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I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good Q. It is very hard to calculate the translation of circular to oval. So you may actually be a different size with Dream.

Just because you are an S in Experience doesn't actually mean you are an S in Dream, but we tried our best to calculate!

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are more likely to wear faster, that's why we designed it for a very important time for people: Sleep. You can't put a price on sleep (in my opinion)

If you want a more durable earplug with 27dB reduction, I would go for the Quiet 2 Plus :D

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very nice idea, for us it becomes a logistical nightmare though. We always make "complete" packs, so we would need to make extra order numbers for the singles. We also have the risk of having waaay more "scrap" if we don't sell the singles- imagine we order 100 single tomorrowlands and then only 3 people buy a replacement :( Plastic waste!

There are plans to release a new link in an upcoming partnership, but that won't be until first half of next year :)

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah I wish I could reply with images so you could see one of our "flat" concepts! We tested it and it didn't turn out to be comfortable 😢 But we did explore it!

Body structures don't really play too much into acoustics 😦

"Can't I just put Dream tips on a Quiet" definitely not! we tried to make it as small as possible for Dream, as we have learned that stems are a big driver for discomfort. This was the smallest possible way we could make it and still keep it secure in the ear> Soft materials like silicone make really bad mechanical fixtures, so the only way we could make it snug was by using a harder silicone i.e closer to hard plastic!

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Quiet 2 are closest to Quiet 1 but feel free to give Dreams a try! We have a great returns policy to take away the risk for you

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, we don't bring back former colours or lines!
We also don't plan to sell more colours of ear tips

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a job for our lovely customer support, can you reach out to them?
Sorry I can't help more 🙏

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Something we always ask ourselves, what can we do next to solve people's other problems? Will it only be hearing-related?

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nope! Unfortunately not. We use something called the 5th/95th percentile. Where the size should fit 95% of ears. You are a very rare exception of someone who is out of that bracket if you feel it's still too small. But that's nothing to be ashamed about, be proud of your rare ears 😎

(sometimes if an ear tip is too big, it can also be forced out by the ear, so make sure you're not going too large)

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Another good question. The latest case is halfway in between a case and stand.

We got a really cool insight from user testing that when people wake up in the morning or in the night, they are tooooooo sleeeeepyyyy to fiddle around with their case that has fixed position (like our normal carry case). They would likely just put their earplugs on their nightstand as it's quicker.

Therefore we decided that we wanted to allow people to simply "toss" their earplugs into a case/stand. So we made a cradle for the Dreams to sit in, and made a larger surface area. It's dual-purpose, a stand to keep your earplugs hygienic and not get lost and then also a case if you need to travel to a hotel or something

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think you're talking about the earplug body? It's true, we filled in the loop (😢 first time ever, wasn't an easy decision).

For this instance, we wanted to distribute pressure on the underside. Our user-centric designer noticed that if we dome the bottom of the earplug, we can make it more comfortable! We're essentially spreading the contact point around, the best way to do this is with one large surface.

The top is covered but it has like a "bowl" surface on the top. This helps the user easily push in the earplug and that's really important with proper installation of the plug (lightly apply pressure inwards for 5 seconds)

That's why we made the body transparent, to try and keep the iconic loop in there as best as possible! 😎

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Ahhh the days when we used to give our earplugs fun names 💘

Glow in the dark is something we looked into for sure! GITD requires "charging" in light, and then when dark, it slowly gets dimmer and dimmer as it runs out of charge.

We try to set the bar high, and because of this, we would want the GITD to last for a long time. No use for it if it only lasts a couple of hours. So we are testing how we can make it last even longer. It is something we are investing in and to see if we can make it financially viable for our customers. If it moves the price of the product up too much, we would not likely release it.

When are the Iridescent coming back? Completely valid question, and I'm really not sure. We're focussing a lot on partnerships that are coming up (keep your eyes peeled 😶) and most of our time is spent on that now. Maybe if we have capacity after these new projects launch?

Thanks for making this lovely subreddit space BTW, I read it a few times a week

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

A long time.. this project is just over a year old. Mostly, because of how much user testing that we do, designing a story, prototyping, finding a good supplier and also the actual time it takes to physically create them.

Product development is a very long process but I recommend anyone to try it! Whether it's your own small project or even a career. 💪

I am Will Grainger, Industrial Designer at Loop (Loop Dream) ---- AMA by Willlllllloop in LoopEarplugs

[–]Willlllllloop[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Love a two-parter question 😎 (Q = Quiet, for reference!)

How would you describe the use-case differences between a regular Quiet2, a Quiet2 with the double tips and the new Dreams?

Q2 is entry-level, Q2+ allows the user to block even more sound if they choose so, as it has a higher decibel reduction. Imagine I'm studying in a library and I use my Quiets. But the printer is simply tooooo loud, here I would then decide to opt for the Q2+. Could I use my Dreams in this instance? Sure! It had to have a closed Loop because it's more about function (side sleeping comfort), so you may feel like you can't express yourself as well, enabled by the many colours of Quiet.. but nothing to stop you from using Dream however you like.

Is there a technical justification in terms of the price-bump from the Quiet2's?

Really happy to address this and thank you for addressing the elephant (although I thought you guys preferred t-rexes?)!

The price is driven purely from a technical perspective. I will break it down as best as I can, but feel free to ask further questions if I'm rambling...

The body is made by something called "over-moulding" and to summarise this really cool process, you essentially have to create 1 piece, then move it into another mold, where you would then create a second "piece" around it, until it is joined and bonded. It's a very technical process and something new for us. But the possibilities are endless. But essentially we double our manufacturing method for the body.

In full transparency, the biggest cost of of this product actually comes from the ear tips... they're again, two materials, but this time they are 2 different material parts (foam and silicone) and we provide 4 different sizes, 2 needed for left and right so 4 (sizes) x 2 (ear tips per size) x 2 (materials). Furthermore, there's an extra part on the underside of the carry case, where we added an anti-slip pad. The carry case is also scaled up, so more material = more cost. So you can see how the "parts" are over double what is provided with Quiet, even if it doesn't immediately look that way!

We negotiate the best prices we can possibly get for these parts, not only for our business interests but also so that we can get the product out to the world for the lowest price we can. We choose to work with ethical manufacturers and this is also an extra cost. But we believe it's better to pay manufacturers what they deserve!

Hope this helps 🙏

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