Best electronic ear muffs?? Best value
- Thread starter harv50
- Start date
I also have the Howard Leight muffs and would buy them again if mine ever failed. Great on batteries and do not hurt with safety glasses.
Only drawback is with the low profile if you want to wear a beanie that is cuffed then there will be a gap because the padding cannot work with that kind of depth change.
Only drawback is with the low profile if you want to wear a beanie that is cuffed then there will be a gap because the padding cannot work with that kind of depth change.
michaelnel
Old and In The Way
My problem with the Impact Sports is the ear pads. They are fairly inflexible and do not seal well, especially if you are wearing glasses with relatively thick temples. If they don't seal, the sound leaks in and pummels your eardrums.
I have had good results from the HL Impact PROs, but they are so bulky to achieve their rating of 33 NRR that they bump my rifle stock.
I have the very expensive MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with the gel cups too. Good clearance from the stock, very comfortable because of the gel cups and they seal well. Unfortunately their NRR is only 18db, and the amplifiers in them are terrible. Not much gain and the audio that comes through is very low fidelity, almost like it is going through comb filter or something.
I tried the 3M Peltor Tactical Sports with the optional gel pads. Very comfortable, sealed well, but NRR of 20 and they were very loud.
I switched to the Etymotic Research GSP-15 High Definition electronic ear plugs. Those finally work GREAT. My only complaint about them is that it is way too easy to inadvertently switch the high gain switch off. These along with the MSA Sordins provide a really great solution. Lots of gain for ambient sounds, comfortable, and lots of attenuation. But that is about $700 worth of hearing protection, so they ought to work!
I have had good results from the HL Impact PROs, but they are so bulky to achieve their rating of 33 NRR that they bump my rifle stock.
I have the very expensive MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with the gel cups too. Good clearance from the stock, very comfortable because of the gel cups and they seal well. Unfortunately their NRR is only 18db, and the amplifiers in them are terrible. Not much gain and the audio that comes through is very low fidelity, almost like it is going through comb filter or something.
I tried the 3M Peltor Tactical Sports with the optional gel pads. Very comfortable, sealed well, but NRR of 20 and they were very loud.
I switched to the Etymotic Research GSP-15 High Definition electronic ear plugs. Those finally work GREAT. My only complaint about them is that it is way too easy to inadvertently switch the high gain switch off. These along with the MSA Sordins provide a really great solution. Lots of gain for ambient sounds, comfortable, and lots of attenuation. But that is about $700 worth of hearing protection, so they ought to work!
To me it makes a difference on what caliber you are shooting, if you shooting out in the open or under a covered overhead and if someone next to you is shooting and what caliber they are shooting. Since you asked about "value" you might try the Caldwell E-Max Low Profile. They are very inexpensive and I have used the same pair for several years with no problems. They were cheap enough I bought a extra pair and have never had to use that extra pair. I have spent my entire adult life around military and commercial airplanes and have found that the best ear plugs are the yellow Ear Classic ear plugs, although the military almost always required us to wear ear muffs and in certain situations ear muffs and ear plugs together. Another option if you want custom ear plugs is to go to a hearing aid store and have them make you a set of custom ear mold plugs. When shooting my 6BR I wear the yellow ear plugs, large calibers I wear the Ear Muffs and if you really need protection wear ear plugs and ear muffs.
I normally wear ear plugs but it seems, for some reason, that it gets harder and harder to get them in. Don't think my ears are getting smaller but something isn't the same.. Thats why I thought maybe muffs. I have tried them years ago and they always seemed to be in the way so thought maybe i'd try again but didn't want to get expensive ones if I ended up not using them.. They are needed, two of the guns are 6Dasher and 6.5X284 both braked.
Remember ear plugs have a limited life span. The yellow Ear Classic plugs I use are stiff to begin with and have to be rolled up between your fingers, inserted in your ears and held there until they expand in the ear canal. They also become harder and do not expand as well over time and multiple use.harv50 said:
michaelnel
Old and In The Way
snakepit said:
When I use foamies I roll them up and then stick them in my mouth for a sec to get them wet, then slide them in. Really helps.
I use the GSP-15 by Etymotic Research. I have tried several different electronic muffs through the years and felt that most of them did not have adequate protection or adequate fidelity. The Etymotic plugs work extremely well in any and all shooting conditions. I shoot rifle, pistol and shotguns with excellent protection both indoors and outdoors, in the open and under roofs. I think they are well worth the money and are really the best buy.
Cort
Cort
michaelnel
Old and In The Way
One of our members here, normmatzen, designed the amplifiers for the Etymotic units when he was working there as an analog engineer. He will likely join in when he notices this thread.
First, I don't wear muffs.
After 20 years in the hearing science business and designing and testing hearing aids as well as taking the Audiology graduate course and a local University, my reasons follow.
First, an explanation of NRR. This is an OSHA generated metric used to gauge the effectiveness of a hearing protection device considering the average slop in applying them. So, a pair of yellow foamies, which actually have about the best protection available IF INSERTED CORRECTLY may have a correctly inserted noise reduction of 38 dB or so, with poor insertion may drop to 20 db! So, the manufacturer may test a device to 38 dB but must reduce that rating by the statistical loss due to poor insertion. Hence the NRR rating for yellow foamies in the high 20's. But, with proper insertion, they can yield 38 dB of protection.
However, The standard ear muff may have the same NRR rating as, say, a yellow foamie, but the muff's best case noise reduction is still way below the best of the foamies! This is a fact not well known and rarely discussed.
What do I use for protection while shooting? Simple, I use
a pair of Etymotic Research GSB-15s. These devices allow you to hear soft sounds normally or with a slight gain and have a compressor function that reduces the gain up to 5 times at moderate noise level and the output is clamped at about 117 dB SPL which is also 40 dB below the peak of average rifle blasts. These devices also can attenuate up to 38 dB if properly inserted. The EB-15 is priced lower than a lot of competing devices and is around $300 per pair street price. Note, this is cheaper than Etymotic's price as they sell everything at manufacturer's list price to protect their distributors. This may be a lot more than a pair of foamies or even ear muffs, but I will not go back! Also, folks may complain about $300 for excellent hearing protection but complain while they order a new N-F Competition! Where are your priorities? The GSB-15 allows you to protect your hearing while saving a bit of money.
After 20 years in the hearing science business and designing and testing hearing aids as well as taking the Audiology graduate course and a local University, my reasons follow.
First, an explanation of NRR. This is an OSHA generated metric used to gauge the effectiveness of a hearing protection device considering the average slop in applying them. So, a pair of yellow foamies, which actually have about the best protection available IF INSERTED CORRECTLY may have a correctly inserted noise reduction of 38 dB or so, with poor insertion may drop to 20 db! So, the manufacturer may test a device to 38 dB but must reduce that rating by the statistical loss due to poor insertion. Hence the NRR rating for yellow foamies in the high 20's. But, with proper insertion, they can yield 38 dB of protection.
However, The standard ear muff may have the same NRR rating as, say, a yellow foamie, but the muff's best case noise reduction is still way below the best of the foamies! This is a fact not well known and rarely discussed.
What do I use for protection while shooting? Simple, I use
a pair of Etymotic Research GSB-15s. These devices allow you to hear soft sounds normally or with a slight gain and have a compressor function that reduces the gain up to 5 times at moderate noise level and the output is clamped at about 117 dB SPL which is also 40 dB below the peak of average rifle blasts. These devices also can attenuate up to 38 dB if properly inserted. The EB-15 is priced lower than a lot of competing devices and is around $300 per pair street price. Note, this is cheaper than Etymotic's price as they sell everything at manufacturer's list price to protect their distributors. This may be a lot more than a pair of foamies or even ear muffs, but I will not go back! Also, folks may complain about $300 for excellent hearing protection but complain while they order a new N-F Competition! Where are your priorities? The GSB-15 allows you to protect your hearing while saving a bit of money.
I just used my howard leight impact pros for the first time and am very happy with them. I usually use plugs and muffs together and will continue to do so. These muffs are very comfortable and paired with ess suppressor eye protection I hardly knew they were there. I used the impact sport for five years during competition and was very happy with them. the only issue I have with the impact pro is that the hearing magnification is not great but I could not care less about that. I just need a little amplification now and then but for the most part the electronics are off.
Very good set of muffs for $68 amd I would buy them again. very comfortable amd attenuation is great. Maybe someday I will pick up the etymotics but for now this is what I am going with. From the calculations I have found on the web I am getting 37db of noise reduction with good plugs and muffs.
Mike
Very good set of muffs for $68 amd I would buy them again. very comfortable amd attenuation is great. Maybe someday I will pick up the etymotics but for now this is what I am going with. From the calculations I have found on the web I am getting 37db of noise reduction with good plugs and muffs.
Mike
dogdude
Egan O'Brien
I've been using Peltor electronics for years, don't remember the NRR # but when the batteries are good I hear all ''range commands'' with no problem. Years ago I just loved walking near the line with the Peltors being able to hear people speak and no big Bangs. If you need better stock clearance just turn them upside down(the cups) and your muffs won't touch the stock (usually) Don't know if others will work like this. $65ish
PS just saw the Bullets.com set for $15.95 with the big stuff at the top, so with these you won't have to flip the cups upside down! Shiraz you've got a order inbound.
PS just saw the Bullets.com set for $15.95 with the big stuff at the top, so with these you won't have to flip the cups upside down! Shiraz you've got a order inbound.
I tried a few and the best I found for rifle use at the range were the Peltor Pro Tac 2. A lot of them seem designed for shotguns and don't have enough sound attenuation (I tried the Sport Tac but sent them back and got the pro tac instead for that reason).
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