Hi All,
I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
Thanks for any advice you can give.
Steve
Steve wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
> and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
> like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
> tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>
> Thanks for any advice you can give.
>
> Steve
The $150 ear muffs usually have small microphones on each ear cup that
pickup sound and reproduce it thru a speaker in the cup. Normal sound
levels are passed straight thru, and some even amplify really quiet
sounds. Better models work in a "stereo" mode - where each ear has it's
own mic/speaker - so that you can tell where a sound is coming from.
When a loud noise is detected, the speaker shuts off, blocking the
sound. This type of hearing protection is nice because you can hear
what's going on around you, and you avoid the "clogged up" feeling you
get with ear plugs.
To choose what type of hearing protection will be best for you,
consider how you will use it. For example, do you want to put it on
when you enter your shop and leave it on, or do you want to grab it
before turning on a machine.
For me, a good bit of the time spent in the shop hearing protection is
not needed, so I use the less expensive, non-powered, ear muffs and
just put them on before turning on a loud machine.
Mike
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:56:06 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Hi All,
>>
>>I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
>>and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice
>>stores
>>like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
>>tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>>
>>Thanks for any advice you can give.
>>
>>Steve
>>
>
> I suspect it may have to do with the difference in sound between a
> router and a shotgun.
>
Yep, I was gonna add for the OP - be careful what you're looking at with
hearing protectors for hunters. The company I work for makes shooter's
plugs. They're similar to a hearing aid, but designed to allow normal
hearing except when "percussive" type sounds like a gunshot are detected. I
don't think they'd be very good for reducing noise level in a wood shop.
"Steve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
> and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice
> stores like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can
> anybody tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
About $120.
On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:56:06 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
>and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
>like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
>tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>
>Thanks for any advice you can give.
>
>Steve
>
I use the cheap $20 headsets and buy them for their comfort and ease
of use. It's rare, but I have put in ear plugs AND the headset. The
earplugs that expand in the ear canal work best for me (use these at
my job), but I prefer the headset.
"Steve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
> and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice
> stores like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can
> anybody tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>
> Thanks for any advice you can give.
Some have a volume, frequency, and/or bandwidth adjustments, and may be
weatherized or have passed testing for military specification as well. Also
they may have been tuned for specific environments.
Something to be aware of with active noise reduction is that it is most
effective at low frequencies, which are for the most part not the ones that
damage hearing. Passive protection is more effective at high
frequencies--any hearing protector you get you want to have good passive
protection. A David Clark 10A passive earmuff, which is simple and basic
and effective and produced in huge volume, goes for about 30 bucks.
Anything that goes for that price and includes electronics would have me
wary of what corners have been cut.
On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:56:06 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
>and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
>like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
>tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>
>Thanks for any advice you can give.
>
>Steve
>
I suspect it may have to do with the difference in sound between a
router and a shotgun.
On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:56:06 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
>and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
>like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
>tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
Of the versions I've looked at, the expensive versions allow lower
volume sounds to normally get in, only ramping up the reduction when
the noise level warrants it.
I'm a big enough believer in electronic noise reduction, and I value
my ears enough that I fly with a $1000 Bose ANR headset.
However, in the shop I have a set of $20 Peltor
<http://www.amazon.com/H10A-Professional-Hearing-Protector-Reduction/dp/B00009LI4K>
muffs near each machine, so I can whip them on and off as needed. I
feel that 30dB NRR is plenty in the wood shop, and the Peltors are
quite comfortable, durable, and an excellent value. Beware of
imitators, some muffs can be rated as low as 21 dB NRR, which is a far
cry from 30. I haven't seen enough of a workshop benefit to bother
with fancier, more expensive sets, or replace headset batteries.
If it's really hot in the shop, I'll switch to EAR foam in-ear plugs,
for comfort reasons. In rare super-loud situations, I can put foam
plugs in, and still wear the Peltors.
Sun, Oct 15, 2006, 1:17pm (EDT+4) [email protected] (B=A0A=A0R=A0R=A0Y)
doth sayeth:
<snip> I haven't seen enough of a workshop benefit to bother with
fancier, more expensive sets, or replace headset batteries. <snip>
Yep, I'm basically the same. When I'm working, with a machine on,
muffs are on. When I'm not working, muffs are off - I don't need to be
able listen to music or whatever, with muffs on.. New cost, probably
under $20. Any replacements will be similar - low-cost, that works.
JOAT
It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax
On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:56:06 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I started looking at the electronic hearing protectors offered to hunters
>and shooters- they mostly cost around $150 on up. Recently I notice stores
>like Woodcraft are selling electronic muffs in the $30 range. Can anybody
>tell me what the difference is for the more expensive units?
>
>Thanks for any advice you can give.
Read the specifications.
Mark
(sixoneeight) = 618