Right now, it seems that Amazon has activated Black Friday 2019 pricing on this 3M Worktunes Bluetooth hearing protection (90543-4DC), which has been discounted to $35.
Update: Walmart also has it at this price online.
Advertisement
$35 seems almost too low, but who am I to argue.
This headset features 24 dB of noise reduction, Bluetooth connectivity for streaming music from your phone or another device, and an integrated microphone.
It’s definitely much more modern-looking and lower profile than the Bluetooth and radio model Ben posted about a couple of years ago.
The headphones/hearing protector have a built-in rechargeable battery. Unfortunately, I can’t find charging time or runtime specs, even in the online manual. However, from the user reviews it seems to have good battery life.
User reviews are very good for a product like this.
I must admit that the title is a little misleading. I know this is a HOT DEAL, because I am very tempted to buy a pair for myself. But I’m tired of titling everything “hot deal,” and so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I went the “rate this deal” route.
Advertisement
Thoughts? Good deal, hot deal, or would you pass on this and recommend a different workshop music + hearing protection combination product?
Deal Price: $35
It looks like the regular price is ~$55 and up.
flipped
Got this at Costco last summer for a bit more—it was packaged with safety glasses. Great sound and battery life, and very comfortable to wear. Connects easily with my phone via Bluetooth. Would buy it again for sure
flipped
Saw the others commenting on safety glasses and thick stems. I have thin stem glasses on corrective lens glasses cause I have bad eye sight. I find most over the ear headphones uncomfortable because they press the stems, giving me headaches. These 3m versions haven’t done that and have been comfortable with my thin stem regular glasses
Mopar
According to Amazon, I purchased this exact pair about 13 months ago for $44. However, I returned them, because at that time the Amazon listing incorrectly claimed they also had AM/FM radio.
Jim
My ex got me a pair of these for Christmas last year. I use them while I mow and weed eat. Takes about 2 hours to do that. I Bluetooth amazon music. They work awesome. I usually have to recharge after 3-4 times using. It tells you if battery level is high or low when you turn them on.
Frank D
Price is great, I paid nearly twice that.
Two-three issues, where I can’t recommend them, as they fail the basic premise in my opinion.
Cups are very shallow so the electronics press on the ears a bit, gets annoying with prolonged wear.
Foam rim is thin and when you wear glasses, protective glasses, protective sunglasses, … a lot of noise gets in, compared to units with a ring that is twice as thick and conforms better around glasses. A bit less of an issue with safety glasses that are very flat and really hug one’s face.
No volume dial, every time you want / need to adjust the volume, switching equipment, equipment on/off, you have to get the phone out of your pocket to adjust the volume.
I purchased these for outside yard work ( riding mower, leaf vacuum, … ) which takes quite a few hours; and can’t use them for outdoors as they let in too much equipment noise and don’t quite turn up enough to properly hear things in return.
They’re my most expensive and least used set of hearing protection and pretty disappointing for the money and being a 3M product.
Feels like a beta version, as we’re all supposed to wear safety glasses, right. This could have been five stars had it had deeper cups, thicker soft foam rings and a volume dial like their am/fm ones.
MT_Noob
Thanks for the tips. I nearly pulled the trigger on this, but I hate hearing protection that doesn’t seal well when using safety glasses.
Frank D
When using the very flat side safety tight fit safety glasses from 3M, it is not too bad; but then I can only see up close. It is when I use my prescription ones, which have a much thicker / not flat frame, even though they hug my face, that it is bad. It would be worse if one had the kind that fit over regular glasses.
They may work for you, but make sure you can return them if it is an issue.
JBC
Hey Frank,
Thanks for your feedback specifically regarding noise protection when doing yard work. With near constant tinnitus (ringing), I need a B/T headset that can protect my ears from our excessively loud Simplicity yard tractor and other loud gas-powered yard tools and would therefore appreciate any recommendations you can provide for a set of Bluetooth Noise Reduction Over-the-ear Headphones that are also fairly comfortable wearing with protective glasses. Thank you!
John C
Skye A Cohen
Try the other 3m worktunes model with volume knob and Bluetooth and radio. They’re bigger heavier and thicker but very comfortable and seem like they might fit the bill for you
Frank D
I’ll second Skye that the older AM/FM is better when it comes to noise reduction, comfort, noise reduction with various kinds of glasses and it has a line in and volume knob. Don’t know that it has bluetooth, but maybe there is a newer model than the one some of the guys have. I wish 3M had added the worktunes bluetooth stuff into the old model and charged me $100.
I don’t have a direct BT recommendation. I have been wary of trying stuff for the gun range.
One thing I may try – as I use 3M silicone triple flange ear plugs very frequently too – is the Ryobi silicone ear buds with sound. But they require a wired connection. Sadly when I have tried to read up on them, the internet gives me dead links. Maybe a new BT version is in the works? Since higher end phones are doing away with headphone jacks. Anyhow I had considered that in the past with a set of my regular peltor ear muffs over them, if needed, especially when mowing and leaf vacuuming, the noise both engines is a true test for noise suppression.
Frank D
The other thing on my mind is potentially getting some new Apple pro earbuds and try them under my ear muffs.
Noah
The Bluetooth connection on these failed for me after a few months. I don’t recommend them.
A W
I’ve had them for about 12 months and they’ve been great for me. Durable, decent sound, excellent NRR.
If you have safety glasses with thick stems, you have to either put the stems over the earcups or switch to safety glasses with the thinner part that goes over your ears. I find them comfortable with the 3M glasses sold at home improvement stores for ~$10.
I would buy again, certainly at this price.
Bruce
I’ve got a set of active noise canceling units with Bluetooth that I use for this sort of work. They are amazing. I’ve also got a set of Peltor 300s for the range. Frankly, budget hearing protection is budget and I’ll never buy it again. Comfort is too important.
Wayne R.
You guys should know about the 3M “WS-CUSH” Bluetooth accessory. It’s a single-ear snap-in gizmo for X-series muffs, so you can use the most appropriate ear protection and still be able to take/make phone calls in the noise. It’s one ear, so no stereo, but it’s a great way to get phones to work in bad environments for a fairly low price and still have good protection.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-WS-CUSH-Wireless-Communication-Accessory/dp/B07B382T13/
I prefer my 3M Peltor WS-100, it’s got more features but costs $350. Its best “feature” is that it’s easy to add a switch to the mic boom for a mic cutout/PTT (for conference calls while troubleshooting). It uses two AAA batteries, so it’s fast to swap them out, too, and keep going.
(I use these in Data Centers where it’s pretty much 100% bad noise forever.) I also wear glasses (with very thin temples) and have had no intrusive noise problems with either headset.
Skye A Cohen
Whoa thanks!! Never knew that existed!
JR3 Home Performance
Perhaps: “Deal Alert x% off” (the normal price not retail)
Addicted2Red
I use them personally, got them on clearance from HomeDepot last year for $25. My only gripe is the lack of volume controls on the headphones. Battery life is great. I only have to charge them every few days during heavy use and they audibly tell you the battery level upon power on.
Bruce Pierce
I have a set I bought at Costco a couple of years ago. The work well. Never had any problems with this hearing protection. The only thing I wish is that they would be louder.
A W
I’ve noticed a weird thing with these headsets, in that the max volume of dependent on my device volume when I first pair them. There have been a few times where I told my phone to “forget” the headphones, re-paired them, and had louder volume control afterwards.
I’m not sure if that’s a glitch on my phone, on my headset, out with Bluetooth, but try playing with some different volume settings and it may improve.
CountyCork
Use these for mowing and tractor work. No problems so far and about 2 years old. Good value.
Mac
I have the non Bluetooth radio version. Cups seem deeper. Volume is loud enough. Has a 3.5mm jack that I can use for my phone.
I think I might try the isotunes in ear protection before I bought another over the ear set. Especially if I can a hearing aid place to custom mold gel for the isotunes.
Work got us all custom molded ear pro last year. Hardly touch my over the ear stuff any more…unless it’s really loud and I’m doubling down and using both.
Frank D
Thank you for mentioning those!!
I have been interested in something like that, but they never had proper passive sound isolation / noise reduction.
Will be reading up!
skfarmer
tractor supply has a similar dewalt set on clearance for 39 dollars. don’t know how they compare but it is another option in a similar price range.
JR3 Home Performance
Got a pair delivered this morning. Worked comfortably in them several hours with podcasts playing.