Welch Allyn vs. Littman Stethoscopes

[ccrose3]

I know there have been threads on here before in regard to which steths are best, but I'm posting this question for 2 reasons:

1. I haven't been able to find too many opinions on comparing the two. The great majority of people have tried one but not the other (and usually that one is a Littman). 😕
2. I've been able to try out a lot of Littmans but so far have not been able to find anywhere in my city that carries Welch Allyns (apparently they are not as popular, but I'm not writing them off for that reason just yet).

Does anyone have an opinion on which is better and if so which model? Out of the Littmans so far I like the Cardiology III best. As for the Welch Allyn models, from what I've read on the internet I'm interested in either the DLX or Elite models.

At the moment I am a vet tech and am at least a year away from applying to vet school, but I thought since I'm getting to the point where I need a steth for work I might as well learn on the one that I will be using in the future. Thanks for any input you can give! 😍

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[wi girl]

I've tried a few Welch Allyns when we had the stethoscope sale at school (admittedly, just for a few minutes and on clinic animals and a few classmates) but I personally LOVED the Cardio III (Littman). I had more experience with these, as they were what I had used at the clinic, and seem to be the overwhelming choice in vet med -- however, I went into trying them out with an open mind and still liked the Cardio best. I'm going into small animal, and its a good starter scope, with the two different bells, and various attachments that I'm not quite sure what they do yet (and won't until third year yet). Essentially I felt it had the best sounds (for all my little experience) and the most versitality.

Just my thoughts.

 

[ccrose3]

I've tried a few Welch Allyns when we had the stethoscope sale at school (admittedly, just for a few minutes and on clinic animals and a few classmates) but I personally LOVED the Cardio III (Littman). I had more experience with these, as they were what I had used at the clinic, and seem to be the overwhelming choice in vet med -- however, I went into trying them out with an open mind and still liked the Cardio best. I'm going into small animal, and its a good starter scope, with the two different bells, and various attachments that I'm not quite sure what they do yet (and won't until third year yet). Essentially I felt it had the best sounds (for all my little experience) and the most versitality.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks a bunch for your input, I appreciate it!

 

[BrumleyVet]

The vet I work for owns a Welch, but I catch him with my Littman every now and then if I leave it on the table! I absolutely love it.

 

[ccrose3]

The vet I work for owns a Welch, but I catch him with my Littman every now and then if I leave it on the table! I absolutely love it.

Hmmm... maybe I should take that as a sign and buy a Littman. 😱 That's funny.

 

[jollyfatman]

The wildlife vet I used to work with had both a Littman Cardio III and WA Tycos Harvey Elite at the clinic. He said he liked the Tycos better for heart sounds and the Littman for lung sounds. To my inexperienced ears, they both sounded great; I did not prefer one over the other.

I did a lot of ruminating before buying my steth this year because I am completely neurotic. But hey, it's a fitting symbol of your professionalism and a trusty diagnostic tool for years to come. So I did a fair amount of investigation. There are plenty of threads in SDN, both in the vet and MD forums, that you can search through. I also came across this review, which appears well-written: http://www.forusdocs.com/reviews/Acoustic_Stethoscope_Review.htm

In the end, I bought the Tycos. Why? Who knows. All the research told me what I already knew, which is that the WA and Littman are both fine instruments. Until I study for many, many more years I probably won't hear the difference. Maybe I based my choice on the fact that 90% of my class (seemingly) bought the Cardio III and I wanted to be my own special snowflake.

A note on the review linked above: the Tycos is praised for its fine clarity and criticized primarily for its lack of "loudness." Several have remarked that this is due to the characteristics of the corrugated diaphragm that is originally installed. The packaging also includes an interchangeable flat diaphragm that supposedly provides greater amplification.

I've owned my steth about 1.5 months now and have used it sporadically. My only gripe is a small one: at 25 inches of length, you do get fairly intimate with your patients. The Cardio III is slightly longer at 27 inches. If you are considering large animal medicine, the WA is on the short side. For small animal, no problem. Overall I'm very happy with the Tycos.

It would be ideal to audition the WA if you can. Their website lets you search for distributors: http://www.welchallyn.com/apps/partners/dist_locator_landing.jsp

A bonus: because the WA is not as well-known, you can find it on eBay for an absolute steal. I got mine for about half of the retail price. (As you can tell, now that I've bought it, I've shifted to the WA cheering section.)

Bottom line is you can't go wrong with either. Good luck and try not to be as neurotic as me. Have fun! 🙂