As a musician, your hearing is your most treasured possession. Hearing protection for performers and audiences is essential for avoiding ringing ears, ear fatigue and possibly pain in the short term, as well as long-term health affects like tinnitus.

Costing only between $29 & $39, the Experience & Experience Plus earplugs from Loop EarPlugs are affordable ear protection for musicians and music lovers. Whether you’re after ear protection for concerts, clubs, or your performances on stage, the Experience range of earplugs is certified hearing protection in loud environments.

But these aren’t just any old earplugs. Their innovative design allows them to attenuate frequencies evenly across the board while sitting in your ears snugly. Nor do they muffle conversation or vocals, so if you haven’t replaced your mediocre ear protection with a pair of Loop Experience Plus plugs… what are you waiting for?

What’s in the box?

The stylish box brings some glimmer to the affordable earplug range with all-in-one packaging that folds outward and presents the plugs & accessories.

Experience:

  • 1 set of Loop Experience earplugs 
  • 4 sets of silicone ear tips (XS + S + M + L included) 
  • Keychain carry case

Experience Plus:

  • 1 set of Loop Experience earplugs
  • 4 sets of silicone ear tips (XS + S + M + L included)
  • 3 sets of foam ear tips (S + M + L included)
  • 2 sets of Loop Mute (extra noise reduction)
  • Keychain carry case

Loop Experience & Experience Plus: affordable ear protection for musicians and audiences

Whether in the crowd or performing, in my experience both variants in the Experience line preserve the depth of sound, allow for clear conversations, and remove from performances with vocal muffling. Neither the Experience & Experience Plus seem to attenuate frequencies selectively like other ear protection I’ve tried, but instead attenuate everything evenly. This, in short, is why they’re so awesome.

First, the baseline Experience earplugs ($29) reduce loudness by up to 18 dB. They’re smaller than the Plus model and come with less accessories, but they’re heavy-hitting ear protection nevertheless.

The Loop Experience Plus ($39) earplugs meanwhile provide a further 5dB of attenuation with their specialised Mute ring. The design of both models is largely the same, only the Plus model is a little bigger to account for the ring.

Also, there is a small suite of colours to choose from. The base model Experience plugs are available in silver, black, gold & rose gold, colours of the equinox (celestial equinox, flamingo flux, and midnight sapphire), and finally, two limited edition designs.

The Experience Plus plugs meanwhile are available only in black, silver, gold & rose gold.

How do they work?

It’s in the loop, a machined acoustic channel that intercepts all frequencies on their way to your ears, where the magic happens. Then the plugs channel the sound and retain its depth, fullness & richness before funnelling it through a membrane and mesh. Only then does the sound travel through the silicone ear tip to your ear.

Both the Experience & Experience Plus earplugs reduce loundess by 18 dB. It’s only when you insert the Mute ring in the bigger Plus plugs do they reduce loundess by a further 5 dB for a total of 23dB of reduction.

Their design instantly set the Loop earplugs apart from the rest, but we’ll get into that later.

Using the Loop earplugs

Both the Experience & Plus earplugs are as stylishly unique as they are extremely functional.

Typical earplugs are usually all silicone, especially at this price point. The Loop earplugs are however meticulously engineered to preserve the fidelity of your experience as optimally as they attenuate loudness, allowing you to enjoy raucously loud music without damaging your hearing for a super affordable price.

The hard shell form factor of the Experience & Plus plugs makes these earplugs easier to grip and therefore harder to lose. Neither the Experience model sizes are uncomfortable, and the Experience model is notably smaller than the Plus.

  • Loop Experience Plus with Mute ring
  • Loop Experience

Furthermore, the carry case is the perfect size for a keyring, attaching via a sturdy string that doesn’t slip out of the ring. I do think the case could have a stronger lip clip that feels less like it will open at the worst time, but this scenario hasn’t materialised so I can’t really knock it.

The best earplugs for artists and audiences of live performances

Rehearsals and venues get loud, right? Whether playing on stage, at home or enjoying a live performance in the crowd, protecting our ears is essential for the longevity of our hearing.

The Experience & Experience Plus are the best earplugs for musicians playing live & rehearsing that I have used, period. They preserve communication even when instruments are playing loud and remove the harsh loundess of breakables and the crack of snare drums at close range!

Furthermore, investing in hearing protection will preserve your hearing when going to gigs, concerts or clubs regularly. After extensive use, I can safely say the Experience earplugs are among your best options.

Ear protection can be hit-and-miss because of pesky muffling which removes from the experience of the music. Removing other ear plugs In previous experiences has seemed to open up the frequency range of the performance, meaning plugs had removed frequencies selectively and muffled the performance. These looped earplugs, however, do a stellar job of retaining the quality of music during the performance.

Price and competition

Since their design is a new take on hearing protection, and also because it works so well, I can’t say there is any solid competition.

However, a popular example is the Sennheiser SoundProtex earplugs, an all-silicone design in the same price bracket. They’re great earplugs for the price, but they’re easy to lose and aren’t as delicate with sound. Earplug manufacturers typically design all-silicone products that don’t treat frequencies with as much care as these Experience plugs.

Ultimately, the Loop Experience & Experience Plus bring something new to the affordable earplug market. They’re stylish and extremely functional, preserving fidelity so your experience isn’t impacted while protecting your hearing, and they certainly don’t break the bank.

For the Plus model, you’re paying $10 more for the Mute Ring and 3 additional sets of foam ear tips. Both models provide the same dB reduction until you insert the Loop ring into the Plus for a further 5dB of attenuation.

The baseline Experience model however is plenty good enough for attending concerts, clubs and gigs, as well as performing live. There may be scenarios where the additional 5 dB of attenuation will come in real handy, especially for drummers & musicians, but not very regularly.

Verdict

The Loop Experience & Loop Experience Plus earplugs are best for musicians and anyone looking for hearing protection for concerts and music gigs. They’re affordable at $29 or $30 respectively and highly effective at dampening the noise without impacting your experience.

Don’t forget to let us know what variant and colour Experience earplugs you choose in the comments!