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Important Update On Miccus Sr-71 Headphones


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The Minelab ML-80 headphone is made by another company and sold under other brand names. The Miccus Stealth SR-71 has been a popular alternative. Unfortunately an update has possibly made the latest version of these headphones incompatible with the Minelab Equinox. From this ad:

"IMPORTANT NOTE FOR METAL DETECTOR USE: The current SR-71 Bluetooth 5.0 release DOES NOT work with metal detecting equipment. The reviews are citing earlier 4.2 versions of the headphones."

This also for the Miccus website:

"Are different brands of Bluetooth products compatible? Yes. Bluetooth manufacturers are required to make their Bluetooth products compatible with all other Bluetooth devices; failure to meet this requirement means products cannot legally display the Bluetooth logo. Just because a device is Bluetooth enabled, however, does not mean it supports the A2DP stereo music profile. All Miccus Bluetooth products support A2DP and will only work with other Bluetooth devices that support the A2DP profile as well."

miccus-stealth-71-headphones.jpg

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The Miccus product note notwithstanding, DP forum member Steveg (of Steve's Detector Rods) has run a test and has successfully paired a recently purchased BT 5.0 version of the Miccus SR-71's with Equinox as documented here).  It is a mixed bag, to be sure, so as always in these tech compatibility situations, your mileage may vary, so buyer beware.  If you want to roll the dice, make sure you purchase from a vendor who accepts returns.  There are still alternatives out there too such as similar model clone phones from Trond.

 

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Thanks guys for the information as I was going to order another set of headphones in a couple of months.

I will keep this in mind for when I do get another set.

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Hi all,

As Chase noted, I DID test a new pair of 5.0 Bluetooth Miccus SR-71 (at least, that's what the label on the packaging said).  In my testing, they WOULD pair with my EQX 800 -- no issues at all.  I've been working to get to the bottom of this "headphones won't pair" issue that has cropped up on the forum recently, and after testing a set that paired properly, I had concluded that there was no issue pairing them with the Equinox.  But then, Miccus started including this disclaimer...Hmm.

I will see if I can produce a video showing the Miccus phones, pairing flawlessly with my Equinox, and then post it one the forums.  I will also try giving Miccus a call, as I wonder if they haven't put that "disclaimer" on these new SR-71s, simply due to some folks who were having trouble pairing for OTHER reasons (user error, for instance), assumed the issue was the 5.0 Bluetooth, and then contacted Miccus.  I do not think that Miccus has actually tested the phones on an Equinox themselves, so I will see if I can't get this cleared up.

I have also looked into purchasing a bunch of these BT-80 headphones directly from the manufacturer (not from Miccus, but from the actual factory that produces them), in the 4.1 Bluetooth version that we know FOR CERTAIN will pair with the Equinox, and then offering them for sale through Steve's Detector Rods.  However, the factory requires a minimum order quantity of 1000 sets!  I "sweet talked" them down on that number, to the best of my ability (LOL), but the smallest number they will sell me is 100 sets, and that's still a big number, given the price per pair (especially since I don't know how many folks would actually be interested in purchasing).  I'm still considering...

Anyway, I'll offer an update as soon as I can...

Thanks!

Steve

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Re: Miccus SR-71 Stealth wireless headphones

Jan 17 at 3:12 PM
photo?spsize=80X80&fallback_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.yimg.com%2Fdh%2Fap%2Fsocial%2Fprofile%2Fprofile_a64.png&alphatar_photo=true&appId=YMailNorrin&format=image
Miccus <support@miccus.com>
To:
Hello Roy - Thanks for asking.
 
Some customers have told us that the Equinox 600 / 800 do not like the Bluetooth 5.0 version of the SR-71 Stealth Headphones. Other customers have told us that they work fine with the Bluetooth 5.0 version of SR-71 Stealth Headphones. I'm not sure which is accurate, but just to be safe, you may want to try a version of headphones that uses Bluetooth version 4.1 or 4.2.
 
All current stock of available SR-71 Stealth Headphones uses Bluetooth version 5.0. 
 
The Minelab ML-80 are basically the same headphones, but they are still using an earlier version of Bluetooth. The other only real difference is that we have custom tuned the EQ curve in our headphones so they have a much clearer sound. 
 
I hope this helps.
 
Kind Regards,
 
 
 
On Fri, Jan 17, 2020 at 2:52 PM RME <@yahoo.com> wrote:
Good Afternoon,

I wanted to contact you before purchasing this headphone.
Question: Will the Miccus SR-71 wireless headphones work properly on the MineLab Equinox 600/800 metal detectors?
Are they the exact headphones as the Minelab ML-80 ?
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Outstanding information, RME.  Thanks for posting.  I was going to call Miccus today, and I still may, but what they told you is essentially what I had figured -- that some customers had issues pairing (for whatever reason), and so Miccus is "offering a disclaimer," just in case.

I know that I have had success pairing the 5.0 version to my Equinox, as I said, so I really believe it to be mistakes that some have made in the pairing process that are leading to the issue.  I can't figure out a logical reason why the 5.0 would pair with SOME Equinoxes, and not others; I've verified that the 5.0 version of the SR-71s DO PAIR with an Equinox running the latest Minelab firmware version (2.0), as some suspected that maybe Minelab's 2.0 version of firmware caused the Equinox to be incompatible with the Miccus phones (it did not).

I also take interest in their note that the SR-71s are more "tuned" to the Equinox's tones/pitches.  I can confirm that to be ABSOLUTELY true; several other-branded BT80 phones sound very much superior to the ML80; the ML80 are more "muddy," more "bassy," and less clear on the high tones especially, than the other-branded BT80 phones I've used.  It's very noticeable...


Steve

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52 minutes ago, RME said:

The other only real difference is that we have custom tuned the EQ curve in our headphones so they have a much clearer sound. 

That confirms what I and others (like Steveg) suspected based on side-by-side audio comparisons between the Miccus and ML Phones.

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Phrunt,

I thought it was possible that perhaps this could be the case also, but one thing I can confirm is that I spoke on the phone with someone having trouble pairing their Miccus 5.0 headphones.  They had a recently purchased EQX.  After we stepped through the pairing process together, the headphones paired with no issues. 

That is NOT to say that none of these pairing issues reside within the EQX units themselves; I have a friend with an Equinox that has to go through the FULL pairing process EVERY time he turns on his machine (i.e. the machine is not "remembering" the fact that he has paired his headphones before, and therefore pairing up quickly -- which should be the case after the initial pairing process).  So, it seems to be something quirky with his machine.  Along those lines, I have also heard of others who can't get their headphones to pair (ML80, or other versions of BT80 phones), and Minelab had to replace the control box.  So, there is that issue on occasion, as well -- which "muddies the water" in terms of figuring out exactly what the issue is, when there is a pairing problem.

The bottom line though, is that I'm pretty sure at this point that 5.0 Bluetooth headphones will work properly with the EQX, and that most if not all of the pairing issues are either "user error," in the pairing process, or an actual problem with either the headphones, or the Equinox, themselves. 

The last thing I will say, is, ALL Bluetooth 5.0 products are required to be "backwards compatible" with earlier Bluetooth devices, as I understand it.  SO, a Bluetooth 5.0 headphone receiving a Bluetooth 4.1 transmission (i.e. from an Equinox, for instance) are supposed to work properly, even though they are a newer (5.0) version Bluetooth than the device they are pairing to.  Certain "profiles," that are a part of "Bluetooth 5.0," like the A2DP profile mentioned in Steve H's. post initially, require that BOTH devices are capable of utilizing that profile, and so you won't experience the full benefits of Bluetooth 5.0 unless both devices are Bluetooth 5.0.  That's similar to how even though the Equinox transmits aptX-LL, the Bluetooth phones you choose must ALSO support aptX-LL, if you wish to utilize the aptX-LL's improved speed.  But, you can still pair, and use, a pair of non-aptX-LL headphones with the Equinox (you won't get the aptX-LL functionality unless BOTH devices support that profile).

Bottom line, the basic Bluetooth functionality (i.e. pairing, etc.) should be version independent, between devices.  

This is my understanding of how all of this works...

Steve

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BTW, another issue I have found is that the ML and Miccus phones allow you to set up 2 profiles so that the phones can pair with both the detector and also with your cell phone should you choose to do that.  ML even references that in the manual.  I have found that can sometimes be problematic if the phones decide to connect with your cell phone FIRST then sometimes they become invisiible to the Equinox and will not reconnect even if previously paired.  Sometimes folks don't realize that they have paired the headphones with their cell phones and I have had to try to help folks unscrew that situation. Just another reason to keep it simple out there when using the wireless detecting accessories unless you really know your away around bluetooth pairing and some of the intricacies.  When it works it is great, when it doesn't it can be a real source of frustration in the field.

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I also thought the entire point of Bluetooth was to insure cross device compatibility including backwards compatibility, so I found the seller warning to be odd. Obviously they have been dealing with too many returns from people who could not get their set to pair with an Equinox. I do suspect also it is normally user error, but then you throw in a case of two where the issue seems legit and that complicates things. I am leaving the original post as is however because the seller is warning people and that puts it in the category of buy at your own risk. That is why I made note of the warning... I personally am not stating anything at all about whether the current version works well or not since I do not own a set. I felt since I had helped popularize the use of these alternative phones in the first place I had a responsibility to not the seller warning.

At the same time I want to thank everyone for all the extra info provided here that sheds more light on the situation for those looking for a ML80 alternative.

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