Earbuds Instead Of Headphones

[Steve Herschbach]

Duh, you are right, I am wrong! I am so in the habit of running the Z-Lynk at full volume I thought that was all there was. Thanks for the correction!

[GB_Amateur]

On 4/5/2017 at 2:58 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

Mine just showed up from the eBay site and I am happy to report they look just like the ones I bought new from Amazon a few years ago.

Pair arrived Friday, just in time for the weekend hunting.  Got in about 3 1/2 hours yesterday in a park which is right across from a hospital and along a busy street.  A girl was playing guitar and bellowing folk lyrics, kids were playing on the jungle gym, and police cars with sirens blaring occasionally roared past (but not helicopters today -- good news in the trauma unit).  A basketball player stopped to ask me what I had found (I don't mind that -- good P.R. AFAIC) and I easily carried on a conversation with him.  So, first observation:  you can easily hear surrounding sounds.  Now I thought that would be bad, but with the speakers so close to the ear canal I could hear signals (and background noise) quite well.  (Maybe I'm understanding why people like the Sennheiser HD 598's -- a topic on another thread.)  Even with some over-ear headphones (I have Garrett Master Sounds and Koss UR-30's) the noise from sirens and mufflerless pickups (got a lot of those here) get very annoying, but surprisingly the earbuds squelched that annoyance.

I tried these out on my desktop computer, listening to YouTube music videos and they sounded about as good as my Sony on-ear music headphones.  However, connected to my Fisher Gold Bug Pro they seemed rather 'tinny'.  I got used to that.  Will be interesting to see how they sound on the Minelab X-Terra 705 in 99 tones mode.

Best thing about these is how lightweight they are -- not surprising, but not having the extra bulkiness of standard headphones is nice.  And when it gets hot this summer...  I did notice the wires rubbing against and tickling my face and neck.

I was using the Deteknix Wireless Transmitter/Receiver.  The wire leads (earbuds to 3.5 mm connector) don't seem very long -- great for wireless but I wonder if they would even be usable plugged directly into a detector.  Also the connector is straight, not 90 degree angled so with some detectors that would be vulnerable to getting damaged.

I need some more time with these (hope to make it out today) to really get settled in with them.  I can imagine there are times when I would prefer high-end detector headphones (like the Sun Ray Pro Golds -- those are on my Christmas list ), to block out 95% or more of background noise.  But even in my noisy parks I've found the Bose Soundsport In-ear Headphones (earbuds) quite effective.

[Steve Herschbach]

6 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I was using the Deteknix Wireless Transmitter/Receiver.  The wire leads (earbuds to 3.5 mm connector) don't seem very long -- great for wireless but I wonder if they would even be usable plugged directly into a detector.  Also the connector is straight, not 90 degree angled so with some detectors that would be vulnerable to getting damaged.

Nice review, thanks!

I have used these plugged directly into the back of a detector pod, and do find the cable to be just a bit short for my liking. If a person was to use them physically plugged into the detector all the time I would get a short 90 degree adapter like this one to add a few inches, but also to act as a safety break against hard tugs as ear bud cable are not very stout. If you dropped the detector or caught the cord in brush it should pop apart where it joins the 90 degree adapter. However, now that I have the Garrett Z-Lynk I will no longer be physically tethered to any detector via the headphones. And yes, Sun Ray Pro Gold - highly recommended!

[GB_Amateur]

12 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I need some more time with these (hope to make it out today) to really get settled in with them.

Made it to the (ancient glacier) gold bearing creek this afternoon -- only 2 hours with the detector on with another 1.5 hours scouting and hiking to/from the detecting spot.  I went with the White's TDI/SPP and 150 mm (6 inch) modified round mono coil.  (Mods are 2-part:  added weight to make it neutral buoyant and replaced bottom half of coil housing to get coil closer to the ground.)  The Bose earbuds worked well, but I don't think they are as good for gold hunting where you need to be sensitive to very small changes in threshold.  For the most part, coin hunting and running in discriminator mode (with VLF's), you work in silent mode (with exceptions, of course) so background noise isn't as much of an issue finding targets.  I was in a pretty quiet spot with respect to human activity (e.g. traffic noise) and the creek was down due to our rather dry spring weather.  But even the low to moderate noise from water flow was noticeable and distracting when trying to hear threshold wobble.

I'm not implying that anyone said these should be used for gold hunting.  My experience is just one datapoint of observation.  And sometimes perfect hearing isn't the right path.  If it's >40C (>~100F) I can imagine the discomfort of over-ear headphones can be more distracting and debilitating than a bit of extra background noise.

The TDI/SPP worked like a trooper, which is unfortunately more than I can say for the Garrett Propointer AT (aka "carrot").  I think I've worn out the rubber cup that protects the on/off switch.  Pretty sure water got inside the unit.  So far it hasn't recovered after getting home and blowing it out with dry canned air....  Maybe $130 expense every couple years is just part of the game.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Hard to beat well designed over ear headphones for sound exclusion properties. There are various brands of custom molded in ear headphones that are a step up from stock ear buds but I have never tried them. Had a friend that had a set and swore by them however.

[vanursepaul]

Ultimate ears--- UE4 molded sounded interesting

[Steve Herschbach]

Kind of pricy but maybe $7000 metal detectors deserve $400 headphones?

[vanursepaul]

The fact that they were molded to fit your individual ear canals got my attention.

Using earbuds in Yuma  for the first time--(due to Condor's success with them)-- i realized quickly that i liked them better than over the ear cuffs--

They were lighter, easier to carry, and didn't make my ears sweat like i was.... "still running from the police.."

What i didn't like was the microphonics ( i think that is what it is called) -the noise the wires make when they rub around on things like your neck and shirt. And they tickle, like a fly buzzing you..

Condor uses the Etymotics ER4s units which are discontinued but still available. I almost sprang for a pair last night until I remembered I just ordered a set of the Bose last week. I still think going hard-wired to the detector is better even tho I don't like being tethered to it.

Condor also uses a 1/4" to 1/8" plug adapter from his 7000 to the earbud cable that changes either the impedance or the ohms (or both?)

I think he wrote a pretty extensive report on this forum about all that.

JP sold me on the notion that wireless cannot measure up to the sound that hardwired equipment can deliver.... but I sure wish it did--- just the thought of missing that one beauty is enough to keep me putting up with tangled cords in the manzanita and everything else that comes within 6 feet of me.

I still have the BnZ booster and twin speakers for times when i get tired of having something stuck in my ears. the booster is kept on my HighSpeed Battlebelt with molle attachments so i have the option to use either the earbud cable or the speaker cable.

The twin speakers and earbud cables are attached permanently to my H harness that holds up the battle belt and the wires route down my back on the harness--so I just reach down to my right side and plug in either one i want to use.

The detector is wired to the Booster using the 5'-6' foot curly cable that is supplied with JP's Booster- speaker package. It is easy to unplug from the booster too if i need to get away from it.

I will try the Bose first in AU and maybe get the ER4s later.

Oh, another reason I like the speakers is to compare differing targets sounds/settings with a fellow detectorist.

 

 

[vanursepaul]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Kind of pricy but maybe $7000 metal detectors deserve $400 headphones?

Think of it as only 250.00 more than a pair of Black Widows-- that sounds better, right?

[vanursepaul]

I got my pair of Bose and sad to say but they are nothing like the ER4s---(and nothing like the price either) will use them as back ups....

But Hey,

As my dad used to say, "It only costs a nickel more to go first class son."

I will be ordering a pair of the ER4s's today...

Only 45 days until the Yank OZ invasion day!!!!

Good hunting to all this year!!!!