Chris The big thing headphones will do for you is block out out side noise like traffic. On most detectors the batteries will last longer with Head phones. It may take more than 3to4 days a month to get to know a detector well. Trash and the way a coin is laying can make a different tone on the same target also. A vary deep coin may not always sound good.. The olny way to know for sure is to dig. The detector I use now has a ID meter but I believe it may be a disadvantage. Cliff