Deep gold whispers…You either hear them… or you don’t

[Ugly J]

Just got my custom in-ear monitors in, and I’ll tell you right now… game changer.

I’ve been running the big, bulky headphones for years, and honestly I was just getting tired of it—surf noise, wind, everything in the background forcing me to crank the volume way up just to hear those faint tones. Half the time you’re guessing if that deep whisper is worth digging or not.

These IEMs completely changed that. The sound is just clean. No background noise, no clutter—just tones. I’m testing my Minelab Manticore so far and I can actually hear the differences now. Pennies, dimes, quarters, silver… gold tones—everything sounds richer and more defined. It’s not just “a tone” anymore, you can really start to pick it apart. Big thing I noticed right away—I used to run volume around 20–23. Now I’m sitting around 10–12 and hearing more detail. That alone tells you how much junk noise is gone. Another bonus… low profile. When I’m in the water I usually wear a hoodie, so these don’t stick out like big headphones. Less attention, which honestly isn’t a bad thing depending on where you’re hunting. I had them set up with ambient pass-through, so I can pop the plugs and still hear what’s going on around me or talk to someone if needed. Then plug back in and go right back to focusing on tones.

For waterproofing, I paired it with an Aquapac waterproof case. It’s actually rated for stuff like insulin pumps in the water, so I feel pretty good about it. I can keep everything sealed up, drop it around my waist, and still run wireless while in the water. Running them through the Minelab WM09 wireless module so I still get low latency without having to hardwire straight to the machine. Another thing I like… I can run these across pretty much all my machines. Anything wired, I’m good to go with the right adapter. That’s a big plus not being locked into one setup.

Overall… just really impressed so far. Way more comfortable, way better sound, and I feel like I’m actually hearing what the machine is trying to tell me now instead of fighting noise. Can’t wait to get these out on a real hunt and see what I’ve been missing.

 

[surfnturf]

Don’t know much about these, but if they’re waterproof, I’m game however the big huge clunky headphones. Keep my ears warm cause I love hunting in the winter of New England.🏴‍☠️

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Price? Number of drivers? Please.

 

[Ugly J]

Price? Number of drivers? Please.

I went with the UE 5 Pros . They’re the entry-level customs at $599. I added the limited-edition graphics (+$100) and had them remove their logo (+$50), so I’m sitting just shy of $800. Then it was another $100 for the ear impressions.

Specs are:
Dual-Drivers
• 2 Balanced Armatures
• 2-way crossover
• 5Hz – 22kHz frequency response

Before ordering mine, my buddy who’s a musician let me test his set(UE pro 11), and honestly that sold me immediately. He actually told me it would’ve been overkill for me to move farther up the lineup for what I’m using them for.

 

[Ugly J]

Don’t know much about these, but if they’re waterproof, I’m game however the big huge clunky headphones. Keep my ears warm cause I love hunting in the winter of New England.🏴‍☠️

They’re designed more for sweaty and humid stage conditions for musicians, so they should handle moisture better than normal earbuds.
I don’t plan on using them for hunting any deeper than chest level anyway. I’m mainly looking forward to the low-profile setup and cutting out all the surf and wind noise.

But I totally agree with you on the ear warmer part. 😂 Those big headphones definitely had their advantages during cold winter hunts. Now I’ll just go back to wearing my wool skull cap to keep my ears warm.

 

[OBN]

Anyone that uses a Pi or hunt in all metal fully know about the whispers, variations in the threshold, drop outs of the threshold, One reason it's very important to have the very best audio. The UE 5 Pros are to rich for my blood but Please keep us informed on the adventure! And Good Luck!

 

[Ugly J]

Anyone that uses a Pi or hunt in all metal fully know about the whispers, variations in the threshold, drop outs of the threshold, One reason it's very important to have the very best audio. The UE 5 Pros are to rich for my blood but Please keep us informed on the adventure! And Good Luck!

You’re absolutely right — anyone who hunts all metal or runs a PI knows exactly what those whispers mean.
That’s one thing I really learned using my Minelab Excalibur II — how important audio truly is. I’ve found a lot of deep gold with nothing more than a tiny fluctuation in threshold… just that little whisper or slight null. Hearing that tiny blip can mean the difference between walking over gold or digging it. That’s really why I wanted to eliminate as much background noise as possible.
Unfortunately I can’t use them with the Excalibur , but with my other machines it should be exactly like that — really being able to hear those whispers and tiny changes in threshold without all the background noise drowning things out.
The nice thing about this hobby is it funds toys like this once in a while. 😂 Keeps me under the radar with the wife too… usually all I have to do is hand her one of my precious finds and all is forgiven.

 

[OBN]

You’re absolutely right — anyone who hunts all metal or runs a PI knows exactly what those whispers mean.
That’s one thing I really learned using my Minelab Excalibur II — how important audio truly is. I’ve found a lot of deep gold with nothing more than a tiny fluctuation in threshold… just that little whisper or slight null. Hearing that tiny blip can mean the difference between walking over gold or digging it. That’s really why I wanted to eliminate as much background noise as possible.
Unfortunately I can’t use them with the Excalibur , but with my other machines it should be exactly like that — really being able to hear those whispers and tiny changes in threshold without all the background noise drowning things out.
The nice thing about this hobby is it funds toys like this once in a while. 😂 Keeps me under the radar with the wife too… usually all I have to do is hand her one of my precious finds and all is forgiven.

Been a advocate of faints for years since I hunt beaches that closed 50 plus years ago, one reason I make my own HP's... Most I do take hunting are weak as far as the faint disruptions in the threshold for they use stock or after market HP's.. All metal with the excalibur or the AQ with the Skullies are Hot on the deep targets. My only issue is when I hunt in strong gusty winds of 12 mph and up. I have come up with several ways to reduce the turbulences but not 100%

 

[Ugly J]

Been a advocate of faints for years since I hunt beaches that closed 50 plus years ago, one reason I make my own HP's... Most I do take hunting are weak as far as the faint disruptions in the threshold for they use stock or after market HP's.. All metal with the excalibur or the AQ with the Skullies are Hot on the deep targets. My only issue is when I hunt in strong gusty winds of 12 mph and up. I have come up with several ways to reduce the turbulences but not 100%

I read a lot of bad stuff about the Excal saying it’s hard to learn, and at first it is. Every machine has its own nuances on deep targets. But when I started digging those faint nulls in the threshold and seeing the returns, something just clicked in my head. I became laser focused on that. I know all the loud tones are shallow. Those faint tones are usually always two scoops with the Stealth. You just know you’re digging deep, and when you put the coil back in the first hole and it rings out, you know it’s gotta be good.
Just like you said, the wind is your enemy. You end up cranking the volume to overcome it, then when you hit something shallow it blows your ears out. That’s another reasons I went with IEM’s — trying to save my hearing while still being able to hear those faint tones.
At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to get a little better edge for all the hard effort we put into this hobby.

 

[Ugly J]

Took the new IE’s out MD’ing the other day and figured I’d leave a little update after the first real hunt with them.

Fit and comfort were excellent. No worries there at all. Honestly, after a while I kind of forgot I even had them in. The biggest surprise was volume. During bench testing I had them set around 11, but while actually hunting I was running volume around 6 and could still hear everything crystal clear. I wasn’t expecting to run them that low, but with almost zero outside noise competing in your ears, you don’t need much volume at all.

Target tones on the Manticore in 5 tones were spot on. Separation was impressive too. You can really pick targets apart better when you’re hearing clean audio without all the wind, and background noise fighting you.

The only issue I ran into was some pretty nasty electrical interference at the first site. Last time I had bad EI like that was Waikiki beach ,had to crank the threshold to 0 on the Excal. So at first I was worried it might’ve been the new setup. Thankfully at another site she ran smooth as butter around 28 sensitivity, which made me feel a whole lot better.

Targets were plentiful, though most were small pendants, bracelet charms and tungsten ring . The Manticore absolutely loves the tiny stuff. That machine wants to tell you EVERYTHING that’s in the ground, and in trashy areas that means a whole lot of digging.

Overall, for my first real hunt with the new IE’s, I’m pretty happy with the investment so far.

 

[OBN]

Took the new IE’s out MD’ing the other day and figured I’d leave a little update after the first real hunt with them.

Fit and comfort were excellent. No worries there at all. Honestly, after a while I kind of forgot I even had them in. The biggest surprise was volume. During bench testing I had them set around 11, but while actually hunting I was running volume around 6 and could still hear everything crystal clear. I wasn’t expecting to run them that low, but with almost zero outside noise competing in your ears, you don’t need much volume at all.

Target tones on the Manticore in 5 tones were spot on. Separation was impressive too. You can really pick targets apart better when you’re hearing clean audio without all the wind, and background noise fighting you.

The only issue I ran into was some pretty nasty electrical interference at the first site. Last time I had bad EI like that was Waikiki beach ,had to crank the threshold to 0 on the Excal. So at first I was worried it might’ve been the new setup. Thankfully at another site she ran smooth as butter around 28 sensitivity, which made me feel a whole lot better.

Targets were plentiful, though most were small pendants, bracelet charms and tungsten ring . The Manticore absolutely loves the tiny stuff. That machine wants to tell you EVERYTHING that’s in the ground, and in trashy areas that means a whole lot of digging.

Overall, for my first real hunt with the new IE’s, I’m pretty happy with the investment so far.View attachment 2253856

Thanks for the update!
All the right targets that say gold is near!

Those little targets I would have passed right by using the excalibur in All Metal.. a quick chirp-chrip, I know its going to fall thru the holes in my scoop, then I'll be chasing it for 5 minutes... Best I just move on.