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Soundgear Phantom Review

1.9K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Land Scraper  
#1 · (Edited)
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 :p

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.
 
#2 ·
I too just started using the Phantoms and I agree with everything you said above.

It's the pro tip of using your insurance I most appreciate.

Software App;The only Android App I have found is "Sound Check' which does nothing worthwhile. I just dove deeper into the owners manual and found that IOS allows for complete control while inside android only to connect or not. If I had known that...
 
#3 ·
The likelihood of needing hearing aids is increasing by the day and the health insurance we've had for many years is no longer an option so any info you could share about your OTC option would be appreciated since we're having to start over and aren't sure what we'll have or where to look in the 100 plus pages describing our new policy.
Oh, and thanks for the thorough review.
(y)
 
#4 ·
hi stuck

First - I have BCBS through my employer

I have health insurance through my current employer and spoke with someone at my work about benefits like dental and vision, and also noticed that we had a specific benefit for hearing aides

within that benefit is a single line item and a clause about OTC hearing aides and if an audiologist or hearing assessment is needed for the purchase of OTC aides. There was also a small note about how OTC aides also included online purchases.

I reviewed the spec for Soundgear over the phone with a BCBS customer service rep, got them to verbally approve the product, confirm that it was covered in its entirety, and went from there

I filled out a claim form and attached my online order confirmation as a receipt and a month later a check was in the mailbox.

my suggestion is to look for plans with an OTC, no assessment needed hearing aides benefit and to discuss it directly with an agent prior to purchasing - you could even try to get someone on the phone (good luck) to walk you through the specific benefit

if you have the document digitally you can always search it for the term “hearing aides” or “hearing aid” most of the time that’s control+F on your keyboard

they don’t need to know anything other than the fact that Soundgear Phantoms are FDA approved hearing aides.

hope that helps
 
#8 ·
I am glad someone had positive results with the Phantom SoundGear. I purchased a pair 3 years ago, within the first 6 months the (R) earplug failed to charge. I took them back to the audiologist, he returned (R) earplug to the manufacture, they had to replace the battery and board within the device. Everything was good until about a year later, started having the same issue with the (R) earplug. I returned to the audiologist, he reached out to the manufacture and explained to them that I was having the same problem as before with the same device. They stated the warranty had expired and I would have to pay for the cost of repair. When not in use they were stored in the charging case and never dropped nor subject to abuse. It is sad to spend that kind of money on a device then to find out the company will not stand behind their product.
 
#9 ·
I agree completely with K-80 Skeet. I had mine working great for a few months, then the left ear wouldn't charge. I took mine back to the audiologist to have them sent back for a "new battery". They were fine after that.....until the warranty ran out and just outside the warranty period, same problem with the same left ear. They wanted $400 for yet another "new battery", no way, nice try. I wrote a review for their site explaining all of this and the fact that they used the incredibly outdated Bluetooth v4.2 when v5.3 was already available at that time. They said it was to preserve battery life, what a joke. Any article online will clearly state v5.3 uses way less battery than each prior version. Soundgear will not publish my review. I called and asked why and was told perhaps their site was undergoing changes and there were technical problems, but they'd look into it and get back with me. 2 months later and no update and now they won't even return my phone calls when I leave a message asking what's going on. Be careful when dealing with this company, even their own site has only 4 reviews and those are from back in 2022 and 2023.
 
#10 ·
Hi Folks

A few updates on this review as I've had more time with the product in a variety of different situations.

This spring turkey season I used the Phantoms three / four days a week for the entirety of our season here in Vermont. I had one notable hunt in a light rain that caused me some issues. Not with the product itself but the sound of the rain amplified made it impossible to hear anything else - not great. No real issues though, turkey seasons will come and go without so much as a single trigger pull for me.

The Phantoms were great for 5-7hr hunts with no decrease in quality and no issues charging each night.

I put them through the dryer for 40 minutes accidentally when clearing my hunting kit of ticks but they sustained no damage and worked fine afterwards.

I've shot more 12ga targets (including my highest scoring skeet round to date), more 556, and more 9mm and the only issue I had was under some conditions like rapid fire the Phantoms produce a crackling noise that's kind of annoying. Slowing things down stopped this issue immediately. I think I've put enough real range and hunting time in with them to be satisfied with their performance as hearing protection, but I still double up for long range days when I don't want to talk to anyone or I go solo.

I'd continue to recommend them for folks, especially if your skeet rounds or range trips are more social than not. My partner will be picking up a pair for white tail season this year. I'll use them grouse hunting this year too.

If you're lucky enough to get these covered under insurance there would be no hesitation on my end to get a pair and try them out.