As a lot of you may have known, I owned Ops Core AMPs for a few months before getting rid of them and switching back to the Comtac IIIs. I have nothing but love for the AMPs, but like the redheaded child that breaks your dishes, there are aspects you can outright dislike.
The Good:
The Ops-Core AMP headsets give you 360 degree situational awareness with superior sound clarity compared to Comtac IIIs, Comtac IVs and any Sordin derivative. This is undeniable and I believe the engineers at Ops Core killed it in this perspective.
Modularity is king with the Ops-Core AMPs, you can set the headset up to be hearing protection only, single comm, dual comm. This is a huge step up from the traditionally formatted headsets such as the Comtacs where the user is required to tie the U174 NATO plug to the headset arm, which was a mild annoyance.
The headband design is genius and even beats the modern day Peltor upgrade headband. So what you get is a velcro cover on the headband that allows you to easily route the wire without having to dispose of any leather cover/band. The Peltor upgrade headband is good, but the rubberized plastic can be really finnicky when you're switching from the arc rail adapters.
The AMP arm design is genius and frees up the top side rail real estate on the helmet, and allows for a cleaner stow-away position than the arc rail adapters.
The AMPs come with gel cups out of the box! This is a massive win for comfort and maximum usability.
NFMI plug compatibility. This is a major key win for folks who go to indoor ranges regularly. This gives you superior hearing protection while being able to have conversation-level hearing at the range.
The Bad:
The AMP arm designs are flawed... so you risk ripping your wires or damaging them due to the way you have to slip the wires into the arms. It's basically two hooks on each arm that hold the cable down, so taking the cables out and putting them in place risks clinching the cables and wrecking them.
Feedback issues... like on any headsets, once you start cranking up the volume to the max, you run into the issue of getting feedback issues. The worse one I had was at high volume, there was a cacophonous high pitch squeal. This is something Gentex/OC has to correct.
Size and profile... the AMPs are pretty huge, and while this could lend itself to a more rugged design, its profile is bulkier than the standard Comtac IIIs, which could, depending on head shape and helmet, cause issues with rifle cheek weld.
The price premium... 1000+ USD for this headset? Well there are other competitors for a lower price premium without certain features such as ridiculous modularity such as the Comtac Vs and VIs.
The Fugly:
Gentex's poor customer service is the main reason why I'd maybe consider going with the competitor's options. So as a lot of you may know, due to COVID, a lot of companies scaled back on customer service, and with Gentex, this resulted in longer lead times for items as well as lacking customer service. Now say your AMPs do break on you... yeah. Good luck getting them fixed in a timely manner if at all. Believe it or not, these headsets break and people have been SOL due to that.
Go back to point in "the bad"... Peltor is offering the headsets with similar sound clarity and 360 situational awareness for a lower price, albeit with the lack of modularity. Regardless of how you wanna scale up the Ops Core AMP, even the extra U174 or Phenol PTT plugs are very pricey!
The Verdict:
I loved my AMPs to death. I wish I had kept them, but with all I have stated, I do believe that if you wish to purchase them, you have to weigh in your options and determine if the price premium is a bridge you want to cross and also have a contingency in case the headsets break. I don't think they're perfect headsets and I do think Gentex can do more to perfect the headsets, namely tweaking the electronics by ruggedizing them more, fixing the feedback issues on higher volumes and redesigning certain aspects of the cable routing on the AMP arms.
Additionally, I do believe they should price the AMPs more competitively with Peltor's current options. Essentially, incentivize the buyer to go to the AMPs rather than the Comtacs. I do believe the AMPs are superior to Comtacs in many regards! Modularity is king on the AMPs and blows Peltor out of the water sky high!
Why did I switch back to the Comtac IIIs? For my applications, I don't need 360 degree situational awareness and I believe the IIIs fulfill my requirements to the fullest. At some point, I realized having AMPs were more of a luxury (as with most of my gear anyways) than an actual utilitarian item.
Draw your own conclusions from this post, and take what I say with a grain of salt. Ultimately, your wallet determines what is worth buying to you, not mine.
Comments