Honeywell Howard Leight by Sync Stereo MP3 Earmuff (1030110), Black

I work in an office, I sit in a cubicle, my job requires a lot of concentration and attention to detail and there is constant chatter all around me. More since certain people started working there but that's besides the point. I use headphones 37-40 hours per week. This is a lot of time to test out headphones.I have to say that initially I was hesitant to try these, they are a lot larger than the typical iPod earbuds that are used where I work but they cause a lot of pain within the first few hours of use for me. I tried multiple types of buds (check my other reviews) and where some were more comfortable than others, eventually- some after 6 or 7 hours- there was discomfort. Plus, they're not half as bad as they look. They've got a pretty cool metallic looking logo on the top of them, but it's not outrageously noticeable.Although these resemble the "ears" you use when shooting at a gun range (and probably because of it), their ability to block sound is insane. I can put these on and the loud conversation going on three feet from me is silent. Ah, sweet silence.At first, you might feel that these are too tight. Yes, they are. At least they were for me. I didn't, but I wish I had and I recommend that you spend a few minutes stretching them out. Why I didn't think of this I don't know. I'll never know. But, do it. They will become very comfortable.Because there is a sadistic person in charge of the climate control in my building we often experience heat on hot days and AC on cold days. If you have a similar issue, on cold days your ears will be warm. On hot days after a few hours the plastic around the "muff" part of it will be a little damp. This is after a few hours of constant use, mind you. On days when the temperature is neither extreme these are great.I have had these for six months now, that's almost 1,000 hours of use. They are just now getting loose enough (at least I think that's what it is) that the noise blocking is not so strong. Also, the connection isn't so great, sometimes if the plug is turned in just the right direction I have one ear that hears what I'm listening to. This has only just recently started so chances are this would not happen for years with normal use.All together, the ability to block noise without spend a couple hundred on an active noise blocking headphone is terrific. You also have the ability to unplug the cord from the headphones and use as "ears" for shooting, or just to have silence. This is also very useful for putting these away or packing these as you can just unplug and roll up the cord. So, if you're looking for silence, get them. You'll be glad you did. I'll be getting another pair or two in the very near future. Love these things.

These are the perfect headphones for anyone who likes to listen to audio while working. I've ruined 2 or 3 pairs of more expensive headphones wearing them while working. Usually what happens is the plug wears out from being in my pocket and being subject to all the movement and bumping in to things... which brings me to perhaps the best feature of this product... the cord! The cord unplugs from the headphones and features one end with a 90 degree bend. In the photo is has the 90d end plugged in to the phones, but I prefer to plug the 90 in to my iphone that way it doesn't put as much stress on the plug when it's in my pocket. Also, if this cord ever does wear out, you can simply replace it with any 1/8" -> 1/8" audio cable. How many pairs of headphones could have been saved by this simple feature? It boggles the mind.It's also really nice being able to unplug the headphones if you're taking a break. I like to run the cord under my shirt down to the iphone in my pocket, so I can leave the cord there, just unplug the headphones whilst I eat lunch or whatever and then plug em back in when I'm ready to go.The other great benefit is that I can now listen to audio at a lower volume level when I'm operating equipment. Previously, using regular headphones I would blast music to hear it over the machine, which is not a good idea at all if you like to keep hearing things for the rest of your life.I'm also a musician and play drums and as a bonus these make pretty decent, bargain-basement, isolation monitors. Good enough for beginning drummers and low-budget home recording.The cons - lows are weak, noise-blocking could be better.The pros - solid build, replaceable 1/8" cord, tight but comfy, clear highs, solid mid-range

I've used these outdoors, however my primary use of them is as a musician, particularly a guitarist that likes to record loud amplifiers. 100db at one watt of power, typically 85-95db while recording, which isn't terrible, but these earmuffs make it much more tolerable. These make great monitors for tracking while recording in a small space.These things are okay for relatively minor hearing protection (id say in the neighborhood of 95-100db). They tend to vibrate with loud bass frequencies in the air, and the cord itself is vulnerable to picking up acoustic noises. Earmuffs vibrating against your ear bones are not too pleasant and thinking earplugs are probably safer due to smaller size = less chance of being vibrated. The Sync won't solve the problem of recording and monitoring a cranked 50-100watt amp in a small space. It will solve the problem of recording a 1-5 watt amp in a small space. Best advice is just to turn it down.As far as headphones go, they sound amazing. There's a GREAT deal of bass compared to any headphone I've ever had (probably as a result of the tight connection with the skull), the highs seem a little muted, but that's not so much a problem, in fact most of the time headphones have harsh high end that tends to be annoying. So actually, these are the best sounding pair of headphones or speakers I own. This is largely because of being well balanced, and being able to isolate outside noises allows higher perceived volumes, which naturally sound better.So in summary, as noise protection 4/5 (fine for mowing the lawn, but wouldn't recommend them for close positions to extremely loud things, like cranked amplifiers or guns)as headphones 5/5Price 5/5Quality 5/5 (love the jack, which means these will last forever.)Not very comfortable either, but that's the nature of hearing protection (you need a snug fit to block out sounds). They fit my head fine and I have a slightly large head (no one-size-fits-all ball caps for me).I have owned mine for about a year to a year and a half. The vinyl pads seem to depress a bit with age.