Heil Sound Headphones worth it?

[Mountaineer304]

Looking for a nice headset so I don't keep the wife and kids up, Heil Ham Sound seems to be the industry standard or something? But there so expensive? I found a pair of old stock Heil Sound Pro set 6 for a good price still sealed in box? And Input is appreciated.

 

[G7RUX]

I have a couple of Heil headsets and quite like them, although I'm not convinced they are really worth the price they sell for.

If it is just headphones you are after there are myriad options available but if it is specifically a headset for a transceiver then Heil do seem to be the standard, although I quite like Arlan/RadioSport units.

 

[Mountaineer304]

I have a couple of Heil headsets and quite like them, although I'm not convinced they are really worth the price they sell for.

If it is just headphones you are after there are myriad options available but if it is specifically a headset for a transceiver then Heil do seem to be the standard, although I quite like Arlan/RadioSport units.

Looking at pro set 3's or a sealed pair of pro set 6's

 

[G7RUX]

I have a Pro Set 6 Elite and it is a fine headset, solid and good-sounding.

 

[AK9R]

I've been using Heil Pro Set (sometimes referred to as Pro Set 6) with Icom radios for more than 10 years.

The thing I like about Heil's equipment is that it's fairly easy to configure and works reasonably well. Could you cobble something together at a lower price? Yeah, maybe. But, Heil stuff just works. And, they have suggested settings for various radios that you can use as a starting point to get the microphone dialed into your voice.

 

[tweiss3]

I have the Heil Pro 7, and it's the only way to run a net or work a contest. They are comfortable, have good sound quality to my ear, and with minor tweaking, sound good to receiving parties. Are they worth it? I'd buy again, even though I do think they are a bit on the expensive side.

 

[D31245]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I’m researching and in the market the last few weeks to purchase a Heil headset (leaning towards the Pro 7) so this thread is very useful to me.

 

[k6cpo]

I have a couple of Heil ProMicro headsets, one with a single earphone and the other with a double earphone. I use them with Heil adapters to conduct nets on VHF/UHF. I also have a Heil ProSet for my iCom HF radio. They are comfortable to wear for long periods of time and hve excellent audio. By far my favorite Heil product is their HTH headsets for handheld radios. These are lightweight single or double sided headsets specifically designed for HTs. They come with the proper connector for your particular radio and also have excellent audio. The only negative thing I found about them is they don't stand up to being run over by a pickup truck.

 

[alcahuete]

I no longer own Heil products of any kind. A lot of hype and mediocre sound quality in my experience. For general everyday use, I use a Shure SM7B studio mic with Sennheiser headphones (or not), and for contests, the Yamaha CM500 headset. Both ran circles around any Heil product I have ever owned. I have 3 sets of CM500s and got them for under $50 each. Great punch for contests, and I have gotten nothing but wonderful unsolicited audio reports.

 

[jwt873]

I'm in the Heil camp. I've got an older Pro Set Elite -- Pro Set Elite | Heil Ham Radio | Amateur Radio that I've been using for quite a few years. I like using a headset with a boom mic.

I've got a foot switch, so that I always have both hands free when talking... Plus the boom mic stays at a precise distance from my mouth all the time whether I'm leaning forward with my elbows on my desk, or leaning way back as far as my office chair will go (as I sometimes do during a long conversation).

When I'm done talking, I put the headset in a drawer to free up room on my desk.

 

[prcguy]

Looking for a nice headset so I don't keep the wife and kids up, Heil Ham Sound seems to be the industry standard or something? But there so expensive? I found a pair of old stock Heil Sound Pro set 6 for a good price still sealed in box? And Input is appreciated.

Heil is not an industry standard, its a ham thing. For under $100 you can get an actual broadcast industry standard, the Sony MDR-7506 used in every TV and radio station and recording studio on the planet. The Sony will hear things in a proper perspective and more correct frequency response that the Heil cannot.

 

[jazzboypro]

Heil is not an industry standard, its a ham thing. For under $100 you can get an actual broadcast industry standard, the Sony MDR-7506 used in every TV and radio station and recording studio on the planet. The Sony will hear things in a proper perspective and more correct frequency response that the Heil cannot.

Been reading some reviews about the 7506. Very impressive for a product still being sold despite the fact that it was introduced in 1991. The MDR-M1 seems to be the replacement for the MDR-7506. Makes me want to buy a pair of each to compare with my Heil Pro 7.

 

[prcguy]

Been reading some reviews about the 7506. Very impressive for a product still being sold despite the fact that it was introduced in 1991. The MDR-M1 seems to be the replacement for the MDR-7506. Makes me want to buy a pair of each to compare with my Heil Pro 7.

There are much better headphones for audiophile listening, evaluating sound, performing mixing and other high end audio tasks but the MDR-7506 and a few others are known by everyone and have become an industry standard. If you will use the headphones for something other than amateur radio you will really appreciate them and for not that much $$ considering how good they are. I've not heard of any Heil headphones used in the professional audio industry.

The one time I took a "top of the line" Heil PR-40 microphone to my grammy award winning recording engineer friend for evaluation as I've done for many other mics he gave it back a few days later and told me to never bring anything like that in again, ever. I asked if it would even be a consideration for kick drum and he said no, it doesn't do anything good.

 

[jazzboypro]

There are much better headphones for audiophile listening, evaluating sound, performing mixing and other high end audio tasks but the MDR-7506 and a few others are known by everyone and have become an industry standard. If you will use the headphones for something other than amateur radio you will really appreciate them and for not that much $$ considering how good they are. I've not heard of any Heil headphones used in the professional audio industry.

The one time I took a "top of the line" Heil PR-40 microphone to my grammy award winning recording engineer friend for evaluation as I've done for many other mics he gave it back a few days later and told me to never bring anything like that in again, ever. I asked if it would even be a consideration for kick drum and he said no, it doesn't do anything good.

Thanks for the info. I do not use the Heil to listen to music. I am not really an audiophile and for now i am happy with my Bose QC Ultra. I might just buy the 7506 just to try.

 

[mtindor]

I've used Heil Pro Sets for years, always in a contest/qso party environment. One thing I really can't stand about them are that they are heavy and bulky. Nowadays I much prefer a simple Behringer headset. Might to produce the best equalization at the right audio frequencies to provide the "punch" during busy contests, but it's comfortable and does the job. And after a few hours of wearing the Behringer I don't feel like I've been carrying a bowling ball on my head.

 

[KF0NYL]

I've used Heil Pro Sets for years, always in a contest/qso party environment. One thing I really can't stand about them are that they are heavy and bulky.

I feel the same way about the Heil Pro 7 headsets. The Heil BM17 dual headset is quite a bit lighter and more comfortable for me.

 

[GlobalNorth]

The last thing I want for an amateur radio headset are Beyerdynamic [Sennheiser, Sony, etc.] studio reference audiophile headphones. Ham radio audio is NOT high fidelity, but tuned for good voice transmissibility just like a 1958 Western Electric telephone handset.

I have Heil headphones just to cut out extraneous noise and maximize the voice frequencies.

 

[prcguy]

The last thing I want for an amateur radio headset are Beyerdynamic [Sennheiser, Sony, etc.] studio reference audiophile headphones. Ham radio audio is NOT high fidelity, but tuned for good voice transmissibility just like a 1958 Western Electric telephone handset.

I have Heil headphones just to cut out extraneous noise and maximize the voice frequencies.

I find using high quality wide range headphones then adjusting the tone controls on the radio to sound good is better than using dull sounding headphones to mask irritating sounds from the radio. With the Sony MDR-7606 or similar headphones you will know the headphones are not lying to you.

A good example of this might be using headphones to give someone a microphone report over the air or when adjusting your own microphone equalization. Without a known reference you have no good idea what your hearing or if your adjusting things in the right direction. I prefer to have someone across town who knows my voice help with EQ that but sometimes you have to fend for yourself and its nice having the right tools for that.