300 Ohm Head Phones

[goldrat]

Hi Forum Members , 

                               I have been gold prospecting in Golden Triangle , Victoria ( Aus ) for 30 years . I have recently teamed up with a mate

that has had his head phones modded to 300 OHMS . His nugget haul has improved 30% . He is finding smaller targets at depth . Incidently

we both use SDC 2300's . I have 2 pairs of head phones 1. Sunray Gold Pro's and 2. Nugget Busters . ( I bought both pairs direct from USA thanks to your feed back on Detector Prospector ) My question is should I mod both pairs to 300 OHM's at a cost of $145.00 AUS per pair . Hoping to hear your opinions as i'm not very savvy technically .

Cheers

goldrat

 

 

 

 

[Rege-PA]

Time to figure this out, they have headphones available over 600 ohms.

Can anybody explain why more is better over the Grey Ghost or Nugget Busters?  Are they worth the cost?  Can we hear the difference, or are we running hi-test in a car designed for regular?

Curious

[fredmason]

AZOUTBACK has a study posted that Chris's Dad did many years ago...I expect the info is still relevant ...

http://www.arizonaoutback.com/azoroot/shop/custom.aspx?recid=75

[Condor]

There is an electronics company in Hong Kong called APureSound that makes impedance adapters for use with high end stereo headphones.  I bought a 1/4 adapter from them that adds 75 ohms of impedance.  I'm going to try it with my 100 ohm IEMs on the Z7000 and see if it makes any difference.  In theory it's going to lower the noise floor and reduce volume.  They will make custom adapters with any amount of impedance you want. 

[AussieMatt]

Minelab  wrote:

"What Are The Recommended Impedance Values Of Headphones For Each Detector?

Headphone specifications are not really critical in a metal detector as their audio circuitry does not produce Hi-Fi quality sound. e.g. Our detectors frequency output range is only circa 75 -1200Hz

Our audio circuits will drive most headphones from 16 - 100 + ohms.

Audio optimisation is also very subjective as everybody hears differently.

We endeavour not to confuse our customers with unnecessary technical specs because in reality there is no honest way to determine what headphones are best for you other than to try them.

If you have a detector with adjustable audio tones we would also recommend you spend some time to ensure the detection tones are optimised for your hearing needs."

IMO things like noise attenuation, comfort & durability are more important than the OHMS. I'm currently using 75ohm studio/monitoring headphones with very good noise attenuation that I personally find to be excellent. Picked up a 0.06gram speck with the GPZ so happy that I'm hearing the small bits with them.

[Swampstomper Al]

I can understand an upward ohmage tweak boosting return signal that slight amount our older ears need to now hear the deeper whispers we once could unaided.. I say go for it..

Swamp

[AussieMatt]

For $145ea you could buy B&Z boosters & have volume control + boosted volume for your SDC's - if not hearing faint signals is the issue? I don't believe that higher ohm headphones will improve sound quality for the frequency output range that Minelab quote their detectors at above? Might be wrong but I believe the advantage in higher ohms lies in more complex frequency outputs - at the end of the day like Minelab says it's all about what you find best yourself. 

[Gold Seeker]

I would suggest that you compare a signal before you dig it with your headphones and then borrow your mate's headphones and see if you notice the different, or even better have your mate wait before he digs his next faint signal and then check it with your detector using his settings and your headphones and then your detector using his settings and his headphones, then you can decide for yourself if you think spending the money would be worth it to you!

I say his settings and your detector because as with many other models of other detectors in the past some of the same models can be more sensitive than another of the same model, it's possible that his detector or your detector maybe more or less sensitive using the same settings   

 

[goldrat]

Thanks to all the above forum members who replied to my query on headphones .

Will digest the info and make a decision .

 

Cheers

goldrat

[Randy Lunn]

I am not an expert in this area but in general higher ohms will give you less distortion. However it is more important to match the impedance of your source and earphones. I believe the GPZ 7000  has an out put of around 100 ohms. The standard Minelab Koss headphones also have an impedance of around 100 ohms. Given the narrow frequency output range of the GPZ 7000 I would guess that higher ohm headphones do not add much. However, individual hearing might prefer and possibly benefit from  higher ohms. 

 

Go go with Gold Seeker's advice and compare signals with your buddy's high ohm earphones.