[CQ-Contest] Wireless Headphone System

[Bob Shohet, KQ2M]

The main decision is price vs. value.

Many people make decisions based on price.  And for that, you get what you get.  Sometimes good, sometimes bad, mostly mediocre.  But for those that choose to make decisions that way, god bless ‘em.  They keep the makers of mass-produced items in business.  And sometimes at a low price you can get good function for what you need and then feel good about the dollars you saved.  However.....

For those who want the best quality and/or best function for what they are doing, then you have to be willing to spend, and the price of what you are going to buy comes down to a decision on value.  Spending a lot (relative term) for anything does not guaranty excellent quality, but it usually means that the components are better, are expected to last longer and there is more comfort (in the case of headphones).

If you are operating for 1 – 3 hours, you likely won’t notice much difference in comfort among most headphones.  However, If you are operating for 40+ hours in a contest, comfort or lack of it is an ENORMOUS consideration.  How much extra is it worth to not have to feel like screaming in agony because your head feels like it has been in a vice for the past 2 days?  Hmmm...

And what about audio range?  For the type of operating that you are going to do, is it important that you be able to hear the entire audible spectrum of the human voice?  Or will a certain accepted range of frequencies be more than adequate?  Or are you primarily a cw op where selecting a headphone with a limited audio range will actually help as a de facto audio filter and reduce the hiss and noise in your ears?  That alone will help you to copy better through qrn and splatter and reduce operating fatigue and make you more efficient in your operating.  How much is that worth to you?

And then there is the mechanical construction...

Do you want to buy something that after a few uses you may need to apply electrical tape because the cheap screws weak housing and poorly machined plastic/pvc boom mic can’t hold in place without it?  Or do you want to buy something so poorly made that it can’t survive the inevitable first fall onto the floor?  What about the size and shape of the ear pads and cups?  Do you have a high level of ambient noise in the shack from amp, heater/AC unit or other appliances?  Is your shack located below a room in the house with a tile floor and which gets lots of traffic?  Are you near water pipes and can hear every flush or shower?  If so, lightweight headphones with small earpads will be largely useless.

Finally, how is your hearing?  Does the hiss and pressure changes of noise-canceling headphones irritate and hurt your earsdrums?  Do you suffer from tinnitus where volume levels and audio range can make a critical difference between enjoyable copy and agony that lasts for hours – days?  Do you have high freq cutoff or gaps in your ability to hear sound?

These should all be considerations. 

So, selection of the “right” headphones is a very personal and subjective choice.  What work best for me may or not be good for someone else and vice-versa depending on your operating needs and usage, physiology and health. 

Frankly, I have found that my needs are best served by multiple pairs of headphones – for different uses and over different periods of time.  But for those that want to make decisions based on price alone, I offer this caveat:

There is NOTHING more important than being able to hear the stations that you want to work.  If you can’t copy them then you can’t work them and all that money that you spent on equipment, antennas and other peripherals won’t help you.  So moving up a few grades in headphones – for an additional amount of dollars – can be the most cost-effective and sensible way for you to help improve you enjoyment and better your radio accomplishments. 

What is that worth to you?

73

Bob KQ2M

From: Jim Brown 
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2017 1:20 PM
To: cq-contest at contesting.com 
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Wireless Headphone System

On 12/22/2017 8:24 AM, Joe wrote:
> I guess Contesting is not an aspect of this hobby for those with not a 
> lot of money.

Contesting can be enjoyed at many levels. Winning can be VERY expensive. 
Google to find websites of K3LR, W3LPL, N6RO, 4O3A and take a wild guess 
at what those antenna farms cost. I started contesting in 1957 with 
BC459 and ARC5 "Command Sets" for 40 and 80M, a BC348 RX, and a couple 
of wires. 60 years later, I have a much bigger station (though not in 
the same league as those listed above). I had fun then and I have fun now.

I use a Yamaha CM500 headset (about $60) for SSB and a Sony MDR7506 
(about $100) for CW (the Sony is slightly more comfortable). I've also 
quoted K6LL's recommendation for a Koss-branded headset that he 
describes as nearly the same as the Yamaha, at half the cost. Have you 
priced any Heil products recently? They're not cheap, and I view them as 
wildly overpriced for what they are. As we say in the world of pro audio 
about Bose, "better sound through advertising."

73, Jim K9YC