Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My older earmuff was the Howard Leight Leightning L3 ... When i received this X5A i was shocked by how heavy it is compared to the L3. I went to the 3M website and sure enough the X5A weighs 12 ounces compared to 8 ounces for X3A and 6 ounces for X1A - this is one HEAVY earmuff ! It is also very deep. But that's how it manages the outstanding 31db NRR. I compared the new X5A back to back with my aging L3 and sure enough the X5A murdered it. the attenuation of high frequencies was comparable, but when it came to the lows there was no comparison - the X5A was MUCH stronger in attenuation of the bass. i verified this by playing music on my DJ speakers while wearing both earmuffs. the X5A in fact is so strong that in a quiet environment it can get a bit uncomfortable psychologically. of course, there is no reason to wear them in a quiet room. when i tapped on the side of the earmuff while having them on the L3 was very loud, but the X5A much less loud. this just confirmed what i already knew - the X5A has a much stronger, heavier, deeper shell, which also seems to be made out of a more non-resonant plastic. but the shell is only half of earmuff performance - the seal of the earpad is the other half. and once again X5A murders the L3 here as well. the seal is OUTSTANDING. it is super soft, the shape is super smooth ( no square corners like the L3 ) and feels more like gel than foam - it is soft but substantial. it works amazingly well both for comfort and sound isolation. the strong, deep shell combined with the soft yet substantial earpad that contours to your head combine to produce the outstanding acoustical performance of this earmuff ... so why only 4 stars ? 2 reasons: 1 - it is heavy. 50% heavier than X3A and it seems about 50% heavier than my L3. 2 ( and this is the important reason ) - the headband doesn't work properly. the earmuff tends to slowly slide down and i find myself readjusting it up. this may be because of how heavy the earmuff is, or because the design of the headband is flawed. the headband itself is very strong - just like he earmuff itself - the build quality of the headband is outstanding. but the design doesn't seem to work. it is extremely comfortable, but just doesn't really hold the earmuff in place - lets it gradually slide down ... also it is hard to understand what people are saying in this earmuff. this is probably to be expected from a 31db NRR earmuff but it may not be what some people are looking for. i am NOT deducting any stars for this, but instead just warning those who may not realize this. it is noticeably harder to understand people in the X5A than it is in L3. should you get this earmuff ? YES if you want a high degree of protection from low frequencies. NO if you want something that is light and / or small and / or cheap. NO if you want something that will not interfere with your ability to understand speech etc. NO if you want a headband that holds without slipping so why am i still giving it 4 stars and not say 2 or 3 stars ? because overall the build quality and performance are truly impressive and went far beyond my expectations having previously owned Bilsom L3 which was considered one of the best. even the headband which in my opinion doesn't work is constructed spectacularly well. i give X5A four stars because they set out to produce something exceptional and they hit most of their targets, failing on just one count, which never the less is quite important.