AO Safety 90541 WorkTunes AM/FM Hearing Protector with Digital Tuning and MP3 Input

There is a basic problem with this product. If you on a site where your ears need serious protection, you are probably on a site where safety is a big issue. Audible distractions are bad enough for a driver (as NHTSA and others are now saying). On a construction site or around a jet engine, the distraction of music or talk radio could get you killed. My guess is most safety-conscious sites would ban something like this (except in New York City, where Mayor Bloomberg enjoys seeing construction workers killed).

I really like these, I have 3 pair. 2 are the older analog tuning style which are at best OK, and 1 that has the digital tuning. Now with the MP3 input too I am sure they rock.

I BOUGHT THESE TO LISTEN TO MOSTLY TALK AM RADIO WHILE MOWING AND WORKING IN A CABINET SHOP. SINCE THESE ARE FOR HEARING PROTECTION, THE VOLUME CONTROL IS LIMITED. SOME AM STATIONS THAT ARE NOT PICKED UP AS GOOD AS THEY SHOULD CANNOT BE HEARD VERY WELL BECAUSE YOU CANNOT TURN UP THE VOLUME QUITE ENOUGH. I FIND MYSELF TURNING MY HEAD AT TIMES JUST TO TRY AND HEAR THE TALK SHOWS. FM IS SOME BETTER, BUT IT TO WILL BREAK UP WHEN YOUR FACING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.I WILL NEVER BUY A SET OF THESE AGAIN BECAUSE OF THE WEAK VOLUME. I JUST BOUGHT THE Sangean DT-210 AM/FM Pocket-Size Digital Radio, BECAUSE THE REVIEWS ARE MUCH BETTER. I WILL KNOW THIS WEEK IF THE MUCH BRAGGED ABOUT POCKET-SIZED DIGITAL RADIO WILL GET THE JOB DONE FOR ME. IF YOU MUST, GO AHEAD AND BUT THE AM FM PELTOR ON THIS PAGE...WE TRIED TO WARN YOU!!!

I work in the lawn care industry and have owned several of the worktunes units. I have owned two of these particular units and, although I am not impressed with them, I think they are decent for the money. The first one of these I got last year, and it developed a short in the wiring after using it about 4 months. I have had the one I am currently using for about 6 months, and so far, so good. I realize I am fairly rough on them in my line of work. Overall quality is decent.
FM reception is good for the most part. I also like the mp3 jack. I enjoy listening to my mp3 player sometimes while mowing. The main problem is that the AM is almost useless. I do enjoy talk radio, and much of the time you can't get AM reception decent enough to hear anything. Maybe if I am out mowing in a large field and the wind is blowing just right I can listen in.
So, if you want to use it for FM and mp3 music, it's not a bad deal if you can get it under $50. If you want to listen to AM radio, save your money!

These ear protectors are performing much better than expected compared to many of the reviews I have read. The sound dampening is very good and the unit is comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I expected the radio to be a poor performer based on other reviews, but found it to be decent for a shop environment. A stand alone radio that I have been using has much poorer reception than this unit. The nice thing is that you can actually hear the radio easily when operating large equipment (the shop radio was drowned out). What really surprised me was the speed which Amazon delivered the product. It arrived the day after shipping confirmation; that's great.