Hi everyone,
This is a review I wrote for my shop's website in Australia; I like the app, and wish the developers well so thought it was worth a share here. There's a video that accompanies the review, which demonstrates the app in action at www.facebook.com/theblackrange. Just scroll down until you hit it - currently it's about the third entry down.
For the record, a 10/22 on the video might seem like a pretty tame choice for an American audience, but it's something different for most Australian shooters, who can't own semiautomatic rifles unless they are primary producers. But that's a story for another day ...
Cheers!
James
Gunsonics! is an app designed to turn your traditional passive ear protectors into high-end active noise reducing headphones, at a fraction of the cost. The rationale goes that the computing power of a smart phone is far superior to the basic circuits in noise cancelling ear-phones, as it uses digital signal processing (DSP) instead of older, less responsive analogue processing methods. Consequently Gunsonics! catches 100% of the blast, unlike the analogue ear muffs that allow the initial, and most harmful noise through before cutting off. Gunsonics! promises to cancel the noise of gunshots safely, while allowing ambient noise such as conversation, and bird calls for all you closet twitchers, to continue uninterrupted.
The app itself is absolute simplicity. Gunsonics! has six presets on its home screen to match the sonic profile of varying firearms. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver, observer, and even black powder are allowed for. You simply select the preset, put your headphones in under passive headphones, adjust the volume and you’re set.
Does it work? Absolutely. I used Gunsonics! in a range of shooting situations, and found it to be a genuinely useful addition to my shooting bag. Gunsonics! accompanied me fox shooting, rifle shooting, clay target shooting and informally plinking with friends. Every time I fired a shot, I just heard a quiet pop, and then an imperceptibly quick return to ‘normal’ hearing. You can hear this effect in the accompanying video; the initial sound of the shot is ‘squashed’ to a metallic click, then environmental noise immediately returns.
It wasn’t just the impressive noise reduction that was useful; my situational awareness was vastly improved too. Being in a quiet bubble that reeks of AR2208 and insect repellant is one of my favourite places to be, but often times it’s safer to hear what is going on. Fox drives, shooting ranges, coaching and sharing a forest with trail riders are just some situations where it’s useful to have ears, as well as eyes on what’s happening.
I found the key to comfortable use was getting the volume just right on my earphones. It’s tempting to have the enhanced hearing of the Terminator, but all this extra volume does is tire one’s ears out quickly. Once I had the volume at the right level, I could hear all surrounding conversation, without the unnatural, tinny and slightly otherworldly effect other noise reducing headphones can have.
There are always minor issues and quibbles with any piece of gear. Like all other microphones, Gunsonics! is not ideal for use on windy days or spotlighting, as the wind over the microphone makes that grating noise common to outdoor cellphone conversations and war correspondent’s reports. I’m sure it would be possible to make a foam wind muff to mitigate this, though I haven’t tried it.
Managing headphone wires can take some thought. At the end of the day, you need a path clear of tangles for the wires and a pocket to put the phone in. There was just too much tangle when moving with a bino harness and rifle sling when fox shooting, but when sitting it was not an issue. Having a summer weight shirt with a closed pocket would fix this, and ultimately being able to hear the whistle more clearly when sitting was worth the minor inconvenience of the wires. Clay target shooting was fine too, as typically I have less clutter on me, and more access to pockets. As an aside, not hearing the conversation in some squads can be better. These are all just personal preferences and habits of mine though; as with all gear it’s a case of recognizing the limitations, and finding the application, or work around that’s most suitable.
Battery life seems acceptable, or at least as acceptable as it gets with a smartphone. The iPhone 5 can be heavy on the battery, but with all other apps turned battery usage was only a touch heavier than usual. Bearing in mind this was in an area with sparse coverage, so the phone could just as easily be straining away looking for reception.
In summary, Gunsonics! is neat; it’s simple and works exactly as advertised, at a fraction of the cost of quality noise reducing earphones. Ultimately, for the long term health of our hearing, we need to manage the noise that accompanies our sport. If that can be done this artfully, and for about the price of a box of shotgun shells, it’s absolutely worth a listen. Android users will find a version for them is in the works, pending improvements in Android’s audio processing capacity.
This is a review I wrote for my shop's website in Australia; I like the app, and wish the developers well so thought it was worth a share here. There's a video that accompanies the review, which demonstrates the app in action at www.facebook.com/theblackrange. Just scroll down until you hit it - currently it's about the third entry down.
For the record, a 10/22 on the video might seem like a pretty tame choice for an American audience, but it's something different for most Australian shooters, who can't own semiautomatic rifles unless they are primary producers. But that's a story for another day ...
Cheers!
James
Gunsonics! is an app designed to turn your traditional passive ear protectors into high-end active noise reducing headphones, at a fraction of the cost. The rationale goes that the computing power of a smart phone is far superior to the basic circuits in noise cancelling ear-phones, as it uses digital signal processing (DSP) instead of older, less responsive analogue processing methods. Consequently Gunsonics! catches 100% of the blast, unlike the analogue ear muffs that allow the initial, and most harmful noise through before cutting off. Gunsonics! promises to cancel the noise of gunshots safely, while allowing ambient noise such as conversation, and bird calls for all you closet twitchers, to continue uninterrupted.
The app itself is absolute simplicity. Gunsonics! has six presets on its home screen to match the sonic profile of varying firearms. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver, observer, and even black powder are allowed for. You simply select the preset, put your headphones in under passive headphones, adjust the volume and you’re set.
Does it work? Absolutely. I used Gunsonics! in a range of shooting situations, and found it to be a genuinely useful addition to my shooting bag. Gunsonics! accompanied me fox shooting, rifle shooting, clay target shooting and informally plinking with friends. Every time I fired a shot, I just heard a quiet pop, and then an imperceptibly quick return to ‘normal’ hearing. You can hear this effect in the accompanying video; the initial sound of the shot is ‘squashed’ to a metallic click, then environmental noise immediately returns.
It wasn’t just the impressive noise reduction that was useful; my situational awareness was vastly improved too. Being in a quiet bubble that reeks of AR2208 and insect repellant is one of my favourite places to be, but often times it’s safer to hear what is going on. Fox drives, shooting ranges, coaching and sharing a forest with trail riders are just some situations where it’s useful to have ears, as well as eyes on what’s happening.
I found the key to comfortable use was getting the volume just right on my earphones. It’s tempting to have the enhanced hearing of the Terminator, but all this extra volume does is tire one’s ears out quickly. Once I had the volume at the right level, I could hear all surrounding conversation, without the unnatural, tinny and slightly otherworldly effect other noise reducing headphones can have.
There are always minor issues and quibbles with any piece of gear. Like all other microphones, Gunsonics! is not ideal for use on windy days or spotlighting, as the wind over the microphone makes that grating noise common to outdoor cellphone conversations and war correspondent’s reports. I’m sure it would be possible to make a foam wind muff to mitigate this, though I haven’t tried it.
Managing headphone wires can take some thought. At the end of the day, you need a path clear of tangles for the wires and a pocket to put the phone in. There was just too much tangle when moving with a bino harness and rifle sling when fox shooting, but when sitting it was not an issue. Having a summer weight shirt with a closed pocket would fix this, and ultimately being able to hear the whistle more clearly when sitting was worth the minor inconvenience of the wires. Clay target shooting was fine too, as typically I have less clutter on me, and more access to pockets. As an aside, not hearing the conversation in some squads can be better. These are all just personal preferences and habits of mine though; as with all gear it’s a case of recognizing the limitations, and finding the application, or work around that’s most suitable.
Battery life seems acceptable, or at least as acceptable as it gets with a smartphone. The iPhone 5 can be heavy on the battery, but with all other apps turned battery usage was only a touch heavier than usual. Bearing in mind this was in an area with sparse coverage, so the phone could just as easily be straining away looking for reception.
In summary, Gunsonics! is neat; it’s simple and works exactly as advertised, at a fraction of the cost of quality noise reducing earphones. Ultimately, for the long term health of our hearing, we need to manage the noise that accompanies our sport. If that can be done this artfully, and for about the price of a box of shotgun shells, it’s absolutely worth a listen. Android users will find a version for them is in the works, pending improvements in Android’s audio processing capacity.
