2023-07-28 16:48:56
Ringing or ringing ears following a concert, does that speak to you? Of course, but like many people, you are still reluctant to use conventional hearing protection, these little shape-memory noise-canceling plugs that give the impression that the band or the singer on stage are playing at the bottom of a pool. Intolerable ? Yes ! Especially since we no longer have the impression of participating in the party, in the communion between the artist and his audience, of living the long-awaited event.
New alternative, the SoundProtex plugs launched by the audio brand Sennheiser and 20 Minutes a pu tester.
102 decibels, and I am thrilled…
If we think regarding protecting our children’s ears with noise canceling headphones in concert, we worry less regarding ours. Wrongly. In France, legislation limits the sound volume of concert halls to 102 decibels. At this level, the sound already “sounds” very loud. Especially if you listen to it for several hours, as is the case at a festival, for example. For its part, the sound volume of our smartphones is limited to 100 dB (A). However, it is considered that from 80 dB (A), the duration of exposure to the noise source is an important risk factor.
Listen safer longer
With its SoundProtex, Sennheiser offers a solution that limits the risks to our ears, but without muffling the music. Extremely discreet, these little earplugs do not contain any electronic elements, as one might have imagined, coming from the German audio specialist to whom we owe excellent noise reduction headphones, such as the Momentum Wireless that we had tested. Inside a small (washable) silicone tip that fits into the ear canal and offers perfect support, Sennheiser has housed a removable filter.
First of all, there is a membrane which, while preserving the sound details, noticeably attenuates the acoustic pressure which reaches the eardrums. Then comes another sound absorbing fabric filter. He reduces the low and high frequencies to an equal level. According to Sennheiser, this two-stage filter “allows users to listen safely for longer”.
Depeche Mode and Muse in test
To verify this, we tested the Sennheiser SoundProtex twice.
First at the Depeche Mode concert on June 24, 2023, then at the Muse concert on July 8, 2023. Both at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (93). Important clarification: for the first, we are seated at the back of the stadium, quite far from the main speakers; while for the second, we find ourselves right in the center of the pit, just below, with, certainly, an increased risk for our esgourdes. Yes, the pit for Muse, and its first two parts, it was long…
If in both cases the music is logically loud (and that’s also why we like it!), the effect of the SoundProtex didn’t seem the same to us. If we felt the need to use them less for Depeche Mode, whose musical atmosphere is quite synthetic despite powerful bass, the much more metallic (and high-pitched) sound of Muse naturally guided us towards the small headphones.
A less violent sound, which remains balanced
In the first case, they clearly gave us the sensation of reducing the overall perceived sound level, while in the second, the SoundProtex clearly attenuated the high frequencies which, in our fifty-year-old ears already worn out by dozens of concerts, can sometimes give the unpleasant impression of whistling. So much so that we are used to punctually soften this sensation by covering our ears briefly by pressing on their tragus (the small fold of flesh present in front of the auditory canal). Low frequencies, on the other hand, seem softened in both cases.
Still, the sound balance of the two stage performances has not lost too much. Obviously, when you remove the SoundProtex (thanks to a small tab protruding from the ear), you gain in volume, power in the bass and precision in the treble, but also a lot in dynamics, the music seeming to be truly find relief.
Another observation: when following the last reminder, silence returns and it is a question of returning to the parking lot, we did not have the feeling of being “deaf”, in a bubble as if padded because of our eardrums besieged for more than two hours.
Even better: our ears, which systematically ring when leaving a concert (and for long hours followingwards) did not give us this feeling this time. A very personal proof, which, if not scientific, attests to the benefit that can be derived from SoundProtex.
Rinsable under clear water and reusable as much as desired, the Sennheiser SoundProtex are sold for 39 euros, a fair price, if not accessible for what seems to be only small bits of plastic… But we found two times that they were effective. Sennheiser also offers them in a SoundProtex Plus version (79 euros!) with three tips (sizes L, M and S), but above all four filters to be adapted according to the desired attenuation (Low, Mid, High and Full). Something to equip the family, too.
Of course, like most of us, we prefer to do without this type of equipment to fully experience the concerts we regularly attend. But the recurring alerts already perceived by shows that are a little too loud in decibels (or with poorly tuned sound!), invite us today to impose the necessary precautions on ourselves. And to take better care of our ears than we have for years.
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