Loop Switch 2 Review

The Loop Switch 2 is designed for travelers who want more control over the sounds around them without having to carry multiple pairs of earplugs. Unlike headphones or earbuds, these don’t play music or connect to your phone. Instead, they offer three levels of sound reduction that you can switch between on the fly, making them useful for everything from concerts and busy offices to travel days when you just want to turn down the volume of the world.

We’ve been testing the Loop Switch 2 for two weeks, and the biggest draw is its versatility. With Quiet, Experience, and Engage modes built into one pair, we can adjust the amount of sound coming through without swapping earplugs. The system isn’t quite as specialized as Loop’s individual models, particularly when it comes to the dedicated Experience earplugs, but the convenience of having three modes in one compact package is hard to overlook.

The Rundown

The Loop Switch 2 has a small tab on the outside of each earplug that you use to switch between its three modes. Quiet mode provides 26 dB of noise reduction and is the option we’d reach for when we want to dampen as much sound as possible. Experience mode provides 23 dB and is intended for concerts and other situations where you still want to hear what’s happening. Engage mode sits at 20 dB and is geared toward lowering stimulation in busy environments while keeping conversations relatively easy to follow.

Switching modes is straightforward once the earplugs are in place. Just flip the tab to whatever mode you desire, and they’re good to go. Alongside the tabs are indicators distinguishing which bud is for which ear. This is important because putting them on correctly makes it easier to flip the tabs while you’re wearing the buds. That said, we found that it’s possible to overshoot the mode we’re trying to select. Rather than pushing the tab aggressively, use the pad of your finger for a smaller rotation to make it easier to land on the setting you want.

One of the more useful aspects is that we can switch modes without removing the earplugs. There’s a noticeable change in the amount of sound coming through as we move between settings, which makes the system practical when an environment changes unexpectedly. A quiet coffee shop can become a busy restaurant, or a conversation can turn into a concert, and we don’t need to dig through our bag for another pair.

The Switch 2 comes with four sets of ear tips: XS, S, M, and L. If you’ve ever bought a pair of wireless earbuds, you know what to expect. However, if these are your first earplugs, definitely take the time to choose which pair best fits your ears; don’t take the options for granted. If you think badly-fitting AirPods ruin your music experience, you can imagine how badly-fitting earplugs affect you when you want peace and quiet.

The tradeoff with the Switch 2 is that it doesn’t offer every feature found in Loop’s individual earplugs. The standalone Loop Experience, for example, uses an internal acoustic construction designed to preserve music and sound quality while reducing volume. The Switch 2 doesn’t have that same construction, so its Experience setting isn’t quite the same as wearing dedicated Experience earplugs.

Packability

For travel, the Loop Switch 2 has a lot going for it. The earplugs themselves take up very little room, and the included case keeps everything together instead of the earplugs bouncing around loose in a travel sling. That’s an improvement over the original Loop case, which simply had the earplugs floating around inside. With the Switch 2, our earplugs feel much more secure and ready to grab when we need them.

The case also includes a stretchy loop that lets us attach it to keys, a bag, or another convenient anchor point. We like the idea because earplugs aren’t particularly useful if they’re buried at the bottom of a backpack when a noisy situation suddenly appears. We’re a little hesitant to attach the case to our keys, though, since there’s no dedicated locking mechanism. We haven’t had the case open accidentally, but it’s something we’d keep in mind when deciding where to carry it. It’s also important to place the earplugs in the correct orientation inside the case, as positioning them backward can make the case more prone to popping open.

Quick Comparison

The biggest question with the Loop Switch 2 is whether its versatility makes more sense than buying Loop’s other standalone earplugs. At the time of testing, Loop Quiet 2 costs about $25, while Experience and Engage each cost around $35. The Switch 2 costs about $59, putting it roughly in the same territory as buying Quiet plus either Experience or Engage.

The Switch 2’s advantage is that all three modes are immediately available in one pair. However, it doesn’t completely replace the individual versions because, for example, the standalone Experience has its own acoustic construction that the Switch 2 lacks. For casual users, we don’t think the difference is particularly significant; we certainly didn’t notice any. If you’re very particular about acoustics, however, the dedicated Experience could be worth choosing instead. For everyone else, the Switch 2’s flexibility is likely the bigger benefit.