In reading my post above,
Keystone19250, I think I went off the deep end a little too fast.
For that, I apologize, but I wanted to give you a bit more information than what you'd asked for - I guess I got carried away!
Sorry!
So, stepping back a bit, let's start off by actually answering your question above:
"Will you be better off with electronic muffs?"
The answer is still a "no," but allow me to dissect this a bit for you.
The answer is "no" mainly because electronic over-the-ear protection - or in-ear protection, for that matter - is mainly designed to help you hear thing that are not as loud as the gunshot (or whatever other loud noise you're trying to protect yourself from). The microphones and electronics in these systems allow them to not only protect you from loud noises, but will also amplify lower-level noises, too, to both maintain and even enhance situational awareness. And it's also in this vein that electronic ear protection help you maintain the ability to communicate effectively with your shooting partners.
This said, most electronic hearing protection actually have *lesser* NRRs versus their passive counterparts.
So if noise is really what bothers you, pairing those in-ear plugs with a set of larger, more sound-isolating passive muffs (NRRs typically between 32 to 34) will usually do a better job.
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And to expand a bit more on what I wrote about electronic earpros above, here's a copy-paste of an old post of mine (from November, 2017) on XDTalk:
As for answering your specific question,
JWA, the high-end models by ProEars, MSA/Sordin (including OE for TCI), and 3M/Peltor all offer extremely good over-the-ear protection and are designed with both firearms use and comfort in-mind, for anything ranging from hobby/recreational to competition/duty use. Any of these are well worth the spend.
At the range or in training classes, you'll see the cool kids in their MSA/Sordins. The main reason is because they are just damned comfortable, with the higher-end models offering "gel" earcups that are often referred to as "angel vaginas"
(note that lower-line models can be retrofitted with gel-cups, as they are sold separately as user-serviceable components). The Supreme Pro X also boasts excellent weathersealing, which may be important for those who live in wetter climates and/or for those who tend to train year-round. Using two AAA batteries, this makes the unit economical to fuel, and yes they are typically battery misers. Their earcups are very low-profile and thus unobtrusive to even the most tactical-turtled shooter, but this would lead one to suspect that they're not the best at muffling gunshots - however their design proves otherwise as they specifically target noise in those frequencies. There is also a model with an integrated LED lamp, which is useful for all sorts of low-light use. Similarly, models with upgraded headbands also can offer better comfort, and their headbands offer just the right amount of tension to help keep the muffs in-place, even if the shooter is performing dynamic activities (which, for me, was a big issue with the Howard Leight Impact Sports as well as my Brownell's [OE by Altus/ProEars, the same as their "Pro-series," more on ProEars, below]) .
The bad? Their battery-case design is a known weakness, and a good percentage of the units either suffer defects out-of-the-box or manifest with this problem soon thereafter. With their country-of-manufacture being Sweden, out-of-pocket individual buyers are out-of-luck in terms of paying for the unit's trip to that country for warranty service (which is, however, excellent; and for warranty service, they cover the return postage). A stateside company,SRS Tactical out of Florida, offers a diagnostic-and-repair service of approx. $80 (plus shipping to their location) to diagnose and replace the battery box, which is about the same cost as shipping to Sweden, and this repair is also open to out-of-warranty units as well. Some of the luckier owners who see this issue - like myself - see it to a lesser extent, and are able to shim the batteries with conductive copper/aluminum tape to offer a tight enough fit inside the battery box to work around this issue (my headset would cut out when it got warm, when the battery box expanded and the battery post would lose contact with the terminal). Subjectively, some folks feel that sound rendition isn't as good in this unit as it could be, and others, like myself, complain of wind-noise speaker shutdown.
This has been my main stand-alone set as of the last 2 years.
An USA-made alternative to the Sordins are the 3M/Peltor Comtac units, which also use AAAs and are also highly weather-resistant. Higher-end units here also offer the optional gel-cups (which means that you can also retrofit lower-line models with the same, after-the-fact). These are also often offered with comms capabilities, and are furthermore designed with integration into modern "high cut" tactical helmets in-mind. While a bit bulkier in appearance than the Sordins, their overall shape and size actually allow them to easily clear tactical-turtle shoulders and/or various gun-stocks. I'm actually an embarrassingly good example for this, as my ears of combatives/martial-arts have made me a turtler
- but as you can see in the images here:
https://www.xdtalk.com/posts/6835817/ , it clears my shoulders and my AR's stock just fine, and yes, that's what I run when I have my make-belief-ninja-operator gear on: those OD Comtac IIIs (without comms) are slaved to my Team Wendy Ballistic Helmet via Unity Tactical's MARKs.
Subjectively, I find their sound reproduction to be only OK (maybe a little bit better than the Sordins, but not by much), but I'd like for them to be able to be bumped up a little louder, in terms of amplification.
When my daughter started shooting about 3 years ago (when she was 8 and 1/2), I decided to upgrade my earpros as well as to invest in hers. At the time, my primary set was a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sports, and I wanted something that offered noise compression instead of clipping, to better facilitate my communication with her during our range sessions. I went with the ProEars Gold Series (the "SC" model, at that time) for her, due to the higher NNR and a trial-fit that suggested it would work very well with her head size/shape (as well as the previously mentioned rebranded Pro-Series units for me).
American made, using long-lasting N-batteries, these units offer truly exceptional sound reproduction (the Gold Series, in-particular, has outstanding attack/release time), but I find that they are nowhere near as comfortable in the long haul versus the above two units using gel-cups. Also, while their headbands are generously sized, they don't offer enough "squeeze," and can displace from vigorous physical activity much more easily than the Sordins (unfortunately, I've never used the Comtac IIIs as stand-alones), despite the unit feeling as if though it's squeezing your head more...likely as a byproduct of the less comfortable ear-cups.
[
Please also recall from my previous post above that my daughter thought the ProEars did not perform as well as the Sordins where it comes to the AR. ]
In addition to the Impact Pros, I also own a set of Caldwell E-Max Low Profile and a 3M/Peltor Tactical 100.
Currently, at the lower end with "clipping" electronic earpros, I think the fight is really between the perennial favorites, the Howard Leight Impact Sports (which can be had for as low as $35 to $40), versus the 3M/Peltor Tactical 100s (around $60, full-retail, with discounts running them into the $45 range, to be competitive with the Impact Sports). While the Tactical 300/500 models offer more features, I feel that those features are neither necessary (Bluetooth integration) nor wanted (the hard headbands): to me, the biggest feature of these lower-line and less expensive 100s is the ability of these units to take the coveted 3m/Peltor gel-cup inserts, which essentially renders top-tier comfort to a much more affordable set of earmuffs that's easy on the pocketbook of most shooters.
Whatever you choose, if you tend to store the headsets between use, I would recommend making the spend for lithium primary batteries (yes, even the lithium AAAs) so as to further minimize the chances of alkaline battery leakage and damage.
Similarly, look for a removable headband cover. This is something that the ProEars do not offer, as their headbands are an integrated plastic arc that can be user-replaced/serviced - but comes with an integrated synthetic leather/foam pad that does not "breathe." Aftermarket covers made by OC Tactical, for-example, use a cordura/Dri-Lex setup that makes long days under the sun considerably more bearable.
Also, please consider giving this old post of mine a read, too:
https://www.xdtalk.com/posts/7396777/
Currently I’m using both 32 NRR Plugs and muffs and I’m wondering if electronic muffs would be my best option.
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