Customer Reviews

3M Littmann 3000 Electronic Stethoscope, 29"

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If compared to what I think is the best acoustic stethoscope overall (the Littmann Cardiology and Cardiology II), than the 3000 has advantages and disadvantages. On the flip side, the 3000 has a very sleek, non-chill, easy-to-clean/desinfect and an always "seal-with-the-skin" diaphragm with the convenience to switch from "diaphragm-mode" to "bell-mode" and back with a button without the need of turning the chestpiece. Also advantagious is that you don't have to watch the pressure you put on the chestpiece in "bell-mode", which is essential in an acoustic steth. So much to the pros!
Now, the down side is that it needs a battery, it won't withstand physical abuse (e.g. ground fall), it is amplifying everything and not only the noise you want to hear, which puts it's purpose ad absurdum. The heartsounds are not as crisp, e.g. not as easy to hear a splitted S1, always a background noise that can actually immitate a murmur and expensive. Every single contact of fingers, gowns, cables etc. with the chestpiece is mercilessly beeing transferred to your ears. It feels light, almost cheap and is not ment to be made to follow your carreer over 35 years and more. So, inferior in acoustic and inferior in design/make gives the 3000 only 3 stars.

Off note, I think that the quality of the Cardiology III and the Master is not as good as Cardiology/Cardiology II either. Littmann has changes the bell shape in the III, the tuneable diaphragm is nonsens and the Master sounds muffled with or without pressure on the chestpiece.

As a nurse, I've used my Littmann 3000 stethoscope for almost 2 years on a regular basis. I just recently upgraded to the Littmann 3100 and the difference is substantial. Here's a comparison of the two products:

Littmann 3000
PROS: The stethoscope is very durable and lightweight with good construction that's very easy to clean. It magnifies heart/lung/bowel sounds very well and allows you to easily adjust between volumes, bell/diaphragm modes. It shuts off automatically after 3 minutes from the last button push. You can also program the starting volume using the provided directions.

CONS: For some unknown reason, they made the chest piece slightly rounded in a convex shape rather than flat. Because the diaphragm bulges out towards the patient, it is very difficult to keep it flat and still against the patient's skin (especially on thin, elderly or pediatric patients). The shifting causes scratchy artifact sounds that can be hard to distinguish from lung crackles. It also picks up all little movements of your fingers/hand/tube/surface, etc. The other less significant issues include: the a small start up period from the time you turn it on to when you're actually able to listen through it, which can be frustrating in urgent situations; it doesn't tell you when the battery is low (it just doesn't turn on); it takes AAA batteries which are harder to find in a bind; and you have to use a coin/screwdriver to open the battery chamber.

When I got the Littmann 3100, I didn't know if it would fix these issues but I've been extremely pleased with the improvements and even the upgrades, making it well worth the price.

PROS: The new model has a flat, wider diaphragm that fixes the artifact sound problems and is able to magnify sound even more. It also does a better job of limiting ambient noises from your hands/tube. That in itself makes it worth it. The new power button turns it on immediately and there are multiple auto-on/off/standby modes to choose from, so no more wait time. The LCD screen is an excellent feature and shows you volume, battery life, bell vs. diaphragm modes, and also displays the patient's pulse. The battery chamber now opens by twisting without requiring tools and uses a single AA battery. The construction is again excellent and sturdy but lightweight and flexible.

Overall, the Littmann 3100 is a vast improvement over the 3000 model and can be purchased for roughly the same price at various medical supply websites. I strongly recommend either of these stethoscopes for anyone that wants to hear better or has significant hearing loss like I do.

I find I need this for hearing loss in one ear and tinnitus in that same ear. This device works as advertised, amplifying sounds. All sounds. So shirt noise, skin moving - all these factors become much more important. The diaphragm equivalent is curved, which i hate - it lets in background noise and tends to slip. The clarity of the traditional stethescope is (was, in my case) much better - so this product is not for ANYONE that can hear normally. It is only for us old guys that listened to music too loud. Having said all those negative things, I have used mine for a year, changed the battery only 3 times, and it has no signs of wear despite 40 plus hours a week on my neck. The button to turn it on could be bigger, and lose the curve, and have the thing remember the volume level you set it at last time and then this might be a product to be desired, not just settled for. Wow, I sound so negative. Oh well.

It's really usefull. But, some points could be better. For example, I don't think the Ambient Noise Reduction works very well, I still hear a lot of sounds I didn't want to. Besides, the tube, not only the diaphragm, is a source of amplified sound, what maximizes the interference. But it works well in amplifying difficult-to-hear heart sounds, mainly in a quiet place. I liked it.

This captures sounds very well in a noisy emergency department. However, I can only store ONE RECORDING AT A TIME. This is frustrating, especially since insight is gained from comparing areas of the heart. Whoever designed this did not put enough thought into how it would actually be used. I am actually going to buy the Thinklabs stethoscope instead.

The product is wonderful, probably the best stethoscope I have owned.

It was backordered through the Amazon.com supplier so I had to reorder through a different supplier.

Do you hear a lot of dimished LS, well now you wont. Its fantastic.

The Littman 3000 is NOT $749!! You can get it anywhere for less than $300. Most places it's around $260.

Shame on you, Amazon!

This stethoscope is definitely not $749. Usually under $300. I just bought mine for $229. Absolutely ridiculus price here.

Took so long to be delivered.

First contact with seller the communication from them was very poor.After the second email the things were settled.