[TenTec] TDE Headphones...

[Pete Ferrand]

There aren't any CVS stores in Wisconsin I could find, so feeling a bit silly about spending that much time going to the drugstore last night I drove to the Waukegan IL CVS store - 20 miles from here. Was very disappointed that there were none of the TDE 'phones at the headphone rack. But since someone mentioned they were found elsewhere, I looked around the store...and there they were right on the front counter by checkout! 

As others noted, they were labelled $14.99 and rang up at $9.99. Strangely I didn't have to sign my name for the credit card purchase, which I was told was a new policy stores were adopting for purchases below a certain amount. New to me.

Gas in Illinois is ten cents/gallon cheaper than here which made up for part of the trip I guess.

Headphones work great so far, I'm very pleased. Now I spent about $150 at Sharper Image 10 years ago to buy the NCT Noisebuster phones, same general idea. Except the NCT phones, which still work but are really beat up, will lock up into antiphase a fraction of a second quicker, something of absolutely no importance. Also the NCT phones are of the on-ear open style, whereas the TDE are closed, and that's strictly a matter of preference. The closed cups do little to restrict sound transfer from without but do affect fidelity in a way that will depend on the shape and density of your outer ear.

These phones primarily attenuate low frequency continuous noise, and I haven't found them particularly useful for ham radio. There are on occasion some types of band noise that they will attenuate to some degree, but DSP and antenna phasing units are far better. An enterprising individual may figure out how to electrically reverse them and make noise cancelling microphones, which certainly would be useful.

Now they are useful for ham and other applications if you're in a noisy environment, while in a train or plane, mowing the lawn, vacuuming the floor and that sort of thing. They will also attenuate the motor noises coming out the typical computer, and that noise has been shown to produce fatigue all by itself, so that can justify the $10 for you. I've used the NCT's many times on flights and in the shop without listening to any audio, just to attenuate as they're lighter and less sweaty than ear protectors.

The TDE packaging indicates questions should be referred to a cvs email address or a phone number, so that tells me they are sold under some sort of CVS affiliated company and that makes it unlikely you'll find them under the same name elsewhere. I couldn't find anything comparable at Walgreen's or Osco/Sav-on. They do have the Maxell's for about $35 which I believe are similar.

If you've bought any Chinese electronics lately, just about all of it has the silly lead warning. Don't nibble on the cords - who knows what else they might have in it that dissolves. They do not have enough lead to make spare weights for the bug, unfortunately.

Headphones do not cause hearing loss, loud volume causes hearing loss and unfortunately people tend to turn up the volume higher when they are wearing 'phones. Perhaps it feels good, perhaps they do it because no one else gets annoyed. I am also thinking that hams have hearing loss not because they do that, but they listen to normal levels of signals, with static crashes and other pulse noise much much higher and we aren't listening for them and thus don't take notice of them. This hasn't been studied at all as far as I know but could be important. Can also be easily fixed with an audio limiter but hasn't been done.

Speaking of vacuuming....gotta get to it :)

-Pete
WB2QLL/9
Somers, WI