Thread: Electronic Ears?

Spurned by an e-mail from the NRA advertising these really cool yet really expensive electronic ear plugs Complete SoundGear Kit | Electronic Hearing Protection by SoundGear, I got to doing a little research into this long neglected part of my gear bag. The ability to chat it up at the range is very important to me as I spend more time gabbing than actually shooting as a way to limit shots fired and $$$ spent on a daily outing.


What I have found is a ton of different products out there in this market. I dont even know where to begin. So does anyone here have any experience with high end and low and electronic ears? IS there a good quality in the budget class? In the high end stuff is there junk to stay away from?

Things I want would be the ability to use a radio if I was using the full headset type, but i think Id prefer a good electronic earbud over the ability to use a radio.

I have used the Remington R2000 noise canceling earmuffs for 3+yrs and I like them havent had an issue new batteries couldnt fix no I just need to learn to turn them off.. I like the idea of the ear bud style but I cant get myself to spend that much $$$ on a set but when it get hot I cant stand to use my ear muffs.

Remington R2000 Electronic Earmuffs

If I understand the question correctly, the Howard Leight Impact Sport is my vote. Try ebay for low-end price on a quality pair of ears.

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Electronic hearing protection questions

Originally Posted by Uberdillo

If I understand the question correctly, the Howard Leight Impact Sport is my vote. Try ebay for low-end price on a quality pair of ears.

Search is your friend:

Electronic hearing protection questions

They are pretty awesome. I found mine on Amazon.com for like $45 a pair.

I find all earmuffs tend to get in my way while shooting rifles. Am looking for some good plug type devices, similar to the in-ear hearing aids, that would allow for normal conversation.

Originally Posted by Uberdillo

Search is your friend:

Electronic hearing protection questions

Don't be that guy. Thanks for the link though, it was helpful.

Another vote for Howard Leight Impact Sport. Allow you to carry on a conversation yet instantly block out loud noises. Used them at a USPSA match and was surprised how well they worked (carrying on a conversation while someone was shooting a stage). You can even turn them up and get super human hearing but the wind noise usually annoys me if it's not super calm so I rarely do that.

Another vote for the Howard Leight sets. Low profile, fold up nicely, comfy to wear, and have an auto power off for when you do forget to turn them off. A nice headband too. I bought mine from Amazon. Oh and they allow you to plug in an MP3 player or whatever - but I haven't used that feature yet.

Just noticed the Big-5 ad in today's newspaper has them for $49.99. Not a bad price (about the same as amazon).

Originally Posted by coupeowner

Another vote for the Howard Leight sets. Low profile, fold up nicely, comfy to wear, and have an auto power off for when you do forget to turn them off. A nice headband too. I bought mine from Amazon. Oh and they allow you to plug in an MP3 player or whatever - but I haven't used that feature yet.

I am also a Howard Leight fan. They work quite well. I did try plugging my iPod into them though and I had to jack up the iPod volume to max and still didn't have very good volume in the muffs. No biggy really as I didn't buy them for this purpose.

I have a set of the Howard Leigh Impact Sports (R-01526) NRR 22, and thought they were great until I used them at an indoor range. Bought a set of Peltor Tactical Pro's (MT15H7F SV) NRR 26, and was astounded at the difference. Both are good, but if your are shooting at an indoor range, or just want more protection, spend the extra coin for the Tactical Pro's. There are also some really good in-the-ear devices on the market for those that just can't stand muffs, but the good ones I've seen start at over 800 bucks!

+1 on the Peltor's. The $50 Howleight's are barely adequate for centerfire rifles and indoor pistol shooting.

Another vote for Peltor Tactical Pro. $160 on Amazon.com and worth every penny.

Electronic Ears? I bought a set of Remington at wal~mart 25.00 they are the coolest I love tech.

MSA Sordins.. I've run with Peltor 7S, Howard Leight, and MSA is always my first choice. No sound cut off is awesome. Three 7S are nice but bulky and have annoying sound clipping. My HL are reserve for my son when I vacuum..

Note that the Peltor 7s amplify sound better than MSA Sordins.

Originally Posted by dmancornell

+1 on the Peltor's. The $50 Howleight's are barely adequate for centerfire rifles and indoor pistol shooting.

shooting next to 16" 308s, shooting 10" ARs, under a roof, over gravel, next to walls, etc... i haven't ever thought to myself "i wish these Impact Sports were more adequate..."

i've used them for jack-hammering concrete inside a closed garage, and many other things... i don't think i've used them for shooting indoors, though- so i can't refute that part.

I've been very happy with my Howard Leight Impact Sports but I have not used them indoors yet.

+1 on the Peltor tactical pros. Adj volume for conversation is great. They do pretty good at staying out of the way on rifle stocks as they are fairly thin and a bit scalloped on the bottom, this was a big deal for me.

Originally Posted by BrentN

+1 on the Peltor tactical pros. Adj volume for conversation is great. They do pretty good at staying out of the way on rifle stocks as they are fairly thin and a bit scalloped on the bottom, this was a big deal for me.

this is one advantage of the peltors.. they're like 1/8" narrower on the bottoms of the muffs, and it makes a pretty big difference in some shooting positions..