the association of loudness, Clarity, audio tone recognition etc. In doing so I also comment most often about 32 ohms and other impedance levels higher and lower.
In the early days most headphones that were supplied with metal detectors, and really many headphones that were available that hobbyists would purchase, were rated at 8 ohms or 16 ohms, and then through the years we have seen some changes where most headphones today in the industry seem to be 32 ohms.
Even discussing the impedance of headphones can get confusing because we might be discussing the impedance of each individual speaker rather than nominal impedance since are detectors are operating mono rather than stereo.
I didn't use to pay attention to impedance, personally, instead I just took my detector in and tried headphones and listened for those that provided me the best audio response and quality and that's what I used. Then in 1982 through '86 the hearing testers at Hill Field Air Force Base in Utah told me that I was hearing impaired and some even said deaf, when I was getting tested for some veteran summer hire jobs. I was so deaf, they told me, that I was not hireable as a full-time civilian employee at the air base.
It was at that point that I started paying more attention to how headphones where made so far as build quality, comfort, and the impedance of the speakers. I soon discovered that there were some headphones that were more comfortable and had an impedance of 100 ohms and those provided me a crisper, cleaner, and louder audio response. And when I used any detectors that had variable tones or just one specific operating tone that was harder to hear, those headphones improved my results and ability to hear weak and / or faint signals.
I then progressed to higher quality headphone especially for the metal detecting community, that operated with 150 ohm speakers. Today, I look for headphones that use 150 ohm speakers and I also look for those that are the most comfortable so that I can detect for longer periods enjoyably. For quite a while I use the killer B Wasp or Sunray Pro gold headphones, both made by the same manufacturer and essentially the same internals, but I then went to the Killer Bee Hornet headphones.
The Killer B 'Hornet' headphones 150 ohm speaker elements like the others, but they are designed with what they call the tank style ear cup. Those are a little larger and they fit over thair ear very comfortably and do not press on the ear.
The Philips headphones that come with those detectors made in France and R32 home speakers. There would be other things to consider such as decimals and so on, but so far as headphones themselves I do not like them with the metal detectors. With any metal detector. I do however have a set of those headphones at the side of my computer because they work really well with my computer for listening to YouTube videos or music Etc.
The only 32 ohm impedance headphones I use are the 2.4 gig wireless headphones. They are 32 ohm and they are not as loud as I would like them, but I also have impaired hearing. When I'm using them and wearing my hearing aid and perch them up a little higher, then I can hear the various audio tones in that better, but I usually don't do that or where my hearing aid while metal detecting.
So if you were not wanting to use a low-end and low impedance had fun, I suggest you take your detector and go to some businesses that sell headphones and try some out to find a set that fit you well, and that provide the audio response you're comfortable with. My favorite again, the Killer Bee Hornet.
Just my thoughts,
Monte
