I am overly protective of my hearing. My father has hearing loss and I don’t want to be that way when I’m in my 70s (or earlier). That brings us to today’s review.

Most of my professional life has been spent in noisy manufacturing environments with mandated annual hearing tests. While I am no longer work in that type of environment, I still use hearing protection for any noisy activity including riding motorcycles. Disposable foam earplugs from Howard Leight (MAX-1 NR33) have been my go-to protection for many years but I dabble in others. When I saw these from EarPeace, I decided to give them a shot.

My normal hearing protection is about as aggressive as you can get and I wanted something comparable. On EarPeace’s website, you have the option of two “strengths” for the MOTO PRO: 20dB (high protection) and 24dB (max protection). Both of these options cost $40. However, if you navigate to the Replacement Parts & Accessories section of their website, you can select 27dB (ultra max protection) filter set for $30. The difference in cost between these and the others is reflected in a lack of aluminum carrying case. I purchased the Ultra Max version. From order to my PO Box was less than a week. Two sizes of plugs were included as well as a spare filter and plastic storage case.

Notes:

1) With the option of a stronger filter available, I don’t know why it isn’t offered along with the other two or more easily found but it must make sense to them. I acquired a set of 3 comparable generic aluminum carrying cases from Amazon for under $8 bringing the total spent to around the same.

2) When I purchased the Ultra Max, the website listed them as 26dB. They are listed at 27dB at the time of review. I reached out to EarPeace and they stated that the filter remains the same but further testing resulted in a revision of the specification. I’m just a jerk with a website and don’t have a way to test noise reduction. I’ll just have to take their word for it.

COMFORT

Anything placed in the ear canal is going to be less comfortable than nothing. Ears weren’t designed to have things shoved in them. I haven’t used the original MOTO earplugs but the PROs are supposed to be more ergonomically shaped. They are more oval than round. Initial insertion resulted in no noticeable discomfort. I have sensitive ear canals and any earplugs cause some soreness after 3-4 hours. These were no exception though less severe and distracting. They are certainly more comfortable than the other silicone insertion-type devices like the Shure IEM tips (EATFL1-6) which are round when new and don’t start to become bearably comfortable until broken-in (and more oval-shaped). Cleaning is key to comfortably long durations of silicone earplug use.

SOUND

Motorcycle rides and office tests were used to test the sound between these and my standard foam plugs. On the motorcycle and riding with one set followed by the other in my best A/B testing, I could not tell a difference. I ride with helmets that are considered relatively quiet (Shoei RF-1400 and J-Cruise II) and wind noise with both types of earplugs made for a quiet riding experience. Music played through my Cardo PackTalk Bold comm system and the Goldwing’s speakers had the same result. I then tried to compare them by using both at the same time, one in each ear. Aside from the differences in dampening factors (33 vs 27), it was very difficult to tell a difference.

Sitting at my desk like a dork listening to music with a 3/4 helmet on and the Cardo’s JBL speakers cranked up all the way did show that the EarPeace plugs do sound better than foam. I doubt that surprises anyone. At the risk of using audiophile lingo, the music was less veiled resulting in a brighter and more enjoyable experience. While using both types at the same time, the music was centered towards the the ear with the EarPeace plug and the difference was clear. Again, the skewing was related to dampening ratings but the fidelity difference was not overly significant.

Bonus Test: Real Headphones

While wearing the dork helmet, I realized I had a better headphone setup at my desk. I subsequently tested the earplugs with Sennheiser HD580s and AKG K701s while streaming music to a Denafrips Ares II DAC using a Grace Design m902 as a headphone amp. If you don’t know what any of that is, it doesn’t matter. Same result.

CONCLUSION: EarPeace or Foam?

You can buy a box of 200pr of Max-1 foam plugs for around $35. Should you spend that on EarPeace reusable ear plugs? That is a difficult question to answer. Foam has its benefits. If you lose a pair, you have a ton of spares. You don’t have to maintain or clean them. I never had an issue with hearing what I needed to or limited awareness while riding.

Downsides come from the nature of foam. When inserting, you have to hold them until they expand and are easily inserted incorrectly rendering them ineffective. I have to pull over right after hitting the road occasionally to reinsert them because they are leaking noise into my ears. I don’t like donning and doffing my helmet more than I have to. They also put a lot of pressure on my ear canals when they expand. If I wear them for 8 hours straight, my ears get incredibly sore.

The EarPeace plugs are more easily inserted consistently and more comfortable. They do sound better but all of the sounds/noise you are subjected to while riding make the differences negligible. The difference in sound dampening is noticeable but either should be sufficient to protect your hearing. You cannot buy the earplug silicone by itself without the filters from EarPeace so you’ll have to replace the entire system when they wear out. Depending on how often you use them, the frequency of repurchasing these reusable plugs when worn out will probably be similar to buying a new box of foam when you run out.

I wouldn’t feel like I was missing much if I stuck with the foam but since I have the EarPeace plugs, I will continue to use them. Comfort is very important and may make the difference between someone using hearing protection or not. My passengers will continue to be offered foam plugs and I keep a stash for backups whenever I ride.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

EarPeace offers other ear plugs for music which are supposed to be tuned for attending concerts and other loud music events. I didn’t try these but I did take my MOTO PROs to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert. I would have no issue with using them for double-duty as fidelity was fine. However, I would suggest a lower dampening rating as they were a little too quiet for that particular venue.

Utilizing earplugs while riding is not legal in all states. Legal or not, I always wear hearing protection. I’d rather get a ticket than lose my hearing. Getting pulled over at the grandpa speeds I usually travel on two (or three) wheels makes the chances of getting a ticket for anything less likely but never zero.

There are obviously more options out there than the two I compared here. I’ve used all sorts from Eargasm to old-school moldable wax. A lot of folks have had experience with the Max-1 foam plugs so my thought process was that you could use them as a baseline and judge your experience with others against mine with EarPeace.

Lastly, if you want real improvements in fidelity for music or audio in general while riding, you can replace your comm system speakers with IEMs or earbuds. Replacing speakers allows you to reap the benefits of noise isolation and high fidelity audio but that is significantly more expensive to accomplish. If you want to use the mic with your comms, you have to connect the IEMs via 3.5mm jack to where the speakers would ordinarily connect. That is a hassle when donning/doffing a helmet depending on how often you do it. It could also be potentially lead to being less alert while riding. We all want high-fidelity but we also have to be situationally aware.

Disclaimer: I purchased the EarPeace ear plugs directly from EarPeace and Howard Leight foam plugs from Amazon. I have no association with either company and am not sponsored in any way by anyone.