NOISE CANCELLATION HEADSETS

[787FOCAL]

I am looking for feedback from pilots on current noise cancellation headsets.

What are your gripes?
Prefer battery operated or hard wired?

Thanks

[Trogdor]

I use the Bose headset. I recently got it and I love it. It is by far the most comfortable headset I have ever worn.

Good: Light weight, comfortable, noise cancellation works great.

Bad: Offers zero protection when the batteries die (just keep extras on hand), have to wear thin sunglasses or wear sunglasses at weird angle in an effort not to break the seal around your ears.

[F4F]

Sennheisers at work, Bose private; when only the best will suffice, protecting your hearing is not a matter of price :ok:

[Jetavia]

Anyone use the telex 850 on 737 classics, do they work on the 734?

[ravenx]

Is there any truth in the "rumour" that the noise cancelling headsets are as worse than actually having the noise in the first place. These devices cancel the noise by creating an opposite and equal fequency which then cancels out the noise. You therefore have twice the "stuff" entering the ears. Any truth in this ?

[ionagh]

Is there any truth in the "rumour" that the noise cancelling headsets are as worse than actually having the noise in the first place. These devices cancel the noise by creating an opposite and equal fequency which then cancels out the noise. You therefore have twice the "stuff" entering the ears. Any truth in this ?

Not true. They amplify the ambient noise and replay it inside the phones out of phase. Any noise that leaks into the phones remains 'in phase'. The 2 signals 'in phase' and 'out of phase' then cancel each other out. Net result is (ideally) zero noise level arrives at the ears.

[T-Mass]

Telex Stratus 50D, claimed to be on par with the Bose, though no personal experience for comparison. Overall very comfortable 5-6 hours straight, but eats batteries (I use rechargeable) unfortunately, unless you have the panel powered version. Either way, it'll do a very good job as a passive headset also.

Minor gripes other than the battery life, occasionally the mic senses the noise slightly off (for example when having one window open in the cockpit during taxi etc., yeah I know, no pressurized a/c for me yet...) causing a minor vibration in one earphone, until the "system" figures out the correct balance. That's as far as I can go with this digital-noice-cancellation-technology-mambojambo.

I'll measure the bang-for-the-buck when I'm 60 and hopefully not wearing a hearing aid. Worth the top-dolla for me so far, highly recommend them.

T

[Led Zep]

I'll give Bose the thumbs up too. The only downsides I've found is that the mic sidetone isn't very strong (it's loud and clear, but sounds a bit "hollow" for lack of a better word) and that I have to tilt my thick-armed sunnies up at a weird angle to get 100% of the cancellation. You look strange, but it is worth it. :ok:
If you use decent rechargeable batteries, they last a long time too.