headsets

[shurshot17]

Got some spare money kicking around.. Want some insight on your preferences on electric noise cancelling headsets.

Bose
LightSpeed
David Clarke

[Tail-Chaser]

Sennheiser S1's.

Great headset: good sound quality, music is great. Good Bluetooth functionality, and good passive noise reduction when the batteries die.

[cgzro]

Telex 50d for high noise environments great comfort and good passive if batteries die.
Bit bulky though. I own two sets. Have flown 700hrs with them.

[NeverBlue]

Sennheiser all the way!

[flyinhigh]

I bought the David Clark Pro-X couple months back.

Flying around in a corporate jet as well as a king air. I knew in the jet they would be fine but I was doubtful on the King Air as they are noisier, turns out it is the best headset I've ever bought. Super light weight, fits on the ear nice, noise cancelling/bluetooth is awesome, and most importantly I can wear them as long as the leg length requires as they sit lightly on the ear and not crush the head.

Also, substantially cheaper than the Bose

[Liquid Charlie]

Most fall short in the passive department and some almost unusable if the batteries go flat -- active cancellation will be similar to all but passive is where it should be judged --

[cap41]

Ive used both the Bose, and Lightspeed. Both are fantastic! once you go ANR you will never go back to PNR. I would say Lightspeed were slightly more robust. To me it seemed like they were slightly lighter, than Bose.

[Brantford Beech Boy]

...once you go ANR you will never go back to PNR...

Balls to that!

I've been using a Clarity Aloft in-the-ear headset for 4 years in King Air and Twin Otter.
I have tried some ANR types (Bose and Lightspeed) and find the passive on my headset is within a dB or two of those ANR...and mine do just fine without batteries!

They do take a little time to adjust to, but once you are comfortable, it is like you aren't wearing a headset at all....

and I've worn mine in the cold (just put a toque over the headset) and in the heat for up to 8 hours at a time.

Cheers
BBB

[Krimson]

You shouldn't judge an ANR headset based on the passive performance... I know I didn't buy mine to not use the active function. You just have to know with these headsets you must carry a spare set of batteries.

The thing you should focus on is comfort. All the headsets you're looking at are pretty much the same. They will reduce noise well, and you'll love it. Some may have more features than others, so if one is important to you, go for it. But the main thing of importance is when you're doing a 12 hour day, which headset will be comfortable on you and preferably feel like it's not even there.

Personally, I went for the bose, I found it to be light and comfortable, and their customer service is amazing. They will help you out and fix something for you years down the road for just the one way shipping cost.

[fleetcanuck]

I would suggest you use whatever your favourite headset is that you have now. Send less than $200 (haven't checked the price lately) to HeadsetsInc.com. They will send you a handy little kit. Take the innards out of your old set, put the kit in and you are done. It takes about two hours or less and works as well as any of the others. There is a very good and unbiased comparison report online. I think it was on the Avweb site. I have used my ancient DC10/30 conversion for almost fifteen years in a +100db aeroplane and they are great.

Use the saved money to buy more fuel to create the noise to test the headset!

[ahramin]

For noisy airplanes Telex Stratus 50D.

Maybe I work with a bunch of ham fisted goofs but all 3 clarity aloft sets I've seen had tape on them somewhere holding them together

[looproll]

+1 for the Telex 50D. Ahramin convinced me to buy one about 10 years ago and it's been going strong ever since. I would never switch because it works so well. I use it mainly in a very noisy Pitts.

I tried a lightspeed zulu in the Pitts and it had a brain hemorrhage. Totally useless.

[bigEh]

I'm in my first year of flying for a living so I don't have years of flying to base my opinion on. But I spent the first half of this summer using my David Clark's that I bought in flight school. They were perfect for flight school. But after more than a few long long days, I invested in some Zulu's. I could not be happier. I have had no problems with the Zulu's and I find that I am not so tired after a long day in a loud cockpit.

One guy here has the Bose and he seems to really like them. Another has the David Clark ANR headset and he likes them too, although I tried them and definitely think the Zulus are much better.

The Zulu's also have the nice feature of bluetooth for music which I have used a few times on long empty legs.

I got my Zulu's from Aircraft Spruce used and saved $300 off the new price. The headset I received was in perfect condition and looked to be brand new. If you are patient and don't mind looking around, you could save some money. I have seen the Bose and Telex 50d on there used as well.

Cheers
BigEh

[cgzro]

+1 for the Telex 50D. Ahramin convinced me to buy one about 10 years ago and it's been going strong ever since. I would never switch because it works so well. I use it mainly in a very noisy Pitts.

Ditto. One afternoon I tried 5-6 different headsets in the noisy Pitts and the Telex was by far the best. its even usable if the batteries die, which is why its so wide. After a friend of mine hit his head in an off filed landing, when the shoulder harness failed, ive since retrofitted the earcups into a helmet and the combination is fantastic in the Pitts, Finch , Chipmunk, Extra, Harvard, Tigermoth etc. Overkill I guess for a quiet plane but fortunately I dont often fly quiet planes

[digits_]

Is there any review on how well headsets deal with sunglasses ? My David Clark works perfect without sunglasses, but boy terrible when I wear sunglasses. They "leak" way too much.

[Pop n Fresh]

Is there any review on how well headsets deal with sunglasses ? My David Clark works perfect without sunglasses, but boy terrible when I wear sunglasses. They "leak" way too much.

Do you have the silicone gel replacement seals. They flow around sunglasses much better. Still want nice thin frames.

[Oxi]

+1 Krimson. You are buying a headset for the ANR... It shouldn't be too hard to bring batteries along!

I like the Bose because they are small and light and you can go into a Bose store, surprise them that you have A20s and then walk out with a brand new pair at no charge. The S1 is great if you like having massive Mickey Mouse cups on your ear. Light speed have been great to me and are cheaper but less battery life.

[PositiveRate27]

My $0.02 don't get the lightspeed zulu 2's if you are going to be flying exceptionally noisy airplanes. I had the zulu 2 for 2.5 years as an instructor and never had a problem. I went off and flew the Metro 3 for 5 months and had 3 separate issues that required me sending them down to Portland. I had to default to my old passive David Clarks over a pair of earplugs for most of that time. Once I left the Metro and moved over to a 1900D I never had another problem. Lightspeeds don't seem to like Garrett power plants!

I absolutely loved them when I was an instructor, and in anything with a PT6 and would highly recommend them.

[PointyEngine]

My $0.02 don't get the lightspeed zulu 2's if you are going to be flying exceptionally noisy airplanes. I had the zulu 2 for 2.5 years as an instructor and never had a problem. I went off and flew the Metro 3 for 5 months and had 3 separate issues that required me sending them down to Portland. I had to default to my old passive David Clarks over a pair of earplugs for most of that time. Once I left the Metro and moved over to a 1900D I never had another problem. Lightspeeds don't seem to like Garrett power plants!

I absolutely loved them when I was an instructor, and in anything with a PT6 and would highly recommend them.

+1

The Zulu has a short life expectancy beside a Garrett, Metro 3 was bad, but the Metro 2 was a genuine Zulu killer - not to mention if you ran out of batteries you may as well use sign language for the rest of the flight. Average Zulu life expectancy from full-time metro guys seemed around 6 months before being replaced. However Zulu have a great warranty and always painless replacement.

[North Shore]

I/we use Bose A20s at work. They are light, comfortable, cool, and quiet for my type (Cl 415) even if I'm wearing sunglasses underneath. If the batteries go, then passive is almost worthless. My longest day in them has been 10.5h, and they were still comfortable (well, as comfortable as you could be after that long in the saddle )
The batteries seem to have pretty good longevity, but, as someone else has said, always have a spare set ready to go.
Drawbacks: it would be nice to have a longer cord, also to have the option of a coiled type cord ( but that's my preference). Don't know how robust they would be under continued commercialq useage - we only put ~ 120 hours a year on them...

[1000 HP]

For noisy airplanes Telex Stratus 50D.

Maybe I work with a bunch of ham fisted goofs but all 3 clarity aloft sets I've seen had tape on them somewhere holding them together

+1

I have a set and in the Mooney M20F (noisy airplane) they are nice. The bose are awesome in the Caravan Amphib but suck a bit with dead batteries.

[MIQ]

I've had my Bose A20 for a little bit less than a year now and regret nothing. I had my David Clark before and it's a difference of night and day. So far I've also had no issues with them. I used the Lightspeed Zulus on a few flights in single and twin engine piston airplanes and personally found the ANR on the Bose to be better. The Bose are also very light and comfortable. Had a 9 hour trip the other day and no issues in terms of comfort. I know the passive on these things is not very good, but then again, you never really fly with them with the ANR turned off. On my last flight I 'ran out' of battery power. The green light on the control module started flashing red and I kept flying like this, with ANR turned on, for almost an hour to the destination and changed the batteries on the ground. I yet have to experience the ANR just failing on me in flight. Also, the Bose pouch comes with a little battery holster for backup batteries. Be prepared and you will never have to fly them without the ANR

[Duffman]

I've had the Zulu 2 for a few years and it's broken down 3 times. Lightspeed fixed it fast each time. I use it in the beaver and caravan and it works great, but when the batteries die and you're in the beaver its almost painful. All you get it a loud banging noise in your ears, its totally useless.

[Liquid Charlie]

I am longing for a good "in ear" active set -- I hate ear muffs and am now forced to wear a set -- The best headset I had was the lightspeed mach 0ne with custom ear buds -- I wore it out, wanted to replace to find it is no longer in production -- the search continues -- but I know I want to get rid of my zulu2 -- it's crap --

[Krimson]

I've had the bose A20s for a long time now and they're still going great. They worked wonders flying 150 hour months in a cessna with the window open, and even in the metro they worked unbelievable. Now doing daily quick turns they're proving their durability, and still haven't had an issue.

I like running the batteries dead before changing them, so I always wait until they die before changing, and it will make you jump the first time you hear ANR kick off. I've had the red light shining for hours before dying on me, but I would recommend getting a set of rechargeables and as soon as they go red just swap out the batteries.