wireless headphones for Fisher F70
The following review was posted and then I decided to go back over some of the searches I did over the past few days and guess what? Today a review was posted that is just what I was looking for so go to the posts for Deteknix 03/39/2016 -- reviewer Sven -- great review Sven and for the directions to a You Tube presentation, great for the model where you keep your original headphones. The rest of this post is just venting my frustration and my observations from a hands on review of the Rapoo transmitter, receiver headphone set.
I have been reading a lot of forums trying to figure out a system for the Fisher F70 or any Fisher for that matter. The Deteknix wireless system seems like a good answer but I have yet to find any definitive answers -- all see very vague. Plus the Deteknix with the 1/4" plugin the W6 model is impossible to find for sale, the 1/8" -- 3.5 mm has a limited availability. Plus the Deteknix seems to be way over priced. For these reasons I went for the Rapoo, radio frequency, 2.4 ghz transmitter and Headphone receiver for less than half the price of the Deteknix. NOW, having received and tested the Rapoo I am not fully satisfied here either. The Rapoo has a secondary use -- works great on my wife's CD player for her listening to books, also works great on my laptop as wireless headphone for listening to YouTube vids. As for my F70? It works but the sound is not nearly as variable in the higher tone settings -- If you use the single tone setting for a constant tone that rises and falls as you pass over the target then maybe you should consider this set up, the Rapoo, but if you use your F70 tones to distinguish between targets in the variable highs and low tones then maybe this is not for you. One other thing, something that makes the 2.4 Ghz RF systems much more appealing than the Bluetooth sets, is the latency, or lag time -- you know, the time the coil passes over a target and sends a signal to your ears. The nearest to zero the better. With the Rappo I tested I cannot detect any lag or late time -- it seems spot on. I know there is a lag time but not one you can pin down without special equipment to measure it. The Deteknix specs reveal their lag time to be .06 sec. Believe me, this will not be noticeable and would give you the pin pointing you need from you machine so this lag time, as far as system using the 2.4 GHZ RF tech this is a none issue, or should be.
The volume is more than adequate and can be controlled by the volume control on the F70 volume knob itself, and you will use this as the volume full up is much more than anyone would need. Be sure, when trying this out for the first time, turn the volume down on your machine then increase to the level most comfortable -- yes, it can be that loud. On my Killer B head wired headphones I run my machine with the volume full up and use the volume on the headphones to control but on this set up you need to control from you volume control on the machine itself. If you do not have this ability then you could add in an inline volume control -- about six buck at Amazon. The tone settings that seem to work best with the Rapoo are 1 through 2 the de tone is pretty much useless and if you try the 5 settings on the F70 be sure to have the volume turned way down then adjust up as need as the sound is piercing, especially on de and 4. My Rappo cost $39.99 at Amazon and another $5 for a 1/8" (3.5mm) to 1/4" (6.5 mm) adapter so the transmitter with the smaller plug could be plugged into the larger phone input on the machine. So, it cost this side of $45 total.
Now, is someone has tested out the Deteknix wireless as I have the Rapoo please post so we can compare. $89 plus postage is a lot to shell out on a hunch or wishful thinking. Deteknix does have another system out that might really be the answer -- in this set up Deteknix supplies two units, one a transmitter and the other a receiver with a 1/4" plug receiver for you own metal detector headphones like Killer B or Gray Ghost or the cheaper Garrett phones. By using your own, familiar headphones and being detached away from your machine you have a hybrid, of sorts. Your headphones plug into the Deteknix receiver that you attach or clip to your belt, pocket or shirt and it communicates with the transmitter you have plugged and strapped to your machine. Same price as the transmitter/headphone set, $89 on ebay. That may be the way to go if you want to keep you over the ear headphone. You just have to figure out how to route your headphone wire around your body. My real question to the Deteknix, that no one seems to be answering, is the tones -- are the tones consistent with the tones you are accustom to from the wired headphone or not? The Rapoo set up is not -- you have to use single tone Id and get used to a different tone. How about the Deteknix wireless?
The beauty of the F70/F75 just happens to be the LCD target ID -- no matter the sound the Target ID on screen is spot on --unless it is a rusted bottle cap or a shiny piece of aluminum, or an aluminum can 6" down or -- well, no one is perfect. By using the single tone only I see no reason the Rapoo would not be a choice when considering going wireless. I am still teetering on buying a Deteknix or not, just need more info, it is not enough just to say, "it works", Bluetooth works too, but most are unhappy, with the way it works. Maybe I have missed something but in all my searching I cannot seem to find anyone with the real nuts and bolts of this Deteknix wireless. If I am going to spend close to $100 bucks I want it to more than "work" I want it to "work" on my machine just as if I were wearing my Killer Bee headphones not like some kidy radio play station.