ADC Electronic Stethoscope

Indy, LPN, LVN · Feb 22, 2010

I have not used ADC. I have the littmann 4000. To help you answer your question, try and find out how much louder ADC is than natural sound, since the littmanns claim 18x natural sound. Thinklabs has one that's supposed to be 50x natural sound, I haven't needed it though.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Feb 22, 2010

Moved to Nursing Stethoscope forum :)

metfan · Feb 22, 2010

I had an ADC that I got in 2006 from my nursing school (LPN). They provided it. It worked fine. I never used any other stethoscope at the time for comparison. It just broke on me. The battery suddenly got very hot while I was doing my first venipuncture. (I am now in an RN program). Talk about stess. Anyway, it broke. I just got a Littmann 3100 as a replacement and I must say it is much better than the ADC. Now, keep in mind that the ADC is now a newer model so maybe the newer ones are better. The ADC was ok but not as clear. There was more artifact (is that the right word) sounds. Like if the patient moved at all I heard a loud sound. Littmann is suppose to minimize ambient noise. Also, the ADC was very heavy and did not hang around my neck well at all. It was very ugly. The Littmann is very light and hangs nice. Everybody noticed the ADC was an electronic stethoscope which I did not like because I use it because of my hearing impairment. I always had to explain. The Littmann is very "cool" looking. I got it in plum. Keep in mind, however, I just got the Littmann a few weeks ago so I am just getting use to it. It has a volume control that you can see what it is set on. You could not see the setting on the ADC. I would just keep hitting the up button until I felt it was up all the way. For some reason, on my ADC, I kept turning it off by mistake. The buttons are raised and it was easy to push them by accident. Also, the Littmann takes a standard AA battery. The ADC took a special battery that was more expensive. I am in the process of sending my ADC out for repairs so I have a backup. The model number of my ADC is 657 Hope that helps.

metfan · Feb 23, 2010

I just wanted to add that overstock.com has the ADC electronic stethoscope for 160.00. I recently was price shopping. If you have any other questions, just ask me. I wish you could try the different scopes. I called stethoscope.com and they were very helpful in directing me to what I needed.

The one at overstock.com looks identical to the one I own. Notice how the buttons are raised and you cannot tell where the volume is set. The battery pack is also in the middle so it does not hand around my neck well.