Protect Your Hearing
I love music. Both listening to and creating my own, and have no wish to be without music in my life. What follows is an overview of my current chosen hearing protection; ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 Earphones.
I know I say that “I’m not your mother” when it comes to personal safety, but you really do need to consider the safety aspect of any task you intend to perform. And your hearing is of no lesser importance than any physical part of your body.
Having been a one-time musician and bassist for a melodic rock/metal band (in a previous incarnation), I appreciate the importance of keeping your hearing protected. I used to get the piss royally ripped out of me (and not just for being a bassist), as I used to (and still do) wear hearing protection in nightclubs and at gigs/concerts.
In a working or crafting environment, where loud impact and drone noises are prevalent, then hearing protection is a must.
#NotSponsored
Before we get going, I just wanted to point out that I am in no way sponsored by the ISOtunes® brand. I paid full price for these ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones, directly from their UK website, and have not received any incentive from them to write this review.
This is a purely independent review of my experiences with them, since they were purchased. I wanted to share my views so others may be able to make an informed choice (plus, I needed blog content).
Psychoacoustics Of Hearing
One more thing, before we get into the nitty gritty. I want to quickly run over a few terms and concepts that you may or may not be familiar with. This is just so we have a common frame of reference later on.
Home On The Range
We’re all individuals and as such the perception of sound differs, from person to person. But, on the whole, it’s considered that the range of human hearing runs from a frequency as low as 20 Hertz (Hz) all the way up to 20 Megahertz (MHz. 1MHz = 1000Hz). This is, of course, just a generalisation, as some people can pick up oscillations lower than 20Hz and higher than 20MHz.
Age plays a factor in the scope of this range, as the older we get the more our hearing naturally deteriorates. This usually manifests in the loss of perception of the higher range of frequencies over time (being a bassist does have its advantages). #LowFequencyFriendly
Although, having said that, as a youngster my father was hit on the head with a heavy book at school (by a teacher, no less) and from that point on he could no longer hear crickets chirrup.
Under Pressure
The sound pressure level (SPL) of any noise also plays a factor. Have you ever gone to a pub/bar/nightclub/gig where the music has been so loud that you’ve had to shout to be heard? Then, when you got home to the relative silence, there’s a ringing in your ears?
That, my friends, that right there is hearing damage and its name is Tinnitus. If your exposure was only for a short period, then the damage shouldn’t be permanent and the ringing could diminish over time. But, for long exposures, it is a constant manifestation with varying degrees of intensity.
I Love It Loud
To put this into quantifiable terms, human hearing can withstand a constant SPL of 90 decibels (dB) for only 30 minutes before permanent hearing damage occurs. As our perception of sound is logarithmic, this means that for every 3dB increase in the SPL, the time before hearing damage occurs is halved. So, 15 minutes for 93dB, 7minutes & 30 seconds for 96dB, and so on.
By way of comparison, natural human speech (at a distance of 1m) is around the 70dB mark. According to an article on the Musicians’ Union UK website;
…typical dB(A) levels reached by a rock band can be anything up to 125dB(A), and for a symphony orchestra, 94dB(A)…
At these stated levels, hearing damage occurs in less than 14ms (milliseconds. 1000ms = 1 second) and just over 13 minutes respectively. This time will, of course, depend upon how close you are to the source of the sound.
Review
Now all of that is out of the way, we can get down to the crux of this blog. A review of my experiences with ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones. I’ve had these babies for about six months (as of writing this blog) and have yet to come across any real issues.
By the way, this is by no means an in-depth test and review, just my own thoughts having used them for a while.
What’s In The Box?
Inside the outer box you will find a QuickStart Guide, a multi-language User Manual, two pairs of the Wind Noise Filters, four pairs of foam earbuds in different sizes, and a hard shell storage case. Inside the storage case is where you will find the Charging Cable and the ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones themselves.
Looking at the User Manual, it appears that there are two model variations; IT-38B and IT-39B. I’m not sure what the differentiation is (could be regional), but the model I have is the IT-39B.
Storage Case
I’m not sure what exactly the storage case is made of, as there appears to be no information either in the supplied paperwork or on the ISOtunes® website. My best guess is a thin layer of vinyl for the outer, even thinner woven material for the inner, all wrapped around a rigid plastic core.
The case is zipped on three sides, so that it hinges open on the fourth side. It’s approximately 110mm square and 40mm deep. There’s a mesh pocket in the lid for storing the Charge Cable (I also keep one of those small silica gel packets in there).
ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 Earphones
The ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones are the “wired together” style, with the battery pack and control unit at either side. When I was researching for safety earphones, this was the style I was specifically looking for. With the “individual earphones” style, offered by brands (including ISOtunes®), I just see them falling out of my ears. All it would need was a huge sneeze (as occurs from time to time) from me and I imagined an earpiece shooting out into the Nether, never to be seen again.
The connecting wire (which apparently has chrome-plated brass ear stems and is Aramid reinforced) goes over and behind the ears. The rechargeable battery pack hangs just below the left earpiece, whilst the control unit hangs below the right.
There are a plethora of features listed on the box, in the documentation and on the ISOtunes® website, which includes being EN-352 Certified, IP67 rated and having “military-grade durability”. But, the only benefits I was interested in were the Single Number Rating (SNR) and the Aware technology.
Single Number Rating (SNR)
The SNR value of hearing protection (classed as Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE) is an average, calculated from all relevant frequencies and is rated in decibels. So, for example, ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones have an SNR of 33dB, which means (when used as instructed) they will reduce a 100dB noise down to 67dB.
Aware Technology
This is a microphone-based technology and is closely related to the noise cancelling technology, which has been around for quite some time. The difference is that this technology allows the wearer to hear what’s going on around them, but always at a safe level.
Should the microphones pick up an SPL that goes beyond the safe listening level, then this is “immediately attenuated” (stated at a 2ms reaction time) to a safe level. The amount of Aware-ness is controllable via a rocker switch on the side of the control unit.
Earbuds
The earbuds are listed on the back of the outer box as “ISOtunes® TRILOGY™ Eartips”, which claim to offer “a trifecta of benefits”. These being superior attenuation, comfort and sound. In reality, they’re just foam earbuds.
You are supplied with a pair of each of the four sizes available, so that you can see which size best fits. Each size has a colour-coded core for easy identification. The large pair have a blue core, the medium pair have a black core, the small pair have a green core, and finally the extra small pair have a white core.
Charging Cable
The charging cable is of the standard USB-A to USB-C variety, and (as is usually the case with things) it’s short. I’m talking only 324mm short. Plus, it’s been bent double. TWICE..! Which really irks my OCD and Autistic tendancies. Having done my fair share of being a roadie for other bands, you must LOOP cables to maintain their integrity and prolong longevity.
I suppose it works and that’s all that really matters to the manufacturers and their cost reduction exercises.
Wind Noise Filters
The supplied Wind Noise Filters look like, what I can only describe as, mirkins for Barbie dolls. These small, self-adhesive foam pads can be fitted over the microphone holes in each of the earpieces to (as their name implies) reduce wind noise.
As I don’t really use my earphones outside, I’ve never used the filters and don’t intend to. So, I can’t attest to how effective they are in high-wind situations.
In Use: ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 Earphones
Earbud Selection
The first question to ask after purchase is; which size earbuds to attach? As mentioned further up in this blog, you are provided with a pair of each available size. I got lucky and picked the correct size, first go (small, ‘cuz I’m delicate). The earbuds screw onto the earpiece, as each earpiece stem is threaded. This has the benefit of greatly reducing the risk of an earbud falling off during use.
What I must mention here is that ISOtunes® suggests that the earbuds are replaced at least every three (3) months. Which is fine, but it means you have only this amount of time to purchase replacements. And, for what they are, they’re a bit expensive.
They’re only available from ISOtunes® directly (pretty much), and a pack of five pairs is just short of £17. Which is £3.40 per pair. But, when you factor in the shipping cost at another fiver (£4.99, to be precise), this bumps up the price per pair to £4.40 per pair. All of which equates to £17.60 (or more) per year, over and above the £159.99 I paid for the earphones in the first place (I’m a Yorkshireman, what did you expect?).
But, then again, can you really put a price on your hearing? To me, any price is worth it when it comes to hearing protection, as long as it’s Cost Effective.
Fitting
The fitting procedure of the ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones is simple enough. Left and right are indicated on each earpiece (for those who are easily confused and/or can’t work it out just by looking at them).
Pick an earpiece and roll the foam earbud between your finger and thumb. Once compressed, quickly insert into your ear. The earbud will expand to create a snug fit. You may hear a bit of the old Rice Krispies’ “Snap, Crackle & Pop” going on as it does so. Hook the ear stem over and behind your ear, then perform the same action for the other earpiece.
Control Unit
Now that they’re fitted, it’s time to switch on. The controller for these earphones hangs under the right-side earpiece and has three main buttons on the front face. Plus (+) at the top, minus (-) at the bottom and a multi-function “target” button in the middle.
Holding the multi-function button in for 3 seconds will initiate power on (the same action will also initiate power off if the earphones are already on). You will hear a voice confirming power on and that the battery level is “high”/”medium”/”low”. After a few moments you will hear; “Bluetooth pairing mode”. If you pair a Bluetooth® device then you will hear; “Bluetooth connected”, if you don’t then you will hear “pairing failed” after a short period.
For me (and this may not be the case for you), the Aware technology of these earphones seems to shift my range of hearing up into higher frequencies. Almost like my normal hearing is operating with Dolby Noise Reduction on.
On one side of the control unit is the rocker switch that adjusts the amount (volume) of the Aware-ness. Press the top of the switch for louder and the bottom of the switch for quieter.
Aware Technology
The audio attenuation of the Aware Technology (which is instantly active upon power up) does take a bit of getting used to at first. This is due to the fact that each earpiece operates completely independently of the other. So, if there’s a loud percussive noise off to one side of you, the earpiece on that side will attenuate the noise down more than the earpiece on the opposite side. Initially (and a few times subsequently, when I first used them), when something like this occurred, it made me feel a little unbalanced. I am more than used to this now, though, and it didn’t take long for me to adjust.
The only other thing to note, with regards to this attenuation of loud sounds, is that if someone is talking to you at the moment the noise occurs, then their voice will be attenuated too. So, you may find yourself asking them to repeat some of what they were just saying.
Bluetooth® 5.4
On the occasions that I do connect a Bluetooth® device to my ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones, then it’s more often than not, my mobile (cell) phone. And then, it’s only to listen to music. The sound reproduction quality (to my ears) is completely fine. Even though I do love listening to music, I wouldn’t consider myself an Audiophile in any way, shape or form. So, take that evaluation as you will.
I’ve only taken a phone call once or twice with these earphones on, and again, the sound quality was more than acceptable. The callers also said they could hear my voice clearly.
One last note on Bluetooth®. According to the documentation, these earphones are capable of dual connecting, are compatible with 2-way radios and Auracast (whatever the hell that is).
SafeMax™ Technology
One more feature that I need to mention is SafeMax™ Technology. All this means is that the volume output of these earphones is limited to 82dB (85dB for the IT-38B variation. I think this may have something to do with the EN352 compliance of the IT-39B model). Not that I ever have any brand of earphones anywhere near maximum volume, but I know that some feel that music has to be loud to be good.
Charging
Finally, when it’s time to charge these earphones, then there’s a USB-C charging port on the control unit. This is on the opposite side to the Aware adjustment rocker switch, and has a silicone cover for adherence to the IP67 rating.
You can charge at any time, but when the battery is too low for proper functionality, then a voice will tell you so. You’ll get a couple of warnings, before the earphones turn themselves off.
When you plug the USB-A side either into a plug adapter for domestic power sockets, or into a PC/laptop, then there’s a little red LED to indicate that the battery is charging. The LED will turn blue, once the battery is fully charged.
Conclusion
All in all, I’m extremely happy with the ISOtunes® Pro Aware 2.0 earphones and feel confident that they’re keeping my hearing safe. I don’t use them in extreme noise or environmental conditions to fully test the “military-grade durability”, but they do help me focus on what I’m doing and not the noises around me. Plus, if anyone is talking to me whilst I’m wearing them, I’m not struggling to hear the conversation as I have previously found with regular hearing protection products.
The only real irksome point (for this poor Yorkshireman, anyway) is the overall cost for replacement earbuds. I feel £17 (plus £5 shipping) is a little excessive for only five pairs. Especially, when you consider that you can buy 20 Pairs of corded, reusable silicone earplugs from Amazon for around £7.
But, if that’s the price of protecting my hearing, then sobeit.
Further Reading And Footnotes
If you wish to check out these and other ISOtunes® products, then check out their UK website , their EU website, or their US website (depending upon your location) for further information.
To read the full Musicians’ Union UK article on Noise Regulations in the UK, then you can click here.
For more information about me and all that is Silverhand Creative, go check out the About Me page on this website. I have a presence on Instagram and Facebook, where I post photos (and the odd video) of ongoing and finished projects. There’s also a YouTube channel, where you can see how I go about doing what I do and what tools I prefer to use. So, feel free (there’s no pressure) to follow and/or subscribe to any (or all) of the above.
I am most definitely amenable to commission work and have a web form for you to get in touch, should you be looking for something a little more custom.
All trademarks (registered or otherwise) used in this blog lie solely with their respective owners.