Web Analytics

ISOtunes Noise Isolating Bluetooth Earbuds | My Top Recommendation for In-Ear Protection

In this review, I will be taking an in-depth look at the ISOtunes Noise Isolating Bluetooth Earbuds. I have been using these while working my job sandblasting headstones for a few months now, so I have some first-hand experience and lots to say!

Overall, they have been a great headset (with a few minor problems along the way) so I hope you will continue reading to figure out if they’ll be right for you.

 

Quick Review

ISOtunes Noise Isolating Bluetooth Earbuds Review
  • Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) - 70
  • Battery Life - 75
  • Sound Volume/Quality - 90
  • Size & Comfort - 100
  • Durability - 95
  • Other Features - 75
  • Price - 90
85

Summary

The ISOtunes Noise Isolating Bluetooth Earbuds are my highest rated in-ear hearing protection device for a reason. They offer a great level of hearing protection, are extremely durable, have great sound quality, and continue to serve me well in my noisy work environment. There’s not much I don’t like about them other than the mediocre battery life. Don’t let that deter you and keep on reading to learn more about one of my favorite in-ear Bluetooth hearing protection devices.

Protect Your Ears Now

In-Depth Review

Now we’ll get into the meat of this review and start going through every aspect and feature they offer…and those they don’t. If you’d like to see some of the primary features you should be considering when purchasing a set of Bluetooth-enabled hearing protection devices, check out this post:

What to Consider When Purchasing Bluetooth Hearing Protection

Noise Reduction Rating

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when looking into a hearing protection device is the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), which is essentially how well they are at protecting your ears from outside sounds.

The ISOtunes have an NRR of 26 which is fairly good. It’s not the highest NRR out there, but for an “earbud” style device, it’s actually pretty good! The device has been tested in industrial labs (according to manufacturer information) and is 100% OSHA compliant for use in the workplace.

These earbuds use passive noise cancellation techniques (the material of the earbuds) to achieve the NRR rating they have. That means because they’re not using complicated technology to do the task, they don’t cost hundreds of dollars like some of the more expensive ones out there.

With an NRR of 26, this headset should be good enough for most noisy environments such as industrial settings, sandblasting, shop work, yard work, shooting range, at the gym, jogging, or even while traveling on an airplane or bus.

 

ISOtunes---NRR-Bluetooth-Earplugs---Magnetic-EarbudsBattery Life

According to manufacturer information, this headset should give a strong 4 hours of use on a full charge of its Lithium-ion battery. From experience, I think 4 hours is the absolute maximum you’ll get out of it. In fact, I would be more inclined to say it’s 3.5-4 hours.

Given that, I can still make it through a standard 8 hour work day if I have them fully charged in the morning and make sure to charge them through my two 15-minute breaks and 30-minute lunch. However, if you’re going to need something to last more than 4 hours at a time, these may not be for you.

I would say that the biggest knock I can give this headset from ISOtunes is the relatively short battery life. I also wish it had some sort of indication as to how much battery charge was left other than the audio warning that starts to happen about five minutes before it dies.

Protect Your Ears Now
Bluetooth

This headset uses Bluetooth 4.1 to connect to any Bluetooth capable device. Connecting your device is pretty simple as all you need to do is push the center button on the headset until it finds the device. Once it is connected a lady with an accent will tell you “Your phone is now connected” and “Your phone is now disconnected” when you disconnect your device.

In terms of Bluetooth range, I’ve left my phone on a table in the shop and was able to get about 65 feet away (with a tin structure in-between my phone and me) before it started cutting in and out and about 75 feet before it finally lost connection altogether.

 

ISOtunes---NRR-Bluetooth-Earplugs---ButtonsMicrophone

In case you need to answer phone calls while wearing these in a noisy environment, there is a built-in microphone with active noise-cancelling technology. The microphone works to block out any solid-state noises such as sandblasters (in my situation), engines, machinery or any other constant loud noises.

I’ve only used the microphone once when my grandma called me while I was at work. I answered and the phone call went fairly well. I was able to hear her clearly and she was able to hear me fairly clearly. There were times when I had to repeat what I was saying, but I don’t know if that can be attributed to the microphone not picking my voice up well or just the fact that she’s getting up there in age…

Protect Your Ears Now
Sound Volume/Quality

This ISOtunes headset uses 8 mm drivers in each earbud to get the job done. They sound really nice and are able to hit the low notes as well as the high notes. I’ve never had any issues with the sound quality.

They also have ISOtunes signature SafeSound built in to add another level of safety and ensure you won’t inadvertently damage your hearing by turning the volume up too loud.

 

ISOtunes---NRR-Bluetooth-Earplugs---CuttingSize & Comfort

Overall, these earbuds are quite comfortable. They use heat-activated Comply memory foam ear tips to provide the 26 NRR hearing protection level. They are great because once you pinch them with your fingers to warm them up they go in nicely and then expand to fill up your ear canal and block out the sound.

Compared to other earbuds I have worn for 8 hours a day at work, these are definitely up there as some of the most comfortable. Most of the time I don’t even notice them jammed in my ear.

Sometimes I do get a little annoyed by the cord connected the two earbuds on my neck, but this isn’t a big issue at all.

In addition to the Comply memory foam ear tips, they also come with a few other ear tips (not for sound protection) as well as some clips to help you keep the cord from bouncing on your neck while you’re working out or jogging.

Protect Your Ears Now
Durability

I’ll start this section off by telling you that I accidentally put my pair of through the washing machine. I thought they would be done for good, but after a few days of letting them dry, they turned right on and worked as if nothing had happened. So, needless to say, I’m pretty happy with their durability.

According to manufacturer information, they should be IPX3 water and sweat resistant, meaning they can handle splashing and sweat, but can’t be submerged. ISOtunes also offers a 1-year manufacturing quality guarantee that says they will replace your headset if they are damaged due to sweat.

The only problem I’ve had in terms of durability is that the first set of Comply memory foam ear tips started to fall apart. I’m onto the second set that comes with them, but I’m not sure what I’ll do once those once start to fall apart as well.

 

What You Get

ISOtunes---NRR-Bluetooth-Earplugs---PackageWhen you purchase this headset you will get quite a range of ear tips and other accessories, including:

  • 1 Headset device
  • 3 Sets of heat-activated Comply memory foam ear tips (1 large, 1 medium, 1 small)
  • 3 Sets of regular silicon ear tips (1 large, 1 medium, 1 small)
  • 2 Sets of ear clips (1 large, 1 small)
  • 2 Cord clips
  • 1 USB charging cable
  • 1 zipper hard case to store it all in

Not to lie, but I was pleasantly surprised when I first opened up the box and realized just how many accessories and replacements were included with my initial purchase.

Protect Your Ears Now
Other Information

There are a few magnetic buttons built-in to the headset to facilitate ease of use and allow you to control your device. You are able to answer/end calls, play/pause music. and increase/decrease volume with the buttons.

Each earbud has a magnet in it to allow for easy storage by either sticking the two earbuds together or, what I do, is stick them to the cabinet at my desk while they charge.

In terms of color, they are jet black with a brushed steel finish.

Price

Given how well these ISOtunes Noise Isolating Bluetooth Earbuds have worked for me, their price of $59.99 was more than worth it. I think it will be for you to should you choose to buy a pair for yourself.

 

Conclusion

ISOtunes---NRR-Bluetooth-Earplugs---BoxTo finish up, I have been super happy with my ISOtunes on multiple levels. The biggest problem I have is their short battery life, but it isn’t terrible and I can make it work. I would have no qualms about recommending these to any of my friends and family if they were looking for a high-quality, great-sounding, Bluetooth enabled hearing protection device.

Because of that, I have given this headset one of the highest ratings of any Bluetooth hearing protection device I have reviewed and am confident in giving you a solid recommendation with these!

 

Protect Your Ears Now

If you have any questions for me regarding this device from IsoTunes, please drop me a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Related Posts

About The Author

Dustin G.

10 Comments

  1. Derek Marshall June 15, 2018

    Hi there Dustin,

    A heart felt and hearing saving thank you for creating this very informative review on noise cancelling earbuds. It is appreciated, thank you so much.

    I have never thought nor heard of the use of this type of product to be used in the work place like you mentioned. From what I gather they could be far more effective that the usual over the ear and in ear protection the I currently use.

    Defo going to talk to my boss about these and if he would permit the use of them for us as I do see them being far more effective and, long term cheaper.

    Reply
    • Dustin G. July 5, 2018

      Definitely! I have some friends and coworkers who double up on noise-cancelling headphones while on the shooting range ie. they put in their Bluetooth earbuds and then place over-the-ear noise cancellation headphones on as well. 

      They really are a great investment to make. I think you could make a solid case to your boss. Let me know how it goes!

      Dustin

      Reply
  2. Ty June 17, 2018

    Bluetooth earphones are the most convenient pieces of technology ever. i use headphones on like a daily basis, i need to have my daily dose of music. i’m currently in the process of finding some noise reducing headsets for my playstation 4, but my problem is that i like to test them in person. maybe this means i will hit up best buy later today and try some out.

    Reply
    • Dustin G. July 5, 2018

      They really are a great piece of equipment! I think heading on over to Best Buy to try some out is a great idea.

      Dustin

      Reply
  3. charles39 January 17, 2019

    These are amust have earphones for me and my wife  they will come in handy when we are busy either jogging in the morning or busy doing our daily chores the noise reduction works very well for our ears and you don’t have to keep moving around with our phones especially wen we are at home so that makes them the best to have 2019

    Reply
    • Dustin G. January 21, 2019

      Thanks Charles,

      If you’re going to be using earbuds while jogging and looking for noise reduction, I’d actually discourage your from getting these ones. They don’t stay in too well while jogging (from personal experience) and they have no noise reduction ability at all (again, from personal experience).

      Instead, I’d recommend either the ISOtunes or ISOtunes Pro earbuds. I’ve used both of the for both jogging and working in extremely loud environments and they do a great job with both!

      Let me know if you have any questions,

      Dustin “Kirby” Garness

      Reply
  4. Michelle January 17, 2019

    Hello Dustin,

    Nice article. I find it very interesting that you found them useful even in your type of work environment. This is good to know. I work in the airport and as you know, sometimes the noise from the airplane engines can be a ‘tad’ loud. Do you this this would be a good fit for me? Based on what you have said about the noise reduction factor.

    The price is affordable and thanks on the heads up about the battery life – always good to know before hand rather than after the fact.

    Great job and thanks.

    Michelle

    Reply
    • Dustin G. January 21, 2019

      Michelle,

      I would highly discourage you from buying these headphones if you’re going to need some level of noise protection while you’re wearing them. They don’t block anything out and aren’t designed to. 

      If you’re looking for a great Bluetooth option for blocking out loud noises I’d highly recommend the ISOtunes Earbuds or the ISOtunes Pro Earbuds. They’re more expensive but they have a really high NRR (noise reduction rating) rating and are fairly comfortable for long periods of time. 

      Let me know if you have any other questions!

      Dustin “Kirby” Garness 

      Reply
  5. Mike April 29, 2019

    Dustin,
    Do you know of anyone that makes noise-cancelling, in-the-ear-buds, that would allow my wife and I to talk to one another when driving a noisy RV Motorhome? I have a pair of Howard Leight ear muffs for the shooting range that amplify spoken speech while cutting out the gunshots, and that’s what I’d like to find in a smaller earbud type format for driving while still talking to one another. Any idea what I might look at (if there is such a thing?)

    Reply
    • Dustin G. June 5, 2019

      Hey Mike,

      As far as I know, I haven’t come across anything like that in earbud form. I’ll keep an eye out for something as I do more research!

      Dustin

      Reply

Leave a Reply