Two thousand and thirteen marks my 16th year writing and evaluating for Bowhunting.net. In that time I have seen a lot of products come and go but one staple in the marketplace that I endorse is Altus Brands’ Pro Ears. I can make this statement because I still own my first pair of LE’s that I evaluated with my initial article for Bowhunting.net in the summer of 1997.
First off, Pro Ears are proudly designed and manufactured right here in the good ole USA. That really makes a statement when most companies are manufacturing in Asia to cut costs and try and boost profits. For me Pro Ears craftsmanship doesn’t suffer since they have tighter controls with manufacturing and that transpires into better quality. They are backed by a five year warranty.
Quality begins by controlling each earphone with its own digital circuitry, which offers advantages over competitors who use a single circuit board. First and foremost it gives better control for each ear by adjusting for sound variations. It also accommodates a complete 360-degree range of hearing. My left ear is weaker than my right so I can adjust the sensitivity a little higher on that side. Individual circuitry on each earphone means there are no wires running between the two headsets, which could be subjected to fatigue, snagging and failure over time.
High quality gold circuit connections ensure longevity, especially when subject to outdoors environments. Constant cold and warm conditions could cause oxidation affects over time that are common to other conductive metals. Gold ensures years of reliability, which is why it is used in top quality circuitry.
Fast eight bit microprocessors, capable of 10,000 processes per second, are an important feature of Pro Ears DLSC (Dynamic Level Sound Compression) Technology. It reacts instantaneously, the fastest in the industry, to any loud noise and reduces the noise level significantly around 40 dB. At the same time it increases all the low level sounds, like speech, to 82 dB, enabling us to hear conversations while always protecting our hearing from sudden spikes or loud noises. This allows you to hear audible commands for example at a gun range with others shooting nearby.
I was able to easily demonstrate this experiment by turning on my car alarm while wearing the Pro Ear Predator Gold and speaking to my son. We both had on a pair and carried on a normal conversation. Quite amazing when you consider my son is 13! I also took my beagles out on a walk through the farm for some exercise chasing bunnies. It was quite a treat being able to enhance their far off barks and bawls of pursuit.
Features include the sculptured outside lower edge, which is an ingenious design. It ensures that your hearing protection will not be bumped, misaligned or knocked off when shouldering your rifle or shotgun. Low profile leather sealing rings conform for the ultimate in comfort. They are also nice and warm for cold days when working outside sawing wood. My older vinyl style earmuffs would cause sweating and may slip but the leather sealing rings prevent that from happening.
The Pro Ears Predator Gold model features 3.5mm audio jacks for plugging in an iPod or other MP3 type player. Simply hook your audio player into the supplied cable that splits and feeds to both earphones. I travel quite a bit so while flying I certainly enjoy music while eliminating the sound of multiple jet engines. The compact size of the Pro Ears makes them easy to carry in my travel bag.
Oh by the way, there are eight different colors to choose from when purchasing your Pro Ears Gold Predator Series. Mine came in Realtree APG and Advantage Max4 camo patterns but you may prefer Black, Pink, Pink Realtree, Natural Gear, White or Green. It doesn’t matter what color you choose because you can be confident that you have the best hearing protection in the industry. If you have children you’ll want to take a look at the new Pro Ears ReVo™ models. Same quality design and superior technology but made for smaller heads and the ReVo models are available in 15 different colors. After all kids want some ‘cool’ to their wear and Pro Ears provides it.
Rating: Comfort/Design 5 of 5
The Pro Ears conforms to your head with a sleek/compact design with molded leather-sealing rings. The Predator Gold Series provide the best when it comes to comfort, noise attenuation, and just overall pure quality of sound. They pack a ton of features into the product that is well thought out. The secure fit through the adjustable headband can accommodate a large array of head sizes from young ones to adult. I highly recommend them to anyone, especially those addicted to shooting sports.
Quality 5 of 5
The components that make up the Pro Ears Predator Gold Series should last you many seasons. These are of much better craftsmanship then my first pair, which are still going strong after 16 years. There is no play in the controls and they have a great feel to them. They offer a wide range of volume and offer the best technology for hearing protection, whether it be improving low level sounds or instantly quieting harmful noises.
For more please go to: Pro Ears
Pro Ears is an Altus Brands company
