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Minelab Wireless Headphone Poll - Equinox, Vanquish Pro Pack, & GPX 6000 Owners


Minelab Wireless Headphone Poll  

84 members have voted

  1. 1. If you own a Minelab Equinox, Vanquish Pro Pack, or GPX 6000, please choose the one response below that most accurately describes your headphone usage while detecting. Not all the ways you employ audio, simply what you use most of the time.

    • I use the Minelab ML80 or ML100 headphones wirelessly
      34
    • I use the ML80 or ML100 headphones connected to the detector via a cable
      1
    • I use the Minelab WM08 High Speed Wireless Module with attached headphones or speaker(s)
      9
    • I use the built in speaker
      10
    • I use third party APTX-LL Low latency wireless headphones
      12
    • I use third party regular Bluetooth wireless headphones, not worried about APTX-LL
      1
    • I use a third party wireless speaker or speakers (do not include WM08 options here)
      4
    • I use some other Minelab wired headphones (not ML80 or ML100)
      1
    • I use third party wired headphones
      12


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1 hour ago, strick said:

I bit the hook and answered the poll...but as I circle the bait once again my inquiring mind wants to know why minelab cares? are they actually considering making better quality head phones/wireless devices for their machines or are they considering doing away with the included wireless headphones entirely with their metal detectors and making them an accessory option from now on? ....after all  they are a business and want low cost with max profit ratios and if they find that enough users wont even bother to  use the provided wireless head phones why include them? They have already seen how much money they can save by not including an owners manual with their machines...Just a thought...what are they thinking now? 🙂 

strick 

If they are smart, they are considering all options, driven by customer feedback. If nobody uses included headphones, why include them? If lots of people do, then invest in making them better. They better care either way… delivering customer “wants”, in the long run, divides the winner from the losers in business.

Some people do want a detector to include good headphones. Personally, I use and appreciate both the ML80 and ML100. My other headphones have effectively been retired. Others say they are no good, and a waste of development time and money best used on the detectors themselves.

Personally, while I think the general audio market is moving to an aftermarket headphone standard (think Apple phone no longer including anything), there is something to be said for being able to buy a detector in a box with everything you need. I was out park detecting yesterday, and grabbed my four year old prototype ML80s, getting pretty beat up, but still working fine for me. I prefer the ML100 for nugget detecting, but am vain enough to not want to look like Mickey Mouse in a park, so go the ML80 for a lower profile look.

I’m weird on audio I guess. I insist on running full tones and hot for max audio feedback, but I’m not terribly picky on how the audio gets to my ear. A poster mentioned how people using the external speaker are missing 20% of finds. I disagree. If I can hear the threshold, I can hear it, whether it’s via headphone or speaker. When I’m in a quiet location, I more and more am using the built in speaker, and with GPX 6000 it gets used a lot. My main complaint is when I get on ground waving scoop over coil, now the speaker is well behind me, so harder to hear. And it does reduce battery run time. But while detecting my ear is as fixed on that threshold either way, headphone or external speaker, and I’m confident I’m not losing 20% of my gold by using the external speaker. That’s just a made up number with zero evidence to back it up. Then again, I’d agree headphones is the superior way to go as a general rule, and will never argue with somebody insisting on using headphones all the time. Just be careful about getting all superior about it. :smile:

Park detecting, it’s as much about keeping others from not hearing my detector, as it is about me hearing it. I always use headphones even in a quiet park location for that very reason. Overall I still employ headphones most of the time, but the 6000 did change my past insistence on always using headphones. I know JP hates the external speaker, and much gets made of how it causes EMI issues, etc. For some reason I’m happily using mine sans headphones, and quite enjoying it. Go figure. I think the 6000 for me became freedom, freedom from harness, bungees, power cords, covers, and yes, even headphones. Just grab and go…. I love it!

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As for the poll, I like the Minelab headphones that came with my 800, and since I use it slightly more on land than in the water, I just answered the poll reflecting that use. I also use some Tony Eisenhower waterproof headphones when I'm in the water, and like those very much too. That use, and with the Excalibur is the only time I use wired headphones these days.

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I use two from external brands and those from Minelab, and the ones that take the longest to connect are the original Minelab ones, I really don't know why.  With the other two, it is to turn it on and they connect instantly and with the original I have had to reset the detector several times to be able to connect it

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I would love to see Minelab make a real nice pair of wireless earbuds. That would be my go to all the time over the headphones. They are to hot normally

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3 hours ago, cudamark said:

As for the poll, I like the Minelab headphones that came with my 800, and since I use it slightly more on land than in the water, I just answered the poll reflecting that use. I also use some Tony Eisenhower waterproof headphones when I'm in the water, and like those very much too. That use, and with the Excalibur is the only time I use wired headphones these days.

I was not even thinking about underwater use, and the fact that requires wired headphones. Like you, I have Tony's and like them a lot. Guess that could have made for another answer, but instead i guess it will get lumped in with the wired option. I don't think that was really what they were aiming for in this particular question anyway. More about above water and what people are doing there.

It's not like Minelab spends a lot of development time on headphones in most cases. The ML80s were just a branded third party item. Not sure about the ML100. It's those proprietary high speed modules where they are actually putting some money into making a product, and I can't see that lasting, as Bluetooth will eventually be so fast nobody cares anymore. Many uses do not worry about lag, like music listening, but there are other markets where it is a big deal, like gaming.

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I would really like to have a headphone and a wm12 with the jbl external speaker. I would have the ability to hear the threshold well enough with the jbl speaker when working alone and have headphones when working around others. The headphone I’d prefer could allow only one side to work or both sides so I could hear the wildlife 🙁.

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I prefer good quality headphones. The original Nox 800 wireless headphones still work fine and I think they are good quality. I’m using a new pair now and keep the originals as back up. For the water I have Tony’s as well.  Using  the supplied headphones for the 6000 this weekend they seem to let a lot of external noise in from rubbing and scraping the coil on the ground and brush...having headphones that completely go over the ears would eliminate that.  Nugget hunting is different then coin and jewelry hunting and for me I’d rather just concentrate on the humming of the threshold without external noise disturbances...it’s impossible to make everyone happy as people are very picky with their hearing preferences.. I prefer to go wireless if possible 

 

strick

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4 hours ago, strick said:

It’s impossible to make everyone happy as people are very picky with their hearing preferences.

True, but you can get close which is why I 'vote' for keeping options open.  IMO, the (current) ML Equinox 800 package does that:

1) Want to plug in wired headphones directly?  Check.

2) Want to go with Bluetooth and the low cost headsets widely available?  Check.

3) Want to use fast Bluetooth (APTX-LL)?  Check.

4) Want even faster proprietary transmit/receive (T/R) and plug in headphones with 3.5 mm jack or (w/adapter) 1/4" jack?  Check.

5) Want to use fast proprietary aftermarket T/R system such as the Garrett Z-Lynk system?  Check.

I get that options cost more.  For decades MacDonald's lived with the "we'll make what we want and convince you to buy it" attitude while others (such as Burger King's direct jab advertising "Have it Your Way") tried to compete by giving customers more choices.  The public lemmings made MacDonald's the winner.  I hope that isn't the direction this is headed.

 

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I hated the minelab wireless headphones that came with my 800. Too bassy for me. every thing sounded muddy. After a lot of research found these:

TROND Bluetooth V4.2 Headphones Wireless Review | Mic Over Ear, Lightweight, 30H Playtime

 

and I love them.

 

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I got hooked on wireless headphones when I first acquired them on my Makro Racer, from then on I never wanted to go back to wired/tethered headphones. 

I was really pleased when the Equinox 800 was announced as coming with the ML80 wireless headphones, which I personally think work great.  My only criticism is that the physical construct of the ML80 headphones is cheaply made.   I've had to use black electrical tape to secure the ends of the headband (for lack of a better term) where the plastic intakes the metal band as both of the plastic keepers where the metal band inserts have cracked/broken.  Aside from that, for me the audio is great and they work fine.  I have had a couple of instances whereas the headphone bluetooth didn't want to pair up with the Equinox, but that hasn't happened for a few years.

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