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Thread: Ear pro for conversation

  1. #1

    Ear pro for conversation

    I've always had trouble discerning voices from background noise but as I age it's getting worse. My current headset, Impact Pro, cuts amplification completely when shots are fired then ramps back up in a half second or so. Fine when I'm solo but often makes conversation and hearing instruction difficult. I double-up sometimes with foam earplugs, but that makes conversation effectively impossible.

    I need a setup to hear voices over typical background range gunfire while maintaining decent noise reduction. Can PF recommend a headset and/or earplug combination? Cost isn't a concern within reason.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter Paul D's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Scottsdale, AZ
    I have these Axil GS Extreme 2.0 on order. Supposedly they bring the gunshots down to hearing safe levels versus cuts out all sound itself. With my Sordins, if I am talking to someone and a shot goes off, their voice cuts in and out. I'll let you know how it works.


  3. #3
    I like Pro Ears Gold. Other electronic muffs seem too choppy for me.


  4. #4
    I have two pair of MSA Sordin Pro-X. They don't chop and are the most comfortable ear pro I've ever worn.

    That said I too have serious issues with hearing loss and background noise drowning out conversation that's right in your face that you can actually hear. It's very frustrating, but I haven't found an ear pro that helps with that. I use my Sordins when hunting because you can hear sounds from way far away that you'd never hear otherwise and protection is icing on the cake.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Southwest Pennsylvania
    I have both Peltor and Sordin electronic ear protection. Both work well. The Sordin is more expensive, but uses AAA cells, permitting the use of Eneloops. The Peltors use 9v. Sound quality of both is good but the Sordins are a bit better. Comfort of both is good.

    If/when I buy more, they will be Sordins.


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  6. #6
    I wish MSA would put the Sordin guts in a better insulated muff; the NRR is just not good enough for sustained shooting. My cheap HL Pro is quieter.

    I have not studied the notion of sound "compression" in a sustained noisy environment, like the rest of the platoon shooting while I am trying to hear and speak. If I can get the "Load and Make Ready", I am ok most of the time while the muffs are clipping.
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  7. #7
    With 100 straight days over 95 degrees this past summer, I finally sprung for a set of Otto active in ear plugs to substitute for my Sordins. Excellent performance and completely effective outdoors with anything short of USPSA Open pistol with really good isolation from impulse noise (-38 db with Shure olive tips) and at least as fast as the Sordins in recovery time. Indoors, I run them under the Sordins and get the concussion isolation and the extra protection needed with SBR sound levels indoors.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Archer1440 View Post
    Otto active in ear plugs to substitute for my Sordins. Excellent performance and completely effective outdoors with anything short of USPSA Open pistol with really good isolation from impulse noise (-38 db with Shure olive tips)
    While I understand the concept of gunshots as impulsive noise, is there a standard measure and how does 38 compare with other ear protection?

    (I went 'round and 'round with the Trevor Reduction, where he selected the frequency range he said to comprise most of gunfire [If it is impulsive, a shock wave, what is the "frequency"?] to show that his 20 dB NRR favorites were "really" 35 dB where it counted. I applied his method to my passive Peltors NRR 30 and came up with a value of 44. Quieter is quieter.)
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Archer1440 View Post
    With 100 straight days over 95 degrees this past summer, I finally sprung for a set of Otto active in ear plugs to substitute for my Sordins. Excellent performance and completely effective outdoors with anything short of USPSA Open pistol with really good isolation from impulse noise (-38 db with Shure olive tips) and at least as fast as the Sordins in recovery time. Indoors, I run them under the Sordins and get the concussion isolation and the extra protection needed with SBR sound levels indoors.
    This combo sounds promising. Do you have a link for the Shure olive tips? And how do you know which tips are compatible?

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by ArgentFix View Post
    This combo sounds promising. Do you have a link for the Shure olive tips? And how do you know which tips are compatible?
    Just Google "Shure olives", lot of sources for them (they are the black foam tips, the yellow ones are known as "foamies"). The tips are an industry standard size for most IEMs. I personally used the Shure olives and triple flange for years before moving to the Comply Canal tips (both for my in-ear ear pro and my IEMs).

    FWIW, love my Ops-Core AMPs with the NFMI plugs. Gives you the protection of doubling up while still being 99% of just running muffs alone in terms of sound reproduction and fidelity, which I personally find superior to my MSA/Sordin Supreme-X and TCI Liberator HP. ComTac VIs have an earplug mode where the speaker is extra loud to overcome you being doubled up, ComTac VIIs also have NFMI technology and even slicker than the AMP setup on paper.
    Last edited by Default.mp3; 11-01-2022 at 02:47 PM.

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