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The Loop Switch 2 Let’s You Tune Out Harsh Noise — No Batteries Required
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We spend a lot of time here testing everything “audio” under the sun here, from headphones with bass so heavy it could shake a room, to Bluetooth buds slim enough for even the most petite ear canals. But believe us when we say that there are times when, yes, you should really should be listening less. I’m talking to you, concert barricade-goers and festival season aficionados!
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As I said when I previously tested the Loop’s Experience plugs, one of the best quality-of-life decisions I’ve made in recent years has been when I started consistently wearing earplugs to concerts and music festivals. I’ve been playing catch-up trying to not make my tinnitus any worse, but in a perfect world, everyone would be shoving foam in their ears before standing directly in front of an industrial speaker for two-plus hours. But there’s no time like the present to start protecting your hearing before it takes a big hit — enter: Loop Switch 2, the cool kid on the block of hearing health harm reduction.
AT A GLANCE
Loop Switch 2 Earplugs Review
$59.95
$64.95
Pros: Slimmer, more comfortable design than original, no batteries required, great option for conversations and concerts
Cons: Hard to adjust in ear without toggling modes, at higher volumes the difference between modes is less noticeable
You’ve probably seen Loop all over your social feeds, and in the ears of fellow festival attendees and influencers at this point — but their latest Loop Switch 2 earbuds aims to be the best of all worlds, combining features from each of their flagship plugs and letting you “switch” between levels (called “modes”) of decibel reduction. Since 1 in 3 people are regularly exposed to loud environmental noise that could impact their hearing (even if that impact does come in the form of sick bass drops and tasty guitar licks), Loop has really unlocked the code over the past few years to wide-spread usage. Simply by looking like the sleek, stylish cousin of the best wireless earbuds out there and not a lame, foam plug, they’ve already convinced the next generation of front row head-bangers to adopt them as part of their latest concert fit — so what was next?
Well, for starters, Loop now offers nine different styles of earplugs, each one for every scenario where you might want to tune things out a little. They now have Quiet (the strongest, with up to 24dB of ambient noise reduction), Engage, Experience and now the Switch 2 earplugs, the latter now made to “switch” between all three modes. It might be hard to chose which one is for any given environment since they all provide some level of noise reduction, so as I headed off to Austin City Limits Festival, I wanted to push the Loop Switch 2 to its limits. Could I hold a conversation in the pit without having to lip read to save my life? Would the auditory experience sound just as good when I needed more Quiet? Here’s what we thought.
Loop Switch 2 Earplugs Review
Unboxing and Design
Compared to the earlier version of the Switch, Loop’s Switch 2 now has an much-improved design with a slimmer profile and new silicone ear tips. These not only provide all-day comfort, but offer the added bonus of improving the noise reduction in Quiet Mode (while keeping things unmuffled and crystal-clear in Experience and Engage modes). Like their other plugs, you’ll get four soft, interchangeable tip sizes (we chose the standard fit), so you’ll get a secure seal no matter your ear size.
Loop has also redesigned the aforementioned “switch” here, a mechanical dial on the outer rim of the circular plug that’s more tactile and intuitive when it comes to switching between modes without having to remove the earplugs entirely. One of the major selling points here is that unlike, say, Apple’s new Hearing Protection feature that’s been recently integrated into their AirPods Pro 2, the Switch 2 is fully manual — no batteries, apps or required. That grab-and-plug convenience is unbeatable, especially when it comes to rope drop-to-encore festival days where chargers might not be readily available.
So how does it work? Simple — by dialing the loop forward, you let more decibels (dB) in, and by switching it backwards, you engage more sound-dampening features, utilizing the earplug’s acoustic channel, mesh filter and membrane. You’ve got three volume options here: Quiet mode (a 26-dB cut) offers the most noise reduction, Experience mode (a 23-dB cut) filters noise but is designed to “preserve rich sound,” and Engage mode (a 20-dB cut) is intended to soften ambient noise while clarifying speech (so you can still hold a conversation in bustling social settings). The Switch 2’s dB cut levels are major improvements over the original Switch, which only offered 25, 21, and 17 dB modes, respectively. But how did they hold up when we were in the audience?
How Do Loop Switch 2 Earplugs Sound?
For comparison, over the festival weekend I “switched” between the Switch 2 and a pair of Loop Experience 2 earplugs that I’ve been using regularly at concerts for the past few months. One of my major gripes with the Experience 2 was that despite the sound clarity from the stage, it was sometimes hard to understand conversations with folks even standing right next to me in the crowd (no one loves having to yell “WHAT?” repeatedly and then just nod and chuckle in defeat). The Switch 2 solved this problem almost completely, and I could chat with my neighbor pretty well with the plugs in while set on Engage mode. All this with noticeably more sound dampening on Quiet and Experience? Yes, please.
The Loop control dial is easy to push with a “click” that indicates a new mode, but I found that when taking the earplugs in and out or adjusting the the fit, I would accidentally switch between settings and have a hard time being able to tell which “mode” I was in now. Compared to switching between Loop settings in a quieter, mildly bustling cafe, I didn’t find as big of a difference between Engage and Experience modes when viewing a concert set from a reasonable distance away from the stage. But sticking with Experience mostly did the trick — amped-up instrumentals like wailing guitars felt easier to listen to on the ears without muffling, and vocal lyrics were still easy to understand. The only time I felt the need to turn on full Quiet mode was when dealing with the booming bass while deep in the crowd of Dom Dolla’s EDM set (very effective).
One thing that can also make or break your concert-going experience is Loop Links. Like a glasses chain, these have a silicone ring that holds your loops at the end of a rope that snaps together with magnetic material, so you have easy access to your Loops around your neck at all times. Since the Switch 2 earplugs are more streamlined than ever, trust me when I say, you’re not going to want to go front row without a pair.
Loop Switch 2 Earplugs: Pros & Cons
From their flexible noise reducing experience, to their comfortable design, here are a few of our favorite parts about the Switch 2 earplugs.
Loop Switch 2 Pros:
Great for concerts and conversations: We got crisp and well-balanced sound out of these no matter what mode they were on, but the updated Engage mode is clutch if you still want to chat with your concert buddy while protecting your hearing
Comfortable design: Thanks to a slimmed down design, these feel almost weightless in our ears, and incredibly secure (head-banging tested, RS Editor-approved)
Eye-catching looks: With premium satin finishes (Black, Emerald) or glossy (Gold, Silver), the Switch 2 definitely feels sexier to wear than regular foam plugs (or AirPods, if we’re being honest)
No batteries required: There are very few analog things left in this world, and we’re eternally grateful that these earplugs don’t need to be charged
Loop Switch 2 Cons:
Easy to accidentally toggle between modes: If you’re trying to adjust the plug in your ear, or take the Switch 2 in and out, the dial is so tiny that accidentally switching modes is common and a little annoying
Not a huge difference between Engage and Experience modes: While you’ll hear the biggest difference between the modes if you’re in a more lowkey environment, in a concert crowd, Engage and Experience won’t feel too different
A bit pricey: While the Experience 2 felt affordable as a reusable earplug alternative for concert-goers, the Switch 2 leans into the cheaper end of Bluetooth earbud territory — which might not be worth it, even for what it does
Loop Switch 2 Earplugs: Final Verdict
Building upon its predecessor, the Loop Switch 2 goes beyond the last encore of the night and lets you seamlessly adapt to almost any environment. While we’re fiends for the rush of a live music crowd, the true value of the Switch 2 is in its ability to be a “quiet bubble” solution for commuting to work, relaxing at home, working in a cafe — basically anywhere there’s noise.
It has its flaws and design quirks, yet the Loop Switch 2 is undeniably clutch for concert-goers who want to protect their hearing, enhancing sound clarity while staying comfortable to wear for hours on end. Discreet, yet stylish, and no batteries! Did we mention there’s no batteries?
The decibel-switching flexibility isn’t necessarily game-changing, but it’s appreciated enough for us to have these in our (clear, festival venue-approved) bag for the next big concert.
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