FOG HORN May 2018

Twobirds Flying Publication

3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500

Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth

Copyright 2018, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

 3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth
2018

3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with

Bluetooth
By: Sal Palma There are two types of noise to be concerned
about. The first is the ambient or background
noise that one would encounter during an eight
hour shift at an industrial facility. This is the
noise type that’s addressed in the O.S.H.A.
regulations.

O.S.H.A. concerns itself with exposure to sound

over time; their standards are documented in
29 CFR part 1910

TABLE G-16 - PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURES

Duration per day, Sound level dBA

hours
8 90
6 92
4 95
3 97
2 100
1½ 102
1 105
½ 110
One of the more exciting benefits derived from
writing a review is encountering that truly
O.S.H.A. requires an employer to implement an
exceptional product, one that isn’t a mere
effective hearing conservation program,
incremental improvement but rather sets a new
whenever employee noise exposures equal or
standard of performance. This is precisely what
exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average sound
3M Peltor has done with the introduction of the
level (TWA) of 85 decibels measured on the A
Peltor Sport Tactical 500.
scale (slow response).
There are a number of Peltor proprietary
A second source of noise is what shooters
technologies embodied in their new electronic
experience, and referred to as impulse noise.
hearing protection products, and I’ll touch on
Most rifle calibers fall between 150 dBA to 170
each because they merit the exposure, but
dBA, but what’s also important to know when
before doing that, I’ll talk about noise. This is an
discussing impulse noise is that it varies in
area that people don’t fully understand yet it
duration depending on its source. For example,
can have a deleterious effect on your life.
a 7mm Mauser has a level of 154.9 dB with
duration of 3.3 milliseconds; whereas, a larger

Copyright 2018, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

 3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth
caliber gun like the 300 Win Mag has a level of
158.3 dB and duration of 4 milliseconds. So,
when designers develop active electronic sound
suppression they need to attenuate the impulse
to some acceptable value, 85dB or less, for the
appropriate pulse duration. This is not a simple
task.
Adding to the complexity is reflected sound
wave behavior; for example, shooting at an
indoor range, where sound waves are reflected
off the walls. Reflected sound undergoes a
phase shift that can add to the intensity of
source sound waves potentially changing
amplitudes and impulse duration.
Peltor deals with sound suppression in the
Tactical 300 and Tactical 500 hearing protectors
through highly effective proprietary technology
that the company calls Dynamic Suppression
Time or DST. Circuitry in the headset samples
the impulse level to determine appropriate
suppression durations, smaller caliber firearms
will generally have a shorter duration than
larger caliber firearms.
2018
protection. I can’t begin to tell you how many
people I see at the range with part of the ear
exposed they might as well not be wearing
hearing protection at all.
One of the benefits of electronic hearing
protection is the ability to hear normal
conversational levels while wearing your
headset. Peltor goes a step beyond that basic
technology in their SPORT Tactical line by
implementing what the company calls Clear
Voice Tracking (CVT).
CVT differentiates between voice and
background noise then attenuates background
noise delivering excellent voice quality. I was
surprised at how clear normal conversation
could be heard while wearing the 500’s. An
excellent feature not found in competing
hearing protection.

Peltor’s active suppression circuitry also takes

into consideration the shooting environment
accounting for outdoor and indoor shooting, a
function that Peltor calls Adaptive Suppression
Time (AST). AST can be disabled through the
setup menu resulting in a fixed shorter duration
suppression time. The factory default is “ON.”

Effective hearing protection cannot be achieved

through electronics alone; it requires an
enclosure that completely seals the ear. Peltor
has that covered too with superb ear cups. I
have larger ears and quite often I’ve found
myself folding the ear lobe to ensure a
complete seal around my ear. This was
The Tactical 300 and Tactical 500 are powered
especially true with my MSA Sordin hearing
by 2 AA batteries. Installing fresh batteries is a

Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

 3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth
simple task requiring that you open the battery
compartment located on the left side ear cup.
The auto power-off feature conserves battery
life. However, Peltor also offers an optional
rechargeable lithium –ion battery pack sold as
the3M Alpha 1100.
The battery pack replaces the 2 AA batteries
and is rechargeable via a micro USB port
located at the base of the right ear cup.
It’s available from any number of online
retailers from $25 to $40, so you’ll want to shop
it for the best value. I strongly recommend
using the rechargeable option for your best
overall performance.
Another great feature of the Tactical 500 is its
Bluetooth connectivity which allows the wearer
Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
2018
to listen to music, receive a phone call,
terminate a call or reject an incoming call.
I frequently chat with a New Hampshire friend
and bladesmith, Tom Bender, so I asked Tom to
help me test the 500 over Bluetooth, which he
kindly agreed to do. I called Tom for our usual
shoot the breeze and during the course of the
conversation he described the sound quality
and clarity as superior to that of my smart
device. I then received a call from Tom and
continued our conversation. Throughout the 30
minute call there were zero drop outs and I was
approximately 15 feet away from my
smartphone. I could hear Tom clearly with no
delays. Peltor specifications claim a 25 foot
range from headset to phone so I moved away
to that range again with zero dropouts or
change in audio quality.
Setup, Bluetooth
connectivity and
volume control is all
handle from the
right ear cup and it
couldn’t be any
simpler to do.
Peltor even includes
audible voice
prompts to tell you
that power is on, power is off and Bluetooth is
pairing. Operation couldn’t be any simpler or
friendlier.
Collocated with the micro USB port is a 3.5 mm
audio jack that can be connected to an external
device. I tested this arrangement using a
handheld ICOM VHF/UHF transceiver that I use
as flight communications backup. I was able to
clearly hear communications from the local
airport control tower, ground control and
approach control. The jack also provides
 3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth
2018
connectivity to an external audio source like a Simply remove the two fasteners on each side
walky-talky or mp3 device equipped with a which allows you to separate the headset from
3.5mm jack. Peltor even supplies the cable. the headband.

Are the Peltor Sport Tactical 300 and 500

perfect? Some reviewers say not but I
respectfully disagree.

The complaints usually revolve around

headband comfort, which Peltor designed to be
worn over head cover. I wore the 500s
continuously for a period of 4 ½ hours over
thinning hair, with no hat, and was just fine but
I have a round head. If you have a pointy head
your experience may differ, I don’t know. But
it’s not an insurmountable problem and easily
address by using a wrap.
If you use a ballistic
helmet or bump
helmet, the
headset can be
helmet mounted
using Peltor’s ARC
Rail Adapters. This
option will set you
back from $60 to $80, and caution is required
here to avoid cheap Chinese knockoffs.

Helmet mounting requires a little effort

because you need to detach the ear cups from
the headband, but that too is not at all difficult.

The bigger concern for me, since the ear cups

are fairly large, is my ability to establish a cheek
weld when firing a rifle from a prone or
unsupported position. Here I’m happy to report
that I did not encounter a problem with any
buttstock position. This is due to the generous
cut-outs at the bottom of the ear cup.

Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

 3M PELTOR SPORT TACTICAL 500 – Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth
In closing, I couldn’t give the 3M Peltor SPORT
Tactical Hearing Protections a higher
recommendation. They set a standard of
performance that other manufacturers can only
aspire to. Comfort is excellent and the advanced
electronics package delivers exceptional sound
suppression and voice clarity. Wear them with
communications equipment or your
smartphone via Bluetooth or simply standalone.
Now, combine that with helmet mounting and a
rechargeable lithium-ion power option and you
end up with an extraordinary product.
Oh, did I mention value? The Tactical 500 with
Bluetooth is available online from $120 to $160.
Give them a try to experience superb comfort
and sound suppression performance.
-SP
Copyright 2018, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
2018
Manufacturer Specifications
 26 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)
 Bluetooth® Wireless Technology syncs
with mobile devices
 3M SMART Technologies
 Dynamic Suppression Time adapts to
firearm and environment for optimized
shooting experience
 Clear Voice Tracking seeks voice within
noise for improved speech intelligibility
 Auto shut-off
 Intuitive buttons and voice guidance let
you operate without removing headset
 Low-profile cups have cut-outs for use
with long guns`
 Vented, adjustable headband improves
comfort when worn with hats
 Durable recessed microphones
designed to reduce wind and fan noise
To download or review the owner’s manual
click here