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Nurse Jenny here from Nurse Jenny Reviews, where I give you my honest opinion so that you can make an informed choice. If you've seen one my blogs before, welcome back, it is awesome to have you. If you're new here, and like me, are into all things nursing, consider following me on my social media to be updated for my upcoming blogs and giveaways. 

Today in this review I will be talking about the Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Navy Blue stethoscope. As usual, I'm gonna be reviewing 10 aspects and give it a score out of five in each aspect; so by the end, I'm gonna have a score out of 50.

 

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Acoustics

The Welch Allyn Harvey DLX has got a dual lumen channel which means it's got two uninterrupted channels, one into each ear. The sound I get when using it is loud and clear and there are no interrupting noises from the tube. I am yet to find a stethoscope with a dual lumen tubing that I haven't given a perfect score. 

For the acoustics, I am giving it a 5/5 Stars.

 

Ear Tip Comfort 

 Now Welch Allyn marketed these ear tips as soft-sealing ear tips. To me, they are not as soft as they could be, and they're quite small and hurt my ears. I prefer them to be a little bit bigger to create a better seal. They're also a screw-on and off, and I don't like that feature as well because they do screw off at work and you lose them.

 I have given it a 1/5 Star.

Weight 

This stethoscope weighs 228 grams, which is about 8 ounces. If you are like me who likes to hang their stethoscope around their necks, I would not recommend this stethoscope for you. Personally, the weight of Welch Allyn Harvey DLX is way too heavy that you will really feel it on you at the end of your shift. If you’ll just put it in your pocket or leave it on a table until you’ll be needing it then it might not be a problem for you. But for me, I don’t like to carry it on my neck all day. 

I've given it a 1/5 Star.

 

Price

 The price of Welch Allyn Harvey DLX is 220 USD. And when I bought it, I thought it would arrive with a lot of bells and whistles, but it didn't. The presentation was simple, the stethoscope had some lapses and I think the value for money just isn't there.

I've given it a 2/5 Stars.

Before I continue, you might wonder

 “JUST HOW MANY STETHOSCOPES DO YOU HAVE AT HOME NURSE JENNY??” 

Well, I have bought a lot of stethoscopes for all my Stethoscope Reviews but they are not at home collecting dust. I do run monthly giveaways, so if you're interested and would like to join, check out my website for the free monthly giveaways.

 

Let's continue!

 

 

Tubing Length 

The length of this tubing is 72 cm, which is 28 inches. For me, it could be a little touch longer, but it is quite a nice acceptable length, I don’t have to bend too much and the tube doesn’t dangle on the patient when I use it, so I've given it a 4/5 Stars.

 

Tubing Feel

The tubing is nice and soft, and it's not too flimsy and not too thick. It is a little bit sticky on my neck though so I’d suggest that you use a stethoscope case for it to avoid damage to the tubing. The Bjorn Hall has these durable and stylish stethoscope cases available for you.

For the Tubing Feel, I've given it a 3.5/5 Stars. 

 

Stethoscope Design 

The Welch Allyn Harvey DLX stethoscope has got a trumpet brass construction chestpiece, that's what they call it. What they say on their website is that "With trumpet brass construction, the Harvey DLX helps you hear more of the important cardiac, pulmonary, and vascular sounds without relying on difficult variable pressure techniques" The chestpiece is turnable and it has got this little wing design below the stem, which I quite like and I think that design is pretty.

When you wanna swap from your adult side to the bell, you do have to make sure that you hold the wings on the chestpiece and that you hear the snap. It has got the little indicator dot there, so you also know what side it's on. If you only hold the tubing and you turn the chestpiece, it just turns with the tubing; it doesn't actually change the side, so you got to make sure that you hold the wings when you do it.

The adult side of the diaphragm actually screws off and on and it can also screw off the whole housing of the diaphragm. On the trumpet looking side, the bell side, it also screws off and back on. The bell doesn’t come with a non-chill rim which was a little bit of a minus for me, but it really is quite a unique chestpiece.

The tubing is dual lumen, which makes for great acoustics as I mentioned earlier. The binaurals are rotatable and they can rotate all the way around so that you can adjust the angle that you prefer for your own ears. The tension of the binaurals, you can adjust as well, just by pushing in or pulling apart. And then we've got the ear tips that are screw off and on, which in my book, is a bit of a negative because you can lose them quite easily when they are screw off. 

For everything I detailed, I've given it a score of 3/5 Stars.

 

 

Spare Kit

In the spare kit you will get a name tag, a user manual, a CD that has got heart sounds on it so you can practice listening to heart sounds, and you will also get a spare flat diaphragm that replaces the corrugated diaphragm here. Now the corrugated diaphragm they say is better for low-frequency sounds, and the flat one is better for high-frequency sounds. 

I've given it a 2.5/5 Stars.

 

Warranty

 Now in the user manual it states that you get a five-year warranty with this stethoscope. But after researching this on the internet, it says that you get a 10-year warranty. But I'm going to base it on the warranty that I get from my user manual when I bought the stethoscope.
So for that reason, I've given it a 4/5 Stars.

 

Buying Experience 

I've received this stethoscope in a cardboard box and upon opening it up, everything is arranged in a transparent plastic casing. The stethoscope is showcased in the middle. The spare kit and the cd has their own places as well. The user manual is just put on top and it falls out when you open the box. Now for the money that I paid, I would just think that you would have gotten something of better quality. 

Of course, the buying experience won’t affect the quality of the stethoscope itself, but for the sake of doing a detailed review, I include the buying experience so you would know what to expect upon receiving this stethoscope.

For the buying experience, I've given it a 2/5 Stars.

 

 

Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Stethoscope
Overall Score: 28/50 Stars!

 

 

 

To Recap:

1. Acoustics: 5/5 Stars
2. Ear Tip Comfort: 1/5 Star
3. Weight: 1/5 Star
4. Price: 2/5 Stars
5. Tubing Length: 4/5 Stars
6. Tubing Feel: 3.5/5 Stars
7. Stethoscope Design: 3/5 Stars
8. Spare Kit: 2.5/5 Stars
9. Warranty: 4/5 Stars
10. Buying Experience: 2/5 Stars

The Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Navy Blue stethoscope has received a total score of 28/50 Stars. The positive aspect of this stethoscope is that it has got a dual- lumen tubing which gives great acoustics. The little wing feature on the stem is quite nice and I really like it. Also the overall trumpet feature of the whole stethoscope chestpiece is really unique.

What lets it down for me is the overall weight of the stethoscope. The chestpiece is really heavy and the adult side of the chestpiece screws off and on, same as with the bell, and you can lose them quite easily as they start screwing off by themselves, and the same goes for the ear tips. The ear tips are, for my liking, too hard and too small. I also find that I keep readjusting the tension of the binaurals. It doesn't stay where I've adjusted it previously. It doesn’t spring back on its own so I keep on readjusting it, which is quite annoying for me.

So who would this stethoscope be good for? I wouldn't personally recommend this stethoscope to a student nurse, or a new nurse, or any nurse unless you are a cardiology nurse and you like this unique trumpet style. The money that you pay and the value that you get just isn't there.

Here are more posts you can check out:

Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Cardiology Stethoscope Unboxing

Welch Allyn Harvey Elite Stethoscope Review

 

So there you go! That is my complete detailed review of the Welch Allyn Harvey DLX Cardiology Stethoscope. I hope that I’ve shed you some light in deciding which stethoscope to but. If you have any questions or any suggestions on what stethoscope I should review next, drop them down in the comments below. I love hearing from you guys!

See you on my next review and remember, as always, listen with your heart.

 Nurse Jenny