ANR Headsets

[timdoyly]

Which product achieves good balance between passive and active noise reduction in speech frequencies.
Many manufacturers confuse issue by quoting attenuation figures in a range of inappropriate? frequencies.
Hoping to hear from all those single and twin piston pilots with 'ears on' experience who can recommend the best.
(If that's allowed on Pprune)

[QDMQDMQDM]

I love my Pilot PA17-79s. Very good quality and no battery box flapping around.

QDM

[rustle]

"...who can recommend the best"

BOSE-X.

Demonstrated at Farnborough last year.

See here: http://anrheadset.bose.com/anrheadset/

Not cheap...

[Philip Whiteman]

I'd second QDM on the handy and very effective Pilot PA17-76/79. However, very impressive too was the Adams Aviation ANC conversion kit for David Clark headsets - it works much better than it has any right to!

[Lowtimer]

I have one of these too, in a DC 10-40, and it's brilliant. I use a rechargeable NiMH PP3-style battery and it lasts about 6-7 hours in a Yak-52, about 14 hours in a PA-28. My Yak instructor, Ian Auston, uses the same and he swears by his too. Took me only a couple of hours to install myself, and I haven't done any soldering for about 15 years. There are people around who will install them for you, more neatly than I managed myself, but mine works fine. With a good second-hand 10-40, you end up with a high quality active headset for about the cost of a good new passive one.

You do need the proper DC gel ear seals, though.

However, very impressive too was the Adams Aviation ANC conversion kit for David Clark headsets - it works much better than it has any right to!

[Flyin'Dutch']

Just been looking into this myself (again!)

The Adams conversion can be done from a guy that flies from Stapleford (he also has modified it so that it will auto-off) and fits gels if you have the old fashioned foam seals.

As I need an extra headset I decided not to go for this but have tried out a variety of contenders at RD Aviation who are helpful and knowledgeable.

The Denalis (IIRC £320'sh) were a non starter as they seem incompatible with the DCs that I already have. My wife rated them best for wear together with the Bose X.

The Sennheiser 300 (£350)was fine but I thought not as comfortable as the DC 10-13X.(£525)

Most comfortable was the Bose X. This one is also the most expensive (at nearly £800)

IF I can find one or two good second hand DC 13.4's I will go for the conversion, failing that I will have to have a look in the kitty and decide which one it will be.

I did find it pays to have a look at some websites as there is quite a bit of variation in prices.

HTH and MHO as always.

No connection with any of the above individuals/companies mentioned.

FD

[Crossedcontrols]

I *also like the Pilot PA17-79.
Very good passive attenuation and comfortable.

CC

*Must be a cub thing

[Jhieminga]

As an alternative: Softcomm C90 (Company website (http://www.softcommheadsets.com) ). I do not have a clue who sells them around the UK (as I bought mine in Florida) but for the same price as a non-ANR DC 13.4 I find it a very comfortable headset with a decent ANR system. The sound quality of the DC 13X is slightly better, but at twice the cost...... I found it an easy choice. It's given me excellent service since.

Still the best thing to do is to go out and try them on, if it doesn't fit right then don't buy it!

[MLS-12D]

This may be of interest: http://www.vansairforce.org/misc/headsets/

Cheers,

MLS-12D

[Flying Tooth Driller]

I have experience with a few of the mentioned headsets:

1) Pilot PA17-79 - the headband is a bit unwieldy and high, and I found they sometimes slipped around, even when I'd adjusted them as best as I could. Passive attenuation was quite good. With the ANR on, they were definitely better, but I still didn't reckon they were THAT good. Battery held charge OK, and the fact that there is no box is a definite plus. Unfortunately, I had two sets fail on me, and I gave up......

2) Headsets Inc. conversion on a DC H10-13.4 carried out by Adams themselves. Very good indeed. It has been said that the installation of the modules degrades the passive performance somewhat, but there is no doubt that when you turn on the ANR, the noise reduction is excellent, and communication with ATC is very much clearer. Reasonable battery life - and now they have an auto shut-off, I believe. Usual DC close but clamped fit.

3) DC H10-13X Fabulous DC quality. Variations in the battery box over the years, but the 6 AA type is heavy - tuck it into the sidewall pocket of a PA28! ANR performance is good - not outstanding, but communication is very clear. Comfort as above.
Still have good passive performance if you lose the power (the batteries do last a very long time).

4) Bose X Most comfortable of all. No fatigue from wearing them. A little bit more fragile than the DCs perhaps, but the magnesium headband is very strong. They fit really well, and do not slip. Battery box is small (PP3 type - with a press-in fitting fortunately NOT involving clipping the battery on - those clips and wires must fail sooner or later - and they use one in the DC H10-13X to take the power from the removable 6AA pack! Maybe they've changed that in newer types), but the plugs are on separate short leads coming off it. So it can hang awkwardly in many planes. Battery life good. ANR performance is SUPERB. Wonderful audio quality. Passive performance is poor - so carry a spare battery (well, who wouldn't?). Expensive, but worth it - the dog's b-------ks!

[MLS-12D]

Thanks for the firsthand information, Tooth Driller.

[Mr. TCU]

timdoyly,

Many manufacturers confuse issue by quoting attenuation figures in a range of inappropriate? frequencies.

First off I won't admit to knowing much about ANR headsets. My thoughts on why the manufacturers quote attenuation figures in a range outside of human speech is because that's where all the noise that we don't want to hear is.

If the frequencies that human speech typically occupies were attenuated, then the ANR would filter out human speech. That's the part they want to leave alone. As I said though, I'm not an ANR expert or anything and await correction if I am wrong.

[michael penny]

Hi Guys, I think Soft Comm might be worth a look, I have a C20 set that are 25 years old!! They are a little heavy though, but I have tryed friends anr sets and to tell the truth I can"t really tell the difference. What"s that I could be deaf? HELLO!

[Keef]

I thought my DC 13.4 was pretty good till the Stapleford mod was done. For an old and decrepit person like me, it made a quite amazing improvement in readability of the comms I was trying to hear.

It's so good that when the battery ran flat in flight, I was seriously tempted to land for a replacement. I now keep a spare in the flight bag.

I tried one other ANR headset, and couldn't tell any difference. I'd had the DC for years, so the mod was the obvious choice. If I hadn't had a headset at all, I might have done more analysis.

Everyone I know who's had the Stapleford mod has been delighted by it.

The "auto off" is a useful addition, and saves flat batteries. I'm a disinterested party in the ANR mod, but have a vested interest in the auto-off: I designed it for Richard.