Sound attenuation testing update
Hi everyone!
Wow what can we say, thanks so much for the incredible support, we cannot believe how amazing it has been over the last week, it is way beyond all our expectations to have had so many backers support our Isolate campaign!
We have had so many messages of support about Isolate and how excited you all are to receive them, Davies already has RSI with his fingers replying to you all!
Some of you have been keen to know how much attenuation Isolate and Isolate Pro provides which we want to address in this update. As we have mentioned in the comments section we have sent both Isolate versions of for official testing which can quite a few weeks to get the results back... YIKES, we know you can't wait that long!
We are really keen to demonstrate to you all right now just how amazing Isolate is at blocking sound so Davies has prepared a quick in-house test today to give you all some information. We also thought that it should be video'd so that you can all see how Davies tested them.
Here's Davies! Sorry about the filming quality, we are great at sound but not so hot on filming! :)
Here are the tests that Davies ran in the video in graph form...
As you can see the traditional foam earplug (purple trace) is behaving really badly at attenuating lower frequencies. This is the mud and muffle that you hear when using traditional foam ear plugs and because things like snoring have a deep bass noise to them foam plugs can't block snoring out!
With music this lack of bass attenuation in foam ear plugs means an EQ is applied to your hearing and you are left in a wallowing rumble which is one of the most unpleasant experiences at a gig or in a club. No wonder so many don't wear ear protection if they want to still enjoy the music which is really not great news for people's ears!
Both Isolate products show incredible, unheard of, levels of attenuation which we have been super keen to demonstrate to you all since the start of the campaign. Isolate aluminium is very close to the sound attenuation properties of Isolate Pro titanium, but in general Isolate Pro titanium is up to -8dB more attenuation from 1KHz down in these in-house initial tests. The sound quality you hear from Isolate Pro is also superior due to this and it will isolate you to the highest possible degree from the deepest snoring!
Here are the astonishing direct sound attenuation figures for Isolate Pro from this test...
- @20Hz -37dB
- @100Hz -45dB
- @1KHz -50dB
- @2KHz -59dB
- @5KHz -80dB
This test data is an initial rough guide. For employers use as PPE equipment you need to use the official SNR and NRR test data which will be ready and published by the time we make reward deliveries. The official tests are not the same as a direct sound test Davies just did, they are subjective and bone conduction comes into play, which will mean that the dB attenuation numbers will be less with SNR and NRR test data.
The official tests also involve fitment into ears which can lead to a reduction of sound attenuation depending on if you have them inserted correctly or not. These tests involve us supplying a vast amount of paperwork for things like material supply chain, suppliers certification, chemical testing and subjective sound tests.
The sound tests involve 16 random people who are given no verbal instructions or prior experience of the products. They first take a hearing test, then they are put into a chamber and have to insert our Isolate's into their ears following only written instructions which we supply with the product. Then tones are played to them at the threshold of hearing and they say when they can hear them which gives the SNR/NRR dB scores.
This means that their bone structure will pick up sounds, making it impossible to show any figures above around -37dB. These tests are important as they show that the product works when it is fitted correctly into ears but the tests are also a problem as they don't show what a product can actually achieve in terms of going past bone conduction levels of attenuation.
We hope that this update answers your questions about Isolate's incredible sound blocking abilities. We have carried out countless tests both at Flare HQ in the initial development phases and also in the real world beta testing in every area we can where Isolate will benefit people.
Many thanks once again for all your amazing support. Everything is on track with production and we are really looking forward to the next three weeks and then hearing all your comments once you start receiving your Isolate's in early September!
Kind Regards
Team Flare!
LONG LIVE EARS!
simon loach le September 19, 2016
Hi, really keen to try my pair of these, I suffer from tinnitus /noise induced hearing loss which is extremely limiting .. do you know how much protection they would offer in environments such as a cinema or a gig (or even a noisy pub !) .. Ive been unable to do such things for years and would be like new lease of life .. so if a concert is say 110 db how much is that brought down by these earplugs ? apologies if this is an over simplistic understanding of how they work
best wishes simon
Paul Marshall le September 8, 2016
Hi when can I expect delivery?
Robert J Piaskowski le August 11, 2016
We would be curious to see tests, or conduct them, at the range. Many types and styles (often overlapping for extra protection) are used at our indoor and outdoor pistol and rifle ranges. Magnum revolver loads in a confined indoor range produce dangerous SPL requiring ear-buds inside of ear-muffs to dampen the sound. Your data implies that these isolate plugs would perform at, or better than, requisit safe levels in this environment. Is this assumption correct? We look forward to testing both the aluminium and titanium pairs ordered. Very exciting product..!! Great work..!!
In Good Health
Robert
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le August 5, 2016
@Martin
Hi Martin,
I used a pro headphone unit to test Isolate at full level which was over 100dB. Please don't pay attention to the dB numbers on the left of the graph, this is because the software was run as a reference trace to compare dB difference between tests, not overall level, thus this is why I ran a reference trace first so that dB difference could be shown.
Kind Regards
Davies
Martin le July 27, 2016
I must say those results are promising. However the reference input level is (only) about 70-80 dB. Would you be able to rerun that test with around 100 dB input? That would give the motor bikers among us a fair idea of how these perform on a bike.
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 26, 2016
@ Michael Boni: Hi Michael,
We've got review sets going out to every sector including motorbike magazines. :)
Michael Boni le July 26, 2016
I'm another motorcycle rider, and I'm very interested in seeing the results of your testing. On that note, you seem to be focusing on the music scene, which is a great place to start, but there's a bigger world out there that needs better hearing protection. I'd strongly suggest that you get a preview set into the hands of a motorcycle review website, to expand your market. I find webbikeworld to be a good review site, but there's plenty to pick from. I'd love to see someone evaluate how your plugs feel after 8+ hours of use on a long ride.
Justin Tieleman le July 26, 2016
Thanks for the brief update! Me and my dad can't wait to test the Pro version of these amazing plugs out, keep up the good work guys and congratulations on the big buzz!
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 26, 2016
@ Joe Sewell Hi Joe, yes it's staggering isn't it!
Think of this direct sound attenuation as a noise floor, Isolate brings it all right down to very low level. The sound you do hear comes from bone conduction alone, thus this is how you still hear high frequencies nicely in balance to others while wearing Isolate. The experience is really quite something as all sounds are calm and relaxed. I love to use them on a train as it makes the whole thing relaxing and allows you to focus on thoughts.
Thanks so much for the support! :)
Davies
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 26, 2016
@ Ron Chew Hi Ron,
The Earfoams are easy to replace and will be available for replacements before deliveries commence at £9.99 for a pack of three. We are also working on a special deal for those wanting to purchase more with their reward, we will update on that next week :)
Kind Regards
Davies
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 26, 2016
@ Bill Hooton, The Pro version has a cleaner sound performance and a slightly better attenuation level, it's also much more harder wearing and feels lovely to hold/use. It really depends on what you are using them for too. IE if you want to hear the cleanest sounds with the most protection the pro is for you, if you want to just block sound and like the colours then the aluminium is best.
Davies
Joe Sewell
Superbacker
le July 25, 2016
Wow! 80dB at 5KHz! I'd be curious to "hear" tests at higher frequency ranges, say in the 10-15KHz ranges. (Yeah, us "old coots" aren't supposed to hear that high up, but I do!)
Ron Chew le July 25, 2016
Can't wait to get these. Just pledged for the titanium version. It's gonna be for my girlfiriend who can't sleep without earplugs on, but I'm concern about the replacing of the ear foam. Can I actually get extra ear foam together with the reward?
Bill Hooton le July 25, 2016
Unless I'm missing something, there doesn't appear to be a significant difference in performance between your aluminum version and titanium version, though the titanium version costs 2X more. If that's the case, I would like to downgrade my order to the aluminum version. Not only is it less expensive, but more color options are available.
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 25, 2016
@ TK Trooper: Isolate will be amazing for you TK! Thanks so much for your support! :)
TK Trooper le July 25, 2016
Looking forward to these. As i ride a motorcycle it can get very noisy, te current ear plugs i have do the job to a degree but do muffle alot of sound making it dangerous if you've not got your wits about you.
So will be interesting to see how much of a difference these make, hopefully a big difference
Flare Audio 2 projets créés le July 25, 2016
@ Brian Lechliter: Hi Brian,
It's almost impossible to tell what level you are receiving with custom moulds due to the unique shape of moulds, they can't be tested effectively.
Alan Fitzpatrick just tried them while DJ'ng and has just tweeted a great quote about using them! Isolate is great for DJ use as you can hear so much detail and feel every bass note with definition, no mud.
Any plastic, silicone or foam device will vibrate, it's this vibration that's killing the detail we need to hear.
Kind Regards,
Davies
Brian Lechliter le July 25, 2016
What I am wondering is how these compare to molded in-ears with filters in them. That is what I currently have and I'd like to know if these would be better.. also can you DJ with these in or is the attenuation too high?