CENS alternative

[Darren369]

Are there any alternatives out there to cens moulded electronic plugs? They seem very dear for what they are considering you can get a set of custom moulded plugs for about £90 and decent set of wireless ear phones for about £50 you would have thought someone would have paired the two and there would be a more reasonably priced option out there.

I’m possibly missing another element the cens have hence the price

I recently tried the ISOtunes ear plugs with the squishy foam plugs that screw on but didn’t like them at all and it got me thinking something similar but mounted in a moulded plug would be ideal.

Cheers, Darren

 

[hairycow]

Try cfg there is a discount code if you watch Johnny Carter on you tube search for tgs on you tube
havent tried them I have cens but wouldn’t say they are amazing as they are no good in the rain and mine play up quite a bit.

 

[SimonDodsworth]

Try Mercury Custom Plugs. About half the price

 

[DVS1]

I use LEP 100 and they're ace! Not custom moulded but very comfy and about £110

 

[Alantoo]

There are a number of threads on here discussing them, but the 3M Peltor LEP 100 or EEP 100 are the best you can get I think...they have 4 times the sound pressure protection based on the SNR rating of the CENS moulded. They have rechargeable Li-ion batteries rather than the Zinc-Air cells of the CENS. And 1/3 of the price. Made by 3M Peltor there are no worries about quality.

I have been using a pair of LEP 100s since December 2017.
When they pack up I will get a pair of the EEP 100s unless something even better turns up.

Alan

 

[404Shooter]

I have a pair of moulded ‘ear defenders’ from Specsavers. Excellent fit and I think they’re effective but I’ve not tested them scientifically. They have no microphone or wireless capability but I bought them for when I’m out on my own. That said, I can hear conversation and environmental noise perfectly well with them in but they really do make a difference with the shot. They are not so effective on the range in that I can hear the firer five or six lanes either side more than I can hear my own shot. I have no idea why but I’m curious enough to start googling. The set cost me £115 and we’re delivered two weeks later.

 

[Shaun Goss]

I use LEP 100 and they're ace! Not custom moulded but very comfy and about £110

Any info on where you got them please for that price? Would give a pair ago if that’s the price. Many thanks

 

[DVS1]

Any info on where you got them please for that price? Would give a pair ago if that’s the price. Many thanks

It was a good while ago and on special offer so I doubt the price is the same now, can't remember the name of the place...somewhere on South Coast I think?

 

[NullMac]

I know nothing about CENS, lets get that out there

Beware of custom moulded plugs. Some shrink over time which is hard to notice. End result - free tinitus

 

[scotch_egg]

It looks like the price of the EEP-100 have gone up in price like everything else.

However I can highly recommend them. Even when next to people with brakes on.

3M™ PELTOR™ EEP-100 EU Electronic Earplug Kit

The Peltor EEP-100 EU Electronic Ear Plugs are in-ear hearing defenders with a Level-Dependent ambient listening function that improves situational awareness. The small and lightweight design offers discreet hearing protection. Operation is simple via the dedicated button. The protective case...

www.best4systems.co.uk

 

[Cottis]

Any info on where you got them please for that price? Would give a pair ago if that’s the price. Many thanks

Earshot communications is where I got mine. Good people. There might be a lead time but if you check with them, they will give you an honest ETA and keep you updated on progress.

 

[Malxwal]

I know nothing about CENS, lets get that out there

Beware of custom moulded plugs. Some shrink over time which is hard to notice. End result - free tinitus

Is that due to the material used in the mould ?
I always believed that it was that your ears never stopped growing/changing. I've had a few sets of moulded earplugs fir work over time, and it's certainly the case the older ones feel slack.
I have had a pair of CENS for several years for shotgun, and I have thought of late I should replace the moulds. The units themselves are a bit troublesome now too, so these Peltor units look a good idea as a replacement.

 

[wytonpjs]

A question/word of warning. Researching @Alantoo recommendation this morning I discovered that 3M make 2 versions of the EEP-100; one for the construction/industrial use, the other being for shooting/forestry. Now, I'm prepared to be wrong, but I believe that the industrial ones are light green and the shooting ones orange. Importantly, there does seem to be a noticeable price difference between them. I was wondering whether it was sales volume or possible sector pricing but if you think about it, shooting is a very different sound wave compared to typical industrial noise. I was about to press buy on a pair of the green ones for £165 delivered when I started to have second thoughts. 3M's brochures are not helpful in this respect - can anyone please confirm my suspicisions that there is a difference between the green vs orange EEP-100?

 

[Alantoo]

A question/word of warning. Researching @Alantoo recommendation this morning I discovered that 3M make 2 versions of the EEP-100; one for the construction/industrial use, the other being for shooting/forestry. Now, I'm prepared to be wrong, but I believe that the industrial ones are light green and the shooting ones orange. Importantly, there does seem to be a noticeable price difference between them. I was wondering whether it was sales volume or possible sector pricing but if you think about it, shooting is a very different sound wave compared to typical industrial noise. I was about to press buy on a pair of the green ones for £165 delivered when I started to have second thoughts. 3M's brochures are not helpful in this respect - can anyone please confirm my suspicisions that there is a difference between the green vs orange EEP-100?

The Earshot Communications site shows the EEP as for shooting see bottom right in the screen grab below. But as far as I know the LEP, EEP, and TEP 100s are all rated the same SNR depending on the ear tips used with them. The more expensive LEP and TEP 200 series have the facility for communication using a bluetooth necklace.

Where did you see the two versions? Did you compare their SNR (EU) or NRR (US) ratings? The two rating systems are calculated sightly differently so you need to use one or the other rather than compare NRR with SNR. But both are based on an average of different pitch/frequency sounds to give a single figure of reduction of sound pressure waves reaching the eardrum. Ear damage is caused by a combination of sound pressure and its duration.

The LEP 100s I have are lemon yellow and the Tactical version is black...precisely the same electronics and SNR rating. The £100 price difference between the LEP and the green EEP 100s was because the LEPs came complete with a neck string (unused by me) and the facility to put three AAA batteries in the carry case to recharge them on the go, again unused by me. The 16 hour battery life has coped fine with the duration I needed...I did 10no. consecutive 12 hour days at a blacksmith master class and they recharged over night on the USB charger just fine.

3M Peltor Electronic Earplug EEP-100 EU - Earshot Communications

EAN / GTIN #: 00051131277427 3M Catalogue #: EEP-100 3M Stock #: 7100194360 The 3M™ PELTOR™ Electronic Earplug helps protect your hearing, and can help improve situational awareness and communications in challenging environments. The 3M™ PELTOR™ Electronic Earplug helps protect your hearing, and...

www.earshotcommunications.co.uk

I am not sure what you would consider typical industrial noise or how a sound wave would be different from shooting? I have spent my working day a couple of feet away from power hammers with blow rates of 220 per minute for the 50kg tup or 135 BPM for the 150kg which is enough to pulse a pair of very heavy 75mm thick doors with 50mm core of acoustic plaster board at the same BPM rate 10 metres away. When you are next up this way I will run the hammer up so you can see (and hear) a 150kg lump of metal cycling through 500mm of stroke and hitting another lump of metal 3 times a secondl! But the most uncomfortable noise I have made is hitting cold sheet metal with a hand or pneumatic hammer because of the amplification by the huge sound board. Rivetting up the band around an inglenook fire canopy with your head inside is memorably noisy!

Sound pressure is sound pressure and the damaging variation is one of its quantity/volume rather than its pitch...distance across the pulse peak and trough which we perceive as volume.

Push the buy button!

Alan

 

[DVS1]

I never saw the 2 variants and have the green ones and they work amazingly well! Had a chat on the phone and even forgot they were in lol

Buy with confidence i say!!

 

[wytonpjs]

The Earshot Communications site shows the EEP as for shooting see bottom right in the screen grab below. But as far as I know the LEP, EEP, and TEP 100s are all rated the same SNR depending on the ear tips used with them. The more expensive LEP and TEP 200 series have the facility for communication using a bluetooth necklace.

Where did you see the two versions? Did you compare their SNR (EU) or NRR (US) ratings? The two rating systems are calculated sightly differently so you need to use one or the other rather than compare NRR with SNR. But both are based on an average of different pitch/frequency sounds to give a single figure of reduction of sound pressure waves reaching the eardrum. Ear damage is caused by a combination of sound pressure and its duration.

The LEP 100s I have are lemon yellow and the Tactical version is black...precisely the same electronics and SNR rating. The £100 price difference between the LEP and the green EEP 100s was because the LEPs came complete with a neck string (unused by me) and the facility to put three AAA batteries in the carry case to recharge them on the go, again unused by me. The 16 hour battery life has coped fine with the duration I needed...I did 10no. consecutive 12 hour days at a blacksmith master class and they recharged over night on the USB charger just fine.

View attachment 251314

3M Peltor Electronic Earplug EEP-100 EU - Earshot Communications

EAN / GTIN #: 00051131277427 3M Catalogue #: EEP-100 3M Stock #: 7100194360 The 3M™ PELTOR™ Electronic Earplug helps protect your hearing, and can help improve situational awareness and communications in challenging environments. The 3M™ PELTOR™ Electronic Earplug helps protect your hearing, and...

www.earshotcommunications.co.uk

I am not sure what you would consider typical industrial noise or how a sound wave would be different from shooting? I have spent my working day a couple of feet away from power hammers with blow rates of 220 per minute for the 50kg tup or 135 BPM for the 150kg which is enough to pulse a pair of very heavy 75mm thick doors with 50mm core of acoustic plaster board at the same BPM rate 10 metres away. When you are next up this way I will run the hammer up so you can see (and hear) a 150kg lump of metal cycling through 500mm of stroke and hitting another lump of metal 3 times a secondl! But the most uncomfortable noise I have made is hitting cold sheet metal with a hand or pneumatic hammer because of the amplification by the huge sound board. Rivetting up the band around an inglenook fire canopy with your head inside is memorably noisy!

Sound pressure is sound pressure and the damaging variation is one of its quantity/volume rather than its pitch...distance across the pulse peak and trough which we perceive as volume.

Push the buy button!

Alan

“When you are next up this way I will run the hammer up so you can see (and hear) a 150kg lump of metal cycling through 500mm of stroke and hitting another lump of metal 3 times a secondl!”

No need Alan - I have been fortunate to be present at Somers Forge when they were knocking down a 90 ton red-hot block of steel

I cannot now find the data sheet that listed industrial and shooting separately but there are definitely orange and green versions of the EEP-100 with different contents that IMHO don’t justify the difference in prices being charged between green and orange. Out stalking so will try to find the web page again tonight.

 

[Jelen]

I've been wearing the Green version while loading on shoots for the last 2 years. They work and easily last a day when fully charged. At the end of the day I plug the carry case into the USB socket in the car. Job done.

 

[Alantoo]

“When you are next up this way I will run the hammer up so you can see (and hear) a 150kg lump of metal cycling through 500mm of stroke and hitting another lump of metal 3 times a secondl!”

No need Alan - I have been fortunate to be present at Somers Forge when they were knocking down a 90 ton red-hot block of steel

Nice!

I cannot now find the data sheet that listed industrial and shooting separately but there are definitely orange and green versions of the EEP-100 with different contents that IMHO don’t justify the difference in prices being charged between green and orange. Out stalking so will try to find the web page again tonight.

On the Earshot Communications site they list the various models and there is marketing blurb for hunting and industrial and some which list both...but they all have the same attenuation rating. The EU versions use the SNR system and the US blurb uses the NRR system.

The orange version I haven't seen, only yellow, green or black

https://www.earshotcommunications.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/3M-Peltor-EEP-100-Sell-Sheet.pdf

https://www.earshotcommunications.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/3M-Peltor-EEP-100-Product-Sheet.pdf

https://www.earshotcommunications.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LEP_100_EU_Datasheet_20150902.pdf

https://www.earshotcommunications.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LEP-100-EU-Brochure_HUNTING.pdf

Alan

 

[Lampwick]

Here’s the Orange version;

Sports | Decathlon

Welcome to Decathlon, we stock a wide range of Sports. Enjoy low prices every day. Get what you need now !

www.decathlon.co.uk

 

[Alantoo]

Here’s the Orange version;

The two differences between them and the green ones from Earshot communications, apart from the colour, appear to be the neck cord and the stick-on foam microphone wind filters.

The only dB reference I found on the Decathlon listing is "a mean attenuation of 32 dB." which is the same number as the minimum 32dB SNR figure with the flanged tips quoted by 3M Peltor for the green ones. I would presume the attenuation range is the same as the other EEP, LEP, TEP models with the same tips. This is 6dB (4x) higher than the quoted figure of 26dB SNR of the CENS fitted ones. The CENS Minos with similar foam tips to the EEP 100 are also at 32dB. The Minos foam tips are tidier in appearance than the foam ones by 3M, @fizzbangwhallop uses them with his EEPs I think.

I notice one of the reviews on the Decathlon site mentions wind noise. The only time I have been consciously aware of wind noise I realised I could hear the wind in the trees overhead because I had the volume turned up rather than any wind blowing across the microphone. But I haven't done a comparison with my over ear electronic muffs in wind and my broad brimmed hat may be sheltering them from any air rushing over the microphone. Any other users of active/electronic ear protection noticed it?

Alan