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Detectors & Headphones


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Last year I bought 2 new pairs of Detector Pro Gray Ghost NDT from my local dealer and early this year 1 more pair . I buy them like that to keep me ahead in case they stop making them with all the new machines coming out with their own phones. 

When I tried 1 early last Month I found that the tones had changed . In the past I have praised these headphones as being brilliant for all Minelab machines , being able to simulate the exact tones the machines make without headphones.

When I discovered this I have now decided to take them back to the shop and in the mean time I bought 2 pairs of Nugget Buster NDT . When they came I checked them and to my horror they have the same dumbed down muffled speakers too. 1 of the sets were faulty anyway so I sent them both back. 

Maybe Detector Pro doesn't understand the issues with Minelab machines and their tones / sounds . But if you have a detector that has fluty tones and you have no choice but to buy bass toned headphones that sound nothing like the tones on the machines speaker then whats the point having that machine ?

Garrett I feel makes good headphones that suit their machines . 

XP make great headphones (not WS5 ) that suit their machines.

I am sure other makers put in headphones that go well with their machines.

Minelab are renowned for making great sounding machines then totally letting them and themselves down with bass toned headphones that for many of us have trouble hearing the targets if low Bass toned .

I used sound to pick out targets and only look at the numbers if not sure . With the newer Gray Ghosts / Nugget Busters I am stuck and always having to check target numbers . When doing beaches that are trashy to the hilt it is important that we are given the best headphones that simulate the exact tones the machine makes . Anything else is cheap rubbish .

We saw that with the Koss phones on the Explorer's and ET and CTX , we have seen it with the cheap but high priced with Minelab Logo headphones on the Nox . When using my last remaining higher toned Gray Ghost NDT phones I get the targets nice and sharp. The newer types are like listening through a damned pillow. 

If Minelab or Detector Pro etc are worried about Health & Safety and damaging hearing of people then put volume controls on them , which I will add Detector Pro does.

All other Detector Pro headphones that I have checked are low toned except maybe ? as I the past the Black Widows . At least I hope they are the same as they used to be .

The headphones issue is one of the reasons I have gone to Garrett for my next machine. If Minelab let the side down again I will not buy a Minelab in future . The right Headphones are vital pieces of kit and if you are going to have a machine that has fluty or whistle tones then the Headphones that come with them MUST have the same tones . It can affect a detectorist opinion of a machine and his / her ability to use or understand and hear deep targets . 

Wake up Minelab on this important issue . STOP giving us rubbish Headphones that don't do the job . Your machines are great most of the time . Your Headphones or copies of others are just plain pants.

I am not getting at Detector Pro or at Minelab though it sounds it . Detector Pro doesn't know any better I think . But Minelab damned well should .

Rant over , for now !

 

 

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I’m sorry to hear that about DetectorPro phones. That is all I used for many years, but I switched to the Sun Ray Pro Gold, Minelab edition, and have not looked back.

Headphones are like hand grips and straight vs S shafts, you never will please everyone. I’ve almost always used aftermarket phones myself. I never used the Koss phones Minelab has included for years with many detectors, because they were too loose a fit for me, and I prefer independent volume controls. I know many people, however, who would disagree with your assessment of the Koss phones as rubbish, especially when compared to the cheap headphones that come with many other detectors. And I surprised myself by being one of those odd ducks who actually likes the wireless headphones that came with my Equinox. :smile:

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10 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I’m sorry to hear that about DetectorPro phones. That is all I used for many years, but I switched to the Sun Ray Pro Gold, Minelab edition, and have not looked back.

Headphones are like hand grips and straight vs S shafts, you never will please everyone. I’ve almost always used aftermarket phones myself. I never used the Koss phones Minelab has included for years with many detectors, because they were too loose a fit for me, and I prefer independent volume controls. I know many people, however, who would disagree with your assessment of the Koss phones as rubbish, especially when compared to the cheap headphones that come with many other detectors. And I surprised myself by being one of those odd ducks who actually likes the wireless headphones that came with my Equinox. :smile:

Whats the use of having headphones that sound nothing like the sounds the machine makes? 

Detector Pro makes lots of different headphones and all but the old Gray Ghosts and old Nugget Buster NDT have bass tones . Black Widow ??

Koss are bloody awful , great for listening to music on a player but detectors ? NO.

The Nox phones are the same. Just a headphone that is made in China I think and sells for around £30 . Yet Minelab sticks its name on it and sells them for around £130 . And they are not good enough for the job.

When I was on the beach a couple of days ago I run into 2 people with Nox's and they had the Nox phones , I said to them about the phones and said try these old Gray Ghosts . They saw the difference. Then I told them they cant get them now because someone at Detector Pro changed the spec a couple of years back . 

What a let down. 

But the biggest let down is when the company making the detectors doesn't give us the accessories we need for the job . You would see my point if you heard the tones I do in my old phones. 

This is the difference . A Soprano singer like Sarah Brightman  v   the big black man ( no race thing intended) in the film  The Green Mile .

That's the difference. And it does make a difference .

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Hi Guys

Yes I went down this path about 12 months ago and thought it was me.  I happen by chance to come across a mates pair of 'GOG' headphones and have not looked back.  I ended up picking up two pair over in the UK on the internet and had them shipped over to AU.  You really hear those mid-tones.

 

Regards

 

Happy Jack

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I'm on the same page as you, Nuke-em, as far as being picky about the quality of the headphone sound.  I don't care for the stock wireless headphones that come with the Equinox 800 and haven't used them since maybe the first week.  I'm with Steve regarding the Sunray Pro Golds.  (I bought mine well before the Eqx was released and don't have the special ML version, but they still work, with possible quirkiness -- see below.)  Have you tried them?  Make sure to get the two switches in the right place (four combinations you have to step through, although one switch doesn't seem to matter but the other matters a lot).

My complaint (and this is aimed at the detector manufacturers although the headphone makers can help) is having to use an 3.5 mm male to 1/4 inch female adapter.  The first one I bought (admittedly inexpensive) made a flaky contact.  The second one (~$6 on Amazon) worked great for a year and a half but has since gone bad.  I just tried to buy the exact replacement from Amazon but the manufacturer has changed the design and now it is unreliable without adding some 1/4 inch nylon washers as shims -- those slide on the 1/4" male plug of the headphones.  I know many have had issue with ML's wiring quirk when using aftermarket adapters and headphones, so this might be part of my issue.

The ML WM08 receiver is great AFAIC but couldn't they have included a 1/4" female socket, particularly for what they charge if you don't get this device as part of the Eqx 800 package?  I've already bought (used) a backup of the WM08 just in case my original goes bad.  I like using it that much and can't imagine being without one.

I was considering buying the Gray Ghost Gold Series headphones which actually have the 3.5 mm plug (only 'tradtional' high end aftermarket headphones for metal detecting I know of that do this) but now you've got me concerned.  I don't want to spend $125 only to discover they don't sound good....  Why does this have to be so difficult?

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17 hours ago, Happy Jack101 said:

Hi Guys

Yes I went down this path about 12 months ago and thought it was me.  I happen by chance to come across a mates pair of 'GOG' headphones and have not looked back.  I ended up picking up two pair over in the UK on the internet and had them shipped over to AU.  You really hear those mid-tones.

 

Regards

 

Happy Jack

I bought a pair of Nox GOG phones and they are Mouse quiet . Why are almost all headphones fitted with bass or quiet speakers ? They are now on the sales list along with 3 x pairs of new Gray Ghost NDT , 1 x unused Koss phones for ET and a Garrett black Mk 2 Pro pointer and a Tele Nox carbon stem . 

Its not the mid tones that are the problem . Its the low tones and the very high tones. If you put the volume all the way up on the new phones it bellows but the lower tones don't seem loud or sharp. 

Its like having an A4 piece of paper and drawing a line from bottom left corner to top right corner to represent the tones for the old Gray Ghosts and then drawing a line that starts a lot flatter bottom left then half way along goes up but not to the top right corner for the new Gray Ghosts .

It has pretty much knackered my ability to separate tones on the Nox and ET for low end targets .

I only hope Minelab reads this , if or when they bring out a new machine I only hope they bring out headphones that make exactly the same tones and sounds the machine makes.

Minelab have been in the habit of chucking in the box any old things . And we know they are cheap , I've seen them .

Koss are £67 or so in the UK and they can be bout for little over £20 on Amazon with Minelab on them. And the Nox phones I saw somewhere they were £29 I think ? yet with Minelab £129 or so .

Paying that money is hard enough but when the phones are just not right its down right p!55 taking.

I really didn't want to rant but I have been forced too . I need decent high toned headphones and I am running out of options fast. 

 

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2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I'm on the same page as you, Nuke-em, as far as being picky about the quality of the headphone sound.  I don't care for the stock wireless headphones that come with the Equinox 800 and haven't used them since maybe the first week.  I'm with Steve regarding the Sunray Pro Golds.  (I bought mine well before the Eqx was released and don't have the special ML version, but they still work, with possible quirkiness -- see below.)  Have you tried them?  Make sure to get the two switches in the right place (four combinations you have to step through, although one switch doesn't seem to matter but the other matters a lot).

My complaint (and this is aimed at the detector manufacturers although the headphone makers can help) is having to use an 3.5 mm male to 1/4 inch female adapter.  The first one I bought (admittedly inexpensive) made a flaky contact.  The second one (~$6 on Amazon) worked great for a year and a half but has since gone bad.  I just tried to buy the exact replacement from Amazon but the manufacturer has changed the design and now it is unreliable without adding some 1/4 inch nylon washers as shims -- those slide on the 1/4" male plug of the headphones.  I know many have had issue with ML's wiring quirk when using aftermarket adapters and headphones, so this might be part of my issue.

The ML WM08 receiver is great AFAIC but couldn't they have included a 1/4" female socket, particularly for what they charge if you don't get this device as part of the Eqx 800 package?  I've already bought (used) a backup of the WM08 just in case my original goes bad.  I like using it that much and can't imagine being without one.

I was considering buying the Gray Ghost Gold Series headphones which actually have the 3.5 mm plug (only 'tradtional' high end aftermarket headphones for metal detecting I know of that do this) but now you've got me concerned.  I don't want to spend $125 only to discover they don't sound good....  Why does this have to be so difficult?

I hate the 1/8 inch headphones , its totally unnecessary . I don't care if it makes the machine look ugly or a few grams heavier . I want 1/4 inch sockets. 

I don't know about the GG Gold headphones but all the ones I have tried are now lower toned than the old GG NDT's  . 

I am sure I tried Sun Ray Pro's many years ago but in the end went to Gray Ghost . 

I think there are only 2 other types I can try and they are Jolly Rogers and Black Widows , the latter I have had before a long time ago and sure they were good then . Though the cable is heavy I think and using it on the ET made it stretch and went wrong as I recall .

Minelab must sort this out , if they want to make machines with lovely fluty tones then we want to hear them in the headphones exactly at that pitch. 

I am going to nag on and on till Minelab listens or answers . But will they ? 

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Richard,surprised about Gordon Heritages GOG phones as they are usually pretty good,but then although i own a Equinox i dont use wired headphones with them,currently using a set of Crawfords Predators which are decent,but just ordered the Garrett wireless headphones for the Nox the one that also allow you to use the Garrett probe wireless through the headphones as well and will see how those work its mainly more for hearing the probe through the headphones more than anything.

Do BJ make a set of special headphones for the Equinox ?? if not i think he can make them upto a special order i could be wrong on that one though.

You and your multiple headphones you are getting more like Martin Gardner with his multiple same brand detectors 🤣 🤣 

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15 minutes ago, Nuke em said:

I think there are only 2 other types I can try and they are Jolly Rogers and Black Widows,....

I've never tried Black Widows but when I bought my Fisher F75 the online seller threw in a brand new set of Jolly Rogers (and several other bonus items as a matter of fact) for free.  I was so unimpressed that I used them for spare parts.  But, always worth mentioning, headphone performance is a personal preference so likely some out there love the Jolly Rogers.

 

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20 minutes ago, RickUK said:

just ordered the Garrett wireless headphones for the Nox the one that also allow you to use the Garrett probe wireless

Where is the thread about this probe?

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