Another headset recommendation thread ?
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A few personal observations:
- ANR is, in the words of Richard Collins, the greatest thing since seat cushions when it comes to comfort in GA aircraft. It has also improved tons over the years.
- before you spend any "medium" amount of money on a low-end ANR headset, try a Bose A20 or Lightspeed Zulu.2 or something in that league. In an airplane, if at all possible. Only after that make a decision how much more quiet is worth to you.
-I have never understood why so often students are told to start out with crappy headsets. Many PPLers will never again fly as much in as short a time as during their training. Why suffer through it?
- it's not that some headsets don't match. It's that some intercoms are total cr*p. A good intercom should handle any mix.
IMHO, friends don't let friends use passive headsets. ;-)
- ANR is, in the words of Richard Collins, the greatest thing since seat cushions when it comes to comfort in GA aircraft. It has also improved tons over the years.
- before you spend any "medium" amount of money on a low-end ANR headset, try a Bose A20 or Lightspeed Zulu.2 or something in that league. In an airplane, if at all possible. Only after that make a decision how much more quiet is worth to you.
-I have never understood why so often students are told to start out with crappy headsets. Many PPLers will never again fly as much in as short a time as during their training. Why suffer through it?
- it's not that some headsets don't match. It's that some intercoms are total cr*p. A good intercom should handle any mix.
IMHO, friends don't let friends use passive headsets. ;-)
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Thanks for the replies, after lots head scratching between the Zulu's and H10-13.4's I went with DC not sure if that's the right choice but my thinking is it's saved me £400 which will pay for more flying, books etc and they must be more comfy and sound better than the schools headset ?
I've told myself once I've completed my PPL I'll treat myself to the Zulu's and then I've got the DC's for a passenger
I've told myself once I've completed my PPL I'll treat myself to the Zulu's and then I've got the DC's for a passenger
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when I upgrade from the Bose A10 to the A20
I started the engine on the SR20, saw the prop moving but missed the engine noise which you do hear when wearing the A10. So I cut the engine and restarted. Nothing was wrong with the engine, the Bose A20 is working so much better
The Bose A20, you need to try it on in a long flight, is very comfortable
Goodluck
Ronny
I started the engine on the SR20, saw the prop moving but missed the engine noise which you do hear when wearing the A10. So I cut the engine and restarted. Nothing was wrong with the engine, the Bose A20 is working so much better
The Bose A20, you need to try it on in a long flight, is very comfortable
Goodluck
Ronny
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I have a very old Echelon ANR headset, that I actually still like. (I didn't buy it, I was given it by a friend who had given up flying.)
However, not long ago my wife bought me a trial lesson in a helicopter (loved it), and the instructor gave me an Bose A20 to wear.
Wow, what a difference. I instantly fell in love with it, if not the price. Since then I have been trying to justify the cost, but haven't managed that bit yet!
However, not long ago my wife bought me a trial lesson in a helicopter (loved it), and the instructor gave me an Bose A20 to wear.
Wow, what a difference. I instantly fell in love with it, if not the price. Since then I have been trying to justify the cost, but haven't managed that bit yet!
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A very coincidental update. My wife has just bought me a present. She has bought me a DC H20-10.
However, this doesn't have ANR. I'm interested to know peoples' opinions of that headset, and whether people would recommend me "upgrading".
However, this doesn't have ANR. I'm interested to know peoples' opinions of that headset, and whether people would recommend me "upgrading".
I have a Bose-X and a Harry Mendelssohn HM40.
The Bose is more comfortable with better noise attenuation - however, it also belongs to work, and I'm often test flying GA types so prefer less noise attenuation.
So work flying that isn't test flying, or long ferry trips: I mostly use the Bose. My own aeroplane, vintage types, test flying, instructing, I mostly use the HM40.
The DC10-13.4 is generally accepted to be the best passive headset on the market. We also use those at work, mainly we issue them to hamfisted crewmembers who keep breaking the relatively fragile Bose headsets.
I tried an experiment a while ago where I took a work DC10-13.4 and my own HM40s on a long trip (Cranfield to Exeter and back in an AA5 iirc) and swapped them over a couple of times. Couldn't tell the difference, on which grounds I will continue to use the HM40s and actually am about to buy a spare set.
At work we trialled multiple headsets for our very noisy work aeroplane a few years ago. The best by a small margin was the Bose-X (this was before the A20 came out), then the DC10-13.4, then a large gap before a selection of other headsets, both active and passive. That was one particular environment, but a very severe one - the scoring was by about 30 users over about 35 flying hours covering sound quality, comfort and a few other things.
My own HM40 set worked fine for 10 years, then misbehaved, and a complete overhaul cost £50.
So, from all of that, I'd say Bose if you can afford it and don't have my personal need to hear all the funny noises, then HM40. DC10-13.4 if you can get a bargain, or prefer to own stuff from a big brand. Personally I'd not look at other brands - Bose are the best in active, and DC and HM budget neck-and-neck on passive. Everybody else is "also ran".
G
The Bose is more comfortable with better noise attenuation - however, it also belongs to work, and I'm often test flying GA types so prefer less noise attenuation.
So work flying that isn't test flying, or long ferry trips: I mostly use the Bose. My own aeroplane, vintage types, test flying, instructing, I mostly use the HM40.
The DC10-13.4 is generally accepted to be the best passive headset on the market. We also use those at work, mainly we issue them to hamfisted crewmembers who keep breaking the relatively fragile Bose headsets.
I tried an experiment a while ago where I took a work DC10-13.4 and my own HM40s on a long trip (Cranfield to Exeter and back in an AA5 iirc) and swapped them over a couple of times. Couldn't tell the difference, on which grounds I will continue to use the HM40s and actually am about to buy a spare set.
At work we trialled multiple headsets for our very noisy work aeroplane a few years ago. The best by a small margin was the Bose-X (this was before the A20 came out), then the DC10-13.4, then a large gap before a selection of other headsets, both active and passive. That was one particular environment, but a very severe one - the scoring was by about 30 users over about 35 flying hours covering sound quality, comfort and a few other things.
My own HM40 set worked fine for 10 years, then misbehaved, and a complete overhaul cost £50.
So, from all of that, I'd say Bose if you can afford it and don't have my personal need to hear all the funny noises, then HM40. DC10-13.4 if you can get a bargain, or prefer to own stuff from a big brand. Personally I'd not look at other brands - Bose are the best in active, and DC and HM budget neck-and-neck on passive. Everybody else is "also ran".
G
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...The DC10-13.4 is generally accepted to be the best passive headset on the market.
...
At work we trialled multiple headsets for our very noisy work aeroplane a few years ago.
...
So, from all of that, I'd say Bose if you can afford it and don't have my personal need to hear all the funny noises, then HM40. DC10-13.4 if you can get a bargain, or prefer to own stuff from a big brand. Personally I'd not look at other brands - Bose are the best in active, and DC and HM budget neck-and-neck on passive. Everybody else is "also ran".
...
At work we trialled multiple headsets for our very noisy work aeroplane a few years ago.
...
So, from all of that, I'd say Bose if you can afford it and don't have my personal need to hear all the funny noises, then HM40. DC10-13.4 if you can get a bargain, or prefer to own stuff from a big brand. Personally I'd not look at other brands - Bose are the best in active, and DC and HM budget neck-and-neck on passive. Everybody else is "also ran".
The simple fact is this: us humans cannot possibly know everything about anything. Sometimes, it behooves us to just admit that - or at least keep quiet on a subject.
Yet here we have this post, making bold, sweeping statements about how one brand is "it" and the others are "also ran". The post is based on a product that is THREE product generations back and not even available anymore. Not only has the brand mentioned since come out with a new and substantially different model, but other brands have introduced substantially different technology.
I just have to wonder: why post? And was any thought given to the fact that a reader might infer the same principles of what personal knowledge a post is based on are applied to any other subjects the poster writes about? Hmm.
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Long trip ?
Cranfield to Exeter & back being a long trip just about sums up UK GA !
To return to the subject I have been in conversation with the CEO of a company that makes aircraft audio panels and intercoms one of these I am about to have fitted to my aircraft. I wanted to know what headset would work best with the companys audio system.
The reply was that lightspeed, Senhiser, Bose and most other headsets are all satisfactory and it is largely down to personal preference.
My reading of the situation is that most of the leading players in the market are using more or less the same technology for the active sound supprestion, but the comfort issue depends mostly on the shape of the individuals head so untill you have put all the options on your head you wont know the answer as to what is best for you.
I intend to be replacing my twenty year old DC's with Bose A20's as I think the comfort provided by these is likely to match the 6 hour endurance of my aircraft.
To return to the subject I have been in conversation with the CEO of a company that makes aircraft audio panels and intercoms one of these I am about to have fitted to my aircraft. I wanted to know what headset would work best with the companys audio system.
The reply was that lightspeed, Senhiser, Bose and most other headsets are all satisfactory and it is largely down to personal preference.
My reading of the situation is that most of the leading players in the market are using more or less the same technology for the active sound supprestion, but the comfort issue depends mostly on the shape of the individuals head so untill you have put all the options on your head you wont know the answer as to what is best for you.
I intend to be replacing my twenty year old DC's with Bose A20's as I think the comfort provided by these is likely to match the 6 hour endurance of my aircraft.
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I have to concur with thborchert but would add a little to this - and it's all about your own personal comfort. Too many buy headsets online or based on someone else's recommendation instead of trying them for size.
I went to my local retailer, intent on buying a Sennheiser S1 passive - I didn't want to spend more on an active headset. I then tried it on and it felt "perched" on the top of my head - no doubt after a few hours flying, it would have felt "the norm" but as I was there, I tried out all the headsets he had. The DCs really felt as if my head was in a vice. No wonder the passive performance is so good if the headphones are pressed with so much force against my head, but at what price? Headaches after an hour?
I tried all headsets they had there - more than 30 different brands and models - including active with a sound generator to compare the performance and my personal choice, the headset which fitted me best, was the Lightspeed Zulu. I tried to rationalise not needing active, not needing to spend so much money, but once I'd decided to splash out for active, I also thought about spending a bit more to buy the Bose as a few had said it's active performance was "years" ahead of anything else - but in the sound chamber, I couldn't hear ANY difference....
Also, reading various forums, I'd heard about the poor customer service from Bose when discussing defects, I'd also heard about how good Lightspeed is, that defects, even out of warranty, were repaired without cost. So, I'm not here to say "this is the best, the others are also rans", I'd recommend everyone to try before they buy. All I can say is that my Zulu.2 headset is not an "also-ran", but for me the optimum headset.
I went to my local retailer, intent on buying a Sennheiser S1 passive - I didn't want to spend more on an active headset. I then tried it on and it felt "perched" on the top of my head - no doubt after a few hours flying, it would have felt "the norm" but as I was there, I tried out all the headsets he had. The DCs really felt as if my head was in a vice. No wonder the passive performance is so good if the headphones are pressed with so much force against my head, but at what price? Headaches after an hour?
I tried all headsets they had there - more than 30 different brands and models - including active with a sound generator to compare the performance and my personal choice, the headset which fitted me best, was the Lightspeed Zulu. I tried to rationalise not needing active, not needing to spend so much money, but once I'd decided to splash out for active, I also thought about spending a bit more to buy the Bose as a few had said it's active performance was "years" ahead of anything else - but in the sound chamber, I couldn't hear ANY difference....
Also, reading various forums, I'd heard about the poor customer service from Bose when discussing defects, I'd also heard about how good Lightspeed is, that defects, even out of warranty, were repaired without cost. So, I'm not here to say "this is the best, the others are also rans", I'd recommend everyone to try before they buy. All I can say is that my Zulu.2 headset is not an "also-ran", but for me the optimum headset.
