monoblocks
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2004
- Posts
- 56
- Likes
- 5
I'll start by saying that it's been a while since I've been back here. Suffice to say that as I get older, high fidelity doesn't matter nearly as much as I once thought it did. Deteriorating hearing will do that. As does persistent visits to the local shooting ranges, often shooting a LOT of 5.56x45 and 300BLK. Even with proper hearing protection it takes a cumulative toll.
The reasons I started this thread involves both audio needs and the need for hearing protection, and the hope that I can do this with a single piece of equipment. I recently sampled a Bose Quietcomfort 35 headset and came away feeling that it's more than adequate for my modest, scaled-down audio listening needs these days, especially given the state of my hearing (some frequency loss, tinnitus, yada, yada). I was even more impressed by its noise cancelling capabilities. I've sold off most of my premium headsets and now only have my old HD800 and HD650 left, mostly kept as reminders of better (listening) days long past. But even those will go at some point, since with my ears I'm not really taking advantage of their sonic capabilities. So a simple, decent sounding, easily portable wireless headset seems like the way for me to go, and the Bose unit feels good enough for the meager task I'm asking for it to fulfill. Then an idea hit.
My old electronic earmuffs--Peltor Tactical 7S--has certainly done yeoman's work but it's seen better day given all the mileage I've put on these. I'd been mulling over the purchase of a replacement set, specifically the MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X, which based on reviews works extremely well at controlling the sharp report of ammo detonation. But they're not exactly cheap, usually selling in the $300 to $350 range. Now to an audiophile that sum size is usually considered a paltry pittance, but to a shooter that's a LOT of resources that could be going towards ammunition or reloading powder...or another firearm. Especially pertinent if I'm already thinking about a new set of audio cans.
The Bose 35 also sells in the $350 price bracket, so killing two birds with one 12GA shell of steel No.4 shot suddenly seems like the ideal convergence of a dual-purpose solution...if it's actually feasible to use something like the Bose in this role. I wish I still had my old NC Audio-Technica set to experiment with, but that thing always made music sound like overly tinny crap and even its NC skills were not particularly good.
So has anyone ever tried to use a NC headphone solely for hearing protection? If so, how did it work out?
The reasons I started this thread involves both audio needs and the need for hearing protection, and the hope that I can do this with a single piece of equipment. I recently sampled a Bose Quietcomfort 35 headset and came away feeling that it's more than adequate for my modest, scaled-down audio listening needs these days, especially given the state of my hearing (some frequency loss, tinnitus, yada, yada). I was even more impressed by its noise cancelling capabilities. I've sold off most of my premium headsets and now only have my old HD800 and HD650 left, mostly kept as reminders of better (listening) days long past. But even those will go at some point, since with my ears I'm not really taking advantage of their sonic capabilities. So a simple, decent sounding, easily portable wireless headset seems like the way for me to go, and the Bose unit feels good enough for the meager task I'm asking for it to fulfill. Then an idea hit.
My old electronic earmuffs--Peltor Tactical 7S--has certainly done yeoman's work but it's seen better day given all the mileage I've put on these. I'd been mulling over the purchase of a replacement set, specifically the MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X, which based on reviews works extremely well at controlling the sharp report of ammo detonation. But they're not exactly cheap, usually selling in the $300 to $350 range. Now to an audiophile that sum size is usually considered a paltry pittance, but to a shooter that's a LOT of resources that could be going towards ammunition or reloading powder...or another firearm. Especially pertinent if I'm already thinking about a new set of audio cans.
The Bose 35 also sells in the $350 price bracket, so killing two birds with one 12GA shell of steel No.4 shot suddenly seems like the ideal convergence of a dual-purpose solution...if it's actually feasible to use something like the Bose in this role. I wish I still had my old NC Audio-Technica set to experiment with, but that thing always made music sound like overly tinny crap and even its NC skills were not particularly good.
So has anyone ever tried to use a NC headphone solely for hearing protection? If so, how did it work out?
