Are you working for Lawn Care & Maintenance, Woodworking & Building, Welding & Metal Fabrication then here are the headphones specially designed for this task, a series of PPE headphones by ISOtunes. The headphones series includes three different options starting from around $60 till $100, which are ISOtunes Original, ISOtunes Xtra and ISOtunes original.
In this post I shall compare all the options so as to find out which one has an edge over each other in what aspect, I mean you will understand what you will get extra by spending more dollars.
So finally at the end of this post you will be able to make out –
ISOtunes xtra vs pro vs Original | Which one to Buy & Why?
Firstly all the above ISOtunes earbuds are called as PPE personal protection equipment and boasts the slogan “mute the world”
ISO tunes (original) – cheapest in their range of earbuds and ISOtunes PRO are costliest in this series.
Quick comparison of features among all ISOtunes headphones are as below –
- Fitting to the ears / Ergonomics
Like all other headphones in market, these headphones also come with heat-activated memory foam eartips, which expand inside your ears to block outside noise (Passive Noise Cancellation)
Each headphone comes with 3 pairs of foam and 1 pair of silicone triple-flange eartips.
Each headphone from ISOtunes, posses Custom-fit memory wires which can be folded to suit individual requirement. However someone may feel that good and for someone its annoying. having standard shape ease out situation once you are used to a method to fit them to ears, but when its flexible in terms of shape then every day you need to adjust it
Threaded details on driver so as to screw the tips onto, this is something different and threading ensures that the tips are fixed correctly and does not come out again and again.
- ANSI-certified and OSHA-compliant
All these headphones that works as ear plugs too where the noise levels are high like say 85 dB mostly found in workshops.
These headphones are called as hearing protection headphones which are ANSI and OSHA compliant, they can achieve noise reduction from 27 to 28 dB which is called as Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)
This is achieved using the proprietary ISOtunes SafeMax Technology. - Bluetooth 4.1
All three models use Bluetooth 4.1 for wireless communication with your smartphone which works over approx 33 feet range. - CD quality sound
All three models have high-fidelity speakers and aptX streaming audio. - Battery life
Battery power is area where all three models differ from each other.
Original model has lowest battery life of only 4 hours, which is way below the benchmark in market.
Xtra model has 8 hours and PRO model has 10+ hour battery life, which is at least comparable to other headphones in market.
- Call quality
ISOtunes claims proprietary signature background noise-cancelling microphone which works effectively on stead state noises like engine humming, vacuum cleaners, mowers, fans, machines etc. However I suggest you to check the effectiveness of this feature yourself, to do so you can buy them and test during the first week itself, if not found effective you can take advantage of 30 days money back guarantee from the company. - Fight with Sweat during work
All models provide basic protection against Sweat.
Original model is IPX3 sweat & splash resistant
Xtra model is IP45 dust, sweat and water resistant
And PRO model is IP55 dust, sweat and water resistant, which is the best among three.
But as said basic protection is ensured in all models, PRO being the best. - Auto Pause feature
Novel feature among all these models is Auto-music-pause. What it means is that when you use magnets fitted at the back of these headphones, they automatically identifies that you want to take a break and pause the music, this feature is fantastic and useful while you listen to the audio books or podcasts. - Magnetic back – Good or Bad?
Now this is also a most common feature found in headphones in market, however since all above models are said to be intended for workshop use, you need to be careful with the magnets.
So magnetic back is good for hanging them around the neck. However one of the disadvantage of having magnetic back is that if you are working in a workshop where metal dust / burr being created the magnets are powerful and collect lot of metal dust each day! - Sound Quality
Good for listening on medium and low volumes .. at max volumes somehow the bass and treble do not balance each other well ..
ISOtunes xtra vs pro vs Original Specs comparison chart –
| Professional Bluetooth Hearing Protector |
ISOtunes Original |
ISOtunes Xtra |
ISOtunes PRO |
| Best Buy Price |
Best Buy ISOtunes Original |
Best Buy ISOtunes Xtra |
Best Buy ISOtunes PRO |
| Colors | All Black | Black & Yellow, All Black | Safety Orange, Matte Black |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.1 | Bluetooth 4.1 + EDR | Bluetooth 4.1 + EDR |
| SafeMax | ISOtunes signature SafeMax™ Technology with 85 dB volume limit | ||
| ANSI-certified | 26 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) | 27 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) | |
| OSHA | OSHA-compliant | ||
| Music playtime | 4 hours music playback and talk time | Up to 8 hours music playback and talk time | 10 hours music playback and talk time |
| standby time | 120 hours standby time | 180 hours standby time | 240 hours standby time |
| Battery | USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery | ||
| Microphone | ISOtunes™ signature mic with background noise cancellation for phone calls eliminates steady state noise like engines, mowers, fans, vacuums, and saws for clear calls in loud environments | ||
| Waterproof rating | IPX3 sweat & splash resistant | IP45 dust, sweat and water resistant | IP55 dust, sweat and water resistant |
| features | Lightweight memory wire neckband for comfortable long-term wear | ||
| music controls | Magnetic earbuds: play/pause music, answer/end calls, and keep the earbuds safely around your neck | ||
| Battery indicator | iOS battery life indicator available in all models | ||
| Accessories | Includes 4 pairs (XS,S,M,L) of heat-activated ISOtunes TRILOGY foam earplugs for optimal sound quality, comfort, and noise isolation. Also includes 3 sizes/pairs of rubber double-flange ear-tips | ||
| Warranty | 1 Year with 30 days money back guarantee | ||
| weight | 16 g (0.75 oz) | ||
Finally which of the ISOtunes headphones best & Why?
If you are working in loud environment, it is mandatory that you wear ear-plugs to prevent permanent damage to the hearing system. What that means is that you can’t hear anything but only a silence which is quite boring!!
So best way is to have headphones which not only delivers music to your ears but also act as ear-plugs.
And in that case you can choose one of the headphones from ISOtunes company which delivers the best wireless listening experience for loud working environment.
Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 26-27 dB ensures protection of ears from loudness.
Now you need to decide the need versus money spent to get the extra features –
So if you wish to get highest battery life – choose ISOtunes PRO(10 hours music play time)
If you want to have highest waterproof and dustproof rating – choose ISOtunes PRO (IP55 rating)
You can also look at the customer ratings before taking final decision, as on 9 April 2019 I found that –
ISOTunes PRO had 3.6 stars out of 967 customer reviews on Amazon (Read rating and reviews here)
ISOTunes xtra scored only 1.4 stars out of only 3 customer reviews (Read rating and reviews here)
ISOTunes Original scored 3.7 stars out of 218 customer reviews (Read rating and reviews here)