Headphones for SWL
 

In the past I have always used any old headphones for SWL. They almost
always had a wide frequency response somewhere around 20-20KHz. Recently I
acquired a pair of closed ear Sony MDR-7502's ($50). They are smaller than
the typical hi-fi phones, lighter and very comfortable. They are well made
and not cheap like walkman type phones. Perfect for portables which is why
I bought them.

One thing I noticed that these phones have a narrower freq. response of
about 60-16KHz. I had always known that hi-fi phones were not necessary and
often fatiguing for SWL. Using these 7502's I now concur with that
assessment.

Knowing this I am now considering a pair of Kenwood HS-5's for the desktop
receiver which is even more narrow in freq. response of around 150-4KHz. I
was wondering if they are worth it for SWL? Does the 4KHz cut-off subtract
appreciably from the program listening experience? Are they designed mainly
for SSB/CW listening?

It took my ears a few weeks to get used to the 7502's slightly less "high's"
in the ear. But I find that now I have much less listeners fatigue without
the "hiss" in the background. Should I expect a similar experience with the
HS-5's?

Hello: I have an old pair of headphones made by Koss. They could be
about 30 years old. They were given to me by my Dad. Sometimes, I get a
very painful lould knock sound. Not sure what causes that. Other then
that, they work great. But funny looking. LOL!

73, SR!

Li_Changchun wrote:

In the past I have always used any old headphones for SWL. They almost
always had a wide frequency response somewhere around 20-20KHz. Recently I
acquired a pair of closed ear Sony MDR-7502's ($50). They are smaller than
the typical hi-fi phones, lighter and very comfortable. They are well made
and not cheap like walkman type phones. Perfect for portables which is why
I bought them.

One thing I noticed that these phones have a narrower freq. response of
about 60-16KHz. I had always known that hi-fi phones were not necessary and
often fatiguing for SWL. Using these 7502's I now concur with that
assessment.

Knowing this I am now considering a pair of Kenwood HS-5's for the desktop
receiver which is even more narrow in freq. response of around 150-4KHz. I
was wondering if they are worth it for SWL? Does the 4KHz cut-off subtract
appreciably from the program listening experience? Are they designed mainly
for SSB/CW listening?

It took my ears a few weeks to get used to the 7502's slightly less "high's"
in the ear. But I find that now I have much less listeners fatigue without
the "hiss" in the background. Should I expect a similar experience with the
HS-5's?

Li_Changchun wrote:

In the past I have always used any old headphones for SWL. They almost
always had a wide frequency response somewhere around 20-20KHz. Recently I
acquired a pair of closed ear Sony MDR-7502's ($50). They are smaller than
the typical hi-fi phones, lighter and very comfortable. They are well made
and not cheap like walkman type phones. Perfect for portables which is why
I bought them.

One thing I noticed that these phones have a narrower freq. response of
about 60-16KHz. I had always known that hi-fi phones were not necessary and
often fatiguing for SWL. Using these 7502's I now concur with that
assessment.

Knowing this I am now considering a pair of Kenwood HS-5's for the desktop
receiver which is even more narrow in freq. response of around 150-4KHz. I
was wondering if they are worth it for SWL? Does the 4KHz cut-off subtract
appreciably from the program listening experience? Are they designed mainly
for SSB/CW listening?

It took my ears a few weeks to get used to the 7502's slightly less "high's"
in the ear. But I find that now I have much less listeners fatigue without
the "hiss" in the background. Should I expect a similar experience with the
HS-5's?

I use Radio Shack mono headphones, made for scanner use, on my Yaesu and
am pleased with them. Hi fi headphones are designed for use on stereo
equipment which means that they will have inadequate response for SW.
Typical walkman headphones will be even worse. Go to your local Radio
Shack and ask for the scanner headphones, check to see that the pair is
mono, and they should work fine for SWL.


----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

running dogg wrote:

(snip)


Hi fi headphones are designed for use on stereo
equipment which means that they will have inadequate response for SW.


Did you mean that as you wrote it, RD? If so, you have me confused.
"Mono phones designed for SW listening will have inadequate response
for Hi-Fi listening" would make more sense, that's the only reason I ask.

Tony

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Tony Meloche wrote:

running dogg wrote:

(snip)


Hi fi headphones are designed for use on stereo
equipment which means that they will have inadequate response for SW.


Did you mean that as you wrote it, RD? If so, you have me confused.
"Mono phones designed for SW listening will have inadequate response
for Hi-Fi listening" would make more sense, that's the only reason I ask.

Ok, maybe not "response" in the way Li was talking about it. But I do
know that if you try and use stereo headphones on a mono only radio, or
mono phones on a stereo radio, that you will get all sorts of weird
results, such as only one of the sides working. For example, I tried
plugging in walkman phones to a RS mono FM radio, and only one side
worked.


----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

running dogg wrote:
Tony Meloche wrote:


running dogg wrote:

(snip)



Hi fi headphones are designed for use on stereo
equipment which means that they will have inadequate response for SW.


Did you mean that as you wrote it, RD? If so, you have me confused.
"Mono phones designed for SW listening will have inadequate response
for Hi-Fi listening" would make more sense, that's the only reason I ask.


Ok, maybe not "response" in the way Li was talking about it. But I do
know that if you try and use stereo headphones on a mono only radio, or
mono phones on a stereo radio, that you will get all sorts of weird
results, such as only one of the sides working. For example, I tried
plugging in walkman phones to a RS mono FM radio, and only one side
worked.


No question of that - the lightweight "so-so" RS phones I use for SW
listening work great. They are stereo, but there is a cheap adapter
plug you can get at RS that turns them into "mono".

Tony

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

I own a pair of old World War Two headphones but I never use them.I
can't stand to wear headphones or use earbuds.They agravate the hell out
of me.
cuhulin

In article ,
"Li_Changchun" wrote:

Snip

Stop changing your handle so you stay in the kill file you stinking
Troll.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

In article , SR
wrote:

Hello: I have an old pair of headphones made by Koss. They could be
about 30 years old. They were given to me by my Dad. Sometimes, I get a
very painful lould knock sound. Not sure what causes that. Other then
that, they work great. But funny looking. LOL!

73, SR!

Snip

That knock is God flicking a finger against the side of your head for
answering a Troll on Usenet.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Sony MDR-V150 headphones for $29, and a Koss EQ50 3 band equailzer for $10.
Makes the old Sangean ATS-803a sound as good as anyhing, including the Icom
R75.
And makes that sound great!

RP on the coast in central CA,
with a fine long wire, bad shortwave and good utitliy reception tonight in
the fog.....



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Shove your Sangean (everybody knows how I feel about Sangean so-called
"radios" and that STUPID ASS!!!! ccrane F....D UP!!!!! company) and your
wire up your ass!
cuhulin

For weak signals or sideband, I find using a pair of David Clark's does
the trick. The less bass, the more intelligible the signal. They are a
vice on your head, but good isolation. About $50 on ebay. You may need
to change the plug on them. Fidelity? Hardly.

http://davidclark.com/

I use a pair of ancient Sennheiser HD424 "open air" headphones.
To remove some of the highs I use a simple trebble cut, .1uF in series
with a 10K pot, for CW I use a ~.2uf. I have found the open air
phones to be much less fatiguing due to thier much lighter wieght,
and th open design avoids the headach I get form close earphones
like the Koss Pro4As. I also have a 2 strings of 2 each 1N4004's in
series to clip peaks. Crude but effective

Terry

You can use a mono(male) to stereo(female) adaptor to allow
stereo earphone to work with a mono source.

The Radio Shack 274-368 is one such adaptor.

"Use stereo headset with mono device such as scanner!
* Accepts 1/8" stereo phone plug
* Fits 1/8" mono phone jack
* Lets you connect stereo headphones to scanner,
CB or shortwave radio, or recorder"

Terry

The best I've found was a set of communications mono phones from Radio
Shack. They were just right for listening to ssb voice and broadcast
on shortwave. A mono to stereo adapter allowd them to be used on more
up to date receivers with stereo jacks.

Lots of responses and lots of misunderstanding. But thanks.

Well, I grabbed a pair of the Kenwood HS-5's today!
These are the first "communications" cans I have ever owned - very nice.

They certainly "restrict" the audio frequency response - 150Hz to 4000Hz
Compared to audiophile headphones like Sennheiser HD424 - 20Hz to 20000Hz!
These are excellent for spoken voice programs such as news reports, sports,
etc.
These will also be very good for serious SSB and CW Dxing.
High audio frequency hiss from the audio amp of the receiver is gone.
Atmospheric static crashes and local noise much less obtrusive.

The "narrower" audio frequency range of these HS-5's takes a while for the
ear to get used to it. The aural effect is somewhat like switching in a
narrow AM filter on your receiver. This should help out when trying to
catch that elusive ID on a weak and/or interfered station with atmospheric
noise such as distant lightning static crashes or local noise.

In the past I had also used those old Sennheiser HD424. I still have them.
Excellent headphones for listening to CD's. And they were very nice for SWL
if the station you were listening to was 20 over S9. But they let through
every static crash and audio hiss and hum on weak signals - very fatiguing
in the aural sense. But very comfortable to wear for hours since they were
"barely there" so to speak.

So far I am very happy with these HS-5's, light, comfortable - thumbs up!

"John S." wrote in message
oups.com...
The best I've found was a set of communications mono phones from Radio
Shack. They were just right for listening to ssb voice and broadcast
on shortwave. A mono to stereo adapter allowd them to be used on more
up to date receivers with stereo jacks.