The stethoscope is the first essential in the clinical kit of the vet student and professional. It helps to examine the initial health problem of a patient before lab testing. But in the marketplace, there is no specific stethoscope for veterinarians. We need to filter the features as per usage.
Before I move further, I would like to thank my supporting writer, Ken George, who has been working as a professional veterinarian for more than ten years. The best thing is that he is my neighbour. From his experience, Ken shares insights on becoming a vet and helps enlist the best stethoscope for veterinarians.
Special Features for Vet Stethoscope
While you can use the human stethoscope for treating animals, there are some features vets must have in their stethoscope, including –
1. Long tubing – In order to treat big animals such as horses and bulls, one must prefer a stethoscope with a long tubing. It helps a lot to be safe from them and also avoid disturbance while examining the patient.
2. Durable – In order to go with a light stethoscope, you avoid the material quality. I have found prominent brands who have been selling stethoscopes with lightweight proof but compromising on quality. It’s my recommendation that vets should avoid such stethoscopes.
3. Go with Certified Brands – While purchasing a stethoscope, everyone has their budget to invest. I recommend putting extra dollars in your budget and going with brands that have been in the industry for a long and are certified by authoritative organizations for the population you are serving.
Best Stethoscope for Veterinarians
Ken recommended the vet stethoscopes that he and his colleagues are using. It’s a big win for the readers to have such a list.
ADC Adscope 608 Stethoscope
Adscope is a well-known brand for stethoscopes. It’s been more than 35 years, and the company has been involved in the manufacturing of medical products and accessories for the healthcare industry.
While Adscope has a variety of stethoscopes for Veterinarians, ADC Adscope 608 is best. To help you decide, I have acknowledged ten filters with Ken’s rating for each stethoscope I have listed.
Acoustics – Comes with single tubing. In terms of sound, it’s not the best, but satisfying.
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Ear Tip Comfort – It’s nice and comfortable. The stethoscope comes assembled in medium sizes; in the spare kit, you will get the option of small and large sizes.
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Price – On Amazon, you will get this stethoscope currently at $ 61, which is value for money.
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Weight – In terms of weight, it’s quite heavy. The weight of the ADC Adscope 608 Stethoscope is 164 g or 5.8 oz.
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Tubing length – The stethoscope comes with a length of 77 cm or 30 inches, which is the preferred length for a large animal stethoscope.
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Tubing Feel – The quality of the tube is quite sticky, and for female vets, with long open hair will feel struggle. The thin structure makes the tubing flimsy.
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Tubing length – The stethoscope comes with a length of 77 cm or 30 inches, which is the preferred length for a large animal stethoscope.
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Tubing Feel – The quality of the tube is quite sticky, and for female vets, it could get on their hair. The thin structure makes the tubing flimsy.
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Stethoscope Design – The design of this veterinary stethoscope is impulsive with a turnable chest piece, and for checking on or off the side of the stem, there is a dot indicator.
ADC Adscope 608 stethoscope comes with a pediatric dial frame; as per usage, you can easily come it off and replace it with an open bell. It comes with a spare kit.
The brand claims the stethoscope has an ergonomic headset with an enforcing yoke; I have shown in the part image it is a little bit thicker and reinforced.
While the overall quality is good, the binaural has a nice tension, which you can adjust as per comfort. Ear tips can be easily pushed on and pulled off with little pressure; it’s a good thing as you can’t randomly lose off.
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Spare kit – The best thing I like about this veterinarian stethoscope brand is the spare kit. I have listed the essentials below – Small and large ear tips (medium size comes with assembled stethoscope), Open Bell that screws on and off, Name Tag, Accessory Storage Bag and User manual
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Warranty – ADC offers their consumer a lifetime warranty for the stethoscope. To have this feature, you need to register your stethoscope on their website. Remember to check the exclusions.
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Packaging Experience – The stethoscope comes with a box that includes its features, which is quite satisfying.
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Special Note – If we look into the overall Rating Score of Adscope 608, it is 36.5 out of 50. Overall, it is a good stethoscope for vet techs and veterinarians. If you are looking for an alternative to Littmann, you can go for it. It is the value for money.
Littmann Classic III Stethoscope
Littmann is a reliable brand, and it has been serving the medical industry for more than 50 years. With quality, Littmann is also known for its pricing as well. I have found the stethoscope for veterinarians, which is known as an all-rounder and has a nominal price.
Ken used Littmann Cassic III to examine patients. As per him, this Littmann stethoscope model embarks his presence in the industry for a long time.
Acoustics – Littmann Acoustics has no match, while this model perfectly proves that you will get clear and loud sounds of the patient’s heart, lungs, and bowel without any noise. No air is escaping from a good chest piece. Comparable to the other stethoscope, the rubbing noise of the tube is also less.
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Ear Tip Comfort – Littmann Ear Tips are the most comfortable of all the stethoscope brands. Its firmness really creates a good seal.
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Weight – Littmann Classic III has made a satisfying remark in terms of weight. It comes with 158 g or 5.5 oz; you will not feel the strain on the neck while hanging in your whole shift.
In order to maintain the equilibrium between the chest piece and the binaural, the company makes fine considerations of the weight of the chest piece, which avoids slipping from the neck while hanging on one or other side.
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Price – With multiple colour options and a well-known brand of stethoscope, it is the value money product at $ 108.
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Tubing Feel – The material of the tubing is good. Like Adscope, you will feel sticky, and like another stethoscope, it rapidly gets soiled, which involves proper cleaning.
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Stethoscope Design – Littmann Classic III is the all-rounder stethoscope that comes with an adult and pediatric side diaphragm with the option of converting the pediatric side into a bell.
Its chest piece’s rainbow finish is quite appealing. The brand makes proper consideration of the structure of ear tips to avoid loosening off.
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Tubing Length – Veterinarians who are treating big animals will not feel comfortable with a tubing length of 71 cm or 27 inches. Ken has been using this model for a long time and also wants Littmann to give the option of variance in tube length.
Overall, as per Ken, tubing length doesn’t affect diagnosis functionality. One should not drop this stethoscope due to tubing size.
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Spare Kit – In this part, Littmann is lacking with ADC Adscope. You will get small-size ear tips, a nonchill rim, and a user manual.
As per Ken, they should give extra diaphragm and all sizes of ear tips.
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Warranty – In the Littman Classic III stethoscope, the brand gives a five-year warranty, which includes replacement of the manufacturing defect and free repair. Kindly check the exemptions as well.
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Packaging Experience – No scratches in the binaural, the tubing is very clean with no marks on it, and the stethoscope comes in a black foam box to avoid damage.
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Special Note – Let’s look into the overall Rating Score for the Littman Classic III stethoscope – 38.5 out of 50, which is good, and if you are looking for the Littmann veterinary stethoscope at the budgeted price. You should go with this.
MDF 777 MD One Stethoscope
MDF has great presence in the medical instrument market since 1971. In stethoscopes, MDF gives their consumers the option of customization, which makes them stand out from their competitors.
As per Ken, if someone wants printed tubing, MDF can become their choice. One of his colleagues is using the MDF Cheetah Print Stethoscope, which is kind of fun and loving,
I have reviewed this veterinarian stethoscope on different filters –
Acoustics – With their proven experience, MDF has done a remarkable job in providing good acoustics in this stethoscope.
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Ear Tip Comfort – In MDF, you will see the variation in the shape of the ear tip. It comes in bullet form. For some of them, it doesn’t fit well. In terms of comfort, it’s good. The brand provides three sizes of ear tips with a stethoscope in their spare kit.
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Weight – In all the stethoscopes I have listed in this article, MDF has the maximum weight with 190 gm or 6.7 hertz, which you will feel in the neck while hanging. As per Ken, the chest piece is heavy, due to which it does not make equilibrium with the binaural and slides down all the time.
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Price – MDF provides various printed tubing and different colours, thereby differentiating the pricing, starting from $ 39. In my opinion, it’s a value-for-money product.
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Tubing length – For veterinarians who are looking for extra-long stethoscopes or the best equine stethoscope, it will be a perfect match. The stethoscope comes 31 inches or 78 cm tubing length.
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Tubing Feel – It will feel sticky while wearing, which is irritating for girls with long open hair.
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Stethoscope Design – Aesthetic black chest piece with the brand logo looks different, and you can easily rotate the chest piece.
In this stethoscope, you will not get a convertible pediatric side. At the same time, the brand gives multiple colour options to their consumer in tubing and binaural.
I like this stethoscope due to the budget price and good functionality.
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Spare Kit – Two sets of ear tips, one extra large and one small, medium size, comes assembled with a stethoscope, nonchill rings, extra diaphragm, and name tag. For a stethoscope, it’s sufficient stuff to have in the stethoscope.
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Warranty – MDF offers a lifetime warranty with free parts replacement for life, which is quite amazing.
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Packaging Experience – You will get a simple box of cardboard with features printed, but it doesn’t affect the functionality of the product.
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Special Note – Let’s look into the overall Rating Score for the Littman Classic III stethoscope – 38.5 out of 50, which is good, and if you are looking for the Littmann veterinary stethoscope at the budgeted price. You should go with this.
3M Littmann Cardiology IV
I have already shared the Littmann Classic III. But, guys, this Littmann stethoscope has created a milestone for having the best functionality.
Acoustics – 3M Littmann Cardiology IV comes with dual-lumen tubing with a channel in the middle. You will get two sounds, one from the right channel and the other from the left channel. In the two channels, you will not get any interference. Tubing is structured thick, which prevents the outer voice; if you perform any rubbing on the tube, you will not get any noise.
Even Littmann claims this model has the best acoustics. Suppose you are a veterinarian who is going to practice in the ICU and critical Unit. In that case, this should be your preferred choice.
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Weight – The weight of this stethoscope is 171 gm or 6 oz, which is quite heavy, and you will feel it while putting it in the neck, but as per me looking into the functionality, its weight is not much.
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Ear Tip Comfort – Littmann ear tips are the best in the industry. With softness, it has the attribute of firmness, which makes a good seal while wearing.
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Tubing Feel – With thick tubing, you will feel sticky, and girls have to struggle with long hair.
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Price – It comes at the cost of $ 199. It seems costly, but you will get the quality.
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Tubing length – The Cardiology IV stethoscope comes with a tubing length of 27 inches or 69 cm. With this, veterinarians will struggle in their routine checkups for big animals.
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Spare kit – it includes two sets of ear tips, one hard and one small, one non-chill rim and one manual booklet.
Littmann should add on extra diaphragm and all sizes of ear tips.
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Stethoscope Design – Littmann provides multiple colour options in Cardiology IV. The best thing I like about this is the A-frame feature for bifurcating the acoustic channel for both ears.
If you look into the chest piece, it’s turnable, and compared to Littmann Classic III, it has a bigger height, which is due to the functionality of cardiology.
To avoid loosening ear tips, you will get a pull-on and push-off feature.
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Warranty – In Littmann Cardiology IV brands provide seven years of warranty.
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Packaging Experience – I like Littmann’s packaging box. It seems to be quite cool with black structure foam, but it doesn’t have a relation to functionality.
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Special Note – The overall score for the Littmann Cardiology IV is 40 out of 50. For acoustics, it’s a big winner. Still, for veterinarians who perform a daily routine check, its length will not be suitable. If you are working in an ICU unit or critical care unit, it is the best stethoscope.
To provide you with the list of the best stethoscopes for veterinarians, I have really worked hard. I hope you like it, and I really appreciate it if you could comment and share your thoughts on this. If you have any other queries or suggestions, you are free to email me or comment below.
About the author ....
Hi, I’m Erie Wilson “Think Tank” of this blog. Sharing knowledge related to career decisions since 2020, If you have any doubts related to choosing majors or searching for colleges, you are free to ask in the comments or send me an email.