Haven't been here in a long while... hope everyone is well. I finally got
myself a set of those custom fit "musician plugs" from the local
audiologist. All I can say is WOW!!! I can't believe I went all this time
without them. Absolutely incredible!!! They attenuate extremely flat
across the frequency range, very much unlike typical ear plugs or
headphones. With these custom plugs, you can still hear plenty of high-end
and thus loads of detail... even at 25 db of attenuation. Example... I did
a quick "A/B" test, typical attenuation headphones verses these new
"musician plugs". I popped on the headphones and played some drumset...
almost impossible to hear the attack of the toms or kick, all that was
coming through was mud and boom... very unpleasant sound overall, zero
articulation heard. Then ripped off the headphones and swapped in the
musician plugs... the mud and boominess was completely gone, lots more
upper-end detail present, very flat realistic sound, the tom and kick
attacks very present, as much articulation as you'd ever need, the kit
sounded great and thus way more enjoyable to play. A HUGE difference! Also
tried these new plugs at some gigs, what extreme pleasure... I feel I am
playing better now since what I am HEARING sounds so much better. All I can
say is, if you don't already have such custom fit flat-attenuation "musician
plugs", run (don't walk) to your nearest audiologist immediately and get
them! Figure about $120 or so for a set... and you can get different
filters (interchangeable) for different levels of attenuation: 25db, 15db
and 9 db (about $20 for the filters only). I really wish I had gotten these
things years ago.... what a mistake to have put it off for so long. Don't
wait.