Pro Ears - Pro Mag Gold - Electronic Hearing Protection and Amplification - NRR 30 - Shooting Range Ear Muffs

I use these for USPSA shooting which requires a lot of communication while still protecting your hearing. They are excellent for this purpose. I've had my pair for SIX years. They are expensive for what they consist of, the best product available, the highest rated [NRR 33] and customer service is very good. You do however have to be smarter than the product you are dealing with and make sure you wear them properly on your head. The ear cup must be as high as possible under the ear and your glasses have to have a flat or near flat ear piece so as not to make a sound leak at the sealing cup. I'm an NRA Instructor and you would be amazed at what I see in class and in the range. One third of the people have the ear cups hanging past the jaw bone onto their NECK ! I kid you not. If you have glasses with 1/8" square [ cross section ] earpieces or larger, as many are, you are letting in noise. The downside to All Pro-Ears I have tried is the composite headband. It will not give you a headache BUT it is a poor substitute for a simple wire headband. The composite band does not hold the earmuff tight enough against your head for a great seal against sound leakage in the most extreme LOUD events - like compensated pistols shot indoors. The headband does lose strength over time and I had to replace it. I am sure Pro-Ears is saving money with the composite but a wire headband would make it much better and an almost perfect product. If you buy a pair get the Lithium 123 battery model; the N batteries are expensive and do not last long. If they lasted the advertised 250 hours I would have been ecstatic. I went to Radio Shack and replaced the battery holder in each cup so instead of "N" I could use AAA batteries. I think AAA had THREE times as much power in them as the N. Although I have taken great care with these I have fine cracks in the cup edges. The factory said they'd take a look at them to see what they could do. They would not even sell me new cups or give me info or any direction as to what their policy is on this, just send them in and 'the guys in the back,' will look at them and give me a report of what to do. I am not happy with this but I'll see how it plays out. Will they replace the cups [which they should] or did I go thru all the work of packing and shipping only to tell them to junk them because it makes no sense to pay $200.??? for repair.

Summary: I've used the Pro Ears Pro Mag Gold Electronic Hearing Protection & Amplification Ear Muffs for a few weeks now to shoot rifles and to mow the lawn and am only "ok" with them (overall grade B-, would recommend for expert user who demands top level protection and performance. For shooting small caliber rifles I would rate them A for excellent sound dampening, good comfort, ability to hear amplify nature beyond human level, and fast cut in/out for speech. For lawn mowing and similar noise environments I would rate them C for ok sound dampening, ok sound level for music player input, and ok comfort.I based all my opinions while comparing them to a similar but far less expensive "Howard Leight R-01526 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff"Pros:High level sound dampeningVery fast cut in/out for gun shotsExtra large comfortable ear muffsAuto shut offFast cut outs for bullets firingCons:**PRICE******Very Large form factor (too large and awkward for my tastes)Rough edges (not very refined outer appearance)Uses 4 special extra small batteriesVolume knobs stick out far (unsightly and easy to bump on by accident)Doesn't fold down very wellNo carry bag included (for size and cost a free bag would be nice)2 large volume knobs (would be better with just 1 knob and better size/placement)Overall I would only suggest this product for expert or professional users who has tried other similar devices and want top of the line protection/sound quality. **And who doesn't mind looking very awkward with very large ear muffs with large knobs sticking out each muff. I would prefer the $50 Howard Leight R-01526 by far, largely do to size difference of the units.Why you should listen to my review- I am 23 years old, avid marksmen with rifles, pistols, indoor/outdoor ranges, and hunting. Also a member of the Ohio National Guard who runs M16 ranges for 12+ hours with over 10,000 rounds fired.

Have used this product weekly for over two years.Audio quality is better than anything else made. There is no audio lag after a shot is fired.The headset is comfortable.I do not like the size "N" battery. AAA would be more convenient.Does not auto power off.Occasionally the power knob will turn on during transport in the range bag. Will discover dead batteries a week later.One star deduction for only a couple rather trivial complaints.I'd buy them again, they're worth it.

I really wanted to love this product. Especially for how much I paid for them. But I've had them for a year now and I HATE them! These are NOT 33 NRR's. They MIGHT be 15 NRR's. I have another pair of passive pro ears that I bought for $25 that are rated at 26 NRR and they block sound far better than the 33NRR Golds do. You cannot wear these muffs alone in ANY shooting situation...indoor or out. They simply do NOT block the noise.And this is AFTER I sent them back to Pro Ears! That's right. I sent them in because of their complete and utter inablity to block loud noise. I was told they beefed them up but they came back just as inadequate as ever. Turned on or off they flat out suck! I cannot understand why these things are so highly regarded. They are dangerous!The only way I can wear them is with plugs underneath. And they do work well in that configuration because you can crank the volume up and hear conversational noise better. But you shouldn't have to double up (outside) on a pair of muffs that are this expensive (I always double up indoors).Save your money! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!