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Milwaukee REDLITHIUM USB Bluetooth Jobsite Earbuds
You’ve probably heard of the power tool company Milwaukee, but did you know they made earbuds? I didn’t until the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds came across my desk. I don’t know much about power tools, but I do know a thing or two about wireless earbuds. Do these crimson earbuds deserve a spot in your toolkit? Let’s see.
Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.
The Milwaukee earbuds are for those who work in noisy environments and value hearing protection above all else.
What’s it like to use the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds?
These earbuds have a number of features to protect your hearing in noisy environments. Since a good fit is key to blocking out noise, the Milwaukee earbuds come with a wide variety of ear tips and wings. You get three foam ear tips, three silicon ear tips, and three different sizes of wings to lock into your ear.
Despite all the accessories, I still could not attain a comfortable fit with the Milwaukee earbuds. The earbuds are shaped in a way that requires you to insert them very deep into your ear canal. So deep that I was actually worried about harming my ears. While this deep insertion helps to block out noise, I found it extremely uncomfortable. I could not wear the Milwaukee earbuds for more than a few minutes at a time. Having tested hundreds of earbuds, I’ve never run into this issue before, so this really is a problem exclusive to these earbuds.
If you can overcome the fit issues that I had, there is a lot to like about the design of the Milwaukee earbuds. They are impact-resistant, dust-resistant, and water-resistant. The charging case is excessively large, but it features a swappable REDLITHIUM USB 3.0 battery. If you already have a few of these batteries from your other Milwaukee tools, it is easy to swap them in and out so you always have a charge when you need it.
Each earbud has a physical button to control ambient noise and music playback. Since the button is located on the outside of the earbud, pressing it shoves the earbud further into your ear canal, which is uncomfortable.
| Left earbud | Right earbud | |
|---|---|---|
Single press | Left earbud Aware mode | Right earbud Play/pause, answer/end call |
Double press | Left earbud Aware mode volume | Right earbud Next track, reject call |
Triple press | Left earbud | Right earbud Previous track |
Is there an app for the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds?
The Milwaukee earbuds do not have an app or any software tricks. This means you don’t get features typically found on premium wireless earbuds such as an equalizer to adjust the sound quality.
How do the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds connect?
The Milwaukee earbuds connect to devices via Bluetooth 5.1. This isn’t the latest version of Bluetooth, and you don’t get any high-res Bluetooth codecs or Bluetooth Multipoint support. That said, I didn’t experience any connection dropouts or stutters when using the Milwaukee earbuds with my iPhone.
The first time you remove the earbuds from the case, they automatically enter Bluetooth pairing mode. To pair the Milwaukee earbuds to a new device, you can follow these steps:
- Ensure the earbuds are charged.
- Take the earbuds out of the case.
- Press and hold the button on one of the earbuds for five seconds. A three-note chime will play in the earbuds to indicate pairing mode is activated.
- You can now pair the earbuds from the Bluetooth settings menu on your device.
How long do the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds last?
According to our testing, the Milwaukee earbuds last 11 hours and 1 minute, which is very impressive battery life for wireless earbuds. You get a few extra charges from the removable REDLITHIUM USB 3.0 battery inside the case. When the battery is inside the case, you can power the case via USB-C.
No, the Milwaukee earbuds are not rated for fast charging. This isn’t too much of an issue since you can swap out the battery in the case for an immediate top-up.
How well do the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds block noise?
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While the Milwaukee earbuds do not have active noise canceling, they do have exceptional passive isolation. Considering these earbuds are advertised for their hearing protection on job sites, this makes sense. They have an official Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 25 with the foam ear tips and 22 with the silicon ear tips.
Our testing shows that the Milwaukee earbuds block an average of 80% of ambient noise. Low-frequency ambient noise is reduced by about 10dB, while high-frequency noise is reduced by up to 50 dB. This far exceeds the passive isolation performance of most earbuds. Earbuds with good noise canceling will reduce more low-frequency ambient noise, such as the rumble of an engine, than the Milwaukee earbuds. That said, these are pretty much the best earbuds on the market when it comes to blocking out high-frequency noise such as the clank and clatter of metal.
There are a number of reasons why the Milwaukee earbuds do a great job of blocking out noise. First, the earbuds ship with foam ear tips, which inherently block out more noise than the silicon ear tips found on most wireless earbuds. Second, the earbuds get inserted deep into the ear canal, which prevents noise from traveling to your ear drum. Finally, the earbuds themselves are very large, which provides a large barrier to block out noise.
A button press activates the Jobsite Aware mode, which amplifies noise around you to help you stay aware of your surroundings while still actively limiting the intensity of loud external noises. This feature aims to ensure you can stay aware on a worksite without putting your hearing at risk from a sudden unexpected noise.
In practice, I found the Jobsite Aware mode just loud enough to have a conversation sitting next to someone in a quiet room without music playing. While playing music, or if in a noisy environment, the Aware mode does not amplify enough sound to carry a conversation. That said, it’s loud enough to stay aware of approaching vehicles and other potential dangers. You can increase or decrease the volume of the Jobsite Aware mode by double-tapping the left earbud, though I would prefer setting an exact volume of the ambient sound within an app like you can with the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2.
How do the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds sound?
Milwaukee may not be an audio company, but they know how to make good earbuds. Surprisingly, I have no major complaints about the sound quality of the Milwaukee earbuds.
Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)
The chart below shows how the sound of the Milwaukee earbuds was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.
A simulated panel of listeners rates the sound quality of the Milwaukee earbuds very high. This means there is a very good chance you will enjoy the sound of the Milwaukee earbuds — even if it’s not everybody’s favorite. The high Immersiveness rating is a bit surprising, given that the long nozzles sometimes make your music feel like it’s coming from inside your head. Still, these seem to be competent crowd-pleasers.
Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).
Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.
See here for an explanation of MDAQS, how it works, and how it was developed.
Reviewer’s notes
Listening to music with the Milwaukee earbuds is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. The sound quality will vary depending on how far you manage to jam the earbuds down your ear canal, but in most cases, I enjoyed the way the earbuds sound.
The earbuds don’t have the same amount of detail in the highs as the earbuds with the best sound quality. This makes listening to “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson a slightly underwhelming experience as the percussion and guitar elements sound slightly muted. Comparatively, the bassline in tracks such as “Break My Heart” by Dua Lipa stand out. While I wouldn’t reach for the Milwaukee earbuds for critical listening, they are great for casual listening. I found the thumping basslines helped power me through a workout, so I’m sure these earbuds could help you get through the toughest of jobs.
Objective Measurements
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The Milwaukee earbuds have a frequency response that most people will find pleasing. Compared to our headphone preference curve, the Milwaukee earbuds have slightly more of an emphasis on lows and less on the highs. In practice, this means bass guitars sound comparatively louder than cymbals. Since there is no app, there is no native equalizer support to adjust the frequency response.
The somewhat less-emphasized highs are also interesting, given that the earbuds seem to undershoot this range a bit. Our preference curve is known for being on the loud side for the highest octave, but quieter in the 2-5kHz range. The Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds are quieter than we’d hoped from 2kHz on higher, which is a little surprising — but should only manifest in your tunes as a somewhat duller sound in loud mixes.
Can you use the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds for phone calls?
If you need to answer a call while working, the Milwaukee earbuds are up for the task. The earbuds have onboard microphones that we found to reproduce the sound of the voice clearly. Listen to our demo below and let us know what you think.
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds microphone demo (Office conditions):
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds microphone demo (Street conditions):
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds microphone demo (Windy conditions):
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds microphone demo (Reverberant space):
The microphones hold up well to our simulated noise tests. In an office and street environment, background noise is rejected without disrupting voice clarity. Some syllables are lost amongst simulated wind noise, but you can still understand what the voices are saying.
Should you buy the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds?
Only a very select few people should buy the Milwaukee earbuds. You need to have very large ears to get these things to fit comfortably, so if you have small ears – look elsewhere. If you can overcome the comfort issues, then you need to be the type of person who prioritizes passive isolation above all else. These are some of the only official NRR earbuds on the market, making them a suitable choice for job sites that require certified hearing protection.
The Milwaukee earbuds sound good, but you can find other earbuds around this price that sound good and block noise with ANC just as well. You’ll also get a ton more features such as app support with other premium earbuds. On the other hand, these earbuds are ideal for those with Milwaukee tools who can easily swap the battery between the earbuds and tools and toss the giant earbud case in their toolkit.
What should you get instead of the Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds?
If you want the best earbuds for controlling environmental noise levels, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are your best bet, $298 at Amazon. Similar to the Milwaukee earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM5 have foam ear tips to passively isolate sound. Active noise canceling provides additional attenuation to block out more noise than any other earbuds we’ve tested.
You can also block out a lot of noise without spending a lot of money. The Anker Soundcore Space A40 have excellent noise canceling at a very affordable price, $79 at Amazon. That said, ANC is not as good at blocking out incidental noise as passive isolation, which means these earbuds aren’t as safe on a worksite with sudden loud noises.
Frequently asked questions
There is no OSHA regulation that prohibits the use of headphones on a construction site. Therefore, there are no specific OSHA approved earbuds.
No, the Milwaukee earbuds do not have active noise canceling. The foam and silicon ear tips passively block out noise.
Milwaukee says the earbuds are dust and water-resistant, but they do not advertise an IP rating.
Milwaukee says the REDLITHIUM Jobsite Earbuds have a 25 NRR rating with the foam ear tips and a 22 NRR rating with the silicon ear tips. An NRR rating indicates the decibel reduction in noise.