In The Ear Headset

[GaryP1007]

OK, I ordered the Clarity Aloft yesterday....30 day trial/return policy. Didn't expect to see so much on the Halo! Thanks for the input....I will give my 2 cents when I get them.

[GaryP1007]

Does Halo have an option other than the foam earplug? That is the one thing I wasn't sure about. The CA's have a rubber type earplug. Not sure which is better.

[David Mazer]

Erik,

You might try using the silicone ends during the winter. Slightly less noise attenuation but a lot easier to work with in the cold. On the other hand, when the foam is cold, it holds the compression a little longer and gives a little more time for insertion if you need it.

[fantom]

I've tried them many times and just don't like the feel, the fit, or the sound. Otherwise they're fine

Guess I'll stick to my comfortable Bose headset.

[201er]

After using nothing but the Halo for an entire year, recently using the Bose in someone else's plane, the Bose felt soooo excruciatingly heavy and uncomfortable!

Completely different than the feeling I got when I went from David Clark to Bose, back then they felt golden!

[Mcstealth]

Ditto, great unit.

I'm thinking about buying a BluLink adapter (see link below) so that my wife could listen to her iPod and use her phone via Bluetooth in her Halo's. Do any of you have this unit, and if so, how well does it work?

http://www.sportys.c...CFUqoPAod8AYAXw

I am interested in this aswer also. Hope someone has a real Mooney world PIREP on this product.

df

[fantom]

After using nothing but the Halo for an entire year, recently using the Bose in someone else's plane, the Bose felt soooo excruciatingly heavy and uncomfortable!

....and the Halo's don't interfere with your earring

[David Mazer]

Interesting question about BluLink. I had a unit that worked great with my Halo headset but it got wet and was lost at the bottom of an alligator infested lake (another, long, sad story). I purchased another unit and when I use it without turning on the power it was fine for listening to the radios but, of course, didn't Bluetooth to anything. Pacific Coast Avionics was good enough to take it back and sent me a different unit. This unit does the same thing!

I decided I was doing something wrong so I tried to replace the batteries. No help. Different headsets (DCs). No help. Different radios. No help. So I called the manufacturer today (pretty current topic, eh) and Abram, a very pleasant and helpful person, said it had to be the unit if it happens when the power goes on and he is sending me a 4th unit, no charge, even before I send back the unit I have. Very nice of him.

Anyway, I wouldn't be going through all this trouble if I hadn't already had one that worked great. The cell phone reception was clearer than from the phone itself and people receiving the calls said the sound quality was excellent. So, if and when I get another operating unit, I'm keeping it!

[flyboy0681]

The in ear stuff might work great, but they make you look more like a telephone operator than a way cool Mooney pilot.

Don't say that to one of the old mission controllers from the Apollo program.

[Marauder]

Don't say that to one of the old mission controllers from the Apollo program.

LOL! Now that is some funny stuff! They all wore them in the movie Apollo 13. I'm curious on trying these. I actually saw some of 201er's UTube videos with him wearing it. Thought at first it was a Telex (the kind you see in airlines). I hate wearing a headset in the summer and always carry a baseball cap with me to deal with the "headset head" problem.

How are the mics on these headsets. I have a set of foam cushion iPod earbuds so I know how well the in the ear stuff works. Just curious if there are issues with mic clarity or if it picks up background noise.

[aviatoreb]

Erik,

You might try using the silicone ends during the winter. Slightly less noise attenuation but a lot easier to work with in the cold. On the other hand, when the foam is cold, it holds the compression a little longer and gives a little more time for insertion if you need it.

I've never been able to get those silicone ends to block noise worth a darn. For me, they aren't worth using. I must be doing it wrong.

Like I said, when the foam gets very very cold - like 0F, they do not compress easily and they do not rebound easily either. In fact it seems like it permanently ruins their ability to rebound if I compress them when that cold. 32F is a different matter - they are just stiff.

[aviatoreb]

This is a very true statement which I discovered just last week. Unusually cold temps down here made my foam tips quite hard to the point where I had trouble getting them small enough to insert into my ear. I'm not quite sure how to solve it when it happens again.

Solution is to warm them in your ear - if you can compress them enough to get into your ear then all is saved - stick them in your ear and they will warm nicely. Then in a few minutes you can reinsert them now warm and malleable.

Better to warm them under your coat while you are preflighting.

[201er]

How are the mics on these headsets. I have a set of foam cushion iPod earbuds so I know how well the in the ear stuff works. Just curious if there are issues with mic clarity or if it picks up background noise.

From what I can tell, the mic is excellent. On par with Bose. BUT it's bigger and you can't easily turn it away when about to pop a sandwich into your in air refuel hole. Normal headsets let the mic swivel up to get it out of the way. On the Halo, you can only move it by bending the wire it is attached by, but then you gotta readjust it all over again to get it the way you like it.

I would never recommend the Halo to a student, renter, or passenger. They are delicate, wouldn't handle being in a bag well, the case is useless, but if all you do is keep them permanently plugged in on the panel and only use them for the same pilot, I think they're the best. It's expensive enough to be excellent quality but cheap enough that I won't be kicking myself for losing or breaking them. The Bose always made me nervous about leaving them on the glareshield or forgetting them.

[flyboy0681]

From what I can tell, the mic is excellent. On par with Bose. BUT it's bigger and you can't easily turn it away

Actually, the mic element and housing are very small, it's the foam cover that is large.

[aviatoreb]

Ditto, great unit.

I'm thinking about buying a BluLink adapter (see link below) so that my wife could listen to her iPod and use her phone via Bluetooth in her Halo's. Do any of you have this unit, and if so, how well does it work?

http://www.sportys.c...CFUqoPAod8AYAXw

Does anything exist that does the same thing by wire...i.e., something that goes inline between your headset and panel that then has a plug in to accept a wire from an ipod or something? Ie., does the same job simpler and cheaper.

[David Mazer]

Erik,

The trick with the silicone was to be sure I had them in far enough. Once I learned that, they work well. I actually push them in until they hurt slightly and then back them out a smidgen. If you put them in while the engine is running you'll hear the change when you get them in the right depth.

[DonMuncy]

Jim,

The Headsets, Inc. modification is kind of a fun project. May take a couple of hours depending on your skill with a soldering gun. But they are worth way more than the cost. I consider it one of the best bang for the buck deals I have ever done with my plane.

[Riq]

I also converted a couple pair of 13.4's to anr with the headsets inc kit. Great product and great customer support. I was always going to pick up a set of clarity alofts to try out, but after reading this I'm now thinking of trying the halos.

[aviatoreb]

Erik,

The trick with the silicone was to be sure I had them in far enough. Once I learned that, they work well. I actually push them in until they hurt slightly and then back them out a smidgen. If you put them in while the engine is running you'll hear the change when you get them in the right depth.

 

Hey David!  By golly!  I think you got it.  As I said I keep my QT halo at home in the winter - so this evening I tried those silicone tips again - ala your method.  Push them in deep until they almost hurt - then pull out slightly.  That last step seems to be keep as it causes those little lip things to on the silicone can ratchet back a bit which I think makes them expand to fill the gap and seal the sound.  Anyway, suddenly they seem to block some sound.

 

Huh!

 

So do you think they are as effective when used properly as the yellow foam?  If so - maybe I will start using this thing in the winter again.  Stay tuned.

 

Funny I just ordered 10 new foams sets last week.  $1.50 each and all.  

[201er]

I tried the silicone ones for the first time today and you guys are right. They're not as comfortable or quiet as the foam but if you tweak them just right, they work ok. But if you don't put them in right, they do nothing. Not sure if I'll go back to them or just deal with stiff foam in winter.

[Ned Gravel]

Halos for me too.  Been about five months and they are great.

[David Mazer]

Also, I have tried a couple of hardwired cellphone/MP3 player connections with terrible results.  The only one that has ever worked worth anything was the first BluLink.  Hopefully, it won't be the last BluLink to work.

 

Inserting the silicone plugs required pointing the bend at the end of the tube up so it didn't hit my ear as I pushed it in.  Maybe that is why most of us don't put them in far enough at first.

[Marauder]

I tried the silicone ones for the first time today and you guys are right. They're not as comfortable or quiet as the foam but if you tweak them just right, they work ok. But if you don't put them in right, they do nothing. Not sure if I'll go back to them or just deal with stiff foam in winter.

When I saw the silicone ones on their site they looked very familiar. Here are the ones I used for hunting. Wonder of they are made by the same people: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Combat-Arms-Ear-Plugs/735177.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3DEar%2Bprotection%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=Ear+protection&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

[aviatoreb]

Also, I have tried a couple of hardwired cellphone/MP3 player connections with terrible results.  The only one that has ever worked worth anything was the first BluLink.  Hopefully, it won't be the last BluLink to work.

 

Inserting the silicone plugs required pointing the bend at the end of the tube up so it didn't hit my ear as I pushed it in.  Maybe that is why most of us don't put them in far enough at first.

 

By golly - insertion prescription - that last idea - the elbow at the end up - just tried it and now they actually really like they may work well with the silicone.

[GaryP1007]

Order arrived yesterday, doing an Angel Flight tomorrow from Boston to Philadelphia and back.  I will report my impressions no later than Monday.

 

Happy New Year All.