Caldwell E-MAX Shadows 23 NRR - Electronic Hearing Protection with Bluetooth Connectivity for Shooting, Hunting, and Range

After using these for a few weeks now, I have some things to write about these pretty good hearing protection, Bluetooth and ambient sound reinforcement devices. As with any larger ear plugs I find it easier to mildly dislodge them from my ear canal. This causes audio leakage and poorer sound reproduction in my ear. Not terrible, but I have never had Apple's product to compare. The Bluetooth is very nice and connects to my smartphone easily. The bass frequencies are a trifle lacking compared to some in ear Bluetooth devices I have used. The ambient (outside) sound reinforcement is surprisingly good. I like to use them on my old ears as it does tend to filter out distant sounds and focus on closer conversations allowing me to conduct a conversation in a noisy (restaurant) environment. The drawback is when connected to my phone... If I flip my phone and cause it to light up from a hibernate mode (not actually log in and use it), it drops ambient sounds briefly. It is easier to put away the phone to have a personal conversation than deal with these brief interruptions. This is probably my biggest issue with these ear buds. It is easy to shut off the Bluetooth and harder to turn back on during a phone call. Don't touch them during a call! Use the phone's volume control. Sound protection is OK. I expect they are along the lines of the cheap foam plugs for protection. If using extremely loud range time (large caliber rifle), they are a bit weak but will do for a couple rounds. I use my over ear protection device as well for loud stuff normally. Same goes with these devices. I may update my my review after more range time, I have only used these on the range once and even my ambient sound over ear protection took a few range days to utilize fully.

As I write this I can not hear out of my right ear. I read the directions carefully and watched YouTube videos as I charged them up for use. The features just flat out didn't work as described. As a firearms instructor, I thought this would be a great idea. I did the research, read the reviews and decided to give it a try. Horrible idea! At first, shooting with a pistol seemed ok. Well, it was ok for the smaller calibers. Things went from ok to bad when I transitioned from a 45 to 357 Sig. I checked and the green light was still on both ear pieces. After readjusting and what I thought was an improvement in noise reduction things went from bad to worse when I started shooting with a rifle. I immediately got off the firing line and replaced them with my electronic ear muffs. I looked them over and noticed that the light was red and the battery was dead in the right ear bud. It died after 1 hour of use. At that point, the damage was done and 6 hours later I still cant hear anything but a constant ringing. Save your money or wait for the technology to improve.

I’ve had tinnitus for a long time, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until I had children when I couldn’t hear them crying in the other room. It made me want to protect my hearing even while I was hunting. I bought these with the hopes that they would work for hunting and boy do they! I’ve worn them in a pouring rain and it sounds like I’m standing with no earplugs but then when I take a shot, there’s no ears ringing. I’ve worn them at several outdoor shooting ranges and it’s so nice to be able to hear what people are saying but not the crack of the guns going off. It is a strange sensation wearing them because you still hear the sound of the firearm but no crack of the sound barrier. You can also listen to music on them because they are Bluetooth to your phone and I’ve mowed the lawn with them, but I found I prefer earmuffs for doing that, but using these it was still pleasant enough. It’s just not what I prefer and they have a speaker which allows you to hear the ambient noise around you which means you can take a phone call with them. I can’t say that I recommend it, but it is doable, and it’s nice to not have to dig through all the layers of hunting gear to answer your phone because you can do it on the earpiece. I don’t know why you would but you could turn them off and just use them as regular earplugs. They do have the same rating as the foam ones so there is that if the battery were to die not that I’ve had that happen. I’ve hunted for well over eight hours in one day and not had them run out of batteries and it’s often cold were I hunt which can be a problem for battery powered devices but it hasn’t been for these. I’d recommend these to anyone, and have done so. I will definitely buy another pair if and when these finally go.

I was skeptical about these as I have read mixed reviews, but after using them for over a year I can say that these are the best shooting Bluetooth/noise canceling/touch control earbuds I have found. They pair automatically, cancel pulse/gunfire sounds while letting background sound through, take and make calls well, and they sound fine playing podcasts or music. They aren’t gonna deliver booming bass, but they’re completely great for functionality, and they do everything they say they’ll do. I am an avid shooter and I also work behind a 372xp chainsaw every day, and have tried 3 different sets of various brands of Bluetooth noise cancelling earphones -and have been disappointed with them all, until I found these. The others all stay in the drawer now because these Caldwells are GREAT. The slide volume control must be swept up or down a few times as each sweep does a small adjustment, but once you get the hang of it, it works fine to adjust volume. All the other touch controls are fairly intuitive and straight forward. These work one at a time as a single earpiece or simultaneously as Bluetooth headphones and have fully ambidextrous/identical controls on each bud. Although there is a right and left earbud, either bud can be used in either ear. They stay securely in the ears once you find your proper tip that fits (I use the large foam tips for the best fit/seal/noise protection), and the FDE color matches a couple of my guns and gear👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 *The foam tips MUST be used for sufficient ear protection while shooting. Outdoors anything non-magnum is fine with these. Indoor range visits and I’d double up with earmuffs worn over these for full sound protection Overall, I am EXTREMELY happy with these. One or both of them are in my ears almost all day long. They have a few specific quirks that I had to figure out (see re-syncing process outlined below), but these are hands down the best Bluetooth noise cancelling earbuds around for the price. On the newer model of these (the emax PRO version) I think that Caldwell shouldn’t have made the right and left earbuds have different controls on the new “PRO”. These original Shadows are far more utilitarian with the exact same touch controls on either earbud. Just something to consider if you’re deciding between these or the Pros, I’d pick these original Emax shadows all day long over the new PROS for that reason Many have complained about the earbuds losing sync with each other, and then the user has a very difficult time getting them to sync with each other again as a set. I can say that the number one cause of them not syncing with each other is because whatever Bluetooth device they were paired to MUST be turned off. When these earbuds lose sync with each other, their device (usually a phone) will then recognize each earbud as a separate unit, and only one earbud will give sound at a time. The fix for this is: 1. TURN OFF YOUR PHONE so no Bluetooth pairing is possible with that device. These earbuds WILL NOT sync again if one or both of them is paired with a phone or similar device, or if said device (or any other device within range) “remembers” either of them and is trying to pair with them. Turn off the device. 2. Perform the factory reset. It is a 20 second process that has a YouTube video under “Caldwell Emax shadows factory reset” 3. Once factory reset is complete (making sure your phone remains off), place earbuds back in their charging case and make sure the light on the back of each is either solid green (fully charged), or solid red (partially charged/need charging). 4. Remove both earbuds from case at the same time and place them in your ears. They should turn on and pair to each other automatically in a few seconds. Usually if you put them right in your ears you will hear the “paired” BOOP sound in both earbuds. You can perform a 2 second touch/hold on one earbud to activate passthrough mode and listen if both earbuds then allow you to hear outside sounds (make sure your phone remains off for these steps!). If long hold on one earbud doesn’t activate passthrough mode on both earbuds, they aren’t synced and the first steps outlined here should be performed again. 5. Once you’ve determined that they are synced by doing the passthrough mode test, you can turn your phone back on, enable Bluetooth, and click on “SHADOWS” under your Bluetooth menu. Click on it and you are back in business with a “paired” status on your phone and a BOOP sound in both ears to confirm the connection Your phone must be turned off and factory reset performed for them to sync with each other once they become unsynced or else your phone will pair with each earbud as a separate Bluetooth device, preventing them from ever syncing with each other. That can be really frustrating, so follow the steps above. I hope this helps those who have been frustrated by them not syncing. These are great Bluetooth shooting earbuds, especially for the price. I own 3 sets so I always have a charged one or pair in my ears. CALDWELL FOR THE WIN!!! * If you have any problem with these, contact Caldwell and they will take care of you with excellent customer service and warranty

I duck hunt, deer hunt and trap shoot and have tried a half dozen products to protect my ears from muffs to a few other under $100 in-ear buds. So far, these are the best ones I’ve found. The foam inserts are very comfortable, and I’ve worn them on 6-8 hour hunts with no soreness or ear fatigue. The ambient noise amplification works well and is bidirectional. It will amplify wind noise to some extent, all electronic protection do, but wearing a hood and putting it up will reduce wind noise by 90%. Duck calling is just fine once you practice and get the mechanics of it figured out. The biggest secondary benefit to these are the Bluetooth capability so you can also use them around the house while running power tools or mowing and enjoy a podcast or music. The battery is good for about 6 hours and it seems to take about an hour to recharge them fully, so plan on charging them while eating lunch or whenever you won’t be shooting and they last the whole day just fine. The only con I’ve had so far was I briefly had trouble pairing them for a few minutes after having used them for awhile. Not sure what happened but a reset/re-pair to my iPhone took care of that and it hasn’t happened since. Overall, these are a really great set of ear protection for their price. No, they will not be the same as not wearing ear pro, nothing is, but you also won’t blow out your hearing by age 50. Ear pro is worth it to me and these are the best $100ish option I’ve found so far.

I tried every foam tip, none of them snugly fit my ears. If no tips fit you, you'll be sending these back too because that's in instant deal-breaker. I tried charging multiple times, one of them just would not charge, I believe it was the left side that never made it past 30% charged (could see on my phone the charge levels) and I made 1000% sure it was seated in the box correctly. For the two minutes I had them in to "try", my neighbor was mowing the lawn so I walked up with noise reduction active, and could still hear his lawnmower which is very loud. I would never trust these to protect my eardrums from 12g or .556 in inside or outside ranges. I wouldn't trust these to mow my lawn either apparently. And one was always constantly disconnecting so I could only hear music out of one ear for the full two minutes I had them on. Dysfunctional fresh out of the box. Returning, lesson learned; spend the money on good expensive proven brands, don't take chances on something that could cause permanent injury. Music sounded okay though, and easy to connect to Bluetooth on my phone! Hah.

I have many Caldwell products, and generally consider their products to be pretty good. These are not representative of the quality I expect from the brand. My first issue was the use of a micro USB cable for charging. The manufacturing world has finally figured out that people like compatibility, but Caldwell didn't get that memo. Not a fatal flaw, but certainly annoying. Once charged, you find out that you can only pair with one device. If you wish to switch to another device, you must perform a factory reset. Again, not terrible, but even more annoying. The problem that prompted me to return the product was that one channel never worked properly. It made a brief dreadful noise and died. The sound on the channel that did work was tinny, with almost no base. The question is: if they had worked, would I have kept them? Maybe! I liked the shape and control features, but I do feel that Caldwell let me down. They do have a Pro model that might be better. I'll read reviews and think it over.

I bought the Caldwell Shadows and when I got them they work great. You can hear people talking and they reduce the loud noises, but you can still hear. They don't completely shut off all sound like the last brand I had. It's really nice. They have several ear plug types that come with them, so when you find the right one they are extremely comfortable. There was an issue with the Bluetooth connecting to both ear pods so I called customer service. We went through a reset process and it didn't fix the issue so they are sending me another set. Just like that. It's nice to find a company that has a great product, stands behind their product and takes care of their customers. UPDATE: I am still pleased with the Caldwell E-Max Shadows. They work great at the shooting range. Two things I have found that could be improved are 1) wind noise. If the wind is blowing it still comes through the earbuds and does become annoying. 2) Any time they try to connect to blue tooth or you make an adjustment to the volume, the LED light on the side continues to blink for several minutes. it is not good to have a bright little LED light flashing while you are hunting. I fixed this by covering it with a tiny piece of electrical tape. I have used them a lot in the last 4 months at the shooting range and hunting and overall, I am very happy with the performance and quality. I have not had any failures or malfunctions Update 2022: I am still using my Caldwell E-Max Shadows and they are still going great. I did paint over the LED light with black paint to cover it but that is the only thing. I would definitely buy them again.

Es el segundo producto igual que compro y ninguno ha funcionado.

El otro comprador de México que dice que no sirven!, no los sabe usar, jejejeje.

Pros: Protection is excellent, in particular, after taking a shot you don't really notice them engage or disengage (my old ones would only slowly come back, so you could hear other people for at least 5-10 seconds, these new ones are instant). Comfort is excellent Battery life seems good (I have gone over 5 hours without issues) Cons: No good way to add a tether strap making them highly prone to getting lost. Hissssssssssssssssssssssss - surprisingly bad hiss. You get used to it. Really bright flashing LED, especially for a morning hunt, the stupid things flash brightly for about 2-3 minutes when you first take them out of the box, a huge problem for dawn hunts if you forget to turn them on early.

耳栓つけて射場に入ると射撃係が何を言ってるのか分からない問題が解決した 周りの音を拾うか遮断するかの切り替えが簡単で、耳栓を付け外しする必要が無いし 周りの音を拾って射撃しても耳へのダメージが無い ブルートゥースで携帯に接続し精神を安定させる曲を流して射撃点数を狙うのも良いかもしれない ただし、音を拾うといっても耳栓をはずしたほどのクリアさは無いので 普段使いには耳を塞がない骨伝導のShokzを使っていて Caldwellは射撃専用としている

do not work at all tried everything