Sprague vs Littman

What do you find to be the better stethoscope? I have both and thought the Littman would be better than Sprague, but it isn't. I can hear better with the Sprague.

I have several Sprague steths. I also have a Littman Classic II, Littman Cardiology II and Littman Cardiology III. I find I enjoy the Littman Cardiology II the best. Better lows and highs probably due to the the size of the bell.

I used both in practice. Sprague is much better for those difficult to hear heart sounds like S3 and S4s as well as grade 1 (who can hear those anyway) or 2 murmurs. Truth is if I carried the Littman it was because it fit in my pocket better

I would say my Welch cardio sounds better to me that my Sprague , also have a cardio Sprague that's not bad but the Welch is the best that I have

I can't comment on the quality of sound but I do think the Sprague looks sexier!

I used both in practice. Sprague is much better for those difficult to hear heart sounds like S3 and S4s as well as grade 1 (who can hear those anyway) or 2 murmurs. Truth is if I carried the Littman it was because it fit in my pocket better

I have a heart murmur and can hear it much clearer with my Sprague. I don't know what grade it is, but I can hear it best at the mitral and tricuspid places. I can rarely hear anything at the aortic or pulmonic. Not sure if that is my hearing (I thought it was fine until a pharmacist talked me into taking a drug store hearing test and it said moderate hearing loss) or if I'm placing my stethoscope in the wrong place.

It depends on which Littmann, the Master Cardiology is great. The Sprague Rappaport is made by many different companies. What specific one do you? Many of the S-R are pretty awful

My Littman is the Littman II Classic SE. I do not know which Sprague I have, just that it's a Sprague Rappaport. It came with a blood pressure cuff and wasn't expensive. I didn't expect it to be better than the Littman!

Edit: On looking around on the web, it looks like mine is the Sprague legacy.

I tried two different Rappaport type steths and none of them compare with my Cardiology Littmann, but I think that the double thick tube are sexy too on a nice female doctor.

I would be really curious to try the one made by HP

The HP Sprague-Rappaport (also later made by Philips) is supposedly better than any Littmann out there. If they brought it back and priced it reasonably it would probably still sell well.

I find that while I enjoy Littmanns (I have a III and will probably get a Master Cardiology soon), they tend to be louder as opposed to clearer. It's not volume but clarity that allows you to hear the most subtle sounds.

For example, I have a mitral murmur that comes with some regurgitation, a mid-to-late-systolic click, and an S3. My Cardio III will allow me to hear all of those pretty well. My Welch-Allyn Harvey DLX was actually the first stethoscope I used that allowed to me hear the click and made the S3 louder because of its bell.

With Littmanns, it's important to have the earpieces facing forward when you put them into your ears. Otherwise you won't hear anything. I do like that the Welch-Allyn Harvey DLX has separately adjustable earpieces in case you need to angle one forward or backward more. The Littmanns are set permanently at a certain angle coming from the manufacturer and aren't meant to be adjusted that way.

I also have an MDF Sprague-Rappaport. While it's better built than most of the knockoffs, it's still not as nice as the Welch-Allyn or Littmann stethoscopes. Double tubes are indeed nice, and I think they're still better sound-wise than the 2-in-1 design.

Overall I think a lot of it is preference. For us, buy one of each so you have options to use at different times. 😃

I have to agree with Patthedrummer - to me Littmann stethoscopes do sound louder rather than clearer.

Having purchased a second hand HP Rappaport Sprague I would agree that the sound is quieter, but much clearer - the same with Welch Allyn stethoscopes too. The Only Littmann which comes close is a Master Cardiology - though the early design Littmann models (before the tunable diaphragm technology came along) aren't bad either.

I have both the Cardiology III and the Master, I agree that the sound of the latter is more detailed.

If I was a cardiologist I probably would go for the Master but as a cardiophile I do enjoy the loudness and the warm sound of the III

One criticism often made about the Sprague design is that the two tubes can rub against each other and make noise. I have a generic Sprague and I have never noticed this. The sound quality and loudness from the Sprague I have are both good, but it is heavier and bulkier than Littmann and Welch-Allyn scopes. The heavier chestpiece on the Sprague does stay colder longer than other scopes, but that can add some excitement to an examination. For best overall sound quality I still prefer the Harvey DLX.

I like the heaviness of the Sprague and prefer it to the lighter ones. The coldness is definitely a bonus.

The steth I use now is a Cardiomart brand cardiology steth. It's an off-brand clone of the Littmann Cardio II and a pretty decent steth. I've stethed women ranging from 32A to 40DD with it, and it's never let me down, but the best sound quality I ever heard through any steth is a Harvey DLX triple head. I love that ribbed diaphragm. The sound quality is superb, nice and loud, and I love the steth rings it leaves on the patient's chest!

I prefer the littman. In my opinion they look a little sleeker and look better on the body of the patient.

I've heard that there are quite a number of cloned/fake Sprague stethoscopes on the market, I think I've had one in the past. That one certainly didn't have the acoustic quality of the Littmann Classic which I now use but I did like the heavy head of the "Sprague".

I agree with Patthedrummer, it's all up to ones personal preferences and it is nice to have a wide variety of options to auscultate with 😃

Personally I feel the sound is louder with Littmanns. Love my WA Harvey DLX and feel the sound is much more clear, picks up those subtle sounds... I recently purchased an Erka Finesse 2 stethoscope (which has that sprague style feel/look to it) and found sounds to be more clear with it also. Both the Harvey and Erka have nice heavy chestpieces as well. Decided though to return the Finesse and want to upgrade to an Erka Precise model soon

Like the clarity of sound with Tycos stethoscopes.

Littman

Personally, Littmanns are better to me. I had a sprague as my very first stethoscope so they hold a special place in my heart! (No pun intended. :p )

I don't have a Littmann as yet but I do have a sprague. I've used various different models of Littmann, up to and including the expensive electronic ones. I must say that the sound quality from the electronic one was exceptional, would like to get one of those.

I'm happy with my sprague at the moment though, it does the job very well.

I have a Sprague and a Littmann Classic.

I much prefer the Littmann as it seems to have much clearer sound - I seldom use the Sprague nowadays

The latest Littmann stethoscopes have vastly superior sound quality.

Having said that, the old school Sprague still has an appeal.

So weird that I can barely hear with the Littman but most find it to be better. I think I will ask my GP about hearing loss and perhaps looking into an official test.

Any Stethoscope that the "Doctor" has over my Heart is my favorite kind! My personal favorite kind is the type that doctors used to use back in the 70's......the kind that were cold when the chest piece was first placed right under my left nipple when the doctor could first hear my THUMPING Heart for the first time and be washed over by my Valve sounds as the sounds went from my Heart right to his/Her ears!!! Back to reality...I have used a couple different types and find them all similar as far as the sound but comfort is a bigger deal to me. I love the look of the older style Stethoscopes that has the cone shaped bells on them.

It depends very much on which Littmann to be honest. From my experience, I have yet to see a stethoscope that matches the sound quality of a Littmann Electronic 3200.

I prefer a Littmann over Sprague stethoscope from the sound. From the look and feel the Sprague has more appeal 😃

I have used a Littmann Cardiology III for years. When I worked on a cardiology ward I actually had a doctor question me because I was hearing a click from her mechanical heart valve. He could not hear it with the stethoscope he had. He asked to listen through mine and he heard it fine. He asked to listen to the other nurse's and could hear it. He was not a cardiologist but her regular GP who had just come up to visit her. The next time we saw him he had a big smile and a Littmann. He thanked us. I don't recall the brand he first had and he may have not even said. After all, that was our job. The only other stethoscope I have listened through was the knock-off Sprague-rappaport I had in nursing school. But I am very happy with my Littmann and I can say this that you see an awful lot of Littmann on cardian floors. It would be up to the individual's preference.

Prefer Tycos / Harvey. Work as a health care professional.