About Pacific Ears and ACS
Pacific Ears (New Zealand) is an New Zealand based company dedicated to hearing conservation and the manufacture of custom-fit products for hearing protection and high quality audio. Pacific Ears is the sole license holder, manufacturer and supplier of the ACS Custom range in Australia.
The ACS PRO Series earplugs created a new era in level attenuating hearing protection. The PRO Series are vented to allow sound to pass both ways which means that remaining sound can escape directly through the filter providing one of the most natural sounding ear-plugs available.
ACS Custom Hearing Protection for Motorbiking and Motorsports
Everyone at ACS Custom Australia understands their responsibility in safeguarding your hearing. It’s a role we take very seriously and we take great pride in the knowledge that over the years, our innovative hearing conservation products have helped protect the hearing of many motor-sport enthusiasts and professionals.
The ACS PRO 27 and PRO 20 are the most commonly used hearing protection for motor-sport environments.
ACS PRO 27 Custom Hearing Protection
The PRO 27 earplugs offer the same incredibly natural sound as the rest of the PRO range while also offering a high-frequency peak which ensures that your hearing is protected from the most dangerous and intense sounds. Ideal for those working in the loudest of environments, the PRO 27 offers clear communication, unparalleled comfort and tailor-made attenuation to ensure that you can stay in touch and in tune with your environment. The PRO 27 filter also provides water resistance so it will also carry on performing in hot and humid conditions of a crash helmet or demanding industrial environments with no detriment to the attenuation.
The PRO 27 filter offers some of the strongest attenuation in the PRO range but still keeps all of the frequencies in balance. This allows you to stay protected but perfectly in touch with your environment. Offering levelled response up to 2kHz, the PRO 27 is perfect for the loudest environments, allowing complete clarity in extreme noise. In addition, the PRO 27 offers extra protection at the highest frequencies, so you stay safe from the most intense sounds. The Pro27 filter is very suitable if you like to reduce the road and engine noise and protects at the highest level against wind noise as well.
ACS Pacato Universal Hearing Protection
The Pacato 19 from ACS represents a leap forward in ready-to-go hearing protection for anyone that’s exposed to excessive noise on an occasional basis. Featuring the same design features that have made the ACS PRO series so successful the Pacato now brings a near flat response and the most natural sounding filter to a universal eartip that you can use right away.
The Pacato plug is comfortable, completely discreet and offers the most natural sound of any generic fit earplug in its class. With Pacato you can hear what you need to hear with all the clarity that you’re used to and easily converse and communicate without putting your hearing at risk.
The Pacato is one of the most discreet universal-fit plugs available with a flush fitting filter that enables the plug to sit comfortably in the ear with no protrusion making them ideal for use under headwear or in any situation where discretion for the wearer is desired.
Ready fit hearing protection is great for every now and then use. If you need hearing protection more regularly we recommend the custom Pro range for greater comfort and a perfect sound seal.
ACS PRO 20 Custom Hearing Protection
The PRO20 filter provides attenuation specifically designed for high noise situations where there is an emphasis on higher pitch frequencies. For motorsport the PRO20 provides protection against wind, road and engine noise whilst allowing the wearer to maintain situational awareness, hear the note of the engine and communicate clearly when stationary.
The Pro 20 gives the ability to extend your safe listening time by more than 5 times whilst hearing everything you usually would but at a lower, safer level.
How Can Speed Affect Your Hearing
Measurements taken by the Occupational Health and Safety Authorities show that at a speed of 80 kmh the sound level under the helmet is over 90 decibels. Speed has a significant effect on the sound level the driver or rider is exposed too.
For each 18 km/h increase in speed, the intensity of the sound is doubled. This means that at just over 100 km/h the driver or rider is exposed to approximately the same level as a circular saw operator who would not be allowed, by law, to operate the equipment without the mandatory use of hearing protection.
Using the government noise regulation figures implemented for the workplace, the safe exposure time relative to riding a motorcycle or racing in an open-topped car at certain speeds are as follows: More on Safe Exposure Time
All of the noise levels indicated above exceed the point at which hearing protection MUST be worn in a working environment.
Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is permanent and irreversible. Adequate protection of the hearing mechanism is as important as the use of a helmet and protective clothing.
Conventional foam and wax earplugs can be a solution but are often uncomfortable to wear and isolate the user because the situational awareness decreases. Alternatively if not inserted properly they provide little to no protection. Foam plugs are also costly as they are single use and that makes those hearing protectors environmentally unfriendly as well.
Custom made hearing protection provides an individual and unique fit for the user allowing guaranteed levels of protection, comfort and spatial awareness.
ACS Custom Driver Communicators
Incredible isolation, clarity and comfort giving you crystal clear comms in the most demanding environments.
Every inch a Performance Earpiece
The Drivercom is designed from the ground up with the performance racing environment in mind. Improved and refined over several years, our Drivercom earpieces offer a superbly clear and comfortable communication experience that’s second to none.
Using soft silicone the Drivercom is crafted to sit as flush in the ear as possible, this reduces the possibility of pressure being applied when wearing a crash helmet and ensures the earpiece is able to flex to accommodate changes in the ear shape that occur when a helmet is worn. In addition, using a softer silicone ensures that isolation is maintained at all times when in use so you always get clear communication that’s not clouded with outside noise.
Hearing Protection designed for Motorsport
The ACS ProDrivercom takes all the great features of the original Drivercom and adds to it. We discovered a need for a product which would give the user some ambient hearing allowing for more situational awareness to hear engine and exhaust notes and also for hearing safety cues such as warning alarms and sirens while still protecting the hearing of the user.
So we combined our tried and tested PRO hearing protection filter and the ACS Drivercom to create the perfect motorsport communication and hearing protection product.
The ProDrivercom can be fitted with either a Pro26 or Pro27 filter to suit your attenuation (sound reduction) needs and the type and level of sound in your environment.
Crystal clear Communication
Drivercom uses a single lightweight speaker that’s been selected to deliver crystal clear communications and work perfectly with the majority of radio systems. Using balanced armature technology, the Drivercom speaker is compact enough to fit discreetly in the ear allowing us to
Core strengths
Making sure that we use the right cable to deliver your sound is as important as every other aspect in the design of our earpieces. Starting with the best conductive core we then add Kevlar threads for strength and flexibility so that we can be sure you’ll get the performance you demand. Each cable is sheathed with a special finish that reduces the transmission of friction noise to the earpieces so there’s as little interference as possible. The cable is then clamped at the Y divide with a custom pressed lengthened binder to give it extra strength where you need it most. (Pro) Drivercom can be made with a short throw (30cm) or long throw (140cm) cable depending on which is most suitable for your application. There are several options for the connector as well, like 3.5 mm connector, DIN-connector and Lemo connectors for Stilo helmets.
Tried and tested
Having been in use in demanding racing environments for many years Drivercom and Pro Drivercom have been redesigned and refined to give you the most comfortable, durable and functional earpieces available. Being purpose designed for your ear and your environment, you can be sure that (Pro)Drivercom will give you exactly the performance you need so you can concentrate on what you do best.
(Pro)Drivercoms are customised binaural earpieces enabling drivers, riders and pit crew to receive clearly in levels of high noise. The ACS (Pro)Drivercom is always custom-made for your ear and to your individual specifications.
Our background in audiology coupled with manufacturing expertise allows us to advise on all aspects of best practice hearing conservation and communication. The ACS (Pro)Drivercom has been used in the Formula 1 for over 15 years, in Formula 2, in Supercars and Speedway Racing.
For more information about Pacific Ears’ full range of ear protection, in-ear monitors and communication products, please visit the website or contact us for an introduction.
Email: info@pacificears.co.nz
Tel: +61 1300 905010