If you’re in need of hearing protection, situational awareness and radio communication all at the same time then you’ll require an active hearing headset. The SORDIN Supreme Mil CC Slim is such a product and in this before you buy blog we’ll give you our findings about it.
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“NO LONGER MSA SORDIN”
First let’s give you a little bit of background on the Swedish SORDIN company since almost everyone knows them as “MSA SORDIN”. The thing is that this has been the case for the last decade since SORDIN was part of the MSA group. And during that whole 14 year period they were only focused on production purely. Now, before that time SORDIN was much more than just production and they wanted to get back to that part of their business as well. So only recently SORDIN has become a company of its own again and thus it’s no longer called "MSA SORDIN", but just "SORDIN".
That being mentioned, we here have the SORDIN Supreme Mil CC Slim and the corresponding NEXUS PTT. We’ve put them to the test and here we’ll cover our findings.
So let’s just do that by starting with the build options for these products.
1. HEADSET BUILT OPTIONS
To start off with, what build options do you have for the headset?
COLORS
Starting with the color choice you have 2 options. As you can see we have a black version here, but you can also get one with green cups.
HEADBAND, NECKBAND OR ARC HELMET ADAPTERS
Other options for the setup are:
- A neckband which is a common used option and the feedback from people we know, is that it does not prevent you from looking up unlike with other brands.
- A set with ARC rail helmet adapters, but these only allow you to use the headset with a helmet.
- A leather headband that can also be worn underneath a helmet. It’s possible to mount the headset on a helmet if you get a headband one, but you have to destroy the leather wrap in order to free a cable and you’ll need to get a new wrap to go back again.
Luckily Sordin makes textile replacement wraps and we offer them separately. You can in fact also mount the neckband version onto a helmet. This one does however require you to destroy the neckband and it's not easy to install either.
- OTHER HELMETS?
Besides the ARC rail adapters, M-LOK & Team Wendy style adapters also exist by third parties, but these are pretty expensive and not simple to install. But SORDIN has let us know they’re working on solutions for this since their R&D is working again after 14 years of being inactive.
MIC AND NEXUS CONNECTOR
Above that, the headset standard comes with a flexible style microphone and a Nexus connector but if you don’t require communication possibilities you can have a look at the Supreme Pro-X. However, note that these are not upgradable to a headset with a microphone!
LEFT OR RIGHT DOMINANT SETUP
The next thing you can choose is to get the headset with a right sided or left sided microphone. So for you lefties out there, with only a small price difference you’ll have a left version delivered to you. We know how difficult it can be for you guys to find something suitable and SORDIN definitely offers the easiest solution since other companies usually don’t care for this relatively small group of people.
SINGLE OR DUAL COMM SETUP
The last choice is to get a single or dual comm setup. This gives you the option to either work with 1 or 2 radio systems with one and the same headset. This can be a necessity to some.
So after covering all this, let’s now have a look at the PTT its build.
2. PTT BUILT OPTIONS
Unlike the headset, the PTT is only available in a black version.
Furthermore, these PTTs are available in a NEXUS version or in a version from SORDIN itself. They’re available for various different radio pins, but we’ve chosen the Kenwood/Baofeng pin for now, since it’s the most commonly asked for.
Now that we’ve looked into the build options, we’ll now take a look into the build quality of these products.
3. HEADSET BUILT QUALITY
STANDARDS
Let us begin with the standards of the headset. The headset is build according to military standards, so it is a very rugged product. The headset complies to the below standards:
- MIL-STD-810G
- EMC-MIL-STD-461G
- EN352-1:2002
- EN352-4:2001
- EN352-6:2002
- EMC tested to EN55022 & EN55024
In practice this means the headset can withstand some extreme conditions. To give an example, you can take it on a swim up to 1 meter deep in salt water. That being said, let’s now go over to the quality of its components.
EAR PADS
The Supreme Mil CC Slim features a slim cup design which is ideal for cheek placement when shooting and these are made of a very strong plastic.
On the inside of these cups they feature foam ear cushions with an extremely good seal. This is highly probably because of their special shape. Also your ears have enough space to fully fit in the cups which is a big plus on comfort since this is not always the case with other brands their headsets.
BATTERY COMPARTMENT
The battery compartment on the headset is positioned on the back side of the right cup and requires 2 AAA batteries.
The way it is build comes with its own pros and cons. A big pro is that it is very unlikely to lose the battery cap since it’s fixed on the headset. This design also ensures moisture stays out of the system.
A con is that the batteries sit together above each other on the inside of the cup. Meaning you place the first inside and it drops down after which you can insert the second one. Here a difficulty is that when you need to take the batteries out again that first one that went in, isn’t always easy to get out. Luckily since the headset is really rugged build, you can smack it hard enough to get it out without any problem.
MENU BUTTONS
The buttons are located on the left cup of the headset. There are 3 buttons, the center one is the power button and with the other two you higher or lower the volume. These are easy to distinguish even when wearing gloves.
BRIDGE
The bridge of the headset is a sturdy but flexible metal bridge covered with a neat leather wrap for comfort. The adapters from the bridge to the cups are made of sturdy plastic and the length can be tightened with special screws. Also these adapters are fixed in a way that it’s impossible for them to come loose in any way.
ADJUSTABILITY
As for fitment of the system to your head, this is in our eyes the easiest system we’ve seen so far when it comes to adjusting it to your head. And for you people out their with a pretty big head, this one will have the biggest chance of fitting you well, looking by how far you can extend it.
THE MICROPHONES
Since this is the right-dominant version the microphone is located on the left side. This microphone is a 16 cm flexible one which is non-removable and feels extremely robust. Also the fixation to the cup is very sturdy built and won’t come loose by accident. The microphone itself is covered with a cushion for noise reduction.
The 2 external microphones that pick up the ambient sound are located on the front of both ear cups. These are covered with a rubber frame for extra protection and also avoid you’ll lose those cushions.
CABLES AND NEXUS CONNECTORS
The cables present on the headset are really solid built and the wire cover feels very sturdy. These wires are definitely not something you can cut or split easily. Also the points where these cables are fixed, are build to withstand extreme conditions.
The NEXUS connector in itself is an absolute rugged piece and is certainly something entirely different than your typical 6 mm jacks. So it won’t break easily.
STORAGE
The headset allows to be stored by folding the cups in-between the bridge, but it’s not a recommended thing to do according to the manual, since you’re pressing the ear cushions against each other and doing it often will make them deform and thus they lose their seal.
So that’s it for the headset, so let’s have a look at the PTT.
4. PTT BUILD QUALITY
STANDARDS
This particular NEXUS PTT is splash-proof water resistant and built according to the MIL-STD 310 A, B, C & D standards.
THE CASING
The PTT its casing is a rugged and very compact plastic one.
THE TRANSMISSION BUTTON
The transmission button is easy accessible and provides a very easy to distinguish click. So even with gloves you’ll easily recognize it.
The good thing about this design is that it cannot be activated by accident when you’re in a prone position. With other designs that’s usually the case and it’s not a good thing that you can’t transmit and you hear someone else’s breath the whole time.
THE CLAMP
The clamp of the PTT is a metal one that certainly holds it grip very well. Only thing is that it is too wide to fit through a MOLLE loop. It is removable though and then you can fix the PTT in a different way.
THE PTT CABLE
At last, another thing that’s worth mentioning is that this PTT certainly has enough cable length to it, thanks to the curls in the wire. This way you can put your radio anywhere you want. Only thing is, that you’ll have to find a way to manage some excessive cable as well.
Aside this one, there are also versions made by SORDIN that are fully waterproof and feature a 360° clip. But these are more expensive though. So know that we’ve had a look at the build quality of both products, let’s get into the features.
5. HEADSET FEATURES
ACTIVE HEARING PROTECTION
Since this is a headset that provides active hearing protection it is also its most important feature. Unlike passive hearing protection that muffles all surrounding sounds, this one selectively blocks hazardous sounds while still allowing you to hear at a normal or even an enhanced level.
This is all possible thanks to the two external microphones that take in the ambient sound. The system then decides to either block it or have it passed through the internal speakers. The sound produced inside these speakers can be adjusted in 5 different volume levels and is maxed out at 82 dB.
And above that, of course this headset also allows you to transmit and receive radio communication as well.
SNR
In total wearing the headset as it comes, gives you an SNR or signal-to-noise ratio of 26 decibels. For the neckband version this is 25 dB.
6. HEADSET SPECS
When it comes to the specs of this headset, it can operate in environments from -20°C up to 50°C and even has a class 1 RFI protection rating. This basically means it doesn’t interfere or gets interrupted from surrounding electromagnetic fields. It also has an estimated battery runtime of 600 hours which is almost the double of other brands.
LOW BATTERY WARNING & AUTO SHUT-OFF
The system also warns you if about 40 hours of battery life is left. This is definitely a useful feature since other brands don’t always have this sort of function. And another feature is a switch-off function. If no button has been activated after 4 hours the system automatically switches off which saves battery life.
The good thing here is that it only does that when no button has been used, other headsets have the tendency to shut down even though you use them. Which is not always a very welcome thing at certain moments.
Having talked about the features, let’s give you a more clear idea of what this product does in practice.
7. DEMONSTRATION
For this part we recommend you to watch the video since this is an audiovisual demonstration. The demonstration itself starts at 11:29.
8. FINAL THOUGHTS
- The headset blocks hazardous sounds very well while enhancing your situational awareness which allows you to hear sounds you would normally not perceive. This is not only safer in that way, but also provides you with an advantage.
- It is convenient in use, reliable, robust, produces clear sounds and has excellent noise cancelling for windy conditions.
- When it comes to radio communications we haven’t experienced any issues at all, like for example calls not coming through or messages not going out. Everything worked fine and reliably.
- What really sets this headset apart from its competition is comfort. It is an absolute dream wearing this headset. It is simple to adjust, your ears have enough space to fully fit inside the cups and the headband doesn’t create any pressure points for hours straight.
- This all while staying neatly in place the whole time and continuously providing an excellent seal. And this comfort level will even be increased a bit more with the use of gel cushions which are separately available.
- What’s a bit of a bummer is the fact that it is not easy and pretty expensive to mount it on a helmet with M-LOK or Team Wendy style rails at the moment. But we know SORDIN is working on solutions for this. Of course if you want to run it with an ARC rail system that’s not an issue since SORDIN makes these solutions themselves. But if you’re not planning to mount your headset onto a helmet this one certainly takes first place when it comes to comfort.
All by all, it is an impressive product for a company that has been without R&D for 14 years. And as just said, we are aware they are working on new developments, since their R&D is running again and we’re very excited to see what they’ll come up with in the next couple of years when it comes to these sort of products.
THANKS FOR READING!
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