Tag Archives: Electronic hearing protection

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

ProHear EM030 2.0 BT Earmuffs

I visited the ProHear booth at SHOT Show 2025 and asked which model offered the best sound quality when connected to a phone or device. One of the deciding factors of Ear Pro (hearing protection) for me is the quality of the sound you hear through electronic earmuffs. The sound quality of music through electronic EarPro is a good indication of a headphone’s ability to recreate a realistic representation of the sounds and environment around you.

Ear Pro at a gun range or just mowing your lawn is important because any damage to your hearing is permanent. Electronic Ear Pro has become the standard for hearing protection, amplifying normal sounds while blocking out loud gunfire and noises. Better quality electronic Ear Pro can simulate or even improve upon what you could hear with your naked ears.

ProHear gave me a set of their EM030 “Machete” headphones. These are Bluetooth-capable, rechargeable headphones. They look like a boxier version of Howard Leight Impact Sports and have compatible earpads. Paired to my phone and playing a sound sample of music, their audio quality was better than Howard Leights or Walker Razors.

Testing them at the gun range, they quickly cut out gunshots while amplifying voices and environmental sounds. Unfortunately, the sound was omnidirectional without stereoscopic directionality or the distance of the sound source (the same complaint with Walker Razors). I could hear conversations a few tables away better than someone directly in front of me.

While the ambient performance was not better than my stereo-sound Howard Leight’s, the ProHear offers Bluetooth connectivity at the same price point. That may be the final determining factor between these two similar Ear Pro.

SHOP

Amazon https://amzn.to/4hESQNb

SPECS

EM030

Bluetooth 5.4 

NRR 22dB 

Omni-directional mic

USB-C port

0.5 ms reaction time

Weight: 0.63 Pounds

Dimensions: 4.52 x 3.54 x 4.92 inches

Shooting Sports

ZKT Gun Display & Gun Safe

ZKT is a custom retail display company near New York City. They design gun cases for gun stores that can be easily secured against robbery with a built in rolling door. The gun wall display transforms into a gun safe, that’s biometricand code locked. It’s the kind of bad ass gun safe you’d expect to see in a John Wick film or Fast & Furious.

At the ZKT booth at SHOT Show 2024, they showed off this flagship display safe in addition to their biometric pistol cases. Perhaps the most unexpected product they showed me was the prototype of an electronic earmuff they were developing; keeping your hearing safe as well as your guns.

Given the rising crime rate you may be seeing ZKT products soon at your local CVS.

https://zkt-group.com/

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

Howard Leight at SHOT Show 2023

I’ve been longtime owner of Howard Leight Impact Sports electronic earmuffs. I’ve tested and reviewed many budget price headphones (around $50 or less) and Howard Leights have performed the best for ambient sound quality. I thought it would be a good to find out what was new with Impact Sports, at the Howard Leight booth at SHOT Show.

Erica at the booth showed me options for smaller head profiles and two new color options. They now offer a Bluetooth model which sorely needed as most new smartphones lack 3mm audio ports. Disappointingly, very little has changed with the Impact Sports line. But perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise because the basic model works as well as it does and has few faults (other than needing a lower pivot point for a tighter ear seal).

As more shooters switch to earbud electronic hearing protection, we will probably see less innovation in the over-ear hearing protection. Still lacking IMHO, is a set of earmuffs that truly offers music performance like the cheapest consumer headset. For travel, working, or just momentary peace and quiet, the Sound Canceling Earphone market has been huge (just look at BOSE, Sony, and Beats). There’s a missed opportunity here for Howard Leight or Walker or 3M to create a cross-over product.