Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
Zoran Brlecic wrote:
IMHO the most important specification for headphones is physical
comfort. Can you wear them for hours without hurting your ears?

Well, of course. But that's not what he asked. I use those cheapo $3
headphones that I barely feel on my head. Yes, comfort is everything and
that's one more reason why hi-fi headphones are out, because they simply
have to squeeze your head for a high quality audio. I also tried Heil
headphones once and couldn't believe some people have them on for 48
hours straight. I'd go insane.

On average I've found hi-fi phones more comfortable than the
communications variety.

Agreed. And while audio quality is important, comfort is a lot more
important when you spend a couple of hours at the rig. In that respect the
Heil set and other "special" headphones are way too incomfortable and I
cannot discern any advantages over a good HiFi-set in terms of audio
reproduction.

My headphone of choice is the KOSS Porta Pro, which is a very leightweight,
foldable and yet stable headphone with excellent sound quality for any kind
of rig and you can wear it during a lonf contest weekend without suffering
from massive headaches. There is an extra set of rubber foam on the headband
that reduces pressure on one's ear and makes wearing these pure pleasure.

http://www.portabledvdstore.com/kosporpropor.html

I showed these to a couple of active hams, most of them CW ragchewers and
contesters, and by now roughly 30 hams I know have bought the set and are
super happy with it. All of them know the Heil headset and report that it is
vastly inferior in terms of comfort and audio quality.

The only letdown is the fact that you don't want to run a MM-SSB contest ;-)

Peter Lemken
DF5JT
Berlin
--
"dass wir keine sklavenarbeit mehr haben zeigt doch, dass der
Marktwirtschaft ueberhaupt kein raum zu ihrer entfaltung gelassen
wird."
-- frank paulsen in d.a.t.u