Opinions on Earmor headsets - good, bad or ugly!?

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Uncle Pauly

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I'm fishing for opinions on Earmor headsets... ?

Reason being I'm in the market for a set of noise-cancelling, fully closed cans that are also capable of running a built-in mic and being attached to a helmet - and the Earmor seem to fit the bill within the price range I'm considering (they seem to be the best 'budget' option before getting in the realm of Peltor, etc).

I've searched on here and opinions seem to be mostly favourable, if a bit old (i.e. not much talk of them recently). Elsewhere, some of the reviews are quite damning!

So are they any good? Or would I be wasting my money on cheap tat that's going to fail on me far too soon? For reference, I'm looking at getting a set of Earmor M32H Mod 3 (i.e. the with helmet adaptors already built in). Would be used for both skirmishing - indoor/outdoor - and some fair weather milsim.

Grateful for any first-hand experience. Cheers guys ?

View attachment 52948

 
Been a similar boat to you. Got a pair of z tac sordins - they are pretty good as ear pro (more then enough for 9mm,not sure i'd use them for a day of clay pigeon though!) but they leave alot to be desired generally - though i concede my issues with comms could be PTT related too.

If you want a boom mic at that price point they are probably your best bet, certainly better then z-tac. 

The other solution (which isnt quite what you're looking for, sorry) is the howard leights impact sport with a 3.5mm going into a baofeng speaker mic. You have to talk into the mic but the speaker will be routed into the headset. Thats what i intend to do anyway. 

Even if you can find a real comtac/sordin at a good price it seems the boom mic and ptt is where the big £££ comes in. 

I may be wrong with all of this btw - my exp with ztac is the only first hand info i have.

Thanks

 
^ Thanks! That's good info.

The Howard Leight Impact Sport seems good for the money. A built-in mic would be ideal, but I might consider these with a speaker mic as you suggest (I run a Midland G18 instead of Baofeng, but it's a very similar set up). Ditto, I have looked at Comtac/Sordin but the cost of required accessories (mic and PTT) starts to add up quickly ?

...not that I mind spending on good quality gear. I often subscribe to the "buy once, cry once" philosophy. But I'm a bit loathe to spend £300 (or double that) all-in for comms headgear, when I could pick up a new pew-pew for that money.

 
I have the M32H set and on the whole they're good. Microphone has no issues for me, quality overall is pretty good for what you're paying (let's face it they're not Comtacs but then they're not Comtac money either).

The one thing to look out for if you want to use them with comms is that they use a "proper" PTT connection so you can't use the Z-Tactical PTTs, you need either the Earmor ones or a genuine RS one (unless you know the wiring and are handy with a soldering iron).

The one thing I would say is that if you plan on swapping them about between a headband and a helmet depending on your fancy, the clips on the earmuffs WILL fail. I would also suggest that if you're going to get the helmet mount ones, ditch the adaptors that come with them and get yourself the Unity Tactical MARK kit or the FMA "FARA" kit (which is a knock off of the Unity Tactical MARK kit).

If you're just looking at a headset for earpro then the Howard Leight ones are nice (some of my friends run them). They have a 3.5mm socket so you could attached the audio out from comms with a separate mic if you wish.

 
Thanks @Lozart ?

Great info and reassuring to hear that the M32H are generally good on the whole. I think I’m going to take the plunge and order a set. The Howard Leight also seem solid but I like the idea of having a mic built in. I’ll probably get myself an Earmor PTT for the sake of simplicity /compatibility and look into replacing the helmet adaptor with a Unity Tactical MARK kit or FMA FARA kit as you suggest (thanks for the tip!).

Cheers guys ?
 
I have both the standalone & Helmet version. (Mine are two years old, I think they are on MOD2 or MOD3 now)

**I love them, sound amplification is such a game changer and also protection from Pyro in CQB helps...

Be aware some peeps have issues with the PTT.

With the Earmor PTT Kenwood lead. (Assuming your going to get a Baofeng UV5R radio) There is a simple mod you can do as sometimes when pushing the PTT you won't transmit.   (See the video below.... **Top comment also has a fix)

Someone else showed me what to do in person.  I just shaved a little off and boom worked fine!  ***My mate though, his worked fine without any mods..so could've been a batch issue...don't know what the more up to date PTT kenwood connector cables are like though)



 
Thanks @Monkman ?

Good to know you've been running Earmor for two years and are still happy with them. That's a great testimonial.

I now have a set of M32H incoming along with an Earmor PTT. I'll be using the Motorola two-pin version (I use a Midland G18 radio), but will heed your advice above if I have any problems with it transmitting.

Thanks again!

 
So, I now have a set of Earmor M32H (Mod 3 version) and have encountered a problem.

Here’s my set up: Earmor M32H Headset > Earmor M51 PTT > Midland G18 radio (2-pin Motorola).

The problem is that when everything is connected as above (i.e. headset to radio via PTT):

  • The radio receives fine - I can hear incoming transmissions over the headset, but…
  • The radio is unable to transmit using the PTT. If I press the PTT button and use the headset mic, nothing is transmitted (and the transmit indicator light on the radio remains off). Same if I press the transmit button on the radio itself with the PTT cable plugged in. Nothing.
The radio otherwise works fine without the PTT plugged in: transmits and receives like a charm.

Any idea what the problem might be?

Perhaps the same issue mentioned by @Monkmanabove? Or maybe the Earmor M51 isn't compatible with the Mod 3 headsets? (a newer M52 version of the PTT is available). I've read a comment on Amazon that suggests this.

Cheers for any wisdom on the matter ?

PS: I got myself a FMA "FARA" kit and it's waaay better than the original headset mounts. Thanks @Lozartfor the heads up on that!

 
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I know it's two different radios...but I had to do this to get my PTT to work reliably with my Baofeng radio.... I just trimmed the rubber on one side of the Kenwood connector.

Have a real close look at the connector..is it not seating absolutely perfect?  Have you pushed down hard on it, then pushed the PTT button with you other hand?  None of this may help..but thought i'd mention it anyway.

View attachment 53928

 
^ Thanks bud. That photo is really useful ?

 
I’ll investigate and attempt some whittling of the connector head if looks like that could be the problem (good tip about putting some pressure on the connector and trying the PTT).

 
So... it turns out that the Midland G18 radio isn't compatible with the Earmor PTT. I haven't had a definite answer on this - I've simply tried two different Earmor PTTs and neither worked with the G18 handset, which is good enough evidence for me (I checked the seal between the 2-pin connector and the handset on both occasions and it was snug, so I don't think this is the same issue as reported by @Monkman... but thanks again for the heads up on that).

As a Plan B I've bought a Kenwood version of the Earmor PTT to work with a Baofeng UV-5R (which I already had) and to 'ease my conscience' I've also picked up a PMR446-compliant Retevis RT24 - cheap, cheerful and Kenwood/Earmor compatible, making it what appears to be a license-free equivalent of the Baofeng. I've yet to test it, but reviews seem promising.

As ever, this has proved to be vastly more faffy than I had envisaged. But I seem to have got there in the end, if only through trial and error ?

PS: my Midland G18 is now up for sale if anyone's interested. It's a great quality radio - waterproof and extremely rugged. Might end up keeping it myself for general-purpose hiking and biking use.

For anyone who might stumble on this thread at a later date, here's the list of Earmor PTT-compatible radios: Motorola and Kenwood versions. You can find lists for other connector types on the product listings over at http://emperionstore.com and elsewhere.

Earmor PTT - list of compatible radios that use the Motorola 2-prong connector:

* XTN Series: XTN446, XTN500, XTN600
* XTN XV Series: XV1100, XV2100, XV2600, XV4100
* XTN XU Series: XU1100, XU2100, XU2600, XU4100
* XTN AX Series: AXV5100, AXU4100
* CLS Series: CLS1110, CLS1410, CLS1413, CLS1450, CLS1450C, CLS1450CB, VL50
* Spirit Series: SV10, SV11, SV11D, SV21, SV12, SV22, SV22C, SU210, SU22, SU22C, SU220, Spirit Pro, Spirit Pro+, HP10
* Spirit MU Series: MU11, MU11C, MU11CV, MU12, MU12C, MU12CV, MU21C, MU21CV, MU22CVS, MU24CV, MU24CVS, MU24CVST
* Spirit MV Series: MV11, MV11C, MV11CV, MV12, MV12CV, MV21C, MV21CV, MV22, MV22CV, MV24CVS
* CP Series: CP88, CP040. CP100, CP110, CP125, CP150, CP200, CP250, CP300
* GP Series: GP2000 , GP2100, GP300, GP308, GP68, GP88, GP88S
* SP Series: SP10, SP21, SP50+, SP50
* CT Series: CT150, CT250, CT450, CT450LS
* P Series: P040, P080, P110, P1225, P1225LS
* DTR Series: DTR410, DTR550, DTR610, DTR650
* Other Series: GTI, GTX, LTS2000, VL130, PMR446, ECP100, PR400, MagOne BPR400, EP450, AU1200, AV1200
* RDX Series: RDV-5100, RDV2020, RDU2020, RDU2080DD, RDU4100, RDU4160D, RDV2080D, RDV5100

Earmor PTT - list of compatible radios that use the Kenwood connector (NB: of this list, only the Retevis RT24 is PMR446 license-free).

Kenwood: TH-F6/F6A/D/D7A/D7AG/D7E/F/F7E/G71/G71A/G71E/K2/K2A/K2E/ K2ET/21/ 21AT/21BT/22/22A/22AT/22E/25/26/27/28/31AT/31BT/41AT/41BT/42/42A/ 42AT/2E/45/46/47/215/225/235/235A/235E/315/415 TK-208/220/240/240D/248/250/260/260/270/370G/372G/373G/320/340/340D/348/350/ 378/378G/430/431/353/360/2100/2102/2130/2160/3100/3101/3102/3107/3118/3130/3131/3160 etc

Kenwood:TK-2170/3170/2312/3312/2360/3360/2400/3400/2400V/3400U/2402/3402/2402V/3402U/3173

Kenwood ProTalk :TK-2400VP, TK-3400UP, TK-3230XLS

Kenwood:TH-F6A, TH-D72A, TH-K20A

Kenwood:Nexedge NX-220, NX-320, NX-240V, NX-340U, NX-420

Baofeng: UV-Series,UV-3R PLUS, UV-5R/5RA/5RB/5RD/5RE/5R V2+/5R5/5X5R+ Plus/8/8D/B5/B/82HP/82L/82/82C/89 BF-480/490/320/V6/520/530/999/888/777/666S/777S/888S/gt-3tp/bf-f9-v2hp+

WOUXUN: KG-UV1D/KG-UV2D/UVDIP/KG-669/659/679/689/639/699/801/kg-uv8e

QUANSHENG: TG-K4AT/2AT/22AT/45AT/42AT/25AT/UV

HYT:TC286 386 2685 3865 6685, TC 278 378 388, TC 2100 2088

TYT 2 Pin

Retevis:H-777,RT1, RT2,RT3, RT5, RT7, RT-5R,RT-5RV,RT-B6,888s, RT24

Linton:LT-2288/3288/6288/5288/3188/2188/3260/2268/3268/6288/6188/3288A

PUXING Radio: PX-666/777/777 PLUS/3288/-888

Hytera Radio:TC-268/268S/270/270S/368/368S//370/370S

WEIERWEI:VEV-3288S/6288/3288 

 
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