Good sound, simple controls - Sordin Supreme PRO-X Headband Camo Headband Headset

Hopefully these fall into the BOCO category since they cost 4x my last set of ear pro. A 5 year warranty is encouraging �

I work as a volunteer RSO several times a month and my last headset (Walker X-Cel) started cutting out and generally being a flake, so I decided to bite the proverbial bullet.

The Sordins are relatively comfortable even with the PVC foam pads (later changed out for gel; a significant improvement), however if you have larger ears they might be a little cramped.

Sound wise, they're quite good on the default "hunting" setting. The "shooting" setting has a very strange tuning, which I suspect is for emphasizing voice intelligibility. The way they drop out during loud sounds is much less jarring than other electronic ear pro I've tried. It's so smooth in fact, I've wondered if it was even working. They definitely are though. If someone's talking to you at the range, their voice drops out just as you'd expect, but the amplification comes back very quickly.

The ambient amplification is quite loud. I double-up with plugs and can still hear fine (i.e. over my tinnitus) even on the lowest volume setting. The control sounds (beeps) are fairly quiet, which I don't mind since I rarely adjust anything.

Speaking of which, the controls are nice and simple. The power button doesn't have to be held down to switch on, just a click. It just takes a second to power-up, which starts you on the "hunting" setting (identified by 1 beep), which is my preference, even at the range. A short press on the power button changes to "shooting" mode (identified by 2 beeps) and back again. Holding down for a second powers off. Then there's volume up/down and that's it. The other modes are for comms, which I haven't used.

Installing the batteries is a bit fiddly and the instructions aren't very helpful. The first cell has to go in negative-first, then needs to be pushed down with a pen or something to make room for the second cell, which goes in positive-first. Since they're allegedly going to last 400 hours, I'm not too worried about it.

I'd complain about the price, but amortizing the cost over the number of hours I'm using these compared to any other piece of gear I have for this stupid hobby, it's a pittance. They don't necessarily provide any more protection than other electronic muffs, but the experience is a lot better, and I'm using them a lot, so I'd call it a good investment.