Has anyone ever heard of or used an ear plug unit made by CEP, Communications & Ear Protection, Inc. ?

This is offered as an affordable means to dramatically upgrade the noise attenuation capability of an existing headset. I have added a link down below. I have an old David Clark H10-60 passive headset. The H10-60 comes in several flavors including one for helicopters, and another for General Aviation fixed wing.

The CEP device is like a small ear plug with a tiny speaker. It is basically an ear bud, and is worn in addition to the regular Headset covering your ears. So you get the normal passive reduction of say a DC H10-60, and then the additional attenuation of the foam ear bud which contains its own tiny speaker. You buy it as a kit and then install it in your existing headset. Adding this it is claimed adds a whole additional layer of sound protection. Specs on their site. Kind of like wearing a second layer of body armor I suppose.

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From the CEP website:http://www.cep-usa.com/
The CEP is a device that provides the exceptional protection of an expanding foam earplug while passing to the ear the clearest speech signal attainable. Miniature transducers and foam earplugs are coupled to yield a high quality communications device that can be used alone or in combination with circumaural hearing protection. Combining the foam earplug and the sound transducer into a single unit results in a simple but effective approach for providing the user with excellent sound attenuation and unparalleled speech intelligibility in even the noisiest environments. Presently, CEP, Inc. is the major supplier of the communications earplug to the US and international military and civilian markets.

Anyway, I’d be keen to hear from anyone who has used this or a similar product.

** Also, can anyone comment on the David Clark H 10-60? It is sort of an odd ball and not as popular as the H10-13.4, H10-30, etc. I just don't 't know much about it except that it is green.

If you're a 200 +/- hr/yr pilot, they will be the undisputed leader in sound attenuation and hearing protection.
If you're a 1200+/- hr/yr pilot, they will be the most uncomfortable form of hearing protection.

Foam tips are the cheapest and easiest, also the least comfortable. Triple flange tips are a step better for most. Custom molded are the most comfy, but pretty spendy.

I have them in all my helmets, and one set of headsets, but only use them when the anr is out.

Take care, Rob

Dave Hirschman of AOPA tested the CEP buds some time ago and had good things to say about it. How good it is in daily use, I haven't the slightest idea. It looks pretty cumbersome to me.

You might consider converting the 10-60 to ANR with a Headsets Inc. kit. I did that with my 10-13.4 some 4 or 5 years ago, and I've been very, very satisfied with it. It works every bit as well as a Bose X; I haven't compared it to the newer A20 Bose. Your pic shows that you already have Oregon Aero comfort ear seals, so you'll have to change those to the thinner version (or go to gel seals) for the ANR to work correctly. I flew with the thicker OAs for a few years before converting, and I frankly can't tell the difference in comfort between the thicker and thinner ones. I did try using the thicker ones with the HI ANR, and they're right, it doesn't work as well.

Cary

Rob said it best. Expect to experiment with foam tip sizes until you get the one that is the most comfortable. Prior to our last deployment we had custom molded earbuds made. Those with the CEP were strikingly more comfortable than the foam tips. They do provide good noise attenuation while piping the headset audio right into your brain. It is overkill for my airplane though, and not worth the discomfort.

Brett

You'd be way better off doing the trade-up program at light speed. They are pretty cool for the first couple 100hrs. Then just a pain.
Never the sound quality of a good Bose/Lightspeed.

@Cary and @ AH-Hunt

The images in my post are not of my DC H10-60. These are images taken from the CEP website. I may try to just home brew some earbuds for the DC 10-60. I see that some companies are even now getting ready to release really small, custom molded wireless earbuds.

https://www.decibullz.com/product/decibullz-wireless/

I am trying to imagine what it would be like to add ANR and a custom molded earbud to an already premium David Clark headset with a high degree of built in passive noise reduction.

Stay tuned ..film at 11.

Denali wrote:@Cary and @ AH-Hunt

The images in my post are not of my DC H10-60. These are images taken from the CEP website. I may try to just home brew some earbuds for the DC 10-60. I see that some companies are even now getting ready to release really small, custom molded wireless earbuds.

https://www.decibullz.com/product/decibullz-wireless/

I am trying to imagine what it would be like to add ANR and a custom molded earbud to an already premium David Clark headset with a high degree of built in passive noise reduction.

Stay tuned ..film at 11.

I can't speak to the buds, but adding ANR will make it a different headset--it'll just look the same, but it sure won't sound the same.

Cary

The audio is awesome, but the standard foam tips are EXTREMELY uncomfortable for long periods. I was forced to wear a pair of the non-custom tips and I finally sent my own money to repair the ANR system that these were supposed to replace. It may be different in a headset, but in my helmet it was unbearable. I wish I could have the comfort of the ANR with the performance of CEP.

I use them at work - we're not approved to use ANR.

As said, foam tips are uncomfortable. I use double flange tips that have an "ear guide."

These things, without the cord. I pull the filter flap thingy out and screw the CEPs in.

http://www.surefire.com/ep3-sonic-defenders.html

I can fly for hours and hours with this combo without issues. I had some custom fitted ones made before a deployment but they don't fit good anymore and let enough sound seep past to be annoying. I guess your ears keep growing.

I love the sound quality of CEPs. I've been debating wiring up and old set of DCs to compare to my Bose X.

If you're constantly in and out of your plane like and Ag guy might be, I can see where they be a hassle, but otherwise it's just a small step before putting on your headset. I don't even think about putting mine in before I put on my HGU-56/P. It's just step one to strapping the helmet on.

Full disclosure I now have 3 different sets of CEP installations. I find them the absolutely best noise attenuation device around. I've tried lots of ANRs and in GA airplanes for the most part they work ok. For high noise environments they are worthless.

I had a couple of DC's converted to Headsets, Inc ANRs for my Stearman and they didn't work very well as far as allowing me to actually hear the radio/intercomm and after a couple of years they gave up the ghost in a spectacular... LOUD... fashion. I had Headsets ANRs in my Warbird helmet and got the same performance. I sued regular Lightspeed ANRs in other Warbirds and they barely work. Found CEP and I can hear again... before and after flying. It is wonderful!!!! So I put them in the Stearman headset... fantastic! I also have a regular set of DCs with a CEP conversion.

I don't find the foam earbuds an annoyance, but I've been using them in one fashion or another for a very long time... notably after I started losing my hearing due to high noise cockpit environments. YMMV. I also like the Quiet Technology Halo headset (I used it in GA, but now use it at work), but found the HALOs need edition coverage over the ear for high noise cockpits.

I say worth it. But it is clearly a personal preference issue.

gunny

I don't see any pricing information on the linked CEP website. How much $ ?

FWIW I'd flown with foam earplugs in addition to my headset. Cuts the noise down nicely, but also muffles the radio audio. So mainly I've done this on trips where I don't anticipate needing to do much radio work.
I've also flown with just foam earplugs, in hot weather when I tend to get sweaty under the headsets. better than nothing, but not as good as the headsets.

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hotrod180 asked:
I don't see any pricing information on the linked CEP website. How much $ ?

Here is a website with some pricing for CEP products.
http://www.gibson-barnes.com/dept-293819/Cep-Hearing-Protection.html

Has anybody messed with these in a headset and still happy with it? I have them in my helmet and they’re great, but I end up wearing earplugs most of the time, too much of an annoyance taking my helmet off 15x a day. I’ve never been too happy with ANR headsets, so I was thinking about building up a new headset with CEP’s instead.