3M Worktunes Connect + AM/FM

3M WorkTunes Connect + AM/FM Updated, see notes below. AA batteries last four months and still going using FM radio! Excellent hearing protection with radio! I hate proprietary lithium battery packs along with the unique charging adapters. AA batteries are cheap, and last adequate amount of time and more so then expected. Better than listening to the lawnmower! However, I still prefer to listen to the whine of my chainsaw versus Mozart! PROS 1) Sound quality appears adequate, especially while using a chainsaw or lawnmower. (See CONS notes.) 2) Battery life so far seems adequate. Used 2-3 times at lengthy intervals, still going, however mostly using FM/AM reception, without bluetooth. 3) AM/FM tuner and reception strength appears adequate. (See CONS notes.) 4) Weight seems acceptable, no apparent neck problems yet. Albeit, they'll likely hear from my lawyer first if the weight breaks my neck while listening to heavy metal music. 5) I've heard of complaints here about the volume dial not allowing louder volumes. I think these complaints are pretty much false, unless my unit has been modified after the complaints, or there's something going on with the reception and sound pressure level amplification. Seems adequate to me. Any louder with the music and I might as well listen to the lawnmower or chainsaw further ruin my hearing! Cons 1) Audio quality. Although adequate, could likely be much better! For somebody or a company that cares about our hearing, should also care just as much about the sound quality of the noise we want to listen to! (While using a chainsaw, I tend to also turn my garage 1000 watt stereo/radio on alongside using the headset with chainsaw... great to sing along while using a chainsaw or splitting wood!) 2) Slight learning curve for operating, requires at least 15-30 minutes, reading the manual's diagram and operating the buttons, in order to learn the work flow of the button operations. 3) Initially, the voice prompts were clipped short and inaudible. After reading the manual, or learning the manual's diagram, I now understand the voice prompts. (Likely clipped short due to memory constraints and weight requirements.) 4) I strongly prefer radio FM or AM reception, rather than listening to prerecorded music, unless the media is an audio book or audio lecture. Go figure, think it's due to randomness of songs and the large database of varying songs over FM radio or AM variety. However, I'm in a rural area, requiring better tuners to pickup the more distant strong AM/FM broadcast stations. I would judge the tuner on this headset adequate, only able receive your strongest local ~15 mile FM stations, and ~30-60 mile AM distant stations with barely audible AM quality sound. FM sounds pretty good, while the chainsaw or lawnmower are running. I think, either a better tuner or more antenna would be desirable. On the flip, most manufacturers would have provided much weaker reception. The quality is good, but can always be better. 5) During the Summer or within warm areas, the rubber padding does get wet and sweaty. I think the 3M headset with gel cushions are going to get just as wet. The only reason the gel cushions are not as hot & sweaty, due to the likely weaker seal around the eardrum, and also reflected in the ~1db less protection rating. Fact of life when wearing headgear during Summer heat, it's going to get hot & sweaty. 6) I keep bumping the darn tuning dial on the side, and might require a stiffer more durable large rotating dial? 7) The Bluetooth works, however I'm not a fan of Bluetooth devices. The sound quality has always been lacking and the ease of use is not easy after so many years of existence. I think 3M should continue with two separate devices, one headset for over the air reception of music, another for Bluetooth/cellular service. 2021.10.02 WOW! Original AA batteries last a very long time, using only the FM radio and not using Bluetooth, four months so far on the original Energizer AA batteries! Thank God I didn't purchase one having the pain in the arse proprietary lithium battery! I wish they doubled the length of the radio antenna, and included a tie down to your belt or arse.

I've been using my WorkTunes since August of 2018, and they have remained a rock-solid choice for hearing protection. These headphones have stood up to extreme weather in the Northeast US; I've used these while snowblowing my driveway in sub-zero windchills in driving snow, and I've used them while mowing my yard in 100+ degree heat index and high humidity in the summer. They've gotten wet, been dropped on hard surfaces, been drenched in sweat and still keep chugging along. The battery life on the WorkTunes are the stuff of legend. I use these very frequently, and am always amazed by how long I can go without having to replace the AA batteries. Even with near-daily use, I can generally get a couple of months of battery life on the WorkTunes. The noise cancellation is also top-tier. These can block out most of the noise from a loud engine of a lawnmower or snowblower, or an air compressor in use, loud power tools, the list goes on. These are my preferred headphones when I run on my treadmill, as they do a great job of blocking out the sound of the pounding of my feet on the treadmill belt. I prefer using these even over my more significantly more expensive Bose headphones for noise cancellation. I estimate that these block out 80-85% of ambient noise. I'm no audiophile, but the sound quality is acceptable for my uses. Listening to music or a podcast/audiobook has never left me wanting more. Sure, they aren't up to Bose-level sound quality, but at this price point, the audio quality is perfectly good; I don't necessarily care about having a perfect audio experience when I'm working. Overall, I am incredibly pleased at the WorkTunes overall performance and durability, and they fill a need for hearing protection as a DIY'er around my home and property. Edit 4.15.26 - I'm here to update my review to state that my Worktunes are still working strong 7.5 years after purchase. One detail I forgot to add in my original edit in 2023 is that my Worktunes were actually purchased "Used" on Amazon via an Amazon Warehouse deal. So, in my case, my Worktunes have been working perfect for longer than the 7.5 years I've had them. Recently, the foam "earmuffs" that came on my Worktunes finally disintegrated into shreds. However, I wear these very regularly in all weather conditions, so the earmuffs were bound to fall apart sooner or later. I was glad to find out that 3M makes gel earmuffs, and while they do not advertise it on the product page, the gel earmuffs are a perfect, tight fit for these Worktunes (you have to take off the entire earmuff assembly to snap them on, but they DO fit). The gel earmuffs are an order of magnitude more comfortable than the foam ones that came with the unit and provide a better seal around my ears which equates to better noise cancellation from mower/snowblower/etc. engines. If I were to buy these again, I would buy the gel earmuffs on day 1. But, I mainly wanted to provide this detail as I was unsure if the gel earmuffs would fit, as it wasn't advertised on that product's page. Earmuffs aside, my Worktunes still work as good as they did on the first day I received them. My ears thank me every time I use them.

So far they work really well. FM, AM and Bluetooth work tremendously well. FM works better than other headsets I've used with FM, probably because of the larger external antenna. Noise reduction is very good. I feel very comfortable around noisy machinery. As others have said, they are a bit tight, but not too tight in my opinion. A little tweaking can loosen them up if need be. The adjustment mechanism works great. The reason I did not give them 5 stars is the lack of a Li-ion battery. This is an optional add-on, but is no longer being made. I've tried a third party battery and it died within a month with no refund. This isn't entirely 3M's fault, but it wouldn't be a problem if 3M included a Li-ion battery to begin with, or at least still offered it separately. If you want a rechargeable option I'd suggest NiMH rechargeable AA batteries. Otherwise, a pair of AA alkaline batteries seems to last quite a few weeks.

I was looking for hearing protection with Bluetooth capabilities so I can listen to whatever while I do yard work, working with power tools and loud engine noises at my job. I read over a lot of the asked questions and reviews and decided these would fit what I was looking for. I wanted to get away from the wired ear buds because the cord gets tangled up in objects and come out of my ears. The Bluetooth​ ear buds I used had very poor connection while my phone was in my pocket or on the wrong side of my body. Those ear buds weren't really protecting my ears either because they really weren't isolating the loud nosies and I had to turn the volume way up to block them out. Which wasn't helping my hearing at all. After going over the directions, which you really must do to understand the operation of these, I set up a few FM and AM stations in the memory and synced the Bluetooth to my phone. I did some yard work and left the audio off for a while to see how well they lowered the decibels from my push mower. It did an excellent job. These aren't supposed to make it completely silent but there was minimal noise. In my opinion I wouldn't want it to totally be silent in case something went wrong with the machine. I went to my backpack blower, which is very loud with the motor close to my ears, and still preformed wonderfully. My ears weren't ringing after I was finished. Same thing with my other power tools. The FM/AM stations tuned in well and as you change frequencies it let you know what they were. The scan and seek were very functional and made finding stations easy. Saving preset's wasn't too difficult as I referenced the manual a few times to get it done. The Bluetooth​ connection was great. I rarely had any drops in connection while my phone was in my pocket, the left side, and sounded reasonable. These aren't meant to be concert quality headphones but the audio was well rounded. Some reviews mentioned the volume limiting was a problem. It wasn't for me. The headphones block enough outside noise so you can keep the volume lower and still hear music or talk well. You aren't going to "rock out" with your favorite song as you may want but it's loud enough to hear it. I did not listen with the wired connection it comes with but I plugged to it and it worked. The do tend to retain heat around the ears but if they were vented, it would defeat the purpose of protecting your ears. Sweating was not much of a complaint from me. I think this is a great buy and would recommend it.

Edited 2/28/19 These are so great! So very comfortable on the ears. Bluetooth is great and easy to set up. This is my first review on them separately from the regular wired version...Which they are great as well. I've bought several pairs of these particular WorkTunes ... And the only thing I didn't really like was the headband, but the Earmuffs themselves are fantastic and you would be putting yourself out of you didn't give these a try or research them better. As far as the foam inserts, I find them rough on the ears...Well...my ears. So I got some faux Fur ( Sherpa fleece is better) and put it in the ear cups and that makes them even more comfortable, plus reduces a little more noise along with some gels ear cushions. Double Alpha Academy seem to do very well in this. You can find fleece beanies or ear warmers at walmart that has faux fur or Sherpa fleece in it and if you can sacrifice 5-6 dollars cut out a patch and pop out the ear cushion, lay it on the foam insert that covers the driver/ Speaker and pop the ear cushion back on, or change them to gels. I find I can sleep all night in my Worktunes Connect... Before the end of the year, 3M is supposed add a call answering feature and Hi fi speakers to this earmuff, and it will be all the WorkTunes in one. It's called the Worktunes connect + am/fm. The connects,90543 don't have what the bluetooth wireless 90542 has currently, in am fm radio so they are upgrading them. This should be exciting to 3M Peltor nut jobs like me...I'm waiting..impatiently...come on Amazon , put it up. waiting for black friday. "That day never came, and there has been a delay at releasing the newer 90542 with Connect. " They should be out anytime now in 2019, hopefully. 1/6/21 Purchased another set... I Lost count, of how many of these I bought. Love them.... 6/19/22. 3M has done better... But the padded headband that Zohan and Prohear have is a copy of the 3M WorkTunes that old on the Regular , non Bluetooth version. They need to put it back on the connect versions even if an option like they do with the gels... which is a great improvement by 3M. Also to get rid of ear pain , and I've seen a lot of reviews on this...it's really easy to go to your auto parts store and get a Sheepskin seatbelt cover, find the softest one you think your like and cut it to fit in the ear cup ( pop it out, it's easy with a butter knife) and put the Sheepskin in. The ear pain won't be there and your ears will be pretty comfy, and no sound changes ...that I can tell anyway. Actually feels very nice. If you work outside in the heat, well they may get warm on you, so just depends...but you can always have them on standby. The gels allow more room for your ears and that added with sheet "fleece" makes a very comfortable headphone earmuff. I used Sherpa fleece but I find Sheepskin with it's healing properties is far better. A thin soft medical Sheepskin would likely be better for your inserts if any cuts or Knicks on your ears or soreness. Does great for me, but we are all picky about one thing or another.

First use and I already love it. My major use is when doing all day mowing and other grounds keeping tasks where loud tools like gas trimmers and blowers are used. I found the sound reduction to be extremely good as is the sound produced by the headset in AM/FM radio or Bluetooth modes. I found the headset to be comfortable to wear even today as the 80+ temps with 85%+ humidity hung around all day. Setup was fairly simple and fast. Pairing with my Android phone was simple as was saving my favorite radio stations. The only thing missing is the optional rechargeable battery pack that I believe should be included and would make this a perfect solution. Bugs Found; Update: 11/12/17 Now that I have had a chance to use this in various situations, there are a couple of items that need to be addressed by 3M. The first is that when using the radio, the switches are easy to bump resulting in a change of frequency. A way to lock the setting would be extremely nice. The second improvement would be that the tuning dial work in a forward and reverse direction. I refer one to the first change of adding a lock. When the dial or a button is bumped like it happens when the headset is removed and put back on, the frequency changes and the dial only allows the operator to go one direction no matter which way the dial is turned. I found this to happen almost always when I wear them to indoor football games where I like the hearing protection and the ability to listen to play-by-play. Bumping the dial would result in going the entire expanse of the frequency range to find the station it was tuned to. Even with preset stations, one needs to go through all stations that are set to get back to where you were as the dial only allows movement in the wrong direction only.

These are awesome. Surprisingly good sound quality, batteries last forever, super comfy, durable, easy to use even with heavy gloves on. What more could you ask for? The best protective equipment is the stuff you're not itching to take off the moment you're done with the tool, right? The less you WANT to wear something, the more likely you are to neglect wearing it when you should. These... These I'd like to leave on just about all the time. Podcasts and music while mowing the lawn? yes please. Run the table saw and/or compressor without missing a beat? yup. And I have worn them for 6+ hours without getting a headache, itchy, or any other form of uncomfortable. EDIT/UPDATE . April 3 2018 My Worktunes Bluetooth stopped working. AM and FM worked fine, the announcer stated that it had switched to BT but it wouldn't pair or play. None of my devices could see the Worktunes either. I emailed their customer support and with a few questions, they sent me a shipping label, I mailed off my headset and was told they'd either repair or replace them since I was inside the warranty period. I got a notice that they sent out a new pair for me! No charge even for shipping. 3M customer service made a very disappointing situation into an EXCELLENT one. I love my headset and I am now a big fan of 3M's customer service as well. EDIT 2. March 2021. STILL FANTASTIC. These are quite a bit worse for wear now. Thankfully the pads are all replaceable as they finally wore out. But the important parts are still working great. No troubles with BT or radio, good battery life, solid sound, and great dampening. They’ve been left out in the rain and sun way too many times and they live in an unconditioned detached garage so they’ve dealt with cold and heat and I still use them regularly. Fantastic investment.

Larger/deeper ear cup volume than the cheaper yellow 3M radio-only ones (plus bluetooth connectivity). No complaints on functionality, comfortable on the skin and not hard to use. Comfortable for all-day use. On long days operating propane powered equipment, my ears start to hurt in the ear cups but no reasonable complaints. For the money, however, expected better durability. One set broke at the plastic housing where the metal wire slides in/out for sizing (epoxied in place temporarily); the other set stopped working in the left ear after few months' use. The soft, conformal foam piece pops off whenever they're dropped (no big deal, pop them back on and don't drop them). Nonetheless, I bought a second set months later for an employee to use. Very decent, just don't physically abuse them. I'll look around for options before buying a third set. Would be perfect for casual, consumer use mowing the lawn or somesuch. Effective sound suppression. Just loud enough to not be disappointed but would get four stars if it went to eleven. I typically use it at full volume while using propane powered equipment and can still yell back/forth in the job site over the din. (Edit 26NOV2019): still using the pair I bought, one still has a wonky left speaker and one or the other has an antenna that flops around more than I’d like. Ear cushions tend to pop off when dropped, finally just yanked the foam/cloth piece covering the speakers. What can ya do. Not bad, solid three stars.

I've been using a 3M hearing protection unit of a similar design for a few years, but this unit's addition of bluetooth + built-in radio brings a whole new capability to hearing protection --- you can actually enjoy the process! It's well-built, quite comfy, and it works well.

Excelente set de audífonos / protectores de oídos. Excelente conectividad, calidad de sonido y límite de volumen para trabajar con música o llamadas perfecto. Materiales de muy buena calidad Instructivo fácil de comprender y aplicar para sacarles el mayor provecho Les compré un estuche semi rígido para protegerlos y hacer que duren más tiempo en excelentes condiciones. Los recomiendo 100%

Very nice. I like the features of these ear muffs. Easy to set up and use, and they have a very nice sound. Bluetooth works fine and it picks up the am/fm stations very quickly. I like how you can change the am frequency from 10kHz to 9kHz steps so you can use it using Australian frequencies. You can also change the equaliser between pop, rock, and flat, although I found there was very little difference in sound between these settings. Comfortable to wear and blocks out the ambient sound well. All in all very happy with these good quality ear muffs!

I’ll preface this by explaining that I’m a fabricator/welder by trade. This involves power tools, dust, hot metal, sharp and heavy objects, many more hazards not worth talking about. In essence, you need protection from the various elements involved. Hearing protection is a big deal, from running hydraulic shearing equipment to using grinders, it’s all very loud stuff. It also needs to work in conjunction with safety glasses, thick leather gloves, and a respirator. It’s not possible to wear these with a welding hood on, for this particular model. Since it is 3M, you know it can be trusted to deliver results and last a long time. I’ve used it near daily for a few months now, and have enough of a handle to properly assess this product. It’s for those of us who have the option (and mental awareness) to listen to podcasts, music or radio whist spending time at work, while also providing adequate decibel drops in the workplace. This ensures reliability as well as safety, and shows a good level of professionalism in the workplace A common complaint is that it’s not loud enough, but I did find that this does depend on your audio source. My podcasts are clearly audible but not very loud, where the local radio station is about as loud as I’d want it, perhaps even a notch lower from the top would be ideal for my working situation. For streaming music, it’s about the perfect volume to manage not being completely distracted, still loud enough that you’d need to mute or turn the knob down to engage in a conversation. I still hear subtle things like dropped tools, people welding near me, that sort of thing. The bass is pretty good but not outstanding, though it seems the mids are where this headset does well. It’s all easily adjusted with a combo power button/rotation knob, two round buttons and a knubby scroll wheel. Battery life is excellent and continues to blow me away! I’m able to run the unit for anywhere between 40 to 100 hours per pair of AAs, so I don’t feel like I lost out on the recharging pack but may end up buying it next time it’s on sale. Replacing battery’s is finicky the first couple times but there is a process, and it’s super easy once you see the forest from the trees. My only real complaint is that it does sometimes drop the Bluetooth signal. Combined with the Amazon Music app crashing a lot (which in truth has been less often lately) it will sometimes simply stop playing audio on its own. On a bad day it’ll happen twice. But sometimes it doesn’t happen for 2-3 weeks. And it’s as easy as turning off & back on to sort the issue out. I also find myself adjusting the muffs on my ears (pressure points) every 40 minutes or so, depending on the job & things like how hot the work area is. For the size of the muffs, they are surprisingly comfortable. If these last me throughout the next year, I would not hesitate to pick up a second pair. I’m genuinely thinking about getting a second pair just for yardwork & metalwork at home, if I’m being honest!

Excelente producto