Hi Everyone
I had an opportunity this week to try my new ear protection - a pair of soundgear phantoms. I've been looking for a hearing protection option specifically for turkey, grouse, clay shooting and pistol shooting which is most of my time behind a gun. I have passed up more shots than I'd like to admit because I did not want to ring my own bell. I've got medium severity tinnitus and hearing loss from working construction, headphone use, and other noise exposure as well as damage from shooting sports.
I got the product free (essentially) by using an OTC hearing aid benefit I have through my health insurance. If you're a US based shotgunner you may have the same style of benefit that I do.
Skip to the bottom for my overall rating and impressions.
Purchasing and Fitting
I purchased the product out of pocket, had Soundgear set up an appointment with an affiliate audiologist, and got ear molds made. From purchase to product in my ears was about 30 calendar days (mostly due to the appointment schedule of the audiologist).
Range Time and Shooting Experience
My partner and I went to our (outdoor) range yesterday and I shot the following calibers:
9mm
.308
12ga 1330fps top guns
There was a group of folks prepping for a pistol match as well as another shooter at our range shooting 9mm.
The sound gears performed really really well quieting the shooting of others to a more than comfortable level. They also quieted my shooting to a comfortable level when shooting certain calibers.
9mm and 12ga shooting were no issue - those noise levels were very similar to a good fitting pair of foam earplugs, but not as good as doubling up with plugs and muffs. I broke the seal on one ear to scratch an itch before I shot the 12ga target loads and had a little bleed through because the unit wasn't seated properly.
The .308 shooting was another issue. Normally my partner shoots her .308 and it's uncomfortable to be next to unless I've got double ear protection on. I'd say this is the limit of what the soundgear is capable of quieting to a comfortable level. More than not I thought that I would have preferred to shoot that caliber with double protection on - and the sound gears will likely never be as effective as doubling up.
Chores and General Use
I've used them a lot for firewood duty, woodshop duty, and messing around in the house and they perform really well. I tested them by smacking an old brake rotor with a tire iron next to my head and I could probably do that all day with no issue (sorry to my partner and neighbors). They do a good job of quieting impulse noise in the woodshop like air compressors and clanging but I still find that what I want in the woodshop is consistent double ear protection that pulls all noise down instead of amplifying things.
Speaking with them in is kind of funny, apparently I speak quieter with them in. If you know anything about audio production the best I can compare them to is listening to your own microphone on monitor headsets - there is little to no latency, however, so it's very similar to hearing your "real" out the mouth voice while still hearing the "voice in a jar" you hear when you've got traditional foam earplugs in.
The audio quality for streaming is absolute garbage. If you have a pair and you think the streaming bluetooth audio quality is good perhaps your hearing is more far gone than you realize
It's tinny, the bluetooth range is quite poor and signal exchange is really weak. More than once the signal was interrupted between my phone (in a breast pocket) and my ears. Not great. The added lanyard also adds a level of background noise and rubbing that's pretty annoying.
Amplification of ambient noise is great, however, so I just wont be using them to take calls or listen to music.
Application and Benefits
I noticed that my range time was a lot more seamless with the soundgears. I was able to converse with others, signal downrange walks, chat with my partner, and was generally more situationally aware with them in. No more shuffling ear protection and waiting for foamies to expand, they were very comfortable for the 3 hours we spent shooting. I'll likely take them with me when I'm solo shooting clays or pistol or smaller rifle calibers.
Their directionality, or my ability to judge sounds in a 3D space, was also great. I could probably tell if someone unwrapped a granola bar at the pistol pit behind our range.
I'll also use them for hunting where my expectation is to just take the edge off enough to not ring my own bell while also being able to hear the world around me. The ear impressions I got were good and the fit and finish of them is very nice - they're all day comfortable for me.
They work seamlessly with my iPhone - which has been quick to adopt hearing device controls.
Drawbacks and Downsides
They're expensive. I wouldn't have them if I didn't have the benefit through my insurance, there's no question that they're too expensive to just take a flier on to see if they work.
They don't do the best job at quieting larger calibers - that's unfortunate. I like to shoot .308 long range target shooting and that's also what we hunt deer with here so it's probably going to just barely help stave off further hearing loss.
The controls on the units themselves are laughably small. Good luck with gloved hands. Good luck turning that weird little knob for volume control. Better off just using your phone to control them. The volume knob catches on the mesh pocket of their own case. Soundgear what the hell were you thinking? Your industrial designer needs to go back to their foundational design studio. That part of the product is hilariously bad. The post on the main button used to change modes is the thickness of a medium sized sewing needle - seems fragile - and I'll be surprised if it doesn't break under normal use.
It's also winter here in Vermont, and our shooting was done at around 25-28 degrees. You want to get them in your ears in the car, use the phone to control them, and not mess around with them too much in cold weather. I imagine their warm weather performance will be better.
You cannot charge them with the attached lanyard without doing some fancy finger work to get them to stay mounted on their magnetic post while closing the case. The magnetic post in the charging case has a weak attraction to the unit, they don't always snap to their proper seating position.
Overall Impressions
All in all I give them a 8/9 out of 10. Small nagging product design issues and the fact that they do not quiet the largest caliber I want to shoot are a downside. They will not replace foams and earmuffs for all shooting applications and I definitely wouldn't bring them to an indoor range.
For 9mm, 12ga, the noise of other people shooting, and potentially smaller rifle calibers like 5.56 they work wonders for my shooting experience. Provided your fit is correct and you put them in properly (hot tip, give yourself a wet willy prior to help them get down in there) they'll serve you well I think.
I'm pretty impressed with them, they'll be my main ear protection, but they wont outright replace double ear pro for some applications.
I know there's a lot of mixed reviews on this board, including the presence of a soundgear rep, so hopefully this helps someone make a decision one way or another. If someone has specific questions about the insurance process I'm happy to answer them.
I had an opportunity this week to try my new ear protection - a pair of soundgear phantoms. I've been looking for a hearing protection option specifically for turkey, grouse, clay shooting and pistol shooting which is most of my time behind a gun. I have passed up more shots than I'd like to admit because I did not want to ring my own bell. I've got medium severity tinnitus and hearing loss from working construction, headphone use, and other noise exposure as well as damage from shooting sports.
I got the product free (essentially) by using an OTC hearing aid benefit I have through my health insurance. If you're a US based shotgunner you may have the same style of benefit that I do.
Skip to the bottom for my overall rating and impressions.
Purchasing and Fitting
I purchased the product out of pocket, had Soundgear set up an appointment with an affiliate audiologist, and got ear molds made. From purchase to product in my ears was about 30 calendar days (mostly due to the appointment schedule of the audiologist).
Range Time and Shooting Experience
My partner and I went to our (outdoor) range yesterday and I shot the following calibers:
9mm
.308
12ga 1330fps top guns
There was a group of folks prepping for a pistol match as well as another shooter at our range shooting 9mm.
The sound gears performed really really well quieting the shooting of others to a more than comfortable level. They also quieted my shooting to a comfortable level when shooting certain calibers.
9mm and 12ga shooting were no issue - those noise levels were very similar to a good fitting pair of foam earplugs, but not as good as doubling up with plugs and muffs. I broke the seal on one ear to scratch an itch before I shot the 12ga target loads and had a little bleed through because the unit wasn't seated properly.
The .308 shooting was another issue. Normally my partner shoots her .308 and it's uncomfortable to be next to unless I've got double ear protection on. I'd say this is the limit of what the soundgear is capable of quieting to a comfortable level. More than not I thought that I would have preferred to shoot that caliber with double protection on - and the sound gears will likely never be as effective as doubling up.
Chores and General Use
I've used them a lot for firewood duty, woodshop duty, and messing around in the house and they perform really well. I tested them by smacking an old brake rotor with a tire iron next to my head and I could probably do that all day with no issue (sorry to my partner and neighbors). They do a good job of quieting impulse noise in the woodshop like air compressors and clanging but I still find that what I want in the woodshop is consistent double ear protection that pulls all noise down instead of amplifying things.
Speaking with them in is kind of funny, apparently I speak quieter with them in. If you know anything about audio production the best I can compare them to is listening to your own microphone on monitor headsets - there is little to no latency, however, so it's very similar to hearing your "real" out the mouth voice while still hearing the "voice in a jar" you hear when you've got traditional foam earplugs in.
The audio quality for streaming is absolute garbage. If you have a pair and you think the streaming bluetooth audio quality is good perhaps your hearing is more far gone than you realize
It's tinny, the bluetooth range is quite poor and signal exchange is really weak. More than once the signal was interrupted between my phone (in a breast pocket) and my ears. Not great. The added lanyard also adds a level of background noise and rubbing that's pretty annoying.
Amplification of ambient noise is great, however, so I just wont be using them to take calls or listen to music.
Application and Benefits
I noticed that my range time was a lot more seamless with the soundgears. I was able to converse with others, signal downrange walks, chat with my partner, and was generally more situationally aware with them in. No more shuffling ear protection and waiting for foamies to expand, they were very comfortable for the 3 hours we spent shooting. I'll likely take them with me when I'm solo shooting clays or pistol or smaller rifle calibers.
Their directionality, or my ability to judge sounds in a 3D space, was also great. I could probably tell if someone unwrapped a granola bar at the pistol pit behind our range.
I'll also use them for hunting where my expectation is to just take the edge off enough to not ring my own bell while also being able to hear the world around me. The ear impressions I got were good and the fit and finish of them is very nice - they're all day comfortable for me.
They work seamlessly with my iPhone - which has been quick to adopt hearing device controls.
Drawbacks and Downsides
They're expensive. I wouldn't have them if I didn't have the benefit through my insurance, there's no question that they're too expensive to just take a flier on to see if they work.
They don't do the best job at quieting larger calibers - that's unfortunate. I like to shoot .308 long range target shooting and that's also what we hunt deer with here so it's probably going to just barely help stave off further hearing loss.
The controls on the units themselves are laughably small. Good luck with gloved hands. Good luck turning that weird little knob for volume control. Better off just using your phone to control them. The volume knob catches on the mesh pocket of their own case. Soundgear what the hell were you thinking? Your industrial designer needs to go back to their foundational design studio. That part of the product is hilariously bad. The post on the main button used to change modes is the thickness of a medium sized sewing needle - seems fragile - and I'll be surprised if it doesn't break under normal use.
It's also winter here in Vermont, and our shooting was done at around 25-28 degrees. You want to get them in your ears in the car, use the phone to control them, and not mess around with them too much in cold weather. I imagine their warm weather performance will be better.
You cannot charge them with the attached lanyard without doing some fancy finger work to get them to stay mounted on their magnetic post while closing the case. The magnetic post in the charging case has a weak attraction to the unit, they don't always snap to their proper seating position.
Overall Impressions
All in all I give them a 8/9 out of 10. Small nagging product design issues and the fact that they do not quiet the largest caliber I want to shoot are a downside. They will not replace foams and earmuffs for all shooting applications and I definitely wouldn't bring them to an indoor range.
For 9mm, 12ga, the noise of other people shooting, and potentially smaller rifle calibers like 5.56 they work wonders for my shooting experience. Provided your fit is correct and you put them in properly (hot tip, give yourself a wet willy prior to help them get down in there) they'll serve you well I think.
I'm pretty impressed with them, they'll be my main ear protection, but they wont outright replace double ear pro for some applications.
I know there's a lot of mixed reviews on this board, including the presence of a soundgear rep, so hopefully this helps someone make a decision one way or another. If someone has specific questions about the insurance process I'm happy to answer them.
