This year I broke down and bought a set of MSA Sordin Pro-X muffs with the gel cups.

All I can say is that they are incredible.

The gel cups make their comfort unparalleled. I wore them for 12 straight hours two days in a row and was never uncomfortable. The headband is wide enough to distribute the weight very well and stays put.
The muffs themselves are waterproof and I tested that out to the extreme on PA's Monday opener where it poured cats and dogs all day long. Everything I had on was soaked though and through. Zero issue with the Sordins.

Sound reproduction is good and the amplification available helps with those of us who have a bit of hearing loss. You can turn it up enough that rubbing your thumb and finger together sounds like somebody going at a piece of hickory with 80 grit sandpaper.

There is an external 3.5mm jack for audio input however I haven't tried that as of yet.

They rate the battery life (2x AAA) as 600 hours from a fresh set of alkalines.

I had no problem in determining sound direction with this pair of muffs when hunting. Indoors it is more difficult to determine direction but outdoors they worked great.

They are not cheap at $260, however the fact I can wear them all day and not think about needing to take them off makes up for it.