[Elecraft] FS: New CM500 headset

[Edward R Cole]

Well I got quite a few comments back on the CM500.

Firstly, I have extreme hearing loss.  Without my Phonac-Silvia 
hearing aids the world it very quiet.  I have something like 30-dB 
loss in both ears so not wearing  them with headphones is not an 
option.  As many of you may know, hearing loss is not simply lack of 
volume.  I have a lot of problem with speech recognition.

For instance even wearing my hearing aids (which cost me $5200) I 
still need closed-captioning when watching TV (at any 
volume).  Hearing weak-signals on ham radio I use my headsets a lot 
(while wearing the hearing aids).  My (now pretty old) Sony MDR-V600 
stereo headphones do pretty well.  Never any feedback with my over 
the ear aids).  Unfortunately the acoustic design of the CM500 
produced immediate and continuous feedback.

I bought them along with the AntLion boom mic for comparison.  The 
AntLion installed on my "old" Sony headset work just fine and I got 
great audio reports with the boom mic.  So that made an easy decision 
not requiring engineering solutions or "fixes" by my 
audiologist.  Main purpose was acquiring a boom mic for portable 
operating situations.

Also hearing SSB with either NB or NR causes enough distortion of the 
sound to make it harder to understand speech (yes I have tried all 
the different settings).  My hearing rolls off at 1000-Hz so I lose 
the consonant sounds.  Lake/take/bake/make... all sound like eight or ate.

Digital modes work well for me: I can read FB; volume can be set to 
zero.  When I run my 1500w amp for eme I do not wear my hearing aids 
to lower blower noise (probably > 120 dba).  CW I would need 40-dB or 
higher isolation in the headset.  I'm moving all my QRO amps out of 
the shack for this reason (and for less coax line loss).

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.  Simple solution was to sell the CM500.

73, Ed - KL7UW
   http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
   dubususa at gmail.com