The ear protectors are designed to rival traditional foam or flanged earplugs and can be used in a variety of scenarios. Launching through crowdfunding site Kickstarter, the earplugs are projected to achieve 1240% of their funding goal at time of press. ISOLATE’s unique technology will now be available worldwide, with Kickstarter backers being able to secure pairs ahead of general release at an introductory price.
Flare Audio believes that conventional plastic or foam earplugs don’t work very well to protect the ears because both these materials stop some sound entering the ears but not all, especially lower frequencies. When low frequencies get past traditional ear protection, they apply an EQ to your hearing which means details are lost and you are left in a world of booming bass and sub sonic pressure.
Traditional earplugs, particularly the standard foam ones, rely on absorption principles. Trying to absorb sound requires a large amount of material to work well. When an earplug has less than an inch of material, the resulting small scale absorption leads to muddy/muffled audio in the high and mid frequencies, with little to no reduction in bass frequencies. With bass getting through, music is no longer enjoyable to listen to as it masks details of higher frequencies.
“Solid metal is a good conductor so it has never been considered for use as an ear protector before,” Flare explained. “But what we discovered was that, in order to conduct sound, metals need a direct connection. Without a direct connection, solid metal blocks and reflects sound perfectly.
“When you isolate a small piece of metal or dense material in soft foam inside your ear, sound cannot get into it through the flexible medium of air: it becomes the perfect isolator. Understanding this principle drove us to develop the perfect earplug or ‘protector’. We wanted to revolutionise hearing protection.”
ISOLATE blocks sound from entering the ears and so attenuates all frequencies. Sound is not able to conduct into the patent-pending technology that ISOLATE uses, which means that users are able to effectively turn their ears off to direct sound. The only sound you hear while using ISOLATE is from bone conduction, which results in an “enjoyable and balanced experience with safe, low level sound detail, rather than the rumble and distortion created by traditional earplugs”.
Flare Audio founder said: “Initial in house testing of ISOLATE has yielded better attenuation than any other earplug. We will release official figures when independent testing and CE certification (ANSI 13.9 for USA) is obtained later this month and we’re confident ISOLATE will far outperform the current best market offering.”
The earplugs also have endorsements from a number of industry figures.
“I’m wearing the isolates now, they’re bloody incredible. Perfect for the tourbus/flights. You guys might have filled a hole in the market,” said Peredur Ap Gwynedd, Faithless and Pendulum guitarist.
“These are bloody genius! LONG LIVE EARS… unlike teeth, they don’t grow back. #besmart,” commented Glen Rowe, Muse’s tour director.
The ISOLATE Kickstarter campaign runs until August 15th, offering a one off chance to secure a pair at an introductory price of £23 for ISOLATE or £46 for ISOLATE PRO.
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