Hello John! Yes, I can hear the tool cutting. I did buy the top of the line Bose QC 30 , so I'm speaking about those. @AlanZ describes nicely how and why you can still listen to the tool, your senses feel even heightened by the Bose... Remember, I'm in Maui. I can turn all year round with my garage doors wide open, so chips are not a problem for me, and I turn so much that no machine would be able to keep up with me... I sweep, most days, lol, at the end of the day, wheelbarrow loads of shavings that go all over my big yard... I do use a 2 stage dust collector with a big hood for sanding. I can listen to music, not too loud while I turn, and I can listen to my cell phone. But, when I'm in the shop, I put the phone in do not disturb, so only people in the favorites list can get thru, mainly my wife... Another advantage is if I ever needed to, I can just tell Siri to call 911, no matter where the phone is in the shop... I just saw a picture of Nick Agar, looks like he has an Airstream helmet like mine, but he has converted it to a fanny pack blower, that I hear its a little quieter... Aaron Hammer has one Airstream and he has a bathroom blower on the wall, vacuum hoses feed air to his helmet...Struggling with dust control and researching these helmet-filter systems, hope I can see and try them at Portland in June.
So a Q about the noise-canceling ear gear.... can you still hear the sound of the tool on the wood? This is important feedback to me. Right now instead of a helmet I've got an airbag dust machine near the lathe, with a flex hose to a sanding hood, but it is really loud. Compared to that, how loud is your helmet apparatus?
If I get the helmet, is it still necessary, or maybe just helpful, to also vac away the dust at the source?
Depending on how much you turn, or how big your pieces are, could be a good idea to have a dust/chip collector by the lathe. I wish I could...
I have visited countless shops in my 2 plus decades of turning, dust is a common enemy for us all. Some have won partial battles, but it's a never ending war...
A few times a year, wish I could do more, I do a deep cleaning, simply amazing how much dust it's all over the shop, very high and low... I had very bad sinus problems 2 years ago, the Airstream has helped me a lot... I read every Woodturning FUNdamentals, keep up the good work. Let me know if I can be of any help. Aloha