Headset Poll

[toto]

When I finished by PPL 150 years ago, I bought two pairs of DC H10-13.2S headsets.  One of them I upgraded with the Headsets, Inc. kit, as several others have mentioned above.  I don't think I've ever had a better headset at noise reduction (the DCs are far far better than the lightweight ANC headsets at passive reduction - they seem to depend almost entirely on ANC - and the Headsets, Inc. ANC does just fine). 

I've now been through a series of Bose headsets, and I don't think they've ever really beaten the DCs on perceived noise level, though they are much lighter and maybe more comfortable on a long flight.

One thing I'll say about the DCs - they're built like a tank.  I'm pretty sure I could throw a DC headset at a wall, pick it up, put it back on, and never notice.  If I threw my A20 at a wall, I'm pretty sure it would explode. 

[ZuluZulu]

Mine: Lightspeed Zulu PFX

Passengers: Lightspeed Zulu 3 x3

[Parttime_Pilot_Blake]

6 hours ago, 201er said:

What kind of headset do you use? What brand? What do your passengers get?

How does your hair look after wearing your headset on a long flight? How do your ears and head feel? How well can you hear the radios? How good is it for music? Do you wear glasses in flight? How does your headset mesh with oxygen system? Why do you choose the headset you use?

For pax question, "my previous hand me downs" should be an option. I give my headset with the intermittent mic issue to the loudest talker. 

[Shadrach]

Pilot gets an A20 passengers get Bose X.  I find all of the Bose sets to be quite comfortable on longs trips. The seal best with no interference from other items but do fine around my sunglasses or with a baseball hat or both for that matter. 

The downside is the ear pads typically start to disintegrate inside of 24 months leaving little black flecks on your face and ears. The also lack durability.  All of my Bose headsets lead a charmed life. They rarely leave my hangared airplane unless we're on an overnight and even then they are tucked away in purpose built headset cases. All of them have been overhauled at least once.  The mic shorts out or a wire breaks or the wire sheathing pulls away from the ear cups or etc...etc... I've never gotten 10 years out of a set before sending it back.  Contrast that with the FlightComs that I bought in the late 90s for just $99.95. Those things have been tossed in and out of flight bags, under seats and in the back of multiple flight school aircraft.  They still work and look like new...as do my old DC Vices. Neverless, I keep coming back to the comfort and quiet of the Bose.

[carusoam]

@Cris sent in his vote from the other side....   Bose A20s.   They work really well. He had a second pair for right seaters...  

@Bob_Belville sent a vote as well... DCs built like tanks, helped put men on the moon, and had great customer service...  

 

For me and a guest... I have two pair of halos... go well with...

• hats
• long hair
• glasses

In the ear headsets have become the standard of anyone in a public place trying to ignore the people around them... 

Best regards,

-a-

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Gagarin said:

Ear plugs together with passive headsets works better than ANR headsets and is cheaper, try it.

Bluetooth ear plug are so hard to find.

Clarence

[EricJ]

4 hours ago, 47U said:

My discharge physical identified significant hearing loss and tinnitus.  Is there any concern that the ANR is producing identical noise to cancel out the ambient noise?  In effect, your eardrum is hearing extra noise that your brain doesn’t process?  

Or am I confused (again).     

No, ANR/ANC cancels the noise pressure waves before they get to your eardrum, so there should be less total power impinging on your ear drums with ANR/ANC than without, assuming you adjust the volume to be comfortable.

Edit:  btw, I have significant tinnitus, too.   Seems like a lot of pilots do.   In my case it may be from flying airplanes back in the days before headsets, where you got all the noise plus the speaker turned way up so you could hear it.    Or equipment fans from computers/electronics/test equipment in labs.  No way to know for certain. 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by EricJ

[ragedracer1977]

I use a zulu 3. My wife does too. I have an A20 and an X for the middle row, and some cheap passives in the third row for the kids. They just stick earbuds under them anyway 

[Mufflerbearing]

I love my Zulu 3's.  They are comfortable but there was this one time, flying in a new to me area in CA, talking to ATC when out of no where, everything went super loud.  After a quick look at my engine gauges and engine monitor seeing what part of the engine was destroyed, finding nothing wrong, then realized that the batteries of my ANR head set died!  I was relieved I didn't have engine trouble, but the remainder of the trip was uncomfortable. 

I am looking at possibly a set of QT's.

[RLCarter]

On longer flights my Bose A20’s are my headset of choice, otherwise I have my old faithful passive set that I’ve had for years which I believe they are Rugged brand and have lived up to their name

[MooneyMitch]

1 hour ago, Mufflerbearing said:

I love my Zulu 3's.  They are comfortable but there was this one time, flying in a new to me area in CA, talking to ATC when out of no where, everything went super loud.  After a quick look at my engine gauges and engine monitor seeing what part of the engine was destroyed, finding nothing wrong, then realized that the batteries of my ANR head set died!  I was relieved I didn't have engine trouble, but the remainder of the trip was uncomfortable. 

I am looking at possibly a set of QT's.

Please forward old dead battery Zulu 3's to my home address.  I will dispose of them in an environmentally friendly manner.  I will pay postage........

[Niko182]

anyone tried these? https://cqheadset.com/product/cq1-headset/

When I had my issues with the Halos, someone recommended these and I think I'll probably give them a shot. Longer boom seems nice. I really like my halos, but the one thing that bothers me is that they seem to give off a pretty high pitch hiss when the intercom is on.

[Hank]

I used to get "altitude headaches" after flying for a couple of hours with my trusty FlightComs. Then I got a set of QT Halos [back in 2010], and no longer get "altitude headaches" even when flying higher and longer than before . . . .

Plenty of room above my head, they aren't noisier when wearing my thick-framed sunglasses, they fit with any hat and they're quiet. No, I don't use the foam tips, I hate them and gave them away. The included white silicone tips work great! I've had to replace a couple of them over the years [$3 for several pair] and the replacements came in in light gray color. Doesn't matter to me, no one sees them when I'm wearing them.

My wife loved her DC 13.4s and wouldn't try my Halos. But I bought a pair [from Paul, I think] for her to try, and it only took a single 30-minute local flight to make her a convert! Mine are black, hers are yellow and there is no confusion. Her DCs and my FlightComs are now on the hat rack for passenger use.

Look at all that headroom!!

[MooneyMitch]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Look at all that headroom!!

And we can see yer ears too !! 

[Seth]

I need to try the in ear. 

However I'm happiest with Bose A20's. They are my wife's Bose A20's we got for her after we tried a lot of different headsets for her so she would fly with me more. Since having kids we rarely go up so they've become my go-to headset.

1. Bose A20

2. Lightspeed Zulu 3 (upgraded from a Zulu 2 I got on a trade in on a 30 year old David Clark a retiring pilot gave me).

3. Lightspeed Zulu original I purchased in 2009

4. David Clark I bought in 2004- passive

5. 3 juvenile headsets given to me by pilots with grown kids

6. AVCom Crap headset which used to be my pax headset

 

Also, I have Bose QC25 and QC35 that I'm going to try with an N Flight Mic at some point for a "baby" bose A20

I just upgraded my Bose A20 with a lemo plug and have the original dual GA plug down cable. So I just purchased a used bose A20 upper for $300 and will now have a second bose A20 for the cockpit.

-Seth

 

[ZuluZulu]

7 hours ago, Mufflerbearing said:

I love my Zulu 3's.  They are comfortable but there was this one time, flying in a new to me area in CA, talking to ATC when out of no where, everything went super loud.  After a quick look at my engine gauges and engine monitor seeing what part of the engine was destroyed, finding nothing wrong, then realized that the batteries of my ANR head set died!  I was relieved I didn't have engine trouble, but the remainder of the trip was uncomfortable. 

I am looking at possibly a set of QT's.

Interesting.  I notice when the batteries fail but have never experienced "super loud" with any Zulu.  In fact the passive noise cancelling is often so good on its own that I sometimes forget to turn on ANR until I'm already in the climb.  I wonder why your experience was so different.

[carusoam]

Hank’s Mom always told him to sit up straight...

-a-

[midlifeflyer]

Since I don't own (and fly a variety, but sticking with Mooneys) the passenger headsets are mixed. My wife has her own but I have others to choose from for unrelated passengers. 

I also have a backup headset for myself. It's one of those UFQ L2 Chinese knockoffs. In ear with ANR. Incredibly quiet but I like my Lightspeed better except in a bubble canopy cockpit in the summer!

[Mooney in Oz]

On 3/19/2021 at 9:30 AM, carusoam said:

For me and a guest... I have two pair of halos... go well with...

• hats
• long hair
• glasses

For me... I have one pair of Bose A20... go well with...

• hats
• no hair
• glasses

[jlunseth]

On 3/18/2021 at 5:02 PM, Shadrach said:

Pilot gets an A20 passengers get Bose X.  I find all of the Bose sets to be quite comfortable on longs trips. The seal best with no interference from other items but do fine around my sunglasses or with a baseball hat or both for that matter. 

The downside is the ear pads typically start to disintegrate inside of 24 months leaving little black flecks on your face and ears. The also lack durability.  All of my Bose headsets lead a charmed life. They rarely leave my hangared airplane unless we're on an overnight and even then they are tucked away in purpose built headset cases. All of them have been overhauled at least once.  The mic shorts out or a wire breaks or the wire sheathing pulls away from the ear cups or etc...etc... I've never gotten 10 years out of a set before sending it back.  Contrast that with the FlightComs that I bought in the late 90s for just $99.95. Those things have been tossed in and out of flight bags, under seats and in the back of multiple flight school aircraft.  They still work and look like new...as do my old DC Vices. Neverless, I keep coming back to the comfort and quiet of the Bose.

Same here, A20 for me and Bose X's for passengers. I don't have much trouble with maintenance on any of them though. I have had to replace ear cups because of the flecking problem, but that was after about 8 years of use. I replace mike muffs every now and then. Other than that, they are just a great headset unless you sit on them or leave them in the sun.