Sun Ray Detector Electronics is proud to introduce our new Sun Ray Pro "Gold" Headphones. We decided to offer a high quality set of professional headphones without the highest price! Plus we have now added even more new features making these the premier metal detector headphones on the market today!! The Sun Ray Pro "Gold" version are manufactured according to the following specifications:

High output 150 ohm (nominal impedance) speaker elements which are certified as hearing aid compatible and are sensitive enough to pick up even the faintest of signals. Aluminum case construction with polymer cones for moisture and sweat protection.
Dual multi position "segmented or detent" volume controls with NEW BLACK & YELLOW KNOBS for that "Sun Ray" look!.
"New" Enhanced Limiter Circuit with on/off switch (left side). (For more pronounced reduction in loud blasts from surface targets, while allowing the faintest of signal responses to be clearly heard. Limiter results will vary from one detector model to another.)
Mode selector switch (right side) makes the new Sun Ray Pros compatible with most metal detectors.
NEW TOGGLE SWITCH BOOTS keep moisture and dirt out of toggle switches!
"New" comfortable, lightweight dual swivel point ear cups with all "new" soft leather muffs.
The new foam padded soft leather muffs are not only more comfortable than the earlier vinyl muffs, they do not develop a "memory". They conform to the shape of your head around your ears when worn and when taken off return to their original shape! Vinyl which normally has a life expectancy of (3) three years can get harder with time and the elements, which can cause a less comfortable fit as well as a noticeable increase in ambient (outside) noise. The former version of the Sun Ray Pros yield a 24 decibel reduction in ambient noise blocking ability when new. The new Sun Ray Pro "Gold" version yields a 26 decibel reduction in ambient noise blocking ability and continues to block that noise day in and day out, year in and year out because they stay soft and comfortable!
Adjustable leather headband.
NEW!! Custom engineered coil cable for more dependability and longer life! Here are some of the new features of the new cable:
New polyureathane jacket for better memory retention of coils vs. the previous PVC cable!
More than 3X the number of copper strands (than previous cable) for more resistance to breakage!
New cable coil is 20" retracted vs 13" on previous cable.
Overall length of new cable is 32". Extended length approx. 18" longer than previous cable!
New "multidirectional" strain relief flex vs 2 directional on previous cable!
New cable jacket inserts fully into 1/4" molded, right angle plug vs previous cable.
EXTERNAL STRAIN RELIEF and 1/4" right angle, molded GOLD PLATED PLUG!

(NOTE: LIMITER - left switch - ON is Down position - OFF is Up position. Mode (detector compatibility) - right switch.)

The new Sun Ray Pros will deliver a crisp audio response with volume to spare!

Same Limited Lifetime Warranty!

The Sun Ray Pro Headphones Field Test

By Kevin Hoagland

Over my last 20+ years of detecting, I have tried dozens of headphones, hoping to find the perfect combination of superior sound quality, fast response, and comfort - comfort meaning the ability to wear the phones all day in the worst conditions of heat and dirt, and a phone that is comfortable to my hearing as well.

Spending most of my time these days as a nugget hunter, I truly need the best in response without amplifying the background noises often associated with many of today's more sensitive PI machines, with or without the use of external amplifiers. While nugget hunting I will often turn off an amp when working in shallow bedrock areas, in order to eliminate the slight background noises produced by some of these heavily mineralized shallow areas where using an amp works against me for finding extremely small nuggets. I also need a phone that I can plug into anyone's machine, PI or VLF, while out in the field, without having to make major adjustments when changing from one detector to another.

Since I spend some time using a couple of coin and relic machines as well, I have longed for one set of phones that performed equally effectively on my other machines. I have two detectors made by different manufacturers, and over the years I have spent untold dollars (which will really remain untold to my other half!) matching phones to each of these units for the sharpest, fastest responses.

I am sure that you have figured out by now that I used to carry a number of phones in the bag with me each time I went out - not because I liked or wanted to, but out of necessity.

I really do not like to miss targets.

I met Ralph from Sun Ray in Las Vegas a few months back and had the opportunity to try a set of the new Pro phones in an enclosed environment. I was somewhat impressed with the performance of the Pro phones, considering that we were in a concrete and steel building. Luckily, the limiting switch on the Pro phones kept me from any permanent hearing damage, as there was not a single inch in the room that did not overload my machine. After checking them out, I asked Ralph to send me a set so that I could use them in the real world of mineralized soil, old iron and lead targets, and the occasional gold nugget. About a week later I received my first pair (notice I said my first pair... more about that later) to test in the field where we actually work.

After opening the box and sitting down to really look at the phones, I noticed the weight and size difference right off, compared to my current nuggetshooting phones. The Pro phones were not only lighter but almost an inch narrower. This is a good thing for me, as I seem to find good targets off in the middle of brush and cactus, where I am constantly having to chase my headphones after ripping them off my head while crawling under a cat claw and all of those other nice and sticky, prickly things that grow here in the desert Southwest.

There are two switches on one of the Pro phone earpieces. One is the Mode Switch that allows these phones to work with most detectors on the market, without adaptors that rob signal response. I have used these phones now on about a dozen different detectors and only have to flip the mode switch to make the phones work. The other switch is the Noise Limiting switch, which works just as it is supposed to on my coin/relic machines, but not too great on the GP. However, anything is better than nothing on an overload signal from a chunk of old bulldozer buried just an inch or two below the surface.

There is also a volume control knob on each earpiece that impressed me more than any other phone I have. The knobs are 32-position, click-type knobs that you have to want to change to adjust - no hair trigger here. For my type of hunting this is a real plus, knowing that I am not going to change the volume by brushing the control against just about anything.

After giving the outside a good looking over, I did what every other good gadget guy does: I took the phones partially apart to see what was different, and consequently I am sure that I voided the warranty. What I found was something I did not expect in a $100 set of phones. The sound cones are made of metal (I later learned that it is aluminum), not plastic with a cloth fabric cone. Looking a little closer, I saw what seems to be a plastic or polymer insert all tightly wrapped in a tight cell foam backing that does not allow the cone undue vibration and keeps everything nicely in place. I am sure this is a major reason for the Pro phones' fast response without the pre- or after target vibration sounds that I have become accustomed to. This made pinpointing super-small targets with my Minelab GP a breeze, almost like using the pinpointer on my Coin machines. Another feature for those of us who end up clawing around under brush, chasing targets and ants, is the internal cord relief. Yahoo! No more ripping the cords out of the phones when snagging a cactus or branch.

Getting out the glue, I decided that it was time to put them back together and go hunting. Since I really wanted to give these phones a rough workout, I grabbed the GP and headed to a brushy area full of junk targets where I have found some really nice small gold in the past. We'd had a great deal of rain in the past few weeks, and I was sure that there must be a target or two which until now had been just out of reach of the machine. With some movement of soil, I just might stand a chance of popping a nugget or two. Choosing to use a couple of aftermarket coils - one Mono and one DD - and a sound amp in the patch, I plugged in and went hunting.

This patch is notorious for its overabundance of "hot rocks" and just generally really bad soil conditions. This, for me, has always meant a number of floating background sounds that just do not go away... not really anything that would take away from detecting the area, but still a nuisance. Since threshold makes all the difference between a no-nugget and a few-for-the-poke day. Turning the amp up, I slowly adjusted the threshold to the point of perfect sound and was surprised that the fabric cone hum was not present at all, as it had been when I turned my amp up to this level in the past.

My first target was less than 10' away and was a sharp, fast signal with no looming response wave. It was just there, and there was no question about it. Digging down a few inches, I popped up a nice little 5 grain nugget. (For you folks who work in grams only, it was about one third of a gram.) The rest of the day was a cake walk with a few more nuggets found, although nothing over a half of a gram. After hunting for a few hours, I realized that my ears were not tired or sore, and aside from a couple of brush snags I had not pulled my phones off my head. Not only that, but each target was sharp and clear.

Since then I have tested and used the Sun Ray Pro phones on all of my detectors and am happy to share this with you: I no longer have different phones for different machines. The Pro phones are now my phone of choice, equally responsive on my gold and coin machines.

Summary

The Sun Ray Pro phones' signal response is incredible. I used my sound meter to check a number of targets in my test garden. The Pro phones are indeed much clearer and therefore seem louder than any of my current "top of the line" phones. When checking the actual db output, I found that there was a noticeable difference, not necessarily in the loudness of the targets but in the actual length of the signal response. Signals peeked much faster on small, almost unrecognizable targets, allowing even the smallest nugget to be heard much more clearly.

A typical complaint from nugget hunters is the curly cord. I would prefer a straight cord. Straight cords do not reach out and snag every low branch.

The Pro phones do what I have been looking for phones to do for years - they work as advertised, and then some, with features you're sure to appreciate, too:

Sharp, fast, and clear signal response.

Lighter weight without compromising quality; metal and poly sound cones instead of plastic and cloth fabric, not generally found on headphones in this price range.

Notch-type dual volume controls that cannot be easily knocked out of position.

High-output 150 ohm speaker element which is hearing aid compatible.

A volume limiting control that works on my entire line of machines (although for reasons I am not sure, it is not that great on the Minelab GP series).

Sun Ray Pro Gold Original Headphones Angled Plug Improved Cable

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