HEADPHONES Vs. SPEAKERS.......

I have heard many and varied opinions on the use of headphones and loudspeakers.......I would appreciate hearing your views on what you use and why you use it (in particular "noise cancelling h'phones").....please state model and price of what you have chosen as the ultimate sound......
I must admit I find it a bit enigmatic for people to pay thousands of dollars for a detector and use a $50 pair of headphones or a "crude" speaker.......is it just possible that modern detectors should be using Pioneer or Bose audio output or does it just come down to "vulgar economics" ?

i like to use the inline speaker they have the booster built into them. the reason is i like to hear what's around me...headphones are good coz you don't miss much when going over a target. but i hate having them pull down when digging a target or sliding off when you get swetty ears from them...they both have there good and bad.
cheers
stoppsy

G'day Sandy, I usually (90%) use external speaker, there are times that I like to use headphones like if detecting near other people (if they don't like hearing others work) most I've met don't mind though. Or if you get onto some good targets you don't want to tell the world.

As stoppsy said I too like to hear what is going on around me, the headphones that came with the detector are very good but during summer become very sweaty (don't want jungle ear ) and does block surrounding noise.
I have just purchased some under chin headphones and gave them a run on the weekend, I am very pleased with these and feel that I may wear them more than I would the koss headphones.

As for using "crude" headphones I think that one doesn't need to spent a large amount of money but then I feel that you don't want to be using an inferior or cheap type either. After all we are not listening to a full orchestra play only the humm of the threshold.

Cheers

Sandy,

I am a bit deaf in one ear, and the other one is not much better. I spent $200 and imported a pair of Ratphones (headphones) from the USA. They have adjustable volume controls on each ear and are the most comfortable headphone I have ever used. They clamp onto the sides of your head (instead of hanging down each side) and they do not sit on your ear, but surround it and sit against your head.

I find it much easier to hear those weak signals with headphones - I tried an external speaker and did no good with it.

The biggest problem with headphones though is that your detector mates sneak up and scare the crap out of you.

Jig

PS. I tried my wife's Bose noise cancelling headphones and I had trouble controling the volume - it was raining and I put them in the "too hard basket". I am going to try them out again next time I have trouble with wind noise and will let you know how they went.

G'day Sandy,

like Jig I prefer to use the inbuilt speaker clipped to my shoulder harness. I like to hear what's going on around me - and that can be a safety issue. An example - perhaps a bad one - I was walking my dog through our local forest, which extends just about to within five minutes wak of where I live, when my Labrador took off and lobbed alongside a detectorist busy digging a target with earphones still in place. My woofer lobbed alongside him wanting to say hello as Labradors do and I believed it may have been necessary to give this guy CPR do to the shock he got when he looked up into the face of a grinning Lab, not having heard the dog approach to say 'hello'.

Forester

Gday All
My 2 bob's worth..... I use an external speaker 90% of the time and only use h/phones when it gets too windy or I want to keep my beeps private.
Hey Forester..... long time no hear, where have you been hanging out. Good to see you back, you used to have a fair bit of sensible stuff to say a while back.
cheers
Brett