| N4EEB |
Rating:  |
2012-11-28 | |
| Worst I Have Ever Owned |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is an example of a product that could not possibly have been field tested by any serious operators before going to market. If it was, find some new field testers.
The Good:
Transmit audio quality is good, typical of the HC series of elements.
The boom swings up and down. Nice touch.
The receive audio quality (without the ANR on) is ok.
The Bad:
The cord is WAY too short. Compounding this shortcoming is the electronics box, that hangs mid-cord like a poor afterthought, weights the cord down and compounds the problem with the already insufficient cord length. You really have to laugh when you plug this thing in and try to operate. You are tied to a very short leash that doesn't allow much leaning back or side to side motion of the head.
Cheap parts and poor overall feel.
The Ugly:
With the noise reduction circuit engaged, this headphone is extremely susceptible to low levels of RF. This causes the receive audio to distort badly and, in some cases, makes the headset unusable. The problem can be mitigated by wrapping the already too short cord around ferrite chokes.
The ANR circuit works in so much as it attenuates low level background noise like amp fans, etc. (I even wore it once to mow the lawn to test it, and it does work well), however, the circuit introduces noise artifacts that detract from the ANR experience, a high frequency whine is my biggest complaint.
In summary, this may actually be the worst headset that I have ever owned in my 34 years as a ham.
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| N4LA |
Rating:  |
2011-07-16 | |
| Junk |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Every Heil headset I've owned has had problems ... mostly poor build quality ...the best description I can find is " over priced JUNK " .. best advice is find a alternative ... I own 3 Heil headsets and none work now. |
|
| OK1VWK |
Rating:   |
2011-03-21 | |
| good noise canceling but poor hardware solution, soldering etc. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Purchased QP4 set several years ago. Used mainly in contest time (OL7R,OLxHQ ...) In the time several troubles with audio drops during contest. Shorted or interupted thin wires in QP4 cable detected. I am confirming big RFI sensitivity also. It could be due to coax cable common mode current and/or near RF field from antenna. Causes unusable "quite phone" function due to unpleasant LF pumping during each TX period. In CQWW CW 2010 the QP4 set has happened totaly and definitely "quite". Again detected interupted wires on the QP4 set. Horrible soldering and poor mechanical design. Todays completely repaired and modified for better stability. |
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| VK3PA |
Rating:   |
2009-12-12 | |
| new Pro Set Quiet Phones |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
having the first type which lasted 6 months be for the sw assy failed i though well the new style will be ok "WRONG" got the set es very heavy feed back when switched on, so disconet all cables es still feed back so i sent back ,after a few days new set arrives, so ,switch on es still some feed back,not as bad but very micaphonic..wot to do, it costs money to send from vk to wland so my best choice is put into dumpster as NBG to me
other problem's u have 2leads ,one for headset es other for micaphone ok u can tape the leads together but feed back could be a problem..
will i use heil headsets in futher "NO WAY" THEY R JUST JUNK DE vk3pa |
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| AB7R |
Rating:    |
2009-06-01 | |
| Works good - poor mechanical design |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Like the previous reviewer I've had lots of problems with my pro quiet phones. But when they work they work great and really cut down on noise in the shack.
The mechanical assembly is terrible. I had to take mine apart and was suprised to see the crap soldering job on this small board. One of the ground connections failed. I resoldered everything and reinforced the cable support and have not had any problems since.
GL
Greg
AB7R
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|
| K6BR |
Rating:  |
2009-05-31 | |
| Poor Quality |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
These head phones have an RFI problem, which just about drives me crazy. I have no other RF problem in the shack at all. With even low RF levels of 400 watts I can hear myself in the headphones, crank it up to 1500 watts and they are unusable.
After 3 months of use the right headphone speaker is not working when the unit is switched off. So, I am forced to have the unit switched on so that I have audio in both the left and right ears and suffer the RFI.
The cord is way too short with the amplifier inconveniently located 3 feet from the head phones. I talked to Heil and like others I was told that I have an RF problem, I have no RF problems in my shack, I keep a junky clock radio by the amplifier that even picks up the cell phone when it rings, but does not pick up any RF from my station. The overall design is good and the headphones are very comfortable, but the cable and and small plug for the speaker is poor. 90% of radios and extension speakers use 1/4" jack. Then of course there is the big red 1/4" PTT plug that is not necessary and gets in the way. The right thing for Heil to do instead of blaming their customers for the RFI problems, would be to admit they have a problem and to part exchange the PSQP for one of their new units for a reasonable charge. These headphones were an Xmas present from the XYL, so I feel obliged to keep them in the shack, otherwise they would have been in the trash can. |
|
| WF7I |
Rating:    |
2009-04-29 | |
| Very poor quality control |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The headphones work great, IF they work at all.
As with others on here, my first headset was dead on arrival, and I had to exchange for another one. The second pair worked fine for about 6 months, and then developed a problem with the PTT button. You had to apply *A LOT* of force to get the dang thing to key up. After another year, I could hardly key up at all, and I had to hold it down so hard that it hurt my fingers!
After about 3 years, in addition to the PTT problem, it developed an audio problem as well, where the right earmuff audio would blank out off and on. At this point, I had to tear into the unit.
I discovered VERY shoddy soldering connections on the board, which was allowing for the audio lines to short out with adjacent grounding lines. I did not possess small enough shrink-wrap to insulate the lines from one another, so had to put in mini pieces of electrical tape!
The PTT I had to replace entirely with an outboard toggle switch. Their PTT is a metal membrane style that simply does not work well over time, and having to constantly apply pressure is a poor design.
Other than these QC and design flaws, the headphones are very comfortable and the noise canceling works great. I find them a pleasure to use for hours on end.
I'd think long and hard before buying another one until Heil makes corrections for the QC issues and a different design for PTT.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by WF7I on 2006-10-30
The audio of the PSQP-5 that I have is superb. And the comfort is also great. I love the phase reversal and noise cancellation options. Between those two features, I find I can really dig signals out of the noise.
A couple of complaints though. The first one which I received had an intermittant contact somewhere in the cable where it meets the left earmuff area. I sent it back and got a new one. This one though has another issue, where you have to squeeze like heck on the PTT button to make it key the mic. Many times in the middle of a QSO, it will unkey, chopping my audio off in mid-sentence. Also like someone else mentioned, the connector mechanism for the FT897 seems to have some intermittant problems as well. I haven't had to request a replacement cable yet but I wonder if that's coming.
Not sure if I'd recommend it or not. If you're lucky you may not encounter these headaches I guess. It is a nice unit if only it were more reliable. |
|
| WB4MAK |
Rating:  |
2009-03-28 | |
| Poor RFI suppression |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Horrible RFI with this headset at 1.5 KW. The RFI is non-existent with my Bose Quiet Comfort headset. It is very poorly engineered against RFI. The cord is entirely too short. You have to keep the battery pack in your lap. The PTT switch is useless for contesting. I do not recommend that you but this headset. |
|
| K2YWE |
Rating:   |
2008-03-02 | |
| Clunky |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Noise cancellation works OK, but certainly no better than the $15 pair I bought at the drugstore.
The electrical interfaces have separate pigtails with plugs for PTT, headphones, and the microphone. The amplifier is four times as heavy as the cheaper set I have, and battery life seems no better. My biggest complaint is the short cord. You have a choice of either extending the three lines and carrying around the amplifier on your hip (although there is no provision for a clip) or in your pocket, or cutting the triple cord and lengthening it. I find neither an attractive alternative. The phase reversal switch has been moved from the 'phones to the amplifier, so carrying the amp in your pocket is not only heavy, but makes using the switch a pain.
I wonder if the designers consulted any contest operators before rolling out this model. Not much good unless you stay glued to one position without much movement.
Look elsewhere. You can do much better!
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|
| N4GG |
Rating:    |
2007-12-30 | |
| Clumsy |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I don't have RFI issues, but even at 1.5 KW on the antennas I don't have much RF in the shack.
The ANC works FB.
Issues:
1. QC is poor. The first pair shorted one of the earphone leads within a few weeks, and no rough handling. Heil has good service - they sent me a new pair. The phasing switch was broken right out of the box on the new pair.
2. The cord length with electronics box in the middle are exactly the wrong length. Lean back and the box falls off your table and yanks on your head. All good ANC designs have the electronics and battery in the headset, not in-line with the too-short cord.
3. Price. These cost more than the best ANC phones you can buy in the consumer market.
4. No auto-shut off. Leave it on - come back to dead batteries. Easy to do.
5. PTT is a joke. The switch is too stiff to be of any use, and the jack is a nice heavy 1/4 inch job that should have been a 1/8 or done away with all together.
I use them every day, but they could be so much better..... |
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