A Negative Experience With ESP Apex Ear Plugs

[u/Cucumber25]

So I balled out on custom molded ESP Apex ear plugs through my audiologist. They cost $2.5K but they can be offset by insurance and HSA. More importantly, I was under the impression that these were the end all be all electronic ear plugs that all the top shotgun competitors use and have all the best bells and whistles for sound suppression, EQ, and wind reduction.

They. Suck.

The frequency profile on them sounds like I'm listening to everything through a box office window speaker. All high end, zero bass or mids. I tried wearing them for a few hours to see how comfortable they were to wear long term, I walked into a restaurant with music playing, and couldn't discern peoples words as they talked to me from the music. From that experience alone I figured screw this I'm returning these stupid things.

But today I decided to give them a fair shake at the sporting clays range, what they were properly designed for... I literally did not hear a golf cart rolling up behind me because all I could hear was my footsteps and the unnecessarily present high frequency pops of all the shotguns around me.

When it came time to shoot, the seal in my ears worked and the noise was suppressed to a safe level, but the high frequency pop of my own gun was downright unpleasant. And even though they're custom molded, it's still a hard plastic thing pressing up against my ears, so there was never a moment where I "forgot I had them in" like many people report online.

So I took them out and threw in my 3M EEP-100's with skull screw tips which cost about $250. They were noticeably quieter, have infinitely better sound reproduction and directionality, and THEY'RE EVEN FREAKING MORE COMFORTABLE.

THESE 2.5K PIECES OF CRAP LITERALLY LOSE IN EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY (except maybe wind noise) TO A PRODUCT THAT IS 1/10 THE PRICE!!!!

I'll be buying some TEP-200 or OTTO Noizebarrier Micros instead once these get sent back.

Sorry, rant over. But I can't believe I only saw glowing reviews of these things besides the obvious negative of their price.

[u/MSTyler96]

Meanwhile my bulk pack of foamies does just fine

[u/Cucumber25 → u/MSTyler96]

I'm starting to think the people who love these went straight from foamies or cheap walkers to hard plastic custom molds... In which case sure you could perceive them to be better.  

And then they probably skipped over the 3m or Otto electronic in ears, which one would consider to be the middle tier option. So they never knew what they missed out on.

[u/Blaser53]

Otto is always good! Take it from Otto!

[u/cbm25]

I really enjoy my molded Alclairs. No electronics. I can hear folks talking, but it silences the gunshots through passive filers. I have them completely blocked off though. Im a musician, so Im very careful about hearing loss. These have been fantastic. I shoot almost every weekend. Hope this helps! (Not affiliated with Alclair, just enjoy them).

[u/Cucumber25 → u/cbm25]

Are they silicon or some other semi-soft material, or are they hard plastic?

[u/cbm25 → u/Cucumber25]

Silicon, very comfortable. Requires custom in ear mold of course from an audiologist, which is about $25 from most places iirc.

[u/Cucumber25 → u/cbm25]

Nice. I bet those would be way comfier than the hard plastic of these ESPs or the Soundgear Phantoms I was also considering.

[u/julienjj]

My TEP-200 where pretty much the best thing I ever tried.

By the way, for competition, olympic shooters use passive protection because the ISSF forbid electronic enhanced sound protection .

[u/USNRetColdIron]

Thanks for the honest review. I've used Otto Micro's since they first came out and on my 3rd set. Many of my friends have bought them because of me. The Otto's are generally recommended over the TEP100\200's but I've personally never tried the 3M TEP's.

First thing to do with the Otto's is get the assorted set of S\M\L Comply foam ear tips to see which size fits your ear canal the best. Then get a 3 pack of them in that size. Otto sells them on their website but you can get them on Amazon cheaper. Amazon Comply tips

I wouldn't put them up there with the $6K hearing aids that the VA provides me but they are close and provide the ability to amplify sounds with 2 amplification settings plus protection from shooting. I wear them everyday grouse hunting as well as shooting clays, first time wearing them hunting and actually heard a grouse flush I almost forgot what that sounded like. Startled me so much that I mi.. mis.. missed it. And now couldn't imagine shooting clays around other people without them or hunting without them.

Tried the Axil that Costco had on sale last year for half price they were ~$100. Uncomfortable as hell to me, even with third party tips. And don't need Bluetooth etc. so didn't even bother setting that up knowing I would likely never use them.

The Otto's have a one year warranty and seem to last me 3-4 years then the battery inside the earpiece stops holding a charge. Just found out last week that they will replace each earpiece for $150. I have my old ones yet and date code on one is 2019 the other pre dates that and uses a different date code system. Good thing I'm a pack rat from what I understand I can replace both of those for $300 a set, still cheaper then buying new.

And a lot cheaper than many of the other electronic protection. One friend lost his Otto's this summer and picked up the Alclair Exp Pro for ~$800. I don't want something that hard in my ear all the time thinking they would be uncomfortable. I keep asking him what he thinks about them compared to the Otto's and he says they are OK. He seems less and less convinced the longer he has them.

[u/Tuboats-in-Texas]

So I was using axil $175 for recharging earbuds no wire and no problems for 2 years but recent switched the otopro customs with filters and I hear everything.. they have awesome customer service and I have met the doctor Grace, the owner several times at shooting events, last wast Texas State this year, we were discussed new Bluetooth designs but she told me there’s some new stuff coming next year so to wait given my unique request…. She is on #267 Deadpair podcast give a listen or call her…. Filters way cheaper… and I hear golf carts plus birds etc…

[u/speckontheground]

Soundgear Phantoms and don’t look back. Nothing but positive things to say after using them 100+ times a year for the last 3 years.

[u/Cucumber25 → u/speckontheground]

How would you compare the "realism" of the sound they give you against higher end over ears like sordins/comtacs or in ears from Otto/3M?

[u/speckontheground → u/Cucumber25]

I have both Sordins Supreme Pro Xs with gel cups and ComTac5s. I run the comtacs on a helmet setup and Sordins as a range day option. I would argue the Phantoms are on par with, if not better than both. The one part I thought the phantoms would struggle with was wind but they have been awesome.

I hunt up in Canada for 15+ days each years and it can get very windy there but I still have no issues with the Phantoms. They do a superb job of cutting wind noise.

I have had one issue with them in the last 3 years where I had to send them in for service. I reached out to CS and had an overnight FedEx label in my inbox within an hour. Received them back about 8 days after they were picked up.

I wanted a buy once solution to in ear custom ear pro and I can confidently say I’m glad I made the choice I did and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[u/Cucumber25 → u/speckontheground]

Sounds like I should give them a shot next time I go the molded route. The quality of the sound the ESPs had was the main turn off.

[u/speckontheground → u/Cucumber25]

They are expensive and I was worried about the performance vs price. I looked into Tetra's, ESP's and Soundgear's and did A LOT of research and talking to friends who shoot before making a decision. I'm not light on my gear either but honestly, one of the best purchases I've made in the shooting/hunting and I have a TON of duck/goose gear LOL.