The DR filter for general use
The DR filter from Dynamic Ear Company comes as standard in your Audibling custom earplugs. It is small, keeps your ear ventilated and suits sleeping, travel, the office and loud evenings out.
Four strengths in the DR series
The values come from the Dynamic Ear Company datasheet. H, M and L stand for the attenuation of high, medium and low frequencies.
DR 20 · SNR 19 dB
H 19 · M 17 · L 14 dB. The strongest DR. According to the manufacturer suitable for concerts and loud places up to 104 dB.
DR 15 · SNR 16 dB
H 16 · M 13 · L 11 dB. The middle option for general use, such as travel and sleeping.
DR 10 · SNR 9 dB
H 11 · M 5 · L 3 dB. Light attenuation that mainly takes away the high tones. Our earplugs for the office have 9 dB SNR.
DR 5 · SNR 7 dB
H 9 · M 3 · L 1 dB. The lightest variant takes the sharpness off sound and leaves low tones almost untouched.
How each DR filter attenuates per frequency
Low tones are on the left of the chart, high tones on the right. The higher the line, the more the filter attenuates. DR 5 and DR 10 reduce low tones up to about 1000 Hz by only a few dB and mainly attenuate from 2000 Hz. DR 15 and DR 20 also reduce the low tones.
- DR 20 grey
- DR 15 purple
- DR 10 black
- DR 5 light blue
Redrawn from the Dynamic Ear Company DR series datasheet.
What is the DR filter for?
Dynamic Ear developed the DR series for general use, such as sleeping, travel, working in an open-plan office, sensory overload and an evening in a loud place. The filter is small and hardly noticeable in custom earplugs.
Many standard earplugs reduce too much where it is not needed, because of cheap materials and little acoustic design. Speech and sound then sound dull. The DR series is acoustically designed to limit that.
Ventilation and comfort
The filter material lets air into your ear all the time. That ventilation reduces the occlusion effect, the hollow feeling where your own voice and chewing sound louder, and prevents irritation in the ear canal. So the filter stays comfortable even when you wear it for a long time.
Which DR strength suits you?
- Do you mainly want to take the sharp edges off sound, for example to concentrate or with sensory overload? Then a light variant suits you, such as DR 5 or DR 10.
- For travel, sleeping and general use, DR 15 is the middle option. Our earplugs for general use have 16 dB SNR.
- Going to a concert or spending time somewhere loud? Then choose DR 20, or look at the DM filter if you want to hear music as naturally as possible.
Not sure? Ask for advice when your ear impressions are taken or contact us.
Interchangeable with DM and DI
According to Dynamic Ear, the DR filter is fully interchangeable with the DM and DI series. If you later want more or less attenuation, or a different character, you only replace the filter and keep your earplugs. The DR filter fits in custom earplugs made of hard acrylic and of silicone.
Source
All attenuation values on this page come from the Dynamic Ear Company DR series datasheet and were determined according to EN 352-2. In custom earplugs the attenuation can differ, depending on the fit and the shape of your ear canal.
Written by Thijs Worm.
Questions about the DR filter
Does the DR filter come as standard in my custom earplugs?
Yes. The DR filter for general use is included. For a DM, DI or DIM filter you pay an extra cost.
Is the DR filter suitable for concerts?
The DR 20 has an SNR of 19 dB and according to Dynamic Ear is suitable for concerts and loud places up to 104 dB. If you want to hear music as naturally as possible, also look at the DM filter.
Is the DR filter suitable for work in noise?
For the office and quiet workplaces, yes. If you work in production, construction or industry, the DI filter suits you better. It gives extra attenuation from about 4 kHz, where industrial noise is often loudest.
What do H, M and L mean?
They are the attenuation of high (H), medium (M) and low (L) frequencies. For the DR 20 that is 19, 17 and 14 dB. The filter reduces the high tones slightly more than the low ones.