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We spend a lot of time here testing everything “audio” under the sun here at HEADSET with bass so heavy it could shake a room, to Bluetooth buds thin enough even for the smallest ear canals. But believe us when we say that there are times when, yes, you really should listen Less. I’m talking to you concert barricades and festival season fans!

As I said when I tested previously Loop’s Experience jacksone of the best quality of life decisions I’ve made in recent years was when I started consistently wearing earplugs to concerts and music festivals. While I played catch-up trying not to get tinnitus worsein a perfect world, everyone would have foamed their ears before sitting directly in front of an industrial speaker for over two hours. But there’s no time like the present to start protecting your hearing before it takes a big toll – enter: Loop switch 2the cool kid on the block in reducing hearing health damage.

You’ve probably seen Loop in your social feeds and in the ears of fellow festival-goers and influencers by now – but the latest Loop switch 2 the headphones aim to be the best of all worlds, combining the features of each of their flagship jacks and allowing you to ‘switch’ between levels (called ‘modes’) of decibel reduction. Because 1 in 3 people are regularly exposed to loud environmental noise that could damage their hearing (even if this impact do what come in the form of sick bass drops and tasty guitar licks), Loop has unlocked the code over the past few years for widespread use. Simply looking like the sleek and stylish cousin of the best wireless headphones there and not a lame foam plug, they’ve already convinced the next generation of front row headbangers to adopt them as part of their latest gig fit – so what’s next?

Well, for starters, Loop now offers nine different styles of earplugs, each for every scenario where you might want to tweak things a bit. Now they have Quiet (the most powerful, with up to 24 dB of ambient noise reduction), Engage, Experience and now the Switch 2 earplugs, the latter now being made to “switch” between all three modes. It might be hard to choose which one is for any given environment because they all offer some noise reduction level, so as I headed to the Austin City Limits Festival, I wanted to push Loop switch 2 at its limits. Could I hold a conversation in the pit without having to read lips to save my life? Would the listening experience sound as good when I needed more quiet? Here’s what we thought.

Unboxing and Design

Compared to the previous version of the Switch, Loop switch 2 now has a much improved design with a slimmer profile and new silicone ear tips. Not only do they provide all-day comfort, but they offer the added bonus of improved noise reduction in Silent mode (while keeping things undamped and crisp in Experience and Engage modes). Like their other plugs, you get four sizes of soft, interchangeable tips (we went with the standard fit), so you’ll get a secure seal no matter what your ear size.

Loop has redesigned the aforementioned “switch” here, a mechanical dial on the outer edge of the circular jack that’s more tactile and intuitive when it comes to switching between modes without having to completely remove the earplugs. One of the major selling points here is that unlike, say, Apple’s new hearing protection feature that was recently integrated into AirPods Pro 2THE Switch 2 it’s completely manual – no batteries, apps or required. That grab-and-plug convenience is unbeatable, especially when it comes to drop-and-encore festival days where chargers might not be readily available.

So how does it work? Simple—by looping forward, you let more decibels (dB) in, and by switching back, you’ll activate more sound dampening features, using the earplug’s acoustic channel, mesh filter, and membrane. You have three volume options here: Silent mode (a 26dB reduction) offers the most noise reduction, Experience mode (a 23dB reduction) filters out noise but is designed to “keep the sound rich,” and Engage mode ( a 20dB Reduction) is meant to dampen ambient noise while clarifying speech (so you can carry on a conversation in lively social settings). The Switch 2 The dB reduction 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 I was in public?

How Loop Switch 2 Earplugs sound?

For comparison, over the weekend of the festival I “switched” between the Switch 2 and a pair Loop 2 experience earplugs I’ve been using regularly at gigs for the past few months. One of my major gripes with the Experience 2 was that, despite the clarity of the sound on stage, it was sometimes difficult to understand conversations with people right next to me in the crowd (no one likes to yell “WHAT?” repeatedly and then just shake your head and chuckle in defeat). The Switch 2 solved this problem almost completely and I was able to have a pretty good conversation with my neighbor with the plugs while in Engage mode. All this with significantly more sound dampening on Silent and Experience? yes please

The Loop control selector is easy to press with a “click” that indicates a new mode, but I found that when taking the earplugs in and out or adjusting the fit, I was accidentally switching between settings and it was hard to tell which “mode ” I was now. Compared to switching between Loop settings in a quieter, slightly lively coffee shop, I didn’t find that much of a difference between Modes of engagement and experience when watching a concert from a reasonable distance from the stage. But sticking with the Experience for the most part did the trick—amplified instruments like wailing guitars felt easier on the ears without drowning out, and vocal lyrics were still easy to understand. The only time I felt the need to turn on full Silent mode was when I was dealing with booming bass while deep in the crowd of Dom Dolla’s (very effective) EDM set.

One thing that can also make or break your concert going experience is Loop links. Like an eyeglass chain, they have a silicone ring that holds the loops at the end of a rope that snaps together with magnetic material so you have easy access to the loops around your neck at all times. Since Switch 2 earplugs they’re easier than ever, trust me when I say you won’t want to walk the first row without a pair.

From the flexible noise-canceling experience to their comfortable design, here are some of our favorite parts about the Switch 2 earplugs.

Loop switch 2 Pro:

Loop switch 2 Cons:

Building on its predecessor, the Loop switch 2 it goes beyond the last encore of the night and allows you to seamlessly adapt to almost any environment. While we are bastards for the rush of one live music crowd, the real value of the Switch 2 lies in its ability to be a “quiet bubble” solution for commuting to work, relaxing at home, working in a coffee shop – basically anywhere there’s noise.

Although it has its flaws and design quirks, the Loop Switch 2 is undoubtedly a clutch for concertgoers who want to protect their hearing, enhance sound clarity while remaining comfortable to wear for hours on end. Discreet but stylish and without batteries! Did I mention there are no batteries?

While their decibel-switching flexibility isn’t necessarily game-changing, it’s appreciated enough to have in our bag (clearly, festival venue approved) for the next big gig.