I'll update this review once I go to a concert with these.I got the large and clipped off the base flange with side cutters as someone suggested in the comments. The result is a tight and secure fit, I can wear them comfortably and *almost* forget I'm wearing them after a while. If you're doing this I suggest you take your time and reinsert the tips to make sure you have a good fit and not cut off too much. If you screw it up however there's always ebay/amazon. Might try the silicone ones from beats, I remember those sealing well in-ear.(Edit: I no longer use them and have opted for the memory foam)The sound so far while wearing them is pretty great. Testing so far has only involved speaker output at medium volume at most, so please take this review for what it ... MoreI'll update this review once I go to a concert with these.I got the large and clipped off the base flange with side cutters as someone suggested in the comments. The result is a tight and secure fit, I can wear them comfortably and *almost* forget I'm wearing them after a while. If you're doing this I suggest you take your time and reinsert the tips to make sure you have a good fit and not cut off too much. If you screw it up however there's always ebay/amazon. Might try the silicone ones from beats, I remember those sealing well in-ear.(Edit: I no longer use them and have opted for the memory foam)The sound so far while wearing them is pretty great. Testing so far has only involved speaker output at medium volume at most, so please take this review for what it is until it is updated. Vocals are crystal clear. Highs also retain the same clarity; to describe it it's like the sound of top hats are travelling through the plugs and into your ear. Unfortunately this cannot be said with the lower range. There is a loss of warmth in the bass and mids, especially in instruments you may notice a slight "deadness" in the sound which makes it sound less alive. The end result skews what you hear somewhat and produces an odd tone which works in certain genres but not others, especially acoustical instrumentation. I imagine however the use case being primarily for loud gigs where they do a good enough job of blasting music upwards of 104dB, so this may not matter so much. And I am using a pair of modified eartips so please also consider that I may have changed the sound signature somewhat.So after going to see Primal Fear I don't hear ringing, so that's good. Their sound balancing was garbage so using the music as a reference was a bad idea. I swapped tips between songs and compared flanged to the regular silicone vs memory foam. There is virtually no difference between the two silicone options, and towards the end there was an incredible itching sensation in my inner ear... The foam slightly reduces clarity, but it's foam, so it feels better. Experiment with speakers to see what works for you.Overall a good product. Comes with a small clip-seal carrying case that's very pocket friendly and has a string to attach to the canals/stems/whatever you wanna call them making it safe to handle without potentially losing a side. Doesn't deafen the frequency range like some other earplugs seem to do, kinda just suppresses them in a satisfactory way. There are probably better earplugs but cost 5 or 10 times more than this. Worth a buy if you don't already have a good pair and makes a good gift for that dumbass friend that doesn't care for hearing protection and will end up getting tinnitus.Also they work a treat for loud machinery.

Amazing cutomer service

If you're in the market for a great product and great customer service, than look no further. Earjobs are hands down one of the best companies for exactly that, they have a great product range to suit your needs and their staff will go above and beyond to fill your order.2 months ago I purchased a pair of earplugs that were in stock, once I put the order through they emailed me back saying they didn't have them in stock and recommended another brand that were of the same caliber. I agreed to have the other product and asked if they were able to ship them out asap as I needed them for a rave that weekend which sadly I forgot to bring them, but guess what, I saw them the next day at no extra cost for express shipping.I finally remembered to bring them to a rave ... MoreIf you're in the market for a great product and great customer service, than look no further. Earjobs are hands down one of the best companies for exactly that, they have a great product range to suit your needs and their staff will go above and beyond to fill your order.2 months ago I purchased a pair of earplugs that were in stock, once I put the order through they emailed me back saying they didn't have them in stock and recommended another brand that were of the same caliber. I agreed to have the other product and asked if they were able to ship them out asap as I needed them for a rave that weekend which sadly I forgot to bring them, but guess what, I saw them the next day at no extra cost for express shipping.I finally remembered to bring them to a rave the past weekend, I wasn't overall happy with the outcome of them. My personal experience with them is that I wasn't hearing any treble with the ones recommended, all I could hear was bass and they ended up hurting my ears. But that doesn't mean they were a bad product, everyone is different and need different ear plugs.I messaged earjobs on Facebook letting them know and I couldn't find my order number but they still catered to my request and agreed to send me the earplugs I originally ordered.This lot are a bunch of legends and, I cannot stress this enough, recommend them to anyone in the market for earplugs.

Effective Solution for Reducing Ambient Noise

I use these on long haul flights and within our household where I have a serious musician practicing several hours a day. They do not block out sound as well as expensive noise canceling headphones, but they do reduce the noise levels so that they are not distracting. As far as comfort as compared to noise cancelling headphones, I find that headphones are really uncomfortable and hurt the top of my head if worn for long periods of time. These earplugs avoid that, but after a long period of time the plugs can get uncomfortable as the rub my ear canal. Would I buy these again? Yes. They are way more comfortable than less expensive foam earplugs.

Great for Concerts - Sound is Amazing

The absolute best thing about these Earplugs is that everything still sounds the same, just at lower volume. I had started wearing hearing protection at concerts, I love live music, but the foam plugs always affected the sound. I would always find myself taking the plugs out after adjustments failed to improve the quality of sound and would always end up with familiar ringing in my ears, or I'd feel like I didn't get the full experience due to the muffling. These Etymotic Earplugs have been a gamechanger. The music sounds the way its supposed to without any of the side effects after the fact. That and they are super discreet, and portable, so I don't have to deal with larger overhead protection. I absolutely recommend these plugs (I bought the 20Xs) to anyone who ... MoreThe absolute best thing about these Earplugs is that everything still sounds the same, just at lower volume. I had started wearing hearing protection at concerts, I love live music, but the foam plugs always affected the sound. I would always find myself taking the plugs out after adjustments failed to improve the quality of sound and would always end up with familiar ringing in my ears, or I'd feel like I didn't get the full experience due to the muffling. These Etymotic Earplugs have been a gamechanger. The music sounds the way its supposed to without any of the side effects after the fact. That and they are super discreet, and portable, so I don't have to deal with larger overhead protection. I absolutely recommend these plugs (I bought the 20Xs) to anyone who enjoys live music, especially at small venues, and would suggest you buy before you think you need them. Fantastic product!!!

Great for musicians

These earplugs work very well for me. They are easy to put on for rehearsals and concerts, but can be removed quickly when I need to talk with someone. I play French horn in large bands, so the earplugs give me protection not only from the loud sounds, but also from my own instrument. I tried custom-made musician's earplugs, but they were always difficult and time-consuming to fit properly in my ears. The ETY plugs work much better for me, although I guess they don't give as high a protection level as the custom ones would, were I able to insert them properly. They also allow me to hear the other musicians and my own instrument, just at a much lower volume. I also like the cord and carrying case, which I can attach to my instrument case so the plugs are always at hand.

Love these. Great for live music!

My mom is an audiologist so I know all too well the importance of protecting your hearing at live events etc. I do a lot of concert photography and videography so I need to be able to protect my ears but it's also really important that I'm able hear others and the music clearly. These do a great job of that. They are fairly easy to get in and out. They don't stand out too much like yellow foam ones which is nice. That being said they only have a 20db attenuation so maybe not suitable for heavy metal shows etc that are 130db. I have found these to be enough to keep my ears from ringing after most shows though even with peaking at about 120db. For me it's more about minimizing risk and being able to enjoy the music yet rather than completely eliminating it. Definitely ... MoreMy mom is an audiologist so I know all too well the importance of protecting your hearing at live events etc. I do a lot of concert photography and videography so I need to be able to protect my ears but it's also really important that I'm able hear others and the music clearly. These do a great job of that. They are fairly easy to get in and out. They don't stand out too much like yellow foam ones which is nice. That being said they only have a 20db attenuation so maybe not suitable for heavy metal shows etc that are 130db. I have found these to be enough to keep my ears from ringing after most shows though even with peaking at about 120db. For me it's more about minimizing risk and being able to enjoy the music yet rather than completely eliminating it. Definitely recommend picking up a pair of these if you go to live shows at all!

Perfect fit and a great deal!

Bought these specifically to wear at concerts. They worked well to lower the overall volume enough to allow me to clearly hear everything without cutting out the high frequencies. They fit great and I never worried about them falling out. Definitely worth the price and I would buy again if I needed to.B&H shipped them fast and they were delivered within a couple of days. Five stars all around.

Small, Affordable, Comfortable and Effective

I just bought several more pairs of these so that I can have a pair stashed just about everywhere, e.g., my car, my briefcase, my golf bag, my double bass bag, jacket pockets, etc. Having owned ER products since my first pair of custom Musician Plugs purchased probably 25 years ago, I've been impressed with the company and its products. Even though I've worked extensively as a bassist, I can still hear 16Khz at aged 73 which is a tribute to the quality of the products and the ever-increasing need to use hearing protection. Movies, airplanes, restaurants, clubs, etc. are all too loud and it pains me to see the number of people, particularly young people, doing permanent, irreversible damage to their ears out of total ignorance. These plugs would serve these people ... MoreI just bought several more pairs of these so that I can have a pair stashed just about everywhere, e.g., my car, my briefcase, my golf bag, my double bass bag, jacket pockets, etc. Having owned ER products since my first pair of custom Musician Plugs purchased probably 25 years ago, I've been impressed with the company and its products. Even though I've worked extensively as a bassist, I can still hear 16Khz at aged 73 which is a tribute to the quality of the products and the ever-increasing need to use hearing protection. Movies, airplanes, restaurants, clubs, etc. are all too loud and it pains me to see the number of people, particularly young people, doing permanent, irreversible damage to their ears out of total ignorance. These plugs would serve these people well since the sound is so natural and unmuffled.

ok-ish

Well they reduce the intensity of the sound - I use for rock concerts. The quality of the mix is lost, unfortunately, but not as badly as foam earplugs I have to admit. Still, the frequency shift, although very roughly flat accross the spectrum, still dulls off the detail of the sound, but that is to be expected I suppose because after all you have something shoved into your ears. Tbh I expected a higher definition of sound from the feel of the advertisement. $15 water plugs from the chemist are roughly comparable although less of a mid boost so the Etymotics are slightly more pleasant in general. I found I must have some inflammation or tenderness in my left ear and had trouble inserting the long plug design fully every time so the sound is sometimes unbalanced ... MoreWell they reduce the intensity of the sound - I use for rock concerts. The quality of the mix is lost, unfortunately, but not as badly as foam earplugs I have to admit. Still, the frequency shift, although very roughly flat accross the spectrum, still dulls off the detail of the sound, but that is to be expected I suppose because after all you have something shoved into your ears. Tbh I expected a higher definition of sound from the feel of the advertisement. $15 water plugs from the chemist are roughly comparable although less of a mid boost so the Etymotics are slightly more pleasant in general. I found I must have some inflammation or tenderness in my left ear and had trouble inserting the long plug design fully every time so the sound is sometimes unbalanced between ears also. So my general feeling is a little disappointed mainly because of how they were built up by sellers to be all but perfect. The best thing is conversations can be had even in a loud concert environment as instead of someone causing pain by shouting into your ear you can actually understand what they are saying. Top job in that respect!

savior for this musician and flight attendant !

my friend who is a piano tuner recommended these to me YEARS ago. I wear these even when I vacuum and dine at most restaurants. but these are also a MUST in my gear bag for when I sing at gigs and work as a flight attendant - I can have conversations AND save my ears from noise fatigue. even when I'm a passenger on planes, I wear these cuz if I don't, my ears will be ringing afterward! THANK YOU for helping preserve my hearing cuz frankly, loud noises are not only dangerous but they can be really irritating, whereas hearing my 2 year old niece's quiet lilting voice (which would otherwise be missed if I'd suffered hearing loss) is pure joy!