New wireless earpro model from Axil

[Archer1440]

Just released- https://goaxil.com/collections/ear-buds/products/xcor

I use OTTO Noizebarriers, which have worked very well for me, and these seem to be a similar price, but with BT function added, and they seem to tick the boxes occupied by Axil's twice as expensive GS Digital buds. Will be interested to see if anyone has early reports.

Bud type earpro with the correct tips has its place, but not indoors and not around open guns, without doubling up. I run my Sordins over my OTTOS in those circumstances, but outdoors, at typical non-comped pistol SPL's, the OTTOS work well, and these have a similar NRR rating.

[Archer1440]

Quick review after using a set of these AXIL XCOR ear pro wireless buds for today's USPSA match:

My baseline for comparison is an 18 month old set of OTTO Noizebarriers, which are more or less a similar price and have worked very well for me.

-Battery life is OK, seems similar to the OTTO. More than enough for my match, which started at 0800 and wrapped up about 1400. However, a continuous BT connection would have killed these sooner- I only used them as ear pro (and cranked all the way as I was scoring part of the match). The OTTO can go literally for months before the case needs a recharge, and these are only good for a total of three charges before you have to charge the case. These have a USB-C plug, OTTO has a Micro-USB, so advantage AXIL for that. On the other hand the OTTO case tells you exactly what the charge state of the buds and the case is, and this won't (unless you get the bud charge state from your phone, if connected to BT)

-Wind suppression is most definitely not as good as the OTTO. Even a very light breeze (or a brisk walking pace) creates noteworthy wind noise. Not good but not quite a deal breaker, more of a slight annoyance.

-Attack and decay times seem reasonable, but the decay could be a just bit quicker. Like the OTTO's, these use a "noise ceiling" approach rather than the full on clipping common to some cheaper active ear pro, so you can still hear a conversation while shots are being fired.

-General SQ is ok, nothing special, but not bad. When listening to music, they are maybe on par with Shure 215, so not audiophile quality by any means, but not terrible either. For the pass-through ambient sound, pretty much on par or even maybe a bit better than the OTTO's.

-Controls are for the most part well thought out and seem to work fine. The touch controls are no more or less "fiddly" than most. The sound level physical buttons are very good.

-Hardware: The charging case seems solid and well constructed, as are the earbuds themselves. However they do not have wireless recharging- USB-C only. On the other hand, it is fairly compact. Also comes with a soft clamshell case to hold the charging case, USB cable, and extra ear tips.

-Bluetooth function: I don't listen to music or take calls during a match, but the BT function is fine, on par with anything else I have connected to my iPhone. I have not attempted any phone calls with these so cannot comment on the SQ in that situation. For times when I am at the indoor range and these are under my Sordins, the BT might be useful. Maybe. For people who want to listen to music or podcasts, or take calls while shooting, I imagine it will be a welcome feature. If I didn't have various high end full isolation IEM's from Shure and SONY wire free options, this would be more attractive as a "do a lot of things" item. For example, it would probably be OK for NC for flying or a high speed train.

-Ear tips are more or less on par with Shure olives, which are pretty much the very best non-custom tips you can use, but the diameter of the sound tubes is to the SONY diameter standard, so you're looking at something like Comply tips or SONY dual-density foam for replacements if you don't go OEM. These seem very similar to the coated (therefore more comfortable) Comply tips, and might well be. The ones that came mounted out of the box are a medium size and density and worked fine, for me. There are also Spinfit-style silicone tips that are not rated for gunfire, but would probably be fine for other uses.

I have 28 days to decide to keep or return these AXIL's, will shoot another match tomorrow, half with the OTTO's and half with these, and will make a decision after that. If I didn't have the OTTO's, and I wanted another IEM style set of ear pro, I would very likely be OK with these.

[Unclebud]

Thanks for the very informative review, will wait for your verdict after your next match.

[Archer1440]

Have shot two additional matches since that first review. Not much to add to my previous comments. Keeping them.

Found that in hot weather, the medium supplied tips tend to slowly work their way out of my ears, which doesn’t happen with Shure olives. Tip fit is of course a very individual factor- the effect was more pronounced in my left ear. After getting caught out on one stage I was careful to reseat before making ready.

I will be trying the next size up (included in the kit) for my next Area match which will be over a four day period later this week, shooting and then running as an RO.

I did inadvertently connect the Bluetooth to my phone a couple times when reseating the ear tips by accidentally pushing on the touch controls. A mild annoyance but easily preventable by pushing on a different part of the device body.

Other than that, battery life is better than expected - running continuously from 0800-1400 today in an eight stage Steel Challenge today with audio boosted to max and still had 80 percent level.

[Archer1440]

Follow up #2:

Shot the staff portion of the Area 1 Steel Challenge, and spent two days so far as an RO, with one more day to go as of this update.

Today, I started out with the large size plugs in the AXIL XCOR, and ran several squads. After that, I ran another set of squads with the OTTOS.

Wind came up at up to 21 mph halfway through the first session. While I could still hear the plates clearly, the wind noise suppression and the sound clarity was not as good as it could have been.

With the OTTOS, however, even though the wind was even stronger by that point when I changed over, there was no relative wind roar at all. Clarity of the plates was better, and they did a better job isolating me when open shooters came through.

Bottom line: The OTTO Noizebarriers have superior sound quality in windy conditions, and better clarity in windy conditions compared to the AXIL XCOR. The OTTOS are smaller but block noise a bit better (using Shure olives, in my ears, in my personal experience).

Unless you really need the bluetooth connection, purely considering function as active ear pro, in my opinion the OTTO is a superior choice, especially as there is not much street price difference between them.

[Slavex]

I too use the Ottos but had custom plugs made to fit them, fine indoor and around Open guns at a match, I wonder if one could do the same for these? What does the stem look like with the foamy removed?

[Archer1440]

I too use the Ottos but had custom plugs made to fit them, fine indoor and around Open guns at a match, I wonder if one could do the same for these? What does the stem look like with the foamy removed?

It’s a sealed Sony spec diameter tube, with what appears to be a fixed filter. (Ottos use the smaller diameter Shure tube spec).

I think the charging case would be incompatible with a custom plug.

[JCN]

@Archer1440 thanks for the reviews!

I have been using the cheapo Walker 1.0s which I like. Bought the 2.0 which promptly malfunctioned and died.

My Walker 1.0s are cracking and splitting so kept an eye out for replacements.

Facebook ad for the Axil XCOR on sale for $250 so thought I would try them out.

I typically had been using the Walkers under muffs and for Steel Challenge turning on the amplification of the muffs and the earbuds. For USPSA, usually just use the buds as passive earplugs and use the electronics on the muffs.

I sometimes listen to music or audiobooks at the range when setting up targets or bench resting / ballistic testing.

I have taken work calls as well and that’s a nice feature of the BT ear pro.

I use BT hearing pro as my normal earbuds with the thought that it’s extra protection in the unlikely event of self defense.

At matches, I have occasionally reviewed video or listened to par time beeps (for fixed time standards) and being able to do that without bothering others is nice.

Looking forward to trying these out after your reviews! Most of the time they’re under muffs so hopefully the wind issue won’t be a factor.

[1911Nut]

I have been using the AXIL XCOR ear buds for about 5 weeks now and have had good luck with them. My experiences almost exactly mirror those of Archer 1440 in his earlier posts. I am still fiddling around with the supplied tips to find the ones that best suit my needs.

[JCN]

I think they seal better than the Walkers and seem well constructed.

While they may not be as good as Ottos, for $250 they seem a good alternative to the Walkers.