If you can’t hear the full range of tones for the Deus metal detector, you are tossing out a good portion of the machine’s capability.  To me, metal detecting headphones are like the tires on the car where you don’t compromise or you put the whole system in jeopardy.

With my E-trac, I use wired Gray Ghosts and they will really spoil you – durable, excellent sounds and “forget you’re wearing them” comfort.  But on the Deus side, things aren’t so easy.  I’ve tried everything from XP’s WS5s to Vancephones to the Gray Ghosts for XP.  I event attempted to have a Franken-Phone created using Vancephone speakers and Gray Ghosts package!

Deus XP metal detector headphones options have required one make some compromise somewhere if you want full-muffs.  For example, my Vancephones press on my ears even as they provide the kind of precise sound Deus owners crave.  The WS-5 phones sound good too, but are just crazy expensive (you must have a separate headphone puck for the backphones in Summer) while the super-comfortable, super-durable Gray Ghosts leave much to be desired in the tones and I no longer even take them on hunts.

So when I heard from Andy Sabisch that there were a new set of headphones for the XP Deus metal detector were on their way with the tonal quality of Vancephones and the comfort of Black Widows, I basically said “shut up and take my money.”   I was craving a go-to set of phones for the Deus with fewer compromises and winter was upon us, so I ordered the Central Soundz Quantum Headphones for Deus XP from Treasure Hunting Outfitters.  (I have no affiliation with them and paid full retail for my phones.)

First the cost – they are $150 shipped.  This is Sun Ray and Black Window territory, so my expectations were high.   One might have to ask why you can get some world-class wired headphones for $125 and yet these, with fewer components, are more money?  I think this comes down the market size.  These are specific to the small XP Deus audience while other metal detecting headphones are useful in many brands of detectors.

As I took them out of the box, they feel beefy in the hand yet have a sleek, low profile earcup.  The foam padding is generous, including padding across the headband which allows you to wear them snug comfortably.  Nice.  I found a (very) comfortable ear/head position in seconds.   I could tell that this comparison was going to be won or lost on tones.

I took the setup to an 1850s homestead I’d been waiting to hit during Winter.  The site is saturated with rusty flakes from old tin roofs – “Deus country.”  I put the machine in my go-to relic program, which uses 5 tones and 18khz, and I bumped reactivity to 3 to start.

Noise Isolation

The noise isolation is really good making these great for noisy places.  So good, in fact, that I could not hear the Garrett Pro Pointer at all and had to move one of the muffs off my ears to pinpoint in the hole.  When the new Deus pinpointer is released, this won’t be a problem since pinpointing sounds will come through the headphones also.

Kentucky’s winter days are short so my plan for the first visit was to drop Audio Gain to 2 and listen for depth, ignoring the louder, shallower stuff for now.  This is something you can only do with headphones with good noise isolation and dynamic range.   You want to hear the full “character” of faint tones and not get blasted when you swing over a shallow target or use pinpointing

mode.  You don’t want to have to turn everything up to hear the deep stuff.  The faintness is information you can use.  I proceeded to search – finding a number of coins, brass horse tack and a couple of flat buttons – all 7 or so inches down.

How do they Compare to Vancephones?

The CSQs immediately impressed me on the sound performance and brightness with high-tones.  The big question – are they superior to Vancephone’s tones?  I switched back and forth to the Vancephones and CSQs to compare.  No, they are not.  But they are very, very close.

Moving to comfort – there’s no comparison.  I hunted two full days at this site and the CSQs were every bit as comfortable as my $150 Black Windows especially on the 2nd day when the foam had broken in just a bit.  The lower profile design seemed less likely to catch on branches which is a good thing with that puck sticking out there.  With Vancephones, I wear them despite the ear pressure because of their performance.  I think these will remove the need to compromise on this.

My prediction on durability is that they will last every bit as long as their competition – and probably longer than WS-5s.  The CSQs feel solid and the plastics, hinges, etc. seem quite strong.  The new puck-mounting plate feels stiff and durable and the module felt very secure once attached.   The foam connections to the cups looks to be well done.  The wiring does have a bit of slack (see image) but it’s definitely not sloppy.   I ordered a hard case from Amazon for these as I think my headphones encounter more risk in my SUV than on my head!

With Vancephones, I wear them despite the ear pressure because of their tonal performance.  I think these will remove the need to compromise on this.  The Vancephones are now my backups after giving me years of service.

The Verdict

I will give the CSQs my full endorsement and plan to use them as my primary phones for Deus XP until hot weather.  If you’re looking to add a set of full-ear phones to your gear and already have the WS-4, these may be the best upgrade money you can spend.

Good luck – and happy hunting!