in the standard design for custom earplugs with music filters; a small, canal-only earmold is fitted with a custom filter "button" produced by Etymotic Research. Etymotic tunes each filter to either 9, 15, or 25 decibels of protection, while maintaining much of the original sound signature of the source you're hearing. Unlike traditional earplugs, the Etymotic filters allow plenty of the higher and high-mid frequencies to have a generally even representation of the sound around you.
Sensaphonics is very unique in that their products are all crafted from a very soft silicone. While many of the other manufacturers offer custom products that sound similar, the comfort level of the silicone is stellar. The isolation -- the whole point of using earplugs, right? -- is absolutely fantastic, and I feel the soft silicone helps significantly. Build quality is fantastic, and while it's been several months since my set were fabricated with nearly daily use, the silicone has retained it's original softness.
The overall cost of the Sensaphonics custom musician's earplugs varies based on your choices of colors (one color is free, and you can add additional colors, up to two), and whether you ask Sensaphonics to supply the Etymotic filters, or you wish to purchase them elsewhere (or, already own a pair of filters from a previous brand being fabricated for you). That being said, my filter-less pair cost $75; expect to pay around $80 for a pair of Etymotic filters new.
You'll also need to factor in the cost of ear impressions. This will generally cost around $50; if you catch up with Sensaphonics at a trade show, you'll likely be able to get your impressions shot for free.
Mixing shows is great -- it's what I enjoy most about my job as an audio engineer -- but it exposes me to a lot of loud volume levels, sometimes day after day.
Sensaphonics' hearing protection is made in the standard design for custom earplugs with music filters; a small, canal-only earmold is fitted with a custom filter "button" produced by Etymotic Research. Etymotic tunes each filter to either 9, 15, or 25 decibels of protection, while maintaining much of the original sound signature of the source you're hearing. Unlike traditional earplugs, the Etymotic filters allow plenty of the higher and high-mid frequencies to have a generally even representation of the sound around you.
Sensaphonics is very unique in that their products are all crafted from a very soft silicone. While many of the other manufacturers offer custom products that sound similar, the comfort level of the silicone is stellar. The isolation -- the whole point of using earplugs, right? -- is absolutely fantastic, and I feel the soft silicone helps significantly. Build quality is fantastic, and while it's been several months since my set were fabricated with nearly daily use, the silicone has retained it's original softness.
The overall cost of the Sensaphonics custom musician's earplugs varies based on your choices of colors (one color is free, and you can add additional colors, up to two), and whether you ask Sensaphonics to supply the Etymotic filters, or you wish to purchase them elsewhere (or, already own a pair of filters from a previous brand being fabricated for you). That being said, my filter-less pair cost $75; expect to pay around $80 for a pair of Etymotic filters new.
You'll also need to factor in the cost of ear impressions. This will generally cost around $50; if you catch up with Sensaphonics at a trade show, you'll likely be able to get your impressions shot for free.