Safariland DEHP – TCI’s (BTH) : Obscure but prized by audiophiles

The Safariland DEHP’s are really a niche product. They are basically MSA Sordin’s on steroids, in every sense of the words. Yet despite their superiority, their extended price tag often drive hobby shooters away, and operators often tend to go with their tried and true Peltor’s or Sordin’s. If it’s comms they’re after, they might still go for the Liberator headsets by Safariland but the DEHP kind of falls through the cracks. Despite all this, the DEHP keeps being produced and is still available for the shooters out there who want the superior product. Let’s delve into this relatively unknown piece of electronic hearing protection.

Design:

 

 

The pair of DEHP’s we got our hands on is a BTH (behind-the-ear) model. This is something some people like if they wear helmets as they don’t like the head strap under their helmet and is also a design arguably more comfortable for range shooting. Starting with the frame, the back skeleton consists of two unbending wires that criss-cross each other in an X. They each reach from top left/right earcup, to the opposite left/right lower ear-cup. This design allows for some play, I would say about an inch, downward. In addition, there is of course the audio wire that runs between the ear-cups. All this is covered in a mesh and airy strap that has a great double closure velcro design that makes accidental opening practically impossible. On top of the headset, there is the light strap made from thin mesh. On either side there are small adjustable velcro straps to quickly and evenly adjust for placement height. Down to the ear-cups themselves. If they seem to look like Sordins, it’s because they are. Safariland uses the same design and replaces and improves the internals. Much like their counterparts, they are super sturdy and feel that way too. They are made low profile and are slanted at the bottom for a comfortable contact with rifle stocks. However, as with the Sordin’s, these tend to work better with stocks with a slanted design, rounded stocks will interfere. The cups do not swivel sideways but rather up and down almost 360 degrees. The sound is picked up by a frontal mic on each of the two cups, well protected by a rubber housing. On the bottom of the right ear-cup, indented to avoid accidental pressing, there are the three control buttons (see ‘sound’ for functions). On the back of the right cup there is a battery compartment kept waterproof with an o-ring. It houses two AAA’s that’ll last a good 600 hours. 4 Hours of perceived inactivity will turn off the headset to save battery life and the process can be restarted by pressing any button. There is an audible warning when remaining battery life falls below 40 hours. Inserting the batteries involves inserting one AAA, tapping the headset to get it to drop down into the lower compartment, and then inserting the second one which will help the first one down too. Switching it on-the-go would be tricky, but when relaxed, there should be no issue. The compartment is similar to the Sordin’s but Safariland improved them a little. The battery cap features a metal lanyard standard which is definitely nice to avoid losing the cap. This model does not have an AUX input jack.

Sound:

 

 

The DEHP has two separate and shielded microphones on each cup in the front which enables optimal situational awareness and directional sound detection. The headset has an unreal natural crisp audio, of which I have not seen an equal on the market. It’s easy to forger you’re listening electronically as sounds are just reflected accurately and precise. Safariland credits this due to their headset not having the ‘clipping’ effect like other headsets. It would not be incorrect to say that this headset captures more detail and sound than natural hearing. Every little sound is picked up by the headset. It has 5 volume settings with memory so it remembers what volume you had when last you turned it on. The cups that come standard with the headset seal very well. The DEHP’s will dampen harmful noise to 82dB. They have a noise reduction rating (NRR) of 18dB and the noise reduction works very efficiently. Even with that, it’s never a bad idea to double up indoors. In all, it’s hard to find anything to match that sound quality on the market today.

Material:

 

 

The material, both the steel and the polymer on the DEHP are fantastic. The battery compartment and the internal electronics are completely waterproof. Safariland boasts that their environmental standards and performance exceed the Pro-X and after trying both, that’ almost certainly true. The straps and all the textile material hold up extremely well, even in rainy weather, and their mesh design is perfect for when you’re sweaty. All the moveable parts are very sturdy and stand up to torture. The EDHP is available in Black or OD Green.

Comfort:

 

 

Wearing this on the range is supremely comfortable and you can fire for hours on end without even feeling you’re wearing something. However, after trying to wear this in the field under a helmet for weeks in active duty, we can attest this isn’t the greatest option nor so comfortable. When worn under a helmet, what will happen is that the helmet will push down on the back frame and spin your ear cups from vertical to slanted. While manageable, this isn’t great and also makes it way less practical to fire your rifle as there will be hindrance. The standard ear cups, while very comfortable, tend to get quite slippery after use in hot weather, something which is inevitable.

Storage:

 

 

The upgraded battery compartment is a plus and the fact that the lanyard is provided along is a nice touch. The folding isn’t great. You’ll be afraid to store it at an awkward position and they pretty much store flat, without a real sense of how they were meant to be properly folded, which is too bad.

Versatility:

 

 

So for one, these come in standard suspension which is an option for purchase instead of behind-the-head. Gel cups can be upgraded to for $50. One of the beautiful things with these, is that if sent back to Safariland, they can be upgraded into Liberator II or III headsets for those that need comms which is a really nice touch. Using them under a helmet though, is not much fun.

Price:

 

 

The standard price for the DEHP’s are $415 which is most definitely a hefty price tag. However, for that price you do get a top-notch product that doesn’t really have an equal in its class, with a 1 year warranty.

That being said, with so many competitors with lower price tags and decent performance, you’d have to be a really avid audiophile shooter to go for these. But if you do, you’re unlikely to regret your choice. The behind-the-head would not be recommended for LEO/Military but OTH could def. be incredible. This headset comes with a 1 year warranty.

Shooting with the DEHP
In Black and White always adds cool effect
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6 thoughts on “Safariland DEHP – TCI’s (BTH) : Obscure but prized by audiophiles

  1. Awesome Headset! I have both these and MSA Sordin.

  2. Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Kudos

  3. Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.

  4. whoah this blog is excellent i love reading your articles. Keep up the great work! You know, many people are hunting around for this info, you can aid them greatly.

  5. Woah, these are definitely not cheap but I’ll consider one

  6. They’re a little pricey but if they’re as good as you say, they may be worth the price

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