The Crescendo Sleep 25 is one of Europe’s most popular reusable sleeping earplugs: but how does it stack up?
Best features:
- Two included sizes (medium and large) allow for precise sizing, particularly for individuals who feel they’ve been let down by the smaller sizing of reusable sleep plugs.
- Filters provide ventilation for the ear, reducing that clogged feeling.
Room for improvement:
- Crescendo could make replacement tips available in single sizes, reducing wastage for individuals who already know their size and are purchasing new sets.
- Extensive scientific information is included on performance, though this could also be supplemented with a lay person’s explanation to help them understand performance.
The Crescendo Sleep 25 is an impressive reusable sleep aid, providing about 25 decibels of sound reduction with a soft and comfortable body, optimised for all night wear. In this review, we’re going to talk through how these worked for us, showcasing how the Crescendo is an effective sleep aid particularly for men with larger ears.
Unboxing and First Impressions
The Crescendo comes in a dense little package, including a single pair of filters, two sets of ear plug tips (Medium Diameter: 6-11m /Large Diameter: 7-12mm), and a hard body carry case with keyring attachment. This is the famed Crescendo ‘sizing’ set. You can use the filters on a medium- or large-sized set of tips, allowing you to find a suitable fit for your ears. (Crescendo also offer a Small and Extra Small set of tips, but these aren’t available at this stage from Earjobs — watch this space). One thing that is notable is just how much information they include. When you remove the ear plugs from the packaging, they’re encased inside of an exhaustive certification document:
(Pictured above: The Crescendo includes a substantial internal testing description, great for the data obsessed!)
Particularly for Sleep Scientists and the Data Fanatics among us, this kind of detail is a nice touch and shows how a single number rating can actually reveal a vast range of different performances at different frequencies. Included alongside this is an insertion guide, highlighting how to change tips, how to insert the plugs and (most importantly) what not to do with them. It’s the most extensive guide we’ve seen included in a set of ear plugs and wins Crescendo huge marks.
Comfort and Fit
So once unpacked you’ve got to find the set of tips that suits your ears. The filters come fitted on the Large set of tips, allowing you to immediately rule them out if the size is inappropriate. The inclusion of large sized tips is an important mention, particularly for sleep plugs. In our experience, the vast majority of reusable sleeping plugs are single size, trending towards a medium or medium-small. The inclusion of large is a great solution for getting bigger-eared people who are off disposable foam ear plugs and are onto something more reusable and green-friendly.
For me, I found that they were slightly large for me in that size and so I switched to medium. Following the handy visual guide, I popped them off, replaced the filters on the medium-sized tips and fit them comfortably. For anyone who uses standard sized tips on their AirPods or other ear phones, the Medium set will work perfectly fine. Once set, I found them to be a very comfortable set of plugs with a competitive amount of dampening.
Sound Blocking and Performance
As we always say to customers, single number rating is only one way of determining how much sound will be blocked. The most important feature is the seal. How effectively your plug seals against the ear is going to determine how much sound is blocked. In my test, I found a really strong seal with the medium sized tips. In this case, it was able to dampen the sound of a noisy fan, a rattling window, and even conversation in the adjoining room — enough to help me sleep comfortably. For side sleepers, the only rigid component in the entire body is the filter. No stems or additional plastic, so you don’t have to worry about additional pressure placed on the ear canal when set.
The unique selling point of the Crescendo is its filters. They claim to allow air into the ear, allowing for ventilation to avoid that ‘stuffed up’ feeling we associate with ear plugs. While worn, I found these were like most ear plugs in that I was still aware that something was in my ear. That said, they were still comfy over an entire night’s sleep. I didn’t notice any ear sweating or overheating with these in, which suggests the filtration was doing its job. They’re among the lightest and softest silicone plugs I’ve trialled and the slight body is sure to be a winner, particularly for side sleepers.
Accessories and Final Word
The Crescendo comes with a hardbody aluminium case with keyring attachment. It’s very small and light and fits easily into your pocket with your keys, great for shift workers or anyone who might be sleeping somewhere other than their bed. One thing to note is that the case only fits the set of the ear plugs, it won’t fit both sets of filters. This is great for keeping a light footprint in the pocket, but we’d love something to do with the filter set we aren’t using.
On the whole the Crescendo is a really comfortable and high performing sleep aid. It’s optimised particularly for medium and larger sized ears, so great if you’re someone who has found ear plugs to seal poorly in the past. They’re very soft and comfy, particularly for side sleepers, and the filters did seem to have an effect in keeping my ears dry and ventilated overnight.