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So I went a little crazy testing earbuds. Some brands advertise a "jobsite" mode that lets through conversations while otherwise protecting your ears. So to test, I looked for every brand earbud that advertises as hearing protection, meaning has a Noise Reduction Rating, is in-ear, wireless / no cords, and preferably has a jobsite/aware/transparency mode.

Then, I bought them all. My plan was keep what I like, return the crap.

Let's summarize the models (pics)

The market is still really limited and no brand has mastered jobsite awareness, except Apple. With the major caveat, Apple's AirPods Pro doesn't have an NRR. They are explicitly not hearing protection. So I'm not testing them against these.

Festool's earbuds are private label IsoTunes' "Aware" model. Identical. So if you insist on the "Aware" line, just get whichever label is cheaper. Currently, that's Festool. Shocking. Maybe the first time ever Festool's not the most expensive game in town.

IsoTunes awareness mode is...pretty awful. And their sound quality in the Free 2.0 model is tinny, lacks bass, and sucks horribly. A coworker singing loudly and off-key would be more pleasant. The noise canceling in the Free 2.0 was abysmal. Turning my head, one ear would cancel and other would not, it took seconds to "catch up" as it figured out which ears to cancel and by how much. Just awful implementation of ANC. Build quality could be described as Chinese-plastic. Support sucks. Took 3 1/2 days to reply to a simple email, don't pick up phone regardless the day of week, time of day, or how many times I called. Quality control seems to be a problem, my Aware buds came with left bud not functioning, the right bud was programmed wrong, the aware mode in the Free 2.0 was so bad it bordered on "this has to be a defect", and neither set arrived charged / ready to use. I couldn't get the left Aware bud fixed, and support still hasn't replied to that email yet. But it's only been 2 1/2 days so maybe I should cut them some slack (/s). Really questioning those M-F 9-5 hours advertised.

Milwaukee's awareness mode has more features than IsoTunes' version, like 3 levels vs 2. For a not-an-audio-company, they've done a quality first-attempt. But they have a ways to grow, the feature isn't fully baked, and they're not worth $180. The case is too big and too heavy. With music playing I can't have a conversation in jobsite mode. I mean, they say it works...but I can't hear a word from the other person in a loud environment and definitely not with music playing.

With music stopped, it can either cut down the high pitch of the table saw, or let through some conversation. But not both. So the mode works in some situations (no music, and mostly blocking lower pitched noise)...but it's overall pretty meh. It's a novelty.

So that leaves me basically paying $110 more than the Klein's just to get active noise cancellation. Audio quality was overall good, the buds are comfortable, physical button on each bud is a nice touch and controls were easy to navigate...which is all a far cry more than the competition.

The case was a missed opportunity to design it like a mini-packout. Kinda how Festool has a mini-systainer (pic), although Festool's buds also missed the design mark and didn't do this. DeWalt however, did. The circular LEDs on the earbuds are bright and look great, but they do nothing besides indicate charge level in the case. No indicator to coworkers if you're in jobsite aware mode (hey come talk to me!) or not, no indicator if listening to music yes/no or on the phone yes/no.

There's no find missing earbuds feature. No integration with OneKey app. No customization possible via app. Considering you can customize tools via OneKey, you'd think they would have added a "find my earbuds" feature into OneKey, perhaps a customizable equalizer, and let me set default settings like audio level or jobsite aware mode on/off for each time you put in ears. But nope.

The Klein AESEB1 earbuds offer audio quality, physical buttons, the best NRR of all tested, comfortable foam eartips, a compact case that latches closed, covered USB-C port, dustproof and water resistant, but no active noise cancellation - for $70 that's the best value by far. BUT - battery life is limited to 5 hours. Recharging w/ case adds 10 hours, but takes 2.5 hours to fully recharge. So you may not get through the day without a recharge, and would need to recharge case every night.

Also, they have a newer style with longer runtime (model AESEB2). I didn't test those. That model switched to touch buttons, changed basically nothing else of value, lowered the NRR to 25 dB, and costs $100. In my digging, looks like Klein is making a model with jobsite awareness features and longer runtime. That'll be model AESEB 1S (graphic I found is here). Info was really limited and I don't know when (if?) they are released now. But I couldn't find anywhere to buy them.

For the regular Kleins I tested, there's a ton of complaints on Amazon (link) about less than promised 5 hours playtime, charging issues, and failure to charge after a few months. Also no replaceable eartips. I didn't experience those problems, but knowing they're coming out with a jobsite awareness/situational awareness version of the earbuds, I personally would wait for those. Otherwise, I'd keep these. But if they do die within 6 months, then I wouldn't buy again. Basically if the reviews about charging are true - stay away.

Which earbuds should people buy?

If your jobsite has a lot of loud noise that you're hellbent on hearing protection + music, go with Klein. If you can wait, the new Kleins with situational awareness could be cool.

If it's only kinda-loud or no ear pro requirement, go with Airpods Pro.

If you def need ear pro + have frequent conversations + don't want to take a bud out to talk or just don't like talking with a foam tip in your ear (so basically you need a jobsite type mode) + you don't mind pausing music to have that convo....then get Milwaukee. At this point you're between IsoTunes Aware/Festool and Milwaukee anyway, and the Milwaukee is slightly cheaper and way, way, way higher quality build and features than IsoTunes.

Nobody should ever buy IsoTunes earbuds. And based on other info I found, I wouldn't buy any of their other products, either. Sorry. They just suck.

The details: Milwaukee Jobsite Earbuds (pics)

• Case is huge. No way this is fitting in my pocket. It's also heavy.
• Out of the box not intuitive setup or how to turn on.
• Case doesn't hold itself closed or automatically latch. The latch is a tiny plastic detent, if it breaks off, you're screwed. The latch/clasp doesn't move very far to open the case, someone is definitely going to break this off accidentally and then the case is worthless for storing earbuds.
• Ear wings are surprisingly comfortable.
• Earbuds don't protrude far from ears like the Klein's do, and the buttons are comfortable. It's a single button on the outside tip, so pressing it means you push the bud into your eardrum further. It's not that uncomfortable with the foam tips though, certainly more comfortable than Klein's who function in similar way. Jobsite aware mode is ONLY controlled by left earbud, and play/pause or answer/hang-up phone is ONLY controlled by right earbud. So if one earbud dies, or you want to use them one at a time...you're only going to get the features associated with that earbud.
• On phone calls, people said jobsite sounds weren't muted very well and I sounded muffled. They could hear me, it just wasn't that great. However, call quality for them was better than IsoTunes.
• No Siri/Google Voice integration, which seems like a strange oversight.
• No instructions in case on how to get them into pairing mode, or how to power on-off.
• Because physical button, can't sleep in them. The pillow presses the button.
• Earbuds don't sense when they're in your ears, so if you take out they don't turn off automatically. They will turn off if put into case, but only if they fully contact the three charging pins inside each earbud slot.
• The knob to open battery compartment is really tight and the design doesn't leave a lot of surface area to grip. It's also just slick plastic, which doesn't provide anything grippy to hold onto. My finger slipped off the knob a few times trying to open. Don't forsee almost ever needing to access this part, but an annoying design decision.
• The case misses the mark. It's too heavy and it's a 100% missed branding opportunity to make this a mini Packout. DeWalt's case looks like a mini ToughSystem, and Festool has a mini-systainer..albeit their earbuds don't come in one and that seems like an even worse oversight.
• LED's on earbuds indicating battery level is a nice touch. Wished they had some other feature. They also flash blue outside the case when being paired. But lets be honest, you'll see that happen once, pair them, and never do it again. Also, no LED's on front of case, or anywhere apparent. There is a tiny LED at rear left side of case inside the charging port that briefly turns on to indicate case charge. But here's my beef: the colors of the LED's on the case vs those on earbuds...do not mean the same thing. In the earbuds, green means 54-100% charge but on the case LED green means 50-100% charge. Same for yellow and red color. To make it more confusing, when charging...a yellow color means 50-99% charging....oh and btw that's flashing yellow not steady yellow. There's no legend on the case to these color meanings, but there is a legend for what the buttons on earbuds do. I don't know why do one, and not the other. Lord knows case is big enough to accomodate both.
• Lid's hinge is substantial. Way more than every other case. Not a big deal, but a thoughtful design feature, particularly how wide it opens that they put some heft into the hinge which imagine makes it quite a bit harder to break.
• No automatic/spring latch when close the lid, so if don't manually close the latch, then your earbuds will go flying soon as you toss the case in your car. Also the latch clips down over a plastic nub. If that nub wears or breaks off with time, you're screwed and this will no longer stay closed at all.
• Earbuds do not sense when they're out of your ears. So if you pull one out, your audio doesn't pause. The cheaper DeWalt's have this, and I don't know why Milwaukee would skip it.
• The case's battery is a replacable REDLITHIUM usb 3.0 battery, rated to have at least 80% capacity remaining after 1,000 recharges. The warranty for battery only is 2 years.
• The “up to 10 hours” runtime claim is based on full use so a combination of music, calls, and jobsite aware mode.
• Only compatible tips are by Milwaukee (so, no Comply - that I know of), but they do sell replacement tips....unlike Klein.
• Milwaukee told me they designed them from the ground up, completely in-house, and manufacture them themselves in China. They say there's no random Chinese brand behind them. Which is interesting, as DeWalt outsourced manufacturing and all the jobsite radios - including all of Milwaukee's models - are really made by other Chinese companies. So while these aren't Chinese hi-fi or "Chi-fi" (link), most of competition is.

The details: Festool GHS 25 i (pics)

• These are just rebranded IsoTunes Aware model. There's zero difference. Confirmed this with multiple people at both IsoTunes and Festool.
• Good base, highs and mids are clear. Feels louder just overall than Milwaukee, though both claim limited to 85 dB.
• Two jobsite awareness levels: low and high. At each level, outside noise is amplified. But it's a pain to go through the options. You have to single tap to go up, or double tap to go down. If you reach "high", you have to double-tap to go down to "low" then again to "off"....it doesn't cycle in a circle, like the Milwaukee's do. So you'll be fiddling a lot to get to the level you want, and add on top of that the button is touch so even more taps as it's finnicky, and then also remember every. single. time. you put the left bud in the case it resets its default Awareness setting. Basically, it's a PITA.
• Single button per earbud. Is touch, so a simple tap. Which is nice it doesn't push eartip further into eardrum, but does mean if you drag your finger over that area it hits the mic for awareness mode and gives you this loud scratching noise. Because you're tapping or dragging your finger over a microphone. I truly don't know what idiot would put a noise cancelling mic right on top of where your fingers will be tap/rub/pushing.
• Changing the aware mode is very hard to hear the audible beep if also listening to music. Have to pause music, change aware mode, then begin playing again.
• Every time the left earbud goes into case, it reset the aware mode. So if you turn off aware mode, put left bud into case, then put left bud in again it resets aware mode. For both buds. But the right bud doesn't change until the left bud comes out of the case. So basically there's no memory.
• The default aware level is "low" (vs low or off). Other reviews confirm what I heard - the aware mode on high amplifies sounds to an obnoxious level. Dropping something metal is like someone screaming into your ear, while having a conversation is just...fine? But aware isn't super clear. I can't imagine using the lower aware mode, it just doesn't let through enough or at least not at a high enough level. For both aware modes though, there is a very annoying white noise hum. Reminiscent of how over-ear noise cancelling headphones sounded 20 years ago. It's obnoxious enough I find aware mode completely worthless. It's too hard to enable on-demand, and it's too obnoxiously white-noisy-loud-hum to have on all the time. But as for letting through stuff I want to hear, it's better than Milwaukee.
• Something weird with the aware mode. Out of the case, you can't turn aware mode off. You have to try to go up..even though it's already at highest aware mode...then go down. Twice.
• Press and hold 4 seconds to open Siri/Google Voice (it claims 2sec, but that...never worked). There's a slightly long beep, but no other indication that's what you've done. The earbuds are also finnicky picking up a long press (bc no physical button), but picks up single or double-tap pretty quick. That said, you gotta hit it just right to register taps. I rarely did. Maybe with time this would get easier.
• The eartips screw on. Which means they come loose as I insert into ear and twist slighly to get that perfect fit. So remove, tighten back down, insert back into ear, twist a little...aaaand you feel them loosen a little. I don't know if it impacts NRR / protection. I imagine not. Couldn't hear a difference. But good lord this was annoying and seems like an unnecessary oversight. The Kleins, Milwaukee, and DeWalt all use a tip that just slides on and it held in place by a ring on the stem going up through the tip. Surprisingly, both IsoTunes models - and obviously, thus Festool - all used this strange screw-on method. Ironically, the tips didn't come loose as easily on the Free 2.0 (cheaper) model, which has a plastic stem inside the eartip while the pricier Aware/Festool model has a metal stem.

The details: IsoTunes Aware (pics)

• Of every feature I could test, it was identical to the Festool. Which matches what I learned from multiple people at both companies - the Festool's are just private-label, rebranded IsoTunes Aware.
• Weren't charged out of the box.
• The left bud didn't work (video). Support still hasn't replied to me, it's been a few days over email. They didn't pick up the phone - repeatedly.
• The right bud controlled the awareness level. Which is bizarre as that's not how its supposed to be programmed, based on their manual, their quick start guide/graphic, and also not how the Festool's controls worked.
• Silicone ear tips not NRR rated, only foam. Comes with: 3 pairs of ISOtunes Short TRILOGY foam eartips, 3 pairs of silicone double flange eartips, USB-C cable, and a portable charging case. Tips made by Comply.

The details: IsoTunes Free 2.0 (pics)

• Weren't charged out of the box.
• Left earbud is volume control. Unlike the Aware and Festool models, nice to have volume control without touching phone.
• No jobsite aware / transparency type mode. No white-noise humming or annoying amplification of outside sounds as experienced with other models.
• Audio quality is pitched way toward highs, weak mids, and nonexistent bass. I mean like no base. None. Zilch. Nada.
• On calls people could not hear me over jobsite/shop sounds like a vacuum, leaf blower, table saw, even a miter saw. Truly abysmal call quality for person on other side, and to me people sounded distant and tinny. Like instead of a phone I was using a tin can and string.
• Protrude further from ears than Aware/Festool, though less than Kleins.
• Physical buttons - one per earbud - provide nice, physical feedback. Because physical button, can't sleep in them. The pillow presses the button.
• The volume button makes a small clicking sound, which sounds intentional but is just your finger leaving the physical button. There is a different, high-pitched sound when it reaches max or minimum level as shown on your phone screen.
• Can't change volume unless music is playing.
• Press and hold right earbud for 4 seconds to bring up Siri/Google Voice. Which is odd, because instructions say 2 seconds.
• They claim "FREE 2.0 is IP45 sweat, water, dust resistant" -- but in IP45 the definitions are 4 = "Protection from objects >1.0mm like a nail or wire", and 5 = "Protection from water jets from any direction". Wondering which was right - the words or the IP rating - I went digging and found internal pics they filed w/ FCC (here). I suspect these are not dust resistant and are IP45, which should not be called "dust resistance" as best I can tell. Frankly skeptical of the water rating too, based on lack of seals in the plastic pieces, which suggests maybe these are IP44. Either way, it's bizarre to me to market a jobsite earbud with an IP rating that basically doesn't protect against dust.
• Silicone ear tips not NRR rated, only foam. Automatic Power Off after 2 hours without Bluetooth connection for battery conservation. ISOtunes FREE Aware comes with 3 pairs of Tall TRILOGY™ eartips (S, M, L), 3 pairs of Short TRILOGY™ eartips (S, M, L), 1 pair of silicone triple flange eartips, a USB-C charging cable, charging case, and charging case lanyard. Tips made by Comply.

The details: Klein AESEB1 (pics)

• The earbuds stick out the farthest from ears.
• Foam tips are substantial, as good or beefier than IsoTunes.
• Single physical button on each earbud. Both button's controls are identical. Makes it easy to use just one bud.
• No active noise cancelling, so what you hear when they're off is as quiet as it'll be when they're on.
• LEDs on front of case with helpful red/yellow/green lights indicating charge. They're really bright. Easy to tell charge level.
• Earbuds pop themselves into position when dropped in the case and stay securely there, some sort of magnet system.
• After a few days of testing, the case lid no longer pops open automatically when I press the latch. Have to pull open with another hand. Not a big deal and doesn't impact features. I do like that the case has a spring latch that snaps closed, it just isn't popping open. Unlike IsoTunes/Festool, DeWalt, etc that use a magnet to hold it closed.
• USB-C port on back has a rubber dust cover. A thoughtful addition, the only other having this is Milwaukee. All others have a fully exposed usb-c.

The details: DeWalt Pro-X1 (pics)

• No NRR rating.
• Overall my favorite designed case just based on looks. It really does look like a mini ToughSystem case. It's also a smooth plastic with some ruggedized features.
• Magnets inside hold earbuds better than all the other cases. When dropped repeatedly, earbuds fell out way less often than the other cases. That said, they do still come out when dropped on a hard surface from waist height.
• Case lid "latch" is just a magnet, like IsoTunes/Festool. Seems a strange oversight for a jobsite case there's nothing securely keeping it closed. Weakest magnet lid of all the cases. Easily opens itself when dropped.
• Really like the multiple buttons on each earbud (there are 3), and also that each earbud can control everything. So if you do operate with only a single earbud, you don't lose any features. Can still pick up phone calls, raise and lower volume, etc. I like the physical buttons and placement, easy and comfortable to control with bare hands. Near impossible with gloves though.
• There's some voice prompts, like "power on" and "battery high" when you open the case, which is clearly intended to be heard when they're in your ears. But there's no delay so you just hear this muffled speaking soon as open the case. Odd.
• There's some sort of ear sensing technology, when take buds out music stops playing. Makes my point above all the more odd. Why give voice feedback...through the earbud...if it knows is not in my ear?
• Friends told me these muted jobsite sounds better than every other model I tested, even better than Airpods Pro..which aren't known for muting jobsite, but have pretty solidly liked noise cancellation for clear conversations in noisy-ish environments. A dust collector 5ft away connected to a table saw and someone said "I think there's a vacuum, but it's really...low sounding...I hear you fine."
• Eartips are a pain in the ass to change. The stems are short and fat, have to stretch the tip open to get onto stem. Once it's on, it's snug and didn't come off.
• The foam tips are crazy small, and kinda "meh" on comfortability. Silicone tips are comfortable though.
• Has Active Noise Cancellation. 55mAh battery in each earpiece. Case is 500mAh battery w/ 2hrs to recharge case. Takes 1.5hrs to charge earpieces.

Comparison: by the specs

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