Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms ear protection

Most active noise suppression works best on continuous sounds like engine and wind noise. Speech and sirens should still be audible. Some more sophisticated systems work by recognising human speech, so will reduce all other sounds.

Can they do an inverse version to block 'er indoors nagging...just asking for a friend

Well, there is software that can remove a voice from other sounds, including music tracks. I don’t know if anyone’s put it in an earpiece yet though!

Picking up this old (and useful) thread to say that today I did some comparative testing with several custom-fit (ie moulds made by an audiologist) ear devices.

Goal is to protect my hearing on those (hopefully rare) occasions when I have to do a long stretch of motorway driving, eg to reposition the car for a drive in Yorkshire or whatever.

All these solutions let sirens etc through. They take a little getting used to -- and they remove most of the lovely Morgan engine noise which is unfortunate, but I'd pull them out once I get off the motorway. All have some wind noise with or without the side panels mounted.

1. Custom in-ear monitors from Ultimate Ears (US) - these have fabulous audiophile quality and near-complete sound isolation (I wear them on aircraft; their primary market is rock bands) but were problematic in the Morgan: wind noise striking the outside shell is very bad. Mine were attached to a small bluetooth box (Quedelix 5k) which allows some external sound to be mixed in. But the wind noise was too unpleasant, even when wearing a cloth cap with fold-down ears.

2. Musicians' earplugs from ACS (https://www.acscustom.com/uk/products/pro-series/). These have a small filter that "tunes" the sound it lets through. They were quite successful - no wind noise and a good reduction in road noise. Most importantly they cut out the high-pitched noise that makes UK motorway driving so horrible with the roof off. It think it would be possible to have a conversation wearing these but haven't tested yet.

3. Soft earplugs made for side sleepers from Ultimate Ear (nb singular - a UK company) (https://ultimateear.com/product-category/custom-sleeping-earplugs/). These are great for sleeping and produced almost the same effect as the musicians' earplugs, perhaps slightly duller sound.

4. Apple AirPods Pro 2, fitted into AirPod Gloves from Ultimate Ear (https://ultimateear.com/product/custom-apple-airpods/). Slightly strange gadget: the custom ear mould provides a little bit more sound isolation, but its primary goal is to hold the AirPods firmly into the ear -- I'm sure they would blow out in the wind without the "gloves". This was the winner for motorway driving. Apple's noise reduction is very good. Connected to an iPhone, I could hear music, podcasts, directions and speed camera warnings - and even answer the phone, a capability which was too modern for Morgan to include in my CX Plus Four. A quick click on the stalk and they can be switched into transparency mode which allows for conversation and returns some - just enough - of the outside sound -- good to do when you peel off the motorway and into a village. They do stick out a bit and perhaps a passing police office might want to have a chat -- but I don't see a problem as they reduce sound less than a conventional car would do. Somewhat clumsy to fit as you have to rotate the sleeves into your ear canal without rotating the AirPods themselves relative to the sleeves (there is a little hole which needs to match a microphone).

After reading this I purchased these https://au.loopearplugs.com/products/experience-plus?variant=47951806497106

Yesterday I went for a drive and not sure if I had a slight headache due to the cold or my cars noise. Today I did a 200km drive with the MG club and decided to use the earplugs. The car sounds so different, probably cuts out about half the volume of the fuel pump, exhaust and throttle bodies but the stereo was nice and clear. Overall while I like the sound of my car I feel for anything over 30 minutes I should probably use these ear plugs and I can still hear enough to enjoy blipping the accelerator

https://www.flareaudio.com/en-eu/co...tection&filter.v.option.colour=Black

I use Flare earplugs for years now, they block the noise effectively, letting speech through quite clear though. I am very keen on my hearing, especially after I experienced an unilateral hearing problem some years ago, which proved to be caused by a left acoustic Schwannoma (treated by stereotactic RT with good results but ofcourse a remaining partial hearing loss left). It means that I have internal Lyric hearing aids just before the eardrums, and in noisy situations ear plugs to protect the ears, which looks like a bizarre situation but is practical for me. I still use my Flares in the Morgan with a cord in between so I have less chance to lose them, although I have a spare set with me. I tell the story because it makes you even more aware how important it is to preserve your hearing. In my case, to preserve what I thankfully still have, all-be-it less than ideal!

Chris, you confirm my experience with these loop earplugs. I recently bought new ones, as I lost my previous pair. The new ones have 3 levels of noise reduction one can choose. I use them only when traveling on high ways.

I didn't change the level of noise reduction by adding one of the included mutes but they certainly reduced the sound a lot without adding a mute.

While it seemed good while driving to quieten down the car I still have a bit of a headache this evening. Not sure why, could be the cold even though I wore a beanie, or the odd smell of petrol from the older cars. I used the smallest size and they still felt very tight and odd in my ears.

I feel it is good to have them in the glove box and use for highway trips, I agree for slower trips probably OK to enjoy the engine as it is.

Go easy on the single malt.....