Hearing protection revolutionised with worldwide launch of audio product for home and commercial use


ISOLATE® by Flare Audio Ltd is a revolutionary new, patent-pending ear protector, set to rival traditional foam or flanged ear plugs for both home and commercial use.

PROTECT YOUR EARS AGAINST HEARING DAMAGE

Traditional earplugs rely on absorption to attenuate sound, which rapidly meets its limit, particularly with bass frequencies. ISOLATE® protectors reflect sound away from the ears and therefore achieve much greater attenuation, as they do not accept sound into the ear canal.

The first of its kind made from solid metal (standard aluminium or Pro titanium options), the micro protectors will help protect your hearing using Flare’s unique approach, making ear protectors a more effective and enjoyable experience.

Reusable and designed for life-long use, ISOLATE®  is perfect anytime you want to reduce sound levels, whether at concerts or motor sport events, travelling (suppress train, plane or public noise), in noisy working environments, at home or to ensure a peaceful night’s sleep. They’re so effective at not only meeting but surpassing health and safety requirements, they are ideal for industrial workplace environments, replacing both in-ear and over-ear alternatives.

Flare Audio is already respected in the live audio industry, with its products used by artists at festivals and concerts. Flare products are also installed at cinemas, including the renowned Olympic Studios in London.

Delivered with Flare’s discreet and stylish custom-designed memory foam tips, EARFOAMS®, ISOLATE® dramatically reduces sound without muffling or distortion. They block all standard sounds such as snoring or traffic noise and vastly reduce excessive sound levels, ranging from concert and festival sound to close range roadworks or aviation noise.  Live music sounds clearer, with increased detail at safer listening levels. Ears are protected from loud noise that could otherwise damage your hearing.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Here’s the science. Ringing and muffled ears ‘the morning after the night before’ is the sound of hearing damage. Flare believes that conventional plastic or foam earplugs don't work very well to protect the ears because both these materials stop some sound entering the ears, but not all, especially lower frequencies. When low frequencies get past traditional ear protection they apply an EQ on your hearing which means details are lost and you are left in a world of booming bass and sub sonic pressure which most people can’t wait to escape from. The frequencies muffle sound, leaving you feeling disconnected or underwater. 

Traditional earplugs, particularly the standard foam ones, rely on absorption principles. Trying to absorb sound requires a large amount of material to work well. When an ear plug has less than an inch of material the resulting small scale absorption leads to muddy/muffled audio in the high and mid frequencies, with little to no reduction in bass frequencies. With bass getting through, music is no longer enjoyable to listen to as it masks details of higher frequencies.

“Solid metal is a good conductor so it has never been considered for use as an ear protector before,” Flare explains. “But what we discovered was that, in order to conduct sound, metals need a direct connection. Without a direct connection, solid metal blocks and reflects sound perfectly. When you isolate a small piece of metal or dense material in soft foam inside your ear, sound cannot get into it through the flexible medium of air: it becomes the perfect isolator. Understanding this principle drove us to develop the perfect ear plug or ‘protector’. We wanted to revolutionise hearing protection."

ISOLATE® blocks sound from entering the ears and so attenuates all frequencies. Sound is not able to conduct into the patent-pending technology that ISOLATE® uses, which means users are able to effectively turn their ears off to direct sound. The only sound you hear while using ISOLATE® is from bone conduction, which results in an enjoyable and balanced experience with safe, low level sound detail, rather than the rumble and distortion created by traditional ear plugs.

“Initial in house testing of ISOLATE® has yielded better attenuation than any other ear plug,” says Flare Audio founder, Davies Roberts. “Flare will release official figures when independent testing and CE certification (ANSI 13.9 for USA) is obtained later this month and we’re confident ISOLATE® will far outperform the current best market offering.”

AUDIO EXPERTS AGREE:

“Even our very best ear plugs aren’t particularly good at attenuating the low frequencies [that shake you to your core]. That’s where ISOLATE® are fantastic; at reducing the low frequencies.”
Allen Davey, Director, British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

“What Flare has done is quite unique. [Everything] from deepest bass guitar to crash cymbals, was reduced to almost zero. Removing so much of the excessive bass that transpires at gigs and concerts means you can effectively improve the sound by wearing them! Only very expensive inner ear protectors come close in terms of comfort and isolation, but nothing has got this good.”
Janine Elliot, Hifi Pig

“People active in construction or on the music scene near loudspeakers often will love these.
Highly recommended; great job Flare Audio!”
Michael Piskor, Headfonics

“I designed Flare ISOLATE® with your listening pleasure in mind. By using our own patent-pending technology I discovered that I could create ear protectors that don’t absorb sound… they block it, giving the user the sensation that they have simply lowered the volume. Using Flare ISOLATE® at a concert is really something else. You can hear every instrument, every detail at a safe low level like never before.”

Davies Roberts, Director, Flare Audio Ltd

Available in aluminium and titanium with a choice of colour or even coated with gold or platinum, ISOLATE® ear protectors are reusable; the main component (the aluminium or titanium body) will last a lifetime. Its bespoke memory foam replaceable tips, EARFOAMS®, are extremely soft yet hard-wearing, available in small, medium or large for the ultimate comfort fit. Each pair comes with a set of each size.

Flare has chosen Kickstarter to launch the product following a successful campaign to launch its acclaimed R2 earphones last year, which saw the company raise almost double its target.