The Knops adjustable volume ear plugs have a rather peculiar design reminiscent of a gramophone cone and stretched lobe earrings rolled into one!
The gramophone body of Knops is made of thermoplastic, while the volume ring is made of stainless steel. Knops can be washed by rinsing them under running cold water.
Knops ear plugs work on the same principle as analog hearing aids as in they handle incoming sounds. The difference though is that instead of amplifying sounds like most analog hearing aids, Knops decreases sound without the use of electronics.
There is no microphone, amplifier or speaker built-in to Knops because Knops doesn't cancel sounds like a pair of noise cancellation headphones.
Knops adjusts the volume of sounds in three increments of noise reduction so wearing Knops in your ears is like having three pairs of noise reduction earplugs in one compact solution.
Internally, Knops features acoustically-tuned filters so you can adjust the noise reduction of Knops from 10dB, 20dB and 30dB, all from the comfort of your ears and at the touch of a control knob built around the ring of Knops. Each earpiece works independently; hence so you can control the volume independently from each ear. You can also turn the volume knob all the way so you can hear without restrictions.
As far as fit, Knops have an in-ear fit so they fit inside the ear canal snugly like a regular pair of earphones via ear tips. There are tiny pull plugs behind the earpieces which helps keep Knops securely in the ears. Each ear plug weights 10 grams.
Included with Knops are a selection of two sets of triple-flange ear tips and three sets of foam ear tips.
Those familiar with lobe gauging or stretched ear lobes will see the similarities between the Knops adjustable volume ear plugs and stretched lobe earrings which native tribes around the world such as the renowned Maasai tribes of Kenya wear as part of their culture.
Having stretched lobes has now become part of urban fashion style too. That's certainly one main selling point of Knops because of Knops fashionable and trendy design. Coupled that with Knops simple, yet clever noise cancelling acoustic and there you find the appeal of Knops .
Knops do stick out of the ears, but then again so do most hearing aids which come with a negative social stigma attached.
Knops design makes a fashion statement and that's always a good thing when selling a product because something fashionable and "cool" is always socially accepted.
You won't feel weird wearing Knops ear plugs if you are heavy machinery operator or in a crowd doing a mosh pit at a rock concert. Buy it.