Design Overview
A good combination of the standard firearm-related colors immediately draws one’s attention to this set of earmuff’s practicality. Materials used include metal and steel which is used mostly as the primary material for internal structures and strength while the outer casings use plastic. The ear-cups are conveniently slim, making this a good pair for both left and right-handed shooters. The headband is fabric-covered though, which I’d guess is for comfort.Check The Latest Price on Amazon!
Features & Application
Although the Noise Reduction Rating of 18 dB is a little bit on the lower end of what protective earmuffs offer, it’s truly a case of getting what you pay for with these MSA Sordin Supremes. I mean that in a good way because this is one of the better units available. They’re very durable and last really, really long, but they really earn their stripes when one considers their core function of reducing impulse noises to a comfortable and safe level of 82 dB. This simply means that the noise from your firearm is stifled to a non-damaging level, while natural sounds that are useful while hunting, shooting, etc., are recreated. These sounds are very realistic and because the earmuffs are very comfortable (if you use the gel paddings to be bought separately), I often find myself checking whether or not the earmuffs haven’t fallen off without me noticing. Basically, everything seems natural and you don’t even realize you have protective earmuffs on.
A couple of AAA sized batteries conveniently deliver power to the electronics of these earmuffs and the batteries last up to 600 hours. One of the electronic features of this unit is the streamlined addition of a boom microphone, possibly for someone who might want to plug into a communications unit. The integrated microphone is waterproof too, which makes these earmuffs just made for the great outdoors, but they work equally well at the shooting range. If you do hook up a communications unit to feed into your audio via a boom microphone, you still get really good sound quality which isn’t scrambled or garbled at all. At first glance, I thought the keypad would be a bit of a nightmare to use because of its design, but it isn’t and also one doesn’t really fiddle around with the electronics once you’ve got going anyway.
Pros
Although the headband is conveniently flexible, it’s shape is very stable so no disfigurement- The battery compartment is waterproof, so no risk of shorting the electronics
- The microphones are also waterproof and the unit comes with two of them which are separate.
- Microphones offer some of the greatest quality of sound which is topped off very well with directional sound detection and amplification
- Install gelled pads and you’ll be very hard-pressed to find a set of earmuffs more comfortable than these babies
Cons
- The microphones seem a bit TOO GOOD, i.e. they even catch the sound of the wind, but in all honesty, this makes outdoor shooting more of a pleasant experience. I can see why this could be a problem for some shooters’ though…
- The gelled caps which make this the most comfortable set of earmuffs don’t come with the unit itself and you have to order them separately
- The battery compartment design is a little bit illogical – they just could’ve done a better job, but only if it takes nothing away from the overall design and functionality of the hearing protection
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Verdict
You’ll definitely feel a dent in your pocket if you insist on buying this set of earmuffs because they don’t come cheap at all. Definitely worth the investment if you want effective protection for your hearing though, so in this instance the quality you get is worth the price. One of the truly great things about this set of earmuffs is their genuine durability. You will enjoy using them for a really long time; more than five years at least and this applies even if you visit the shooting range very often and use them extensively.