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Reviews For: Heil PL-2T

Category: Audio Accessories for Transmitter & Receiver

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Review Summary For : Heil PL-2T
Reviews: 14MSRP: 120.00
Description:
The Heil Sound PL2T "Topless" mount is a unique and versatile boom that utilizes a system of perfectly balanced internal springs to provide perfect balance and silent, effortless adjustment of its position. The PL2T easily handles microphones weighing up to 2.5 lb., and it makes for a professional-looking installation without adding to the clutter in front of you. The Heil PL-2T features a hollow channel that the microphone cable can be fed through and provides the perfect cable maintenance. The unique "Topless" design of the PL2T allows you to remove the top and back cover plates, so you can thread the microphone cable along the spine of the mount. Once the cable is in place, you snap the cover plates back in place, for a clean installation with no visible wiring.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.heilsound.com/pro/products/pl2t/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00142.9
N4MJG Rating: 2023-03-16
UPDATED March 2023 with pr 780 mic on this boom works great ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
UPDATED March 2023

I BROUGHT THIS 2002 ALONG WITH HIEL GOLDLINE micorphone it never let me down yet best boom and also bought spring loaded too but abit cheaper price then my other heil boom both work as very well for i need when i'm done talking i just boom out of my way !
i gave this a 5 stars on both booms i have now

73
Jackie
N4MJG
SKCC 7305 SINCE 2005
NAQCC 5233
OMISS 11548
PREFER EQSL

I brought this since 2002 never any problem with mineI this is best boom ever used i used on my pr 780 micorphone hold up really well never falls off or anything ! best boom for the money !

As I said before ,I brought my new back in 2002 no problem whatsoever ! it still stand the day that i brought it new !

73
Jackie
N4MJG
WB3EHS Rating: 2019-01-20
Works Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have been using this boom for over 10 years. Currently use one with both my main and backup radios, and have a third one as a spare. No problems with hook-up (pretty intuitive) and C clamp is solid.
W4KVW Rating: 2019-01-20
Works great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have my HEIL iCM microphone microphone mounted on my PL-2T with the HEIL SM-1 Shock Mount & I have no complaints. It does what it is designed to do. This is my 2nd PL-2T & I had no issues with the 1st one years ago but I sold it after it would not fit with my desk arrangement so I went with a Short Boom for that desk. I have no issues with any HEIL Products & I own quiet a few including the PL-2T with the SM-1 shock mount,5 microphones,& an FS-2 Foot Switch which I have been using for 10 years or more with zero issues. HEIL Sound makes great products & they back what they sale & build.
ZL3HA Rating: 2019-01-20
Not recommended Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a rating of 1 because its only lasted 3 years and certainly not under heavy use. My experience is similar to the previous reviewer with a small item flying at speed out of the centre swivel rendering the entire boom useless. Impossible to repair without detailed schematic. Very disappointing in view of the high price of purchasing and shipping to my part of the world.
N6BIZ Rating: 2018-06-10
JUNK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one .it lasted a few years .one day I was adjusting it and I heard a pop and a piece of it flew by my face and eye at supersonic speed .
I will never buy any bob heil products again

----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by N6BIZ on 2015-02-18

MINE AFTER A FEW YEARS BROKE AND A PIECE OF IT WENT WHIZZING PAST MY HEAD UNDER TENSION ...
I WILL NEVER EVER BUY A PIECE OF BOB HEILS STUFF AGAIN!!! OVER PRICED JUNK!!!
KE0GXN Rating: 2018-06-10
Good Boom Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well, I would have rated this boom a 5 had it comes with any kind of instructions for routing the microphone cable. Had to search YouTube and I was fortunate enough to find a video from a purchaser you explained how to take apart the boom. If it weren't for that I would have been clueless as to how to take apart the hinges to route the cable cleanly through the built in cable channel along the the top of the boom.

With that said, I have had nothing but great success with Heil products in the past and once I figured out how to cleanly route the cable, the boom looks and works great!

A simple piece of paper, or a video on the Heil YouTube channel detailing how to take apart the boom would have been the icing on the cake.

I would recommend the boom to anyone, however be prepared to work your way through completing a clean install, without the benefit of instructions.
KC9RNK Rating: 2016-10-03
Good Boom Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading reviews I would have never bought this boom. A Ham buddy of mine had this boom laying around his shack since it came with a package deal on a Rig and Amp. He could not use it in his shack. I told him I was looking at booms and he said to come over,pick it up and try it. The boom is sturdy and no clamp problems. The problem is the covers for the "hollow" channels where the cables are routed do not stay in place. They very easily just pop off when moving the microphone around. The Mic cable would have to be ran perfectly in the hollow channel, and the plastic cover snapped on correctly. Only one side of the plastic cover has "snap slots". Since I,and more than likely a lot of other Hams have no time to run a cable perfectly through a hollow channel, nor pay enough attention to make sure the snap side is in the snaps, used 3 small cable ties to secure the plastic tops in place. Doing this Mod makes this a very good boom.
N0HI Rating: 2016-03-19
Disappointed Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
1. The covers for the "hollow" channels where the cables are routed do NOT stay in place. They very easily just pop off when moving the microphone around. This happens even when proper slack has been placed in the cable. I ended up having to use nylon tie-wraps to hold in-place. Very cheap even though the product is not cheap in price.
2. A plastic device of some sort near the base of the arm will not stay in place. It also just pops out on occasion.
3. The supplied "C" clamp for the base is easily bent when clamping it down on a desktop. So far is is staying in-place, however I can see it is slightly bent.
4. Zero instructions are supplied with the unit. It seems like it should be intuitive, but not necessarily since parts have to be disassemble and reassembled to route the cable.

I will look for another solution and steer clear of Heil in the future.
G2YC Rating: 2015-02-24
Good boom--bad bracket Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I wrote a review one week ago (reproduced here) and need to revise it since I have now received a replacement C-clamp bracket. The replacement was sent before my review appeared in eHam--it just took a while to arrive.

The new C-clamp is a different design and lighter in weight than the one that has bent so badly, and hopefully will hold up better. I have deleted my earlier comments about being unable to get Heil to respond to my emails, but otherwise my criticism remains of the original C-clamp.

Here is my amended review dated 17 February 2015:
My boom is OK, but the C-clamp bracket that it attaches to is not. The C-clamp bracket is mounted on a 1"-thick (25mm) shelf and supports the weight of the boom plus a PR-781 mic (which is a great mic, but heavy). Since buying all this three years ago, the C-clamp has bowed significantly so that the threaded 'bolt' now contacts the shelf it is secured to at about 15° from square. The clamp keeps working away from the shelf so that I have to take it off and re-set the clamp every few months. I'm afraid the boom will soon work its way off and crash down on other equipment.

The clamp is normally tensioned tightly, but not overly so, to the shelf and I am gentle when I extend the boom. I am surprised that the bracket's thick metal spine can be bent that easily and so severely.

I think this is either a bad design of the C-clamp or the metal used to make it is too light duty. This simple flaw in the C-clamp makes the boom a bad choice.
W6LBV Rating: 2015-02-19
Not Ready for Prime Time! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have the earlier PL-1 scissors boom, and its desk clamp is sturdy enough. But I wanted a riser post accessory, and I bought the only available item, the riser for the PL-2T. Naturally it’s not backwards compatible to the PL-1!

At least for the PL-1, it was pretty apparent that the product was manufactured by Audio-Technica. Heil just re-stencils them and ships them out the door. It’s hard to say where he’s buying his stuff today.

The PL-1 has held up reasonably well. At least it hasn’t collapsed yet and taken a microphone with it, as the PL-2Ts apparently have.

There’s no need to buy scissors booms from Heil. For about the same price you can get an O.C. White Co. product, available in a variety of models. These are the scissor booms that go into broadcast stations for daily use by ham-fisted disc jockeys, and these booms endure. The White Co. products don’t just crash into oblivion without notice.