I’m reviewing three range headphones, side-by-side, to help you make an informed decision: - Howard Leight Impact Sports by Honeywell Model R-01526 ($52.92, NRR: 22 db) - Walker’s Razor Slim Model GWP-RSEM ($39.08, NRR: 23 db) - Gloryfire Model M8056T ($26.90, NRR: 25 db) Below, I’ve ordered earmuffs from highest to lowest in my assessment of performance per dimension/characteristic. I’m not advocating for you to buy one over another, just trying to provide info. I’m not sponsored to do this, I paid for each of these three products myself out of pocket. -------------------------------------------------- COMFORT #1: Walkers: Deep cups with thick pads, does not press down on eye pro (safety glasses), comfortable after 20+ minutes. On the other hand, there is a high level of resistance when opening, putting on, and adjusting. #2: Gloryfire: Has thick pads, but is uncomfortable for the first few minutes because the headband pulls down onto your head. If you adjust to have more room, the cups just slide down you ears. You get used to it quickly though and you stop noticing it within a few minutes. Easy to open and adjust. #3: Howard Leights: Thin pads, difficult to get them to sit right over your ear and eye pro with no air leakage. Either they lift off the bottom of your ear, or you have to make the band so high it doesn’t actually rest on your head/hat. Uncomfortable on the ear as soon as you put them on, but doesn’t hurt the top of your head. Your ear contacts the felt inside the earmuff, which explains why they have “hygiene kits” to replace them. Otherwise, easy to open and adjust. -------------------------------------------------- DAMPENING #1: Howard Leights: When volume is off, they have great decibel reduction. When sound is on, they immediately cut to a safe level when you are shooting. #2: Walkers: When volume is off, they have ok (but not great) decibel reduction. When sound is on, they immediately cut to a safe level when you are shooting. #3: Gloryfire: When volume is off, they have great decibel reduction, but when sound is on, they are not that good — you can hear the start of a blast before dampening kicks in and to my ears at least, they don’t seem to dampen as much. -------------------------------------------------- AUDIO QUALITY WHEN ON begrudgingly, #1: Howard Leights: Extremely good fidelity of sound. There is some lag when you turn them on or adjust the volume, but the audio is very good. Input microphones are covered in a felt that protrudes past the plane of the earpiece, could get snagged and will certainly collect dust if out in the wild. #2: Walkers: Sound fidelity is very good, but after a few months, the left headphone cut out completely. Input microphones are covered in a protective metal mesh that sits flush with the plane of the earphone cup, which is a great design. #3: Gloryfire: Fidelity and volume of the sound is not good. Whereas in a quiet room with the other two, you can hear an analog clock ticking in the next room, these barely make out voices. Out of the box, the right ear was noticeably quieter than the left. At higher volumes, I can hear low level static. When playing with music even at full volume for both the media player and the earphones, the sound is relatively quiet (though possibly loud enough for listening to tunes on a range, didn’t actually try that). -------------------------------------------------- VOLUME ADJUST AND AUDIO CABLE INPUT #1: Walkers: Volume knob is in an intuitive place and protrudes slightly, so it is easy to find when wearing. Knob is oriented vertically so up means louder (intuitive) and it is very responsive. Input port is also oriented vertically which is convenient. Only drawback is that the input port has a rubber plug that falls out and yet is very difficult to get back into the hole. #2: Gloryfire: Volume knob is in an intuitive place but does not protrude, so there is a little fumbling at first until you get used to where it is. Adjustments are fairly responsive. The input port is located on the edge and is easy to find, plus it has a kind of collar which makes it easy to plug into without taking them off. #3: Howard Leights: Unlike the other two, the volume knob is oriented perpendicularly, so adjustments require left-right turning which is not intuitive. Because the knob is located at the edge of the phone, it’s easy to find. As previously said, there is a a lag when adjusting the sound. The input port is also located on the edge and is pretty easy to find when wearing. Picks up electromagnetic static from a phone when plugged in, which is annoying. -------------------------------------------------- COMPACTNESS FOR STORAGE #1: Howard Leights: Collapses easily into a nice, tight form. #2: Gloryfire: Collapses easily into a tight form, but are slightly bulkier than Howard Leights. a distant #3: Walkers: When collapsing, one or both cups do not slide in and you have to fiddle with it to get it collapsed. Pads only make contact at the top, compressing the pads unevenly when not in use. -------------------------------------------------- DESIGN AND APPEARANCE #1: Walkers: Sleek, angled design with no curved lines or bulk. Very modern. Wires protrude vertically from the battery cover so replacing batteries doesn’t make you worry about clipping the wire. #2: tie: Howard Leights and Gloryfire have nearly identical lines, and are in my opinion kind of ugly. The wires both protrude out from a corner of the phone and get in the way of the battery cover when changing out batteries. -------------------------------------------------- One last thing to note: Gloryfire states in big, bold letters “US Brand Quality” but they are manufactured in China, just designed in the US. Seems intentionally misleading. For me, I am returning the Gloryfires because the sound in the left ear is quiet, my Walkers crapped out after a few months, and the Impacts are what several of the ROs at the range I go to wear — haven’t had them long enough to gauge their reliability.
