Littmann Cardiology III Stethoscope or Classic II S.E?

i am starting my first home health care job next week and had purchased a 3M Littman Select Stethoscope. can anyone give me the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of this particular stethoscope? i purchased it on ebay... supposibly "new"... but im in dire need of a steth now.

I have both and I notice a dramatic difference between the two. I honestly have to say get the Cardiology III, it is worth it in the long run.

I'm not sure why most nursing students are just stressing and drooling over these Littmann stethoscopes, mostly because of the brand name. I'm guilty of this trend myself, as I own a Classic II SE and Cardiology III scope; however, my gf, who's a 3rd year medical student just told me the other day that her school is steering people away from these tunable diaphragm scopes, as very few med students could use them well in most situations. In contrast to the tunable diaphragm, the traditional floating diaphragm doesn't require a firm and square pressure in order to reproduce accurate high pitch sounds (hardly any patients are flat). Try to compare the low pitch sounds from a traditional deep-cone bell and from a "tuned" low pitch diaphragm on a Littman and you will notice that the bell produces a much cleaner and crisper sound (vs a muffled and boomy sound). This is very easily tested by converting your Cardiology III's pediatric side into a deep bell and then try to see if you can match the quality of the sounds from your tunable diaphragm. This is the reason why medical schools are steering away from these tunable diaphragms, it's a joke. However, I have to admit 3M products are high quality products, just overrated and overpriced. I can be sure once my Cardiology III breaks or is stolen (somebody already took the II SE from my bag), there won't be another Littman stethoscope around my neck. Look around and you will find there are very many quality-built stethoscopes out there at a lower cost (make sure it has a quality steel chestpiece, thick dual lumen tubing, comfortable eartips, etc). Hate to see poor nursing students squeezing out every chunk of their change just to have a "Littmann".