Customer Reviews

3M Littmann 2159 Master Cardiology Stethoscope, Black, 22 inch

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Littmann products are always reliable and trusted, and after having tried Litmann Cardiology III, I thought that was the best - I was wrong!

Litmann Master Cardiology proved to be a more superior stethoscope than Cardiology III. Firstly, it looks absolutely gorgeous (mine is the black edition). The ear tips are softer than Cardiology III's and fits snugly, blocking out all ambient noise. It is also lighter than Cardiology III.

The head of Master Cardiology is well-built and feels solid to the touch. What will really amaze you would be the quality of the sound that you hear (and the difference between it and Cardiology III is discernible). Heart sounds are louder and clearer. Breath sounds are not muffled. What it means is that you wouldn't have to struggle to listen to the faint heart or breath sounds, especially when there's the loud ambient noise to contend with (then again, like I mentioned, you won't hear much because of the well-designed ear pieces).

This is an outstanding piece of medical equipment which is clearly designed to last for life. I love it!

I have owned all the cardiology models from Littmann and Welch-Allyn. As a collector and a physician I have personally used all of them on my patients and I can honestly tell you that the Master cardiology model from Littmann is the most overrated. It is virtually identical to the Cardio III model which is a little better than the Classic II. But there are no big differences between the Master Classic and the Master Cardiology except the diaphragm is slightly bigger and looks more intimidating. The only thing I like in the Master Cardio model is the adapter. It takes forever to put it on but once it's on, it can literally blow your ears away. It provides an excellent low frequency respond which is very important for the heart sounds, but very very inconvenient and impractical. Now, the STC cardiology which is rated 9 according the to 3M chart really should be a 10/10 and the Master cardio really should be a 9. The only reason why the Master beats the STC in that respect is simply because of the acoustic of the adapter. In terms of pediatric auscultation, the STC model can be used with the tip of the oval shape design instead of snapping on the adapter. The STC is much much easier to hold compared to the Master which if you have big fingers, you can't really move around much and there's no other way to hold it. My advice is; you should test out the Master Classic which in my opinion is virtually identical to the Master Cardiology, and the STC before you spend 200$.

The Littmann 2161 is an excellent stethoscope. Heart tones are clear and well-defined, pulmonary sounds come through clearly. I especially like the tunable diaphragm, which allows you to hear throughout the range of frequencies.

Many practitioners and technicians will find this stethoscope to be overkill for their scope of practice. I recommend this scope for practitioners, and for technicians who regularly make independent decisions and interventions for patients suffering from severe trauma or cardiopulmonary compromise. This is not designed to be a BP scope. If BP is the only skill you use a stethoscope for, then don't buy this scope.

This is my 6th stethoscope, with only one not being a littmann. I don't know how anyone can truly hear breath sounds or heart tones at an adequate level with the cheaper stethoscopes out there. I've tried those of my friends and there is a significant difference in the volume, quality and tone of what you can hear.

I have the neo, pedi, standard adult with bell, "cheapie" version littmann adult w/o bell and now this cardiology littmann scope. I can honestly say I do hear heart tones significantly better with this than with my other adult stethoscopes. It's worth the investment!

I had a Harvey Profession Elite which I replaced after it was taken from my office.

To replace it, I decided to get a Master Cardiology Stethoscope. A kit for various earpieces and diaphragms give the most discerning clinician what they need for patient assessment. A pediatric adapter is included.

The high construction tubing conducts sound well. The diaphragm is solid in construction and ergonomic in design; with the rubber base it is more tolerated for patients to avoid the historically 'cold stethoscope'. The headset is comfortable.

Its only limitation is that ocular auscultation for bruits is not ideal but nowadays, medical imaging is utilized to a great degree that this has been somewhat of a lost art. Listening for bruits in other locations is quite easy.

This stethoscope is ideal for medical students, nurses, primary care physicians, and cardiologists. It has lasted a decade without issues.

Very sensitive. Can hear even in noisey situations where other scopes are difficult, this one remains loud and clear.

I am a nursing student, with a lot of nurses in my family. All of them gave me stethoscopes. I struggled to hear until I bought this one for myself. Now I hear heart murmurs that get by the docs.

This stethoscope is wonderful for any practitioner. Assessing heart sounds and lung sounds accurately has never been so easy!

I work as a floor RN and while I was a student and a newly minted RN I used various stethoscopes. I never knew just how useful a really good stethoscope was until I bought my first master cardiology. I was simply blown away at the clarity of the breath and heart sounds. I will NEVER buy anything else. One of the interesting things was in my first week using my new master cardiology stethoscope I was assessing a pre-op patient and discovered a previously undiagnosed heart murmer. The patient was asymptomatic and it was not a huge deal, but the scope was that good. I just love it, love it, love it. And as they say, once you've tried the best, it's very hard to go back.

I'm very happy with my new Stethoscope. What a difference if you are used to the Classic II. I had to pay an extra 22$ in duty and taxes once I picked it up at the post office, but it was still a good deal. Would definitly recommend buying a new steth this way.