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Reviews For: Heil Pro 7

Category: Headphones & Boom-microphone Headsets

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Review Summary For : Heil Pro 7
Reviews: 79MSRP: 279
Description:
The Pro 7 offers a feature set that compliments the Heil Sound standard for headset design. Unlike copies of various aviation type headsets, the PRO 7 is not a copy.
Product is in production
More Info: https://heilhamradio.com/products/pro-7/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
54794.5
WC3N Rating: 2015-02-23
Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the IC version of the Pro 7 as I wanted to use it on some of my older Icom rigs. Wow, I was amazed at the excellent reports I got from those near and far. I had them compare an Icom SM20 desk mic, HM12 and HM36 stock mics to the Pro 7. They all said the Pro 7 was best by far. It wasn't just a little difference it was a big one. It turned out much better than I hoped for. The rigs I made the test on were the Icom 751a and original Icom 706.
Once you adjust them for comfort they are a pleasure to use. Just a high quality headset that I look forward to using for a long time. For me it makes using the Icoms fun again.
Heil customer service was top notch. They answered all the questions I had. Finally, I got a headset that works incredibly well! I couldn't be more pleased.
K2RU Rating: 2015-02-10
Update on Pro 7 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had a chance to figure out the mic settings with my FTdx-3k and it is now SUPER! Biggest problem getting things adjusted correctly was the OP! ;-) So, just read my earlier review and consider the mic side of it now completely resolved and now I would rate it a '5'. Been using it extensively with the Navassa K1N dxpedition and it has helped a lot. Great headset!
G6LQW Rating: 2015-02-09
Great quality headset Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered the headset in the US as not available in the UK at the time, friend visiting the U.S. brought it back. I had ordered the the Icom version and as per the others I had to reverse the mic element. Contact made with Heil over this and received a reply to email within 5 mins and a week later a replacement mic delivered to the UK.
Set up was easy and used the recommended settings and have had good reports on the audio quality on both SSB and FM. Headset very comfortable over a number of hours of use whilst wearing glasses but do take time in setting the adjustments on the headset. Pleased with the quality and look forward to many years of use.
KI9A Rating: 2015-01-08
Best yet Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having owned Heil stuff since 1993, this is by far the best.

Comfort wise, the ajustments are there, and abundant. The mic boom rotates so you can have the boom on the left or right side.. The ear pads are super thick.

The balance feature works cool with my dual watch reciever, and really like the phase reversal...very useful when you are on for long periods.

I use these on my Icom pro 3, with the standard Heil 7 element, and can tailor my audio with no problem. Narrow for pileup busting, and a nice bassy wide for ragchewing.

No "rfi" issue like another had stated, but, my station is put together pretty well, with good grounds, ect.

KB2TDY Rating: 2015-01-08
Update Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In talking to Steve at Heil, he agreed to replace my Pro7 as I couldn't get the original headphones mic to work. I even reversed the element per Steve's suggestion. I received the new headphone and it works jus fine. So, I'm changing my original post!
K0HY Rating: 2015-01-06
Great headset Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a great headset for my needs. Works on my radios as well on my computer when on Echolink.
When I first tested the headset their was no audio out and I called Jerry at Heil and he had not heard of the problem so we did some troubleshooting and found the mic to be wired backwards. New mics have been sent out to all the Icom users.
Very comfortable for the long haul and almost complete shutout of outside noise. My wife came in and started talking to me and I did not hear her, so she touched my shoulder and I went thru the roof. Very quite headset.
Much less $ than a David Clark and easier to connect to a ham radio.
W7AV Rating: 2015-01-02
Very Nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had the Pro 7 for a week. I have the ICOM ic version. The mic didn't work at first, but a quick call to Heil took care of the problem. The IC versions have a reversed mic polarity problem and Heil will be sending out a replacement. In the mean time you just remove the two screws holding the element and reverse the element. Ton's of audio and I've received very good audio reports. The headset is the most comfortable I've ever used, with several places to make adjustments. I found the audio control on the headset to work well for me and my hearing needs. The Pro7 is built well and is the quality you would expect from Heil. Can't wait to use it in contests.
NC4AK Rating: 2014-12-29
So Far, A Great Experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the dynamic microphone version. This headset is my first Heil product, so I am unable to provide a comparison to other Heil headsets. Unlike the previous product review, all the functions of my headset worked right out of the box. I have had the opportunity to use them several hours each night for the last week with my K3/100. At first, I set the K3's TX equalizer to the recommended wide response setting from the Pro 7 booklet and the Mic Gain Range to Lo. I had to adjust my mic gain in the 70's to achieve the proper ALC level. My output power on SSB was much lower than expected. I received low audio reports and was unable to work any pileups. I changed the Mic Gain Range to Hi and the mic gain to 20. I was easily peaking at full power on SSB, worked several pile ups, and received great audio reports.

Once I got the ear cups adjusted to the correct distance and reshaped the headband for the correct tension, the headset became very comfortable to wear for 3 or 4 hours. This took several attempts to find the sweet spot. The headset is heavy and bulky, which was no surprise based on the pictures on the Heil website and the published weight of 17 oz. I have worn various styles of military headsets for many years, so I am very accustomed to this design. The ear seals provide a lot of outside noise reduction, about the same as quality hearing protection.

I found the Heil website to be lacking on providing details of the package contents, so I will provide the list:
- Headset
- 2 detachable connection cables, a 4 ft coiled cable and a 9 ft straight cable
- “Soft-Touch” clip-on, 2” diameter PTT switch with 2.5 ft straight cable
- 1/8” to 1/4” stereo headphone jack adapter
- 2 removable and washable cloth ear pad covers

So far, I am very pleased with this headset and it meets all my performance expectations. However, if you are looking for a headset that will only be used inside your shack, these may not be your best choice. There are also a couple of improvements that I would like to see made:
- The connection cable plugs into the bottom of the left ear cup, so the plug drags across the top of my shoulder anytime I look to the left. An angle plug (preferably adjustable) would be advantageous.
- The headset may fit in the Heil Sound BAG1, but it would be a very tight fit. I was not comfortable in trying to force the zipper closed. A larger bag needs to be made available.

73,
NC4AK
W7RJR Rating: 2014-12-22
Not Heil quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a HEIL microphone and older headset that work flawlessly well. I was intrigued by the new Pro7 promising lots of new features. I pre-ordered it and received it on 12/19/14. I was very disappointed with it due to the fabulous reputation HEIL has created over the years. The first problem that occurred was that the microphone did not work, period. A call to HEIL tech support revealed that the microphone was wired in reverse at the factory. OK, taking out two screws and reversing the element allowed the mic to work. I do have a little bit of RF in my shack and it sometimes gets into audio equipment. The PRO 7 was extremely susceptible to RFI. I mounted 4 different chokes on the headset and could not eliminate the RF entirely. Once I got on a band where the RF wasn't a major problem I received horrible audio reports on the air. I could hear in the monitor of my IC 7600 that the audio was extremely narrow in bandwidth and there was a total lack of low frequency response. The headset was bulky and heavy! While I didn't use it very long, I couldn't imagine wearing it for any long period of time. The balance control did not work properly for me and I had to turn mine all the way to the left in order to hear the same level of audio in each ear. About the only positive thing I can say about the unit I received was that the headphone frequency response was great.

This is totally atypical of what I have experienced with HEIL products. I suspect that there was a rush to get this to market for Christmas. I returned mine for a refund.