November 10th, 2023
6minute read
In todays article, Jeremy Tremp reviews the AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 earpro.
Instead of traditional ear muffs, this set of hearing protection uses ear buds to attenuate harmful shooting noise.
The GS Extreme 2.0 is electronic ear pro that inserts into the ear canal similar to foam ear plugs.
The AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 is very different from traditional earmuffs. It features Bluetooth technology and the ability to amplify quiet sounds.
Unlike foam, this unit offers amplification to provide hearing enhancement when on the range.
The earbuds are Bluetooth capable allowing wireless pairing with other electronic devices such as your phone.
But, do they perform as well as electronic muffs?
AXIL’s GS Extreme 2.0 hearing protection is compact and lightweight allowing for all-day use.
Tremp gives us the details in his hands-on evaluation.
Hearing protection is not sexy.
There I said it.
The controls for the AXIL hearing protection are easy to use and simple to understand.
Generally, its a bummer to have to cover your ears to go shooting.
If you dont have electronic hearing protection, its difficult to hear anything going on around you.
If you do have over-the-ear electronic hearing protection, it can feel suffocating after a few hours.
These earbuds can reduce loud noises by up to 29 dB. Decibel is a unit of measure for sound intensity. It is logarithmic, which means 29 dB offers substantial attenuation.
but they also had some shortcomings.
Secondly the sound from them left something to be desired, especially on a windy day.
The Solution?
The author tested the AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 set on the shooting range in addition to his office. The set performed well in both environments.
This all changed one range day when two of my buddies showed up with AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 headphones.
A couple weeks later, I decided to pull the trigger and grab a set of them.
Upon trying them out, the first thing I appreciated was that they were attached to each other.
Good hearing protection — from AXIL or another company — is mandatory for any kind of recreational shooting.
The Sportfit Ear Hooks ensure the headphones stay on and keep them firmly in place while moving around.
The AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 claims a 25-hour battery life when in hearing enhancement/protection mode.
The headphones also have a 120-hour standby time.
AXIL’s GS Extreme 2.0 comes with a semi-rigid case that can slip into a backpack, range bag or pants pocket.
For charging the unit, you simply plug in a USB C cord directly to the headphones.
I think I prefer this over a charging box that the headphones live inside.
For hearing protection, the GS Extreme 2.0 can compress audio at 85DB or louder.
With the foam inserts, the headphones reduce outside noises by 29DBs SNR.
I got these for the range, but I find myself seeing more daily uses for them as well.
Being able to listen to music while also hearing co-workers is quite nice with good sound quality.
On the range, the GS Extreme 2.0 was lightweight and unobtrusive.
Gone was the hot, sweaty, pounding in my ears from over-the-ear headphones.
The clarity was great, and the compression was smooth.
Plus, the Bluetooth earbuds cut out wind noise better than foam plugs do.
So far, the only slight negative I had was hearing my own voice.
If I turned the sensitivity up to hear more at the range, my voice was distorted when speaking.
If I turned them down to keep my voice quiet, it was harder to hear others speaking.
Ultimately, it wasnt a deal breaker and they still performed to my standards on the range.
When getting my tight cheekweld on a precision rifle, I need to have in-ear protection.
Otherwise, the muffs tend to get bumped off my ears while firing.
The GS Extreme headphones should be a perfect solution for my various needs on the range.
One last small but essential addition the engineers thought to add was the little fuzzy windscreens on the microphone.
My biggest gripe with in-ear protection is that when the wind blows, they are generally useless.
They are compact, easy to use and offer a lot of bang for your buck.
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