Do I really need $100.00 headphones???

[Wisc.]

Hi....I'm new to detecting & putting together a package that includes:
Minelab X-Terra 705
Minelab 3kHz 9" concentric coil
Minelab or Garrett pinpointer
And headphones...... BUT do I really nead Sun Ray Pro headphones ($129.00) or Killer B's ($104.95) ?
Is'nt a cheap $20.00 headphone set good enough? Yes,I can be a little tight at times so if I don't need to spend a $100.00 bucks on phones I won't.
Thanks for any input.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

You can spend $35 five or six times, or you can buy a GOOD pair of headphones that FIT comfortably, have a STRONG, LONG, cord, and have enough definition to help you HEAR whisper signals over wind and ambient noise - Once. Your choice.

 

[GPS53]

I have 3 different sets of good phones to use, depends on the weather and where I am hunting at, I have over $400.00 in those 3 sets. In this case, you want good ones, you will pay the price.

 

[olfacere]

This is one place where I feel most metal detectors shamefully fail, even my beloved Tesoro. I quite deeply resent having to attach a device to my head in order to effectively use my detector. I'm really thinking of just getting a mini-speaker, powered by 2 AA's, and fixing it to the control box. It would add a little extra weight to the detector, but that's better than adding a little extra weight to my head! I could spent $15 on any terribly low-quality audio device and it would come with a volume control. There are several reasons why you might rather not build the volume control into the detector itself, but none of them are important enough to justify headwear!

We all know that headphones are generally a crap shoot. You can sometimes find a $100 pair that disappoints you and then a $20 pair that surprises you pleasantly. As long as you have an adapter, which is pretty easy to find (I have two, so I leave one in my detector all the time), you can use any headphones you want. If they sound great when you're listening to "Stairway to Heaven," then they are more than what you need for metal detecting.

 

[SusanMN]

In my opinion, you don't. Start with an inexpensive pair, or the kind that go with I pads/phones which go for under $20 plus a 1/4 adapter, and see how those work for you. These are lighter, and I think more comfortable than the big muff type, and I can hear just fine with them.

 

[TreasurePirate69]

It depends on the detector, the mode you are using, and where you hunt. Many detectors when run in tone mode have thresholds such that it is impossible to even get a "whisper quiet" signal out of them. They just aren't engineered to do so. Other detectors run in an all metal mode with constant hum can greatly benefit from better headphones.

Also, if you are hunting mostly in trashy parks you can drive yourself crazy digging every ultra-quiet sound you get. More often than not you are just setting yourself up to dig every little piece of foil out there. In those cases you can think of cheaper headphones as an additional level of "discrimation" for crappy signals that you don't want to dig anyway. On the other hand, if you are nugget hunting out in the desert where there is very little trash and you can't afford to miss that tiny nugget you may be glad you have really good headphones.

So I think the answer is "it depends". I frankly feel that the majority of detectorists don't need to hear the smallest whispers. Most mid priced headphones are more than adequate for what you probably need. I think it is more important to be able to adjust the volume on your headphones than to have a pair that gives you the ultimate in "whipser quiet" capabilities.

That's my two cents. Fee free to disagree.

 

[Wisc.]

Thanks for all the replies,it helps to get input from others that know more then I. As for now I'm going to just start with an inexpensive set & see how it goes. Interesting observation by TreasurePirate about "digging every ultra-quiet sound you get". Will I eventually end up with Sun Ray Pro's? Maybe, but I have very good hearing-for now.I just want to keep the initial cost down & buy what I need for the type of detecting I'll be doing which is mainly relics then coins & jewlery.

 

[TreasurePirate69]

Sounds like a good plan. I have no experience with the Minelab Xtera 705 so I can't comment on how it is built. But these days more and more metal detectors are going digital with microprocessors/microcontrollers. Many of these have thresholds such that they won't produce whisper quiet signals anyway. They just aren't engineered to do so. Why buy $120 headphones to hear a whisper quiet sound that your detector may never even produce? The old analog detectors had a much greater range for the magnitude of their audio signals. Today's digital detectors are often designed to produce very few different levels of sound as a means of saving money. For example, a microprocessor based detector trying to save on engineering costs might be designed for as little as 4 bit digital audio. In this case you get at most 16 different audio levels out of the machine. If this is the type of detector someone is using then it is a complete waste of money to buy good headphones for it. Even some of the cheapest headphones will accurately portray those 16 different sound levels.

Again, I don't know anything about the Minelab Xtera. I'm just making generalizations about detector capabilities. Today's microprocessor based models are nothing like the older analog machines. In the past it may have made sense to have the best headphones possible. Today, perhaps not so much. It really all depends on your ears, your machine, and where you hunt.

Good luck.

 

[olfacere]

I don't worry too much about missing whisper-quiet signals. My MicroMax Silver was designed for someone terribly hard of hearing and they never bothered putting a volume knob on it. If you use the internal speaker, then everyone within 100 yards will know that you got a strong hit. It's like an air raid sirene attached to a metal detector. What really concerns me is making the beeping thing quieter!

I normally use standard, cheapie headphones with no volume control, through an adapter, and just leave them hanging around my neck. The machine is so beeping loud that I can easily tell the difference between a strong signal and a weak signal, reliably hitting everything within 8 inches of depth, with the earpieces 3 inches from my ears! I may have to hold them up closer to my ears if I'm standing next to a road, but wearing them normally is almost painful.

All of that is kind of beside the point for me, though. If your detector doesn't have manual ground balance and threshold control (like me), then you've already lost the depth and resolution that great headphones might help. Those manual controls were designed to allow the operator to maintain the machine, instead of losing the soft, deep signals due to fixed, general assumptions. If they aren't well balanced with the ground under the coil, then eliminating the ground also eliminates the soft stuff.

 

[Frankn]

Hi....I'm new to detecting & putting together a package that includes:
Minelab X-Terra 705
Minelab 3kHz 9" concentric coil
Minelab or Garrett pinpointer
And headphones...... BUT do I really nead Sun Ray Pro headphones ($129.00) or Killer B's ($104.95) ?
Is'nt a cheap $20.00 headphone set good enough? Yes,I can be a little tight at times so if I don't need to spend a $100.00 bucks on phones I won't.
Thanks for any input.

If you want to save some money, get a lower priced set. Look in your detector specs for the proper resistance of the headphones. It will be something like 8 ohms or 16 ohms, then make sure you have the right jack on them, like 1/4" or 1/8" or it might list a decimal size. The frequency responce on a detector is so narrow you don't have to put a bundle into them.
Also save on the pinpointer. the Cen Tec sold by Harbor Freight will pick up at the same distance as the Garrett and cost a bit less $16 as opposed to $160 list. Frank...

 

[gunntekk1]

i got mine at a yard sale and in my opinion the head phones are for privacy and when it gets cold the keep the ears warm who cares what they look like, mine are from the library of congress and each ear has volumn control and if the wire breaks i can fix it.

 

[gleaner1]

Nope! Just like you dont need no stinkin new fangled hand held electronic pinpointer gizmo. Ya just dont need it. Word. But if you want to increase quality finds, definetely get a good set of phones. Word. Double word.

 

[noble]

ive always used ordinary earphones with all my tesoros and lazers and found plenty of coins and artifacs so i dont think you necessarily need very expensive ones but thats just my opinion NOBLE

 

[Pulltab Parson]

I have a set of Radio Shack $20 sounds adjustable headphone, I have had them for years and they work just great. What ever you get, just make sure you wear them

HH
PTP

 

[LinkHylian]

Your headphones are from the library of congress and has seperate ear volume control?! I.M me cause I'm wanting a pair!!!

i got mine at a yard sale and in my opinion the head phones are for privacy and when it gets cold the keep the ears warm who cares what they look like, mine are from the library of congress and each ear has volumn control and if the wire breaks i can fix it.

 

[FranM65]

Funny I was gonna ask the same question lol. I recieved a pair of headphones as part of the package when I bought my Ace 250 thru Kellyco..They are kinda cheap, but they work! Thou I do wish there was a volume control, I'm gonna go deaf!

 

[cubicleking]

I have a Sovereign GT. Last month got a pair of $40+ headphones. They didn't fit and ended up hurting my ears. Returned them and got a pair of $120+ headphones. Well worth it.

 

[olfacere]

Here's a side question. I understand that these specialty headphones are designed for comfort when worn for long periods, but do I really need to walk around looking as if I just mugged an air traffic controller?

 

[scotty544]

I got the wireless bada** headphones for my whites V3i and they are super comfortable and work extremely well. I feel like you get what you pay for.

 

[dougofpa]

You don't need to spend a lot of money...I use Garrett's 20.00 or 25.00 headphones with my Minelab Safari....I can hear everything just fine...

I have the silver to prove it