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Reviews For: Heil Pro-Set Elite 6

Category: Headphones & Boom-microphone Headsets

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Review Summary For : Heil Pro-Set Elite 6
Reviews: 116MSRP: 182-$193
Description:
The Heil Pro Set Elite is the ultimate boomset designed for commercial sportscasters, podcasters and amateur radio operators. For nearly two years, Bob Heil and his design team have been working with broadcast engineers and serious amateur radio operators to bring the BEST headset containing the most amazing features. The Pro Set Elite oers dual side, full ear mu with high rejection of outside noise, speaker phase reversal, rugged attached microphone boom, exible to 6’ coil cable and washable ear pad covers.
Product is in production
More Info: http://heilsound.com/amateur/products/prosetelite/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
42.51163.7
VK2YY Rating: 2019-12-29
Junk Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The first few years they were great with good audio reports. After about 5 years and Very little use, rarely used them they disintegrated, plastic degraded. ready for landfill. No more Heil head sets for me as the previous models are binned as well.
VE3OGP Rating: 2019-12-28
Plastic degrades Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had these headphones for about 3 years and like them very much. However over the past year the plastic used to hold the speakers/mic to the head band began to deteriorate. First the it became soft and sticky to the point where you could leave finger prints in it then finally today during the RAC winter contest the left side simply split in two releasing the speaker/ boom mic from the headset. Unit is now useless. I have an old set of stereo, (10 plus years?) headphones from Heil that are still going strong and if they had used the same kind of plastic my Pro set would still be usable. Not happy.
AB4PP Rating: 2019-09-19
Very Good Headset Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine also had a piece fall apart on the right head piece. I called Heil and they said send in and they would repair. I paid the fee and they surprised me and sent a brand new headset. I had it for several years and have used it daily for all those years. I was very happy and pleased they replaced the headset. I love it for CW work. The Mike element gets good reports from other stations.
KC0PUN Rating: 2019-05-21
Poor Quality Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had mine several years, went to put them on and the left side popped out of its socket and dropped to the desk. Upon inspection apparently the plastic that retains the headphone had broken
and would no longer function. Sad thing is the cost for repair, S&H is almost halfway to another headset. I own 2 other Heil headsets and the construction on those is far better than these.
K7PG Rating: 2018-11-28
Very Disappointed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had My Pro Set Elite for several years.
A week ago I took it off the shelf to use on the Swap-Net I was to be Net Control. First off I was notified by the listeners I was intermittent. I quickly swapped to my hand mic to continue. I tried to trouble shoot for the bad connection, NO Luck.
The Quality I found inside was poor. I have other
Heil Products. My confidence was shot.
W4ANT Rating: 2018-10-24
Great Audio Reports - Poor Construction Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using a ProSet Elite 6 with the HC6 element for contesting and DXing for a number of years now and have received GREAT audio reports. However, about five years into it's life as I was preparing for SS, I could not get any audio input to the rig from the headset. I ordered a new adapter as it is the weakest link in the audio chain (no outboard processing -> headset-adapter-transceiver). No joy with a new adapter so I called Heil and sent the headset back for repair. Heil repaired the headset by replacing the entire wiring harness. All good. I'll preface the following with - I'm not hard on equipment and this headset was stored hanging and not being thrown around the desk! Next thing that happened was the cheap plastic clips which hold the ear cups to the headband broke, first one side then both sides. I reinforced the clips with a figure 8 tape and nylon tie configuration. Yesterday, I found the headset inoperable again experiencing the same situation as first described above. I'm not going to spend another "minimum shop fee + shipping" to have this headset repaired. I like the audio reports I get with it but it's construction and durability have much to be desired hence the rating of 2 instead of lower. I really like this headset IF I could only count on it to work when I need it to and not fall apart without good cause.
KB3FTE Rating: 2018-10-18
Connector Problem Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a revised review!

The connectors attaching the ear pieces to the head band started to break at some point after the warranty ended.

I do not handle my equipment roughly, however, in light of the majority of reviewers not having this kind of issue, I have to assume mine was an unusual case.

In response to my previous review Bob Heil reached out to me and made things right by sending me a new headset!
N4EEB Rating: 2018-10-06
Junk Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In ham shacks across the fruited plain, their lays small piles of broken Heil trash. There is nothing elite about the Pro-Set Elite. I just took mine out of the drawer to get ready for contest season, and the freaking headphones fell off the headband from failure of the toy-like plastic that they use to make them. I'm done with this company. There are at least other options on the market now. Mr. Heil has gotten rich off the misery of tens of thousands of customers with his poor quality.

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Earlier 2-star review posted by N4EEB on 2012-11-22

I have been using Heil headsets for at least twenty years. You’d think that after all that time, they would have figured it all out. Not so. Heil never manages to get a headset 100% right. The Pro Set Elite is no exception, and it leaves me scratching my head (literally and figuratively).
My review is based on what I actually bought from the store, not after modifications were purchased and installed. This headset is not cheap. One should expect to receive a quality product out of the box without having to purchase additional things to make its use bearable.
The Good:
As usual, the microphone element is very good. Heil always gets this right. Their HC4 and HC5 elements have a very good reputation and sound great on the air. The HC6 is no exception. The HC6 is, however, not a significant upgrade or breakthrough in sound. I believe it’s more a matter of the die and equipment for the earlier elements wearing out necessitating the need for a newer element design.
The cord is finally long enough (compared to the hot mess they marketed as the Pro Set Quiet (RF Detector). A detachable cord with a straight cord option would have been nice, but no points off for that.
The build of the headset feels higher quality than I’ve grown to expect from Heil. The plastic parts look and feel more heavy duty, and the headset has a nice professional feel to it. Overall, it’s a nice looking headset.
The audio receive audio quality is good. Not as good a studio Shure or Sony, but certainly adequate for all amateur applications.
The Phase Reverse Circuit does what it claims, but I have never been able to determine for myself whether this actually has on-the-air practical applications or if it is just a gimmick.
The Bad:
A major step back for the Elite is the decision not to allow the microphone boom to move up and down on a swivel. ( Like their previous models.) The boom is stuck in one position, and the only movement possible is by the very limited flex from the material used in the boom itself. The reason this is a big deal for me is because if I want to use the Elite just as headphones (for CW perhaps), I cannot lift the microphone up and out of the way. Also, when contesting, you can’t flip up the mic long enough to put a few bites of food in your mouth and then flip it back down
The microphone boom is too short. The flexible cable is only about 3.25” long. For my freakishly large head, this doesn’t cut it. Again, an example of a step backwards as their previous models always had adjustable booms of sufficient length.


The Ugly:
Ok, this is a “HEADSET” – meaning that its primary use and draw is that it is worn on one’s head. This is the most skull crushing, mind numbing, uncomfortable head-vice I have ever used. This one defect alone makes this product an EPIC FAIL. I think I am being generous in my rating.
I understand that one can PURCHASE a different set of earpads to allow the headset to be worn without causing brain damage. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to buy them or just sell the headset to a medical lab somewhere where intense side-to-side pressure on the head is a requirement for their research.
In conclusion:
I could not recommend the Pro Set Elite to a friend unless they at least fix the comfort problem. Heil has never been known for taking constructive criticism very well (anyone remember the early 1990 headset impedance problems that they deny to this day!) My advice would be to get their new products into the hands of some real operators and let them provide some basic feedback before they go to market. The result just may be a headset that is 100% right, which I will be looking forward to.
I am appreciative that this company, with impressive roots in professional audio/recording, is doing its best to provide quality products to the ham community at a fair price.



W3NA Rating: 2018-10-05
Outstanding Product Support Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my Heil Pro-Set Elite 6 headset for 5 years or so.
I have always received great audio reports on SSB, with internal rig audio set up on my FTdx5000MP and this headset. When I use my Flex 6500, I just unplug the headset from the Yaesu and plug it into the Flex and receive the same great audio reports.
Recently the mic became intermittent and I could not fix the problem. I had not abused the headset, so I didn't understand why they would break. Brief emails with Bob Heil and he promised he would take care of the problem. Actually he said, "I will take care of you." So, I shipped the headst off to Hell Sound and within only ONE week, problem solved. Needless to say, I am very happy with the outstanding service from the folks at Hell Sound. This level of customer service is so rare and reminds me how fortunate we are, as ham radio operators, to have vendors who are not only approachable but stand behind their products.
I plan to thank Bob Heil in person at Dayton in 2019.
NY2F Rating: 2018-01-23
Comfortable and light Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have enjoyed this headset for a year. Lightweight Very good audio. Coiled cord also a plus. Comparing to other Heil Headsets that i have owned...