Garrett Water-Proof (Blue) Headphones For Infinium LS Or Sea Hunter

[Bohemia Miner]

I noticed that these don't come with a volume control.  Is that because it's harder to hear under water and not needed?  Would I be better off with a pair of Amphibians from Detector Pro?

Thanks!

Walt

[Tony]

The Garrett blue phones have plenty of volume built in. They are a bit too loud on land but when the earcups fill with water then the audio is suppressed somewhat. Current Amphibian II phones dispensed with the volume control knobs as they were a point of failure. I would pick the Garrett phones over the Amphibians…..they are much cheaper and better constructed (I have opened up both of these phones and the Garrett was better constructed as far as the piezo epoxy and wiring goes). Amphibians are “Made in China”……they hid that label underneath the headband when you slide it out for adjustment. I would guess the Garrett’s might still be made in the USA.

Hope this helps,

Tony

[Steve Herschbach]

The problem with nearly all underwater headphones is getting sufficient high end volume while underwater. I owned a couple pairs of DP Amphibians, and if anything they were worse than the Garrett’s in that regard. The controls did not allow for more volume, they only allowed for already insufficient volume to be reduced further.

The first set of the then new volume controlled Amphibians I got were so bad that when I made a trip to Hawaii I had to emergency order the blue Garrett’s to salvage my trip. Apparently the air box isolating the speaker used at that time leaked, muffling the volume to where I could barely hear it. I heard rumors they fixed that later, but maybe not. Long story short I went back to the blue Garrett.

If you have no volume control on your detector (most Garrett detectors do have a volume control) then the lack of volume control on machines like the Infinium can be an issue above water, as being too loud. I solved this by just hanging them around my neck instead, loud enough to hear, but not blow my brains out. 

[Bohemia Miner]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

If you have no volume control on your detector (most Garrett detectors do have a volume control) then the lack of volume control on machines like the Infinium can be an issue above water, as being too loud. I solved this by just hanging them around my neck instead, loud enough to hear, but not blow my brains out. 

Thanks, Steve.  That's what I suspected.  I know they're REALLY loud above water.  I figured that was so you could hear sufficiently under water. 

I have a pair of Garrett headphones with volume control for land use.

Walt

[Bohemia Miner]

7 hours ago, Tony said:

The Garrett blue phones have plenty of volume built in. They are a bit too loud on land but when the earcups fill with water then the audio is suppressed somewhat. Current Amphibian II phones dispensed with the volume control knobs as they were a point of failure. I would pick the Garrett phones over the Amphibians…..they are much cheaper and better constructed (I have opened up both of these phones and the Garrett was better constructed as far as the piezo epoxy and wiring goes). Amphibians are “Made in China”……they hid that label underneath the headband when you slide it out for adjustment. I would guess the Garrett’s might still be made in the USA.

Hope this helps,

Tony

Thanks Tony!  That saves me about $150 as I already have the blue ones.

Walt

[Tony]

With any underwater headset, it’s worth prying off the earcups and checking that the rubber epoxy has fully sealed the wires where they go into the actual piezo speaker otherwise problems are just around the corner. If the phones are too loud then I used to wear one of those sun hats with the side flaps and that would block enough audio to be fairly comfortable. I have had bad luck with two pairs of Amphibians and had to replace the entire curly cord on one new set as water was wicking in from somewhere ?

[fatih]

Garretin's blue headphones are imperfect. Even if it is newly purchased, it should be opened and the piezo speaker should be repeatedly covered with a heated and thinned mastic silicone. In this way, its lifespan can be increased to one year. Otherwise, as someone who dives in water for 4-5 hours 2 out of every 3 days, the speaker dies after 5 or 6 months. I open up the dying speakers and use another round with a 50mm piezo buzzer with nice soldering and insulation. I brought gray ghost amphinian headphones from America. My expectation was very high and 2. The day fell silent. I replaced the piezos, but this time the cable went black inside and did not transmit. I bought a handmade headset from a ukrainian on ebay (65 usd) it had the clearest sound and the longest life. But then the war broke out, and he's still fighting. I'm tired of repairing headphones.

[Joe Beechnut OBN]

5 hours ago, fatih said:

Garretin's blue headphones are imperfect. Even if it is newly purchased, it should be opened and the piezo speaker should be repeatedly covered with a heated and thinned mastic silicone. In this way, its lifespan can be increased to one year. Otherwise, as someone who dives in water for 4-5 hours 2 out of every 3 days, the speaker dies after 5 or 6 months. I open up the dying speakers and use another round with a 50mm piezo buzzer with nice soldering and insulation. I brought gray ghost amphinian headphones from America. My expectation was very high and 2. The day fell silent. I replaced the piezos, but this time the cable went black inside and did not transmit. I bought a handmade headset from a ukrainian on ebay (65 usd) it had the clearest sound and the longest life. But then the war broke out, and he's still fighting. I'm tired of repairing headphones.

Head phones are very simple, I'm surprised more don't fix or even make their own. I know Anton, good guy.  

[Tony]

Just keep silicone sealant away from any bare copper....it will also corrode and blacken the copper. I made this mistake years ago and thought salt water was the culprit. The black Sikaflex is very good....doesn't have the vinegar smell. Bonding to the factory black rubber epoxy can be tricky but the Sikaflex stuck really well.

As for Amphibians.....they are poorly made in my opinion and don't last long. In your last picture, you can dispense with the white plastic audio connector and just hardwire....small piece of dual wall heat shrink and coat with liquid rubber.

I like the Garrett blue phones....used them a lot on my Sea Hunter but be gentle with the connector as the male pin is delicate.....but it sounds like you know what you are doing already.