AKT1 Sport Sound Amplification Earmuff, Premium Ear Pro for Shooting, NRR 25

Decent noise repression however ear cups get compressed easily when stored and then you lose some of the noise protection untill they kind of fill back up.

I have bought quite a few of the different Electronic Hearing Protection options that are currently available on the market and so far these seem to be the best bang for buck in terms of NRR (noise reduction rating), comfort and price. Havent had them for a super long time so we will have to see how they hold up over time, but so far I have been super happy with the purchase (especially since I got it on a Black Friday special).

I tried them today at the range, worked great. I don’t know I got along without them. No static like other electronic muffs. And super comfortable. I would recommend them to anyone.

These are the best over ear electronic hearing protection earmuffs I’ve used. When speaking to someone the sound is very clear. They are very comfortable. My walkers always give me a headache after an hour or so. These don’t. Highly recommend

I had originally looked at the walker line of hearing protection. Having seen reviews where users were recommending upgrading the ear pads due to discomfort I looked into the next price range up and found these. I've only had them a week however my initial impression is that they are quite comfortable. The electronic system for identifying sounds that shouldn't be eliminated and instead amplified seemed to function well. Overall I'm very happy with these

I bought this earmuff as a recommendations from some YouTube gun enthusiast but I am unsure I like it. The few times, I get to use this in the Range, I still find it hard to handle the noise level from shooters beside me when they use high-calibre rifles. Not sure I like it and still prefer to use the manual earmuff provided by the gun range.

To start I would like to say that I have paid full price for every piece of digital hearing protection that I possess, and am not receiving anything for this/any review! I have been rather obsessed with finding the best protection over the years because I care about my hearing, will never stop shooting guns, and want to be comfortable while enjoying guns :) . I own every single one of the hearing pro sets that I discuss. If you don't want to/have time to read the whole review, I'm putting my conclusion at the top. Feel free to read the rest to figure out why I answered this way.But here is the quick bottom line:If you are comparing these to Walker, 3M, or Howard Leight, and have a tiny bit more $ to spend on the AKT1's... are they worth it? Yes, absolutely - buy the AKT1's. If you already own some 3M's, Howard Leight's or Walker's and are looking for a major upgrade without breaking the bank, these are perfect. You will be able to notice the difference in quality big time! Should you just save your money and buy the "Gucci" of ear pro, ComTacs or MSA Sordins? Probably not, but maybe depending on need.The details:In the $50 - $100ish range I own 5 models: Walker's Razor Slim & XCell, Howard Leight's Impact Sport, 3M's Peltor Sport Tacs, and the AKT1 Sport's.The best hearing protection does two things. 1 - it protects your hearing, 2 - it should not be a burden or painful to wear. Walker's, Howard Leight's, and 3M's are not very comfortable for shooting after about an hour, and on my wife (smaller head) they are actually painful to wear for more than about 10 minutes. Each of them also make you sweat because of the material of the cup pads.Howard Leight - I put HL in 5th place because the sound quality is quite "electronic-y", and they are just downright uncomfortable for any period of time. The sound amplification of quiet sounds is quite substantial and impressive at times, however the quality of the sound itself is lacking. I don't need to hear a whisper from across the room if I can't determine whether the whisper came from a robot or a human. (Robots, although friendly looking, are usually evil, so it's important to know the difference)3M's Peltor Sport Tacs - are in 4th place because their price point was a little higher, they are still uncomfortable for long periods of time, and they are also a bit bulky for shooting rifles. The cheek plate on a rifle is almost guaranteed to nudge these muffs and cause your shooting ear to have decreased protection. They still have a bit of an artificial electronic sound, but seem to have the best overall hearing protection in this price range when shooting larger calibers or indoors (as long as you can avoid the cheek plate nudge).Walker's - The XCEL and Razor models are tied with each-other for 3rd and 2nd place. They beat out HL's & 3M's just because they are a bit more comfortable. But they are tied with each-other because they don't really have a noticeable difference in sound quality or protection. I think they are both the same Walker tech, just different designs and price points. They are both a little more comfortable, and noticeably less "electronic-y" sounding than the Howard's or 3M's. The sound amplification of quiet sounds is pretty impressive. But in order to make them comfortable for extended shooting times you'll have to spend $ on upgraded gel pads.The AKT1's - take first place. I found these on Amazon and never heard of them prior to that. But I am very happy to have found them! There are only 2 little negatives: 1- they are still a bit bulky (although light weight) so the cheek plate of a rifle does nudge them, and 2 - the amplification of quiet sounds is not quite as dramatic as the other brands. However they take first place because the fit is incredibly better on the AKT1 than any of the models mentioned previously. This is true for both large and small heads actually. I think this simply because the band seems to have had a lot of thought/development put into it, and the pads on the ear cups are either real leather or really nice fake leather. Unlike the other models listed above, these are comfortable out of the box. You don't have to upgrade the pads because they are super soft and that alone is quite impressive. The sound quality is also remarkable. They may lack in magnitude of amplification, but the microphone & speakers work together to provide the least artificial sounds of any other headset I have worn (including ComTacs and Sordins). It is sometimes hard to tell if they are even turned on when someone is talking to you, because the sound quality is so good it sounds like their real life voice.Lastly the $200-$400 range:Peltor ComTac's and MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X's are pretty equivalent to eachother - I cannot decide which of these are actually better. I can say that I like the sound quality of the the speakers in the AKT1's better than both of these high dollar headsets. However they both feel more durable than the AKT1's, and the sound dampening tech in the ComTacs and Sordins are noticeably more advanced than any of the lower priced sets. If you can afford the $200-400 price, then go for them. If you need to use coms while wearing ear protection, buy them. The major benefit is the platform they provide. Most (if not all) come with the gel padded cups and I would buy a set with the genuine leather band cover if you use the top headband style. I prefer the Sordins, as they just seem to fit my head better than any other brand, and I am a fan of the brand name. I have not tried the newest Sordin model yet though... so I may have to update this. Are they that much better than the cheaper models? For very specific reasons yes... but if you are not actually needing the coms platform, then buy the AKT1's. Yeah, I think the AKT1's are that good!

I am a new shooter and have taken a couple of classes at the gun range and have just purchased a gun. I have been looking for hearing protection. The muffs at the gun range do not fit me well and I had a lot of trouble hearing the instructor. I typically have difficulty hearing voices when there is another noise such as music or in a loud room. I want to have protection with the most NRR with the ability to hear people who are talking to me. So I have tried 6 different ear protection and was getting frustrated until I tried the AKT1 Sport. What impressed me the most was the fit. They felt great. They have an NRR of 25 and sound amplification which worked very well. Since I tried so many, I will run through the ear protections I have tried: Walker Game Ear Razor slim earmuffs with an NRR of 23 which was a little low for me. They were nice and slim and the sound amplification was great but they did not fit well (too big) and I wanted a higher NRR. I also tried the Walker XCEL 500 and they did not fit at all. I tried them on and walked them right back into the store to return. The Gloryfire Electronic Shooting Earmuff did not fit well and I did not like the sound quality. I felt like there was an echo delay with voices. They were NRR 25. I then tried the Howard Leight Impact Pro with an NRR of 30 which was great. They fit very well but when I had them on, I really struggled hearing people talk and they were very bulky. I also tried the Peltor Sport Tactical 100’s and 500’s. They both fit well with the 100’s fitting the best but the NRR was only 22. The sound amplification was great on both of them. The 500’s had an NRR of 26 which I wanted and had more features but, I found them difficult to navigate. I used the 500 at the range along with the AKT1 Sport and found very little difference between them as far as gunshot noise suppression. I did have trouble with the Peltor 500’s in regards to the features. They were difficult to navigate and every now and then, there was beeping in my ear. I don’t know what it meant. The headband was also a bit uncomfortable after wearing them for a bit. I felt like I had to keep adjusting them. The AKT1 Sport ear protection seemed to be the best for me. Great noise suppression plus great amplification to hear voices. I love the memory foam cushions. They felt so nice on my ears and I felt had a good tight fit. In addition, the headband was comfortable. I forgot they were on my head. I reached out to the AKT1 company with a question and I was so impressed at the response time. They wrote back to me two hours later and were so helpful. That along with the perfect fit and NRR of 25 sold me on the AKT1 Sport. By the way, I was testing them at an indoor range with 11 lanes and they worked great. The only issue was when someone was shooting an AK something that sounded like a cannon! Even the Howard Leight Impact Pro with NRR of 30 that my boyfriend was wearing didn’t help when that gun went off! My boyfriend tried on the AKT1 Sport and also thought it was super comfortable and was his top choice for fit as well.