ISOtunes has announced new FREE 2.0 Bluetooth hearing protection earbuds.
Press materials describe the updated hearing protection product as being ideal for those who work with power tools and equipment – hobbyists and professionals alike.
The ISOtunes FREE 2.0 model offers “all-around improvements” to the original model, such as enhanced connection to Bluetooth devices and a higher noise reduction rating.
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The completely wireless earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.2 and a 25 dB NRR.
FREE 2.0 earbuds will be available in green and black, or all-black color schemes.
As with the original FREE model, the updated 2.- earbuds will come with a charging case.
Battery life is up to 7 hours, with the included charging case being able to offer up to 14 hours of additional battery life.
The earbuds come with both foam and double flange ear tips.
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Up to 7 hours per charge
- Up to 14 more hours of use from fully charged case
- 25 dB NRR
- Includes 3 sizes each of foam and double flange tips
- USC-C charging (cable included)
On social media, ISOtunes added the following about the Bluetooth NRR updates:
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Noise Reduction from 22dB to 25dB: internal design changes now allow for greater noise isolation.
Bluetooth/Functionality from 5.0 to 5.2 (standard): seamless earbud pairing; this means no more one earbud pairing without the other (and then having to go through the repairing process).
Price: $119
ETA: Coming Soon
Discussion
This looks to be a reasonable update, without any change in price.
The battery life seems to be same as well – 7 + 14 hours for 21 hours when starting with the earbuds and charging case fully charged.
I had good experiences with the original FREE earbuds. I tested them – see my early review here, and they were decent.
There wasn’t anything lacking about the FREE earbuds, but the 2.0’s improvement in noise reduction is definitely a welcome change.
Munklepunk
How is the sound quality? I use Galaxy buds+ and the sound quality is good and the noise reduction is decent, I like that I can still hear things not totally silent. They are getting a bit old and am starting to look for a new set, and i would like better water resistance. Also, is the case not wireless charging? I couldn’t find any mention of it, at that price it should be.
Stuart
The originals sounded decent. I said as much in my early review (linked in the post), here it is again: https://toolguyd.com/isotunes-free-wireless-noise-reduction-earbuds-early-review/
Your earbuds likely sound better, but offer no noise reduction. Noise cancellation and reduction are very different.
Munklepunk
They do have hearing reduction, but no noise cancelation, the newer models have cancelation. They are rubber plugs after all. I know this because I use them for work around power equipment. They are not perfect but knock enough down to make it safe but still able to have an idea what s going on, and when it gets to loud I put muffs on.
Stuart
The noise reduction in earbuds is often incidental. In these and others, it’s intentional by design, measured, and quantified.
If you want an earbud for general use, that’s fine. If you want an earbud for hearing protection because you work with dangerous noise-level-generating equipment, then a safety product is going to be more recommendable than products not specifically designed for such purposes.
It’s similar to the nuisance-level protection of basic dust masks vs. the NIOSH safety rating of respirators.
Do you want to enjoy music or podcasts in a quieter environment? Earbuds with or without cancellation is a good choice. Do you want to protect your hearing in a damagingly loud environment? Then you need a hearing protection product with quantified NRR.
There’s hearing reduction, and protective hearing reduction that has been tested across different frequencies.
Dennis
A $119 is far from free.
I guess it’s important what words are capitalized in the title…
Stuart
Would you have preferred all-caps? That seemed more problematic in my opinion.
TomD
Not your fault, but a really deceptive name as it is. I was reading wondering if they were free with purchase of soemthign else.
TimD
That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of the article. Here we go again, just like Leatherman’s poor choice in naming.
Dennis
I agree the problem wasn’t with the write-up, but rather the company that named the product.
its_jake
I use jabra elite 75t earbuds unless i’m going to be spending a LOT of time running saws. I find they do almost as well as the isotunes i have, but i also have a harder time getting the isotunes to agree with my ears so that might be the main issue.
agreed that the ads that yell FREE are not the best look ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Mikedt
I think Leatherman is going to have a word with them about that name.
mfsergiob
That was the first thing i thought, wen sarted reading..
Gregg
Just by a pair of JLab earbuds. Descent product for reasonable price
Jared
A noise reduction increase sounds like a good thing. I wonder how well these sell when so many earbuds advertise noise canceling these days. It’s not the same thing, but do all consumers appreciate that?
Doc John
How do they remain one’s ear canals while one is working I have cheap CCP knockoffs that resembles these and they don’t stay in my ears.
Stuart
They have multiple ear tips. Try different sizes until you find the one that fits best. If nothing works, try a different style.
Daniel L.
Man, I gotta say. Pretty underwhelming.
An easy way to add a little extra noise isolation to a set of TWS earbuds is to add foam eartips. Comply and the like. In truth, any ear bud is going to offer some noise reduction/isolation. It just might not actually have an official rating to go along with it.
This, to me, seems more marketing than substance. If they did a little extra work in making the case super rugged? Maybe added a strong carabiner attachment and a latch for the lid? Wireless charging, at least 8h playtime per bud, like…double the case battery capacity? Aptx, multipoint?
I dunno, man…the feature set isn’t very impressive…They’re banking a lot on that NRR rating. Not for me.
Stacey Jones
Totally agree. Probably not more in the way of protection. It’s hard to see how they could be. More likely overpriced earbuds. Be safe and wear protective gear! Music will probably make you too comfortable around dangerous equipment anyway. Plenty of time for that when relaxing in a recliner.
Bonnie
IsoTunes has been so ludicrously aggressive with influencer marketing I assume it’s all smoke and mirrors anyways.
Daniel jacobsen
I tried the first version. The amplification of background noise had 2 settings, high and higher. Normally quiet noises would get amplified out of proportion. I wish it had a low amplification setting.
Mac
I like the first version. Much more reasonable prices can be had when they go on sale. I often wear mine under ear muffs. Wish the case had a lanyard cause it’s sure easy for them to squeeze out of pockets and pouches. Mine have gone down wilderness trails, with me on a deployment to Hurricane Ida, and been my shop, mower, chainsaw and tractor buddy. Wish they would tweak the sound quality a touch.
Matt+E.
So still no active noise canceling? Bummer.
Stuart
I don’t think I have seen any product like this with NRR and active cancelation.
MM
I suspect the reason is this: a lot of “noise cancellation” is snake oil. Yet an NRR requires a laboratory test where gimmicks don’t cut it. I don’t believe there are any noise cancellation devices which actually reduce the volume of unsafely loud sounds.
This is an excellent article on the topic:
https://entinstitute.com/noise-canceling-hearing-protection-does-it-really-exist/
eddie sky
I have pretty much every single ISOtunes product. I am not impressed with their performance or ratings. I have the Free set and they were much cheaper than 2.0 price. (I paid $80 less a 10% off code from stumpynubs – matter of fact, all his promos for ISOtunes gear I’ve used his discounts). I have the bright orange LINK which suck (not loud enough, very heavy, clunky and poor performance while using riding mowers), new Defender (much lighter than the LINK, but bright blue LED lights up a dim room, also not great at low frequency protection), the Extra buds (1.0) that they would happy upgrade to the 2.0 (I couldn’t find the case in time!) because the 1.0 had a BEEP on track changes with iTunes. Its annoying and didn’t anyone think of that? I wear the Pro earbuds now while wearing my 3M Pelatons. THOSE 3m headsets while large, and make me look like I work on aircraft carrier, are what ISOtunes needs to achieve: 34dB drop.
I have the Free and hate when I have to repair L/R buds, which they fix in these 2.0 revs.
Also with the Pros/and FREE models (perhaps the bluetooth upgrade will work better) but when I put my phone in my side pocket, its only 3′ from my ears. Yet if I turn my head to left, the signal drops. Move my phone to shirt pocket/jacket pocket, and no issue.
I feel like I am the beta tester that pays the price for versions that need improvement. And the costs appear to have gone up across all these latest versions. If you need them, search the net for codes from sponsors.
Oh, and one time, I gave 2 stars because of the beeps, the poor volume level, the hard foam ear pieces, that you need to spend money for additional ear pieces, etc.
While I know we need ear protection and want to use phones for talk/music, I’ve come to find that its not easy.
What I am going to try next, is Sony’s buds that have noise cancelling, and wear the 3M over them. THAT is what ISOtunes needs to achieve…
928'er
Has to be a really sleazy company to use such deceptive product naming…
Klipsch had their T5 II Sports on promo for $65 about a week ago – bought 3 sets. (just checked and they’re back up to $199 now.) Seems like they offer special deals every couple of months.
Alan
What is volume limit? The OSHA safety standard is 82db. The company I work for will not allow the use of ear protection if it doesn’t meet OSHA standards. Yes this is over the standard 8 hour weighted average.
Stuart
ISOtunes says: “every ISOtunes product comes with SafeMax Technology, an 85 dB volume limiter.”