View Full Version : Bose X headset
VORTIME
18th Nov 2006, 13:55
Hi there,
Does anyone here have opinions on whether the Bose X headset is worth the $995 (or ideas how to get it at a lower cost...?)
VT
Not worth it. Ebay. Do a search.
It is a very good headset, but you can get them much less than that.
Rod1
Zulu Alpha
18th Nov 2006, 16:05
The Bose ANR is very good, better than any of the others I've tried but it has almost no passive noise reduction so keep some spare batteries or use a panel power output.
I have not seen it anywhere in the US for less than $995 and depending where you buy you will have to pay sales tax on top (approx 8% in CA) or VAT if you are getting it shipped over here.
If you are buying and bringing back from the US it is often cheaper to get it shipped from another state to your hotel and then you don't pay sales tax. The shipping can often be less thaan the sales tax.
S-Works
18th Nov 2006, 16:34
outstanding bit of kit and worth every penny!! I have tried more headsets than I can shake a stick and the Bose is the best!
Mark 1
18th Nov 2006, 17:17
I've had one for a couple of years and about 400 hrs SEP flying, and its the best for comfort and noise by far, and pretty robust too given its rather flimsy appearance.
Batteries last for ages too.
I bought mine from Gulf Coast Avionics for a considerable saving over the UK price at the time. It's worth shopping around.
I've also been through many headsets over the years. The DCs have been reliable, and I still keep them for passengers. The new DC is claiming to compete with the Bose, but havn't seen any reports yet.
I've got Bose X (http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=headsetx_headset_index&ck=0) and Clarity Aloft (http://www.clarityaloft.com/) headsets and find the latter more comfortable, with the sound quality at least as good. However, their earplugs are a bit fiddly to fit, so I wouldn't recommend them for sharing between passengers. For that purpose, I've just bought a DC X11 (http://www.davidclark.com/X11/index.html) headset, which is the same weight as the Bose X, but squeezes my skull even less, and is much cheaper. It also operates in stereo, with a separate jack for an MP3 player.
I reckon that the Bose X is overrated, and its main appeal is its looks.
IO540
18th Nov 2006, 18:45
The bose-x is worth every penny. 6hr+ flights and it's barely noticed. I have four of them; three converted to aircraft power, and one with the normal jacks which I can use in other planes.
The main drawback is that you need to carefully brief passengers that they cost more than 20 quid and to treat them with care! This suprises a lot of people. They have to be looked after; they are not cheap club headsets which can be kicked around.
Bose are raking in the money on these, but so is everybody else in this business, selling yoke clocks for £1000, £300 GPSs for £3000-£7000, altimeters for £3000, etc.
The bose-x is worth every penny. 6hr+ flights and it's barely noticed.
Have you tried Clarity Aloft or DC X11?
mad_jock
18th Nov 2006, 20:44
As a matter of fact has anyone had a shot of x11's yet?
X11s not very good for the same reasons as the Bose; poor passive attenuation so high frequencies get through. I bought a set when they came out and sent them back within 2 weeks. The other problem with the X11s was the quality of R/T reception; while other ANR headsets clean it up the X11s actually reduced the clarity and it was like listening through a cardboard tube. While these headsets claim 'full spectrum noise reduction' if you look at the graphs the amount of attenuation at higher frequencies is minimal, so you need decent passive attenuation at these frequencies if, like me, you want to reduce wind noise (hissing not farting). I have not found anything yet to beat the Sennheiser HMEC 400/450 in this respect although they have more clamping force than the Bose or X11s. New model HMEC 460 might be worth a look but not cheap at £600 or so.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY or at least make sure you can send them back if you don't like them.
172driver
19th Nov 2006, 12:43
I've got Bose X (http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=headsetx_headset_index&ck=0) and Clarity Aloft (http://www.clarityaloft.com/) headsets and find the latter more comfortable, with the sound quality at least as good. However, their earplugs are a bit fiddly to fit, so I wouldn't recommend them for sharing between passengers. For that purpose, I've just bought a DC X11 (http://www.davidclark.com/X11/index.html) headset, which is the same weight as the Bose X, but squeezes my skull even less, and is much cheaper. It also operates in stereo, with a separate jack for an MP3 player.
I reckon that the Bose X is overrated, and its main appeal is its looks.
Soay, these Clarity Aloft look interesting. Been looking for something like that for a while. Did you get yours from the US or are there any European dealers ? (not a problem for the purchase, rather easier to deal with if a warranty issue arises). What type a/c do you use them in ? I mainly fly 172RGs which are, ahem, not the quietest type around :sad:
PS: are they comfy (and do they stay in) on long flights? Many of mine are in the 3-5 hr range, hence my wish to get away from the 'clamp-your-head-in-a-torture-instrument' styles
Soay, these Clarity Aloft look interesting. Been looking for something like that for a while. Did you get yours from the US or are there any European dealers ? (not a problem for the purchase, rather easier to deal with if a warranty issue arises). What type a/c do you use them in ? I mainly fly 172RGs which are, ahem, not the quietest type around :sad:
PS: are they comfy (and do they stay in) on long flights? Many of mine are in the 3-5 hr range, hence my wish to get away from the 'clamp-your-head-in-a-torture-instrument' styles
172driver, I bought them from The Flying Shop (http://www.adamsdirect.co.uk/proddetail.asp?modelno=Clarity%20Aloft), who I think are the only UK source.
Most of my flying has been in 172s and DA40s. They are very comfy and there is no risk of the earplugs popping out, if you have inserted them correctly. (You can tell if you haven't if the noise level increases significantly when you yawn.) There is also no risk of air pressure building up behind them. The longest I've worn them for was a 3.5 hour flight.
Lightspeed offer a variant that I haven't tried, called the Mach 1 (http://www.anrheadsets.com/products-mach1.asp). Like the Bose X, it looks good, but you have to have an expensive piece molded to fit inside your ear by an audiologist for it to be effective.
172driver
19th Nov 2006, 14:46
172driver, I bought them from The Flying Shop (http://www.adamsdirect.co.uk/proddetail.asp?modelno=Clarity%20Aloft), who I think are the only UK source.
Most of my flying has been in 172s and DA40s. They are very comfy and there is no risk of the earplugs popping out, if you have inserted them correctly. (You can tell if you haven't if the noise level increases significantly when you yawn.) There is also no risk of air pressure building up behind them. The longest I've worn them for was a 3.5 hour flight.
Lightspeed offer a variant that I haven't tried, called the Mach 1 (http://www.anrheadsets.com/products-mach1.asp). Like the Bose X, it looks good, but you have to have an expensive piece molded to fit inside your ear by an audiologist for it to be effective.
Soay, thanks for that. Of course, buying from the US cuts the price by about a third... what else is new. The Lightspeed one looks good also, if more expensive and I'm not sure how the rather beefy temple would interact with sunglasses. Btw, according to their website, you can have the 2-ear one w/o the custom-moulded earcups. How effective they then are is, of course, a different question. Think I might give the Clarity ones a go :ok:
scooter boy
19th Nov 2006, 19:54
I have Bose X headsets in the front seats of my Mooney Ovation 2GX - much better than anything else I have flown with both in terms of auditory clarity and comfort on long trips.
A really cool feature of the G1000 glass cockpit is the "play" button on the audio panel which permits replay of all broadcasts - very good if you are routed by an unexpected waypoint pronounced in peegeon Eengleesh.
My R44 has normal peltor headsets which do a pretty reasonable job of keeping the noise out by apparently clamping very hard to your head. It can take several hours for the Peltor induced pointy-headedness to resolve - the headset-hair quiff is incurable.
SB
IO540
19th Nov 2006, 21:00
Whether a decent headset is worth the money depends on whether you want to continue flying. If not, then no. If yes, then the cost is less than the cost of a decent GPS.
It would not suprise me if somebody did a headset as good as the Bose, at half the price. Technically it must be easy. The question is whether any existing player is going to bomb the price in a lucrative market. Doing that benefits nobody - except the consumer and he doesn't count.
SB
Do you find the replay useful on airways flights? I find the biggest problem to be not that I failed to hear the word(s) spoken; it tends to be that they told me to go to XXXXX and I don't recognise the intersection name. Or they say something like "direct koksy" and only a "regular" would know that is the KOK VOR. The full name does show in the detailed Flitestar/Jeppview plog and it pays to read those names before the flight... however, if I am given a waypoint that does not lie on the filed route then no amount of playback will clarify it; I have to ask for spelling and then I immediately enter it into the GPS and only then (having zoomed out to perhaps 500nm full-scale to see where the purple line ends) I can see where it is going to take me. Airways ATC don't let you mess around for long enough to play back this kind of stuff, IME. They give you 5-10 seconds, max, before they jump on you.
rotorspin
20th Nov 2006, 12:17
Plug some Bose-X headets into an R44 and BINGO! turns your piston engine heli into a smooth multi-million pound sound proofed wonder!! :cool:
If you are enthusiastic about flying I would say they are THE accessory for your Xmas stocking. They are so light, and cut out all the unwanted noise, but let the important noises through!
I have 4 battery portables, always keep spare AA batteries under the seats and ensure you change them every 25 hours of flying....
S-Works
20th Nov 2006, 12:36
Plug some Bose-X headets into an R44 and BINGO! turns your piston engine heli into a smooth multi-million pound sound proofed wonder!! :cool:
If you are enthusiastic about flying I would say they are THE accessory for your Xmas stocking. They are so light, and cut out all the unwanted noise, but let the important noises through!
I have 4 battery portables, always keep spare AA batteries under the seats and ensure you change them every 25 hours of flying....
Or use those Lithium high capacity batteries in them. I get aorund 60hrs out of a set!!! Bose-X is the best thing sliced bread...
scooter boy
20th Nov 2006, 21:25
IO, I really do think this function helps.
Especially if you get your onward clearance whilst embroiled in worrying about something else. Just hit play and repeat the waypoint name as they said it then get frantically searching. If you haven't found it after a couple of minutes then they can spell it out.
Rather than zooming out I go to the nearest waypoint page on the G1000 which lists proximate waypoints and it is usually quite easy to find the off plan waypoint you are being directed to unless the coloquial name is totally different from the phonetic identifier (which happens occasionally).
I agree about KOKSY though - there is a good reason why they don't pronounce it phonetically as "KOK"!
SB
englishal
21st Nov 2006, 00:13
They are very nice headsets....but $1000 is a hell of a lot of money for a pair of earphones....
I find the Bose to be the best of the bunch that I have tried.
The Telex 50 has more passive reduction and is better in really noisy aircraft like an Aztec.But they tend to make you look like Mickey Mouse, that's how big they are.
I would never be able to justify to myself to shelf out $1000 for a headset.
Traded my Telex in that still had factory warranty and paid another $500 on top.
Now that I could live with....:E
IO540
21st Nov 2006, 04:22
Either there is a curious contrast between how much people are willing to spend on a headset and how much they are (presumably) spending on flying, or a lot of people on these forums rarely if ever do any flying ;)
There is another possibility, which is that a lot of people are not too bothered about whether they can hear ATC properly. Judging from what I hear on the radio fairly regularly :ugh: this is a plausible explanation too.
A really good headset is like a really good GPS. It will last you for many years, can be used in any plane that you will ever own or fly in, and will make a lot of difference.
IO540
The other possibility is we are paying a lot less for our 100 hours a year than you think! Very happy Bose owner.
Rod1
IO540
21st Nov 2006, 18:00
That is very true. If I was willing to sacrifice IFR capability, I would probably be flying something on a Permit too :)
S-Works
21st Nov 2006, 18:03
as would I. But I won't!
VORTIME
22nd Nov 2006, 18:16
If anyone knows a US company who will sell it below Bose's official $995 list price - please PM me!
VT
tiggermoth
22nd Nov 2006, 22:37
For anything it's worth, I bought the David Clarke X11 (yep, that's the expensive Automatic Noise Reduction set) bought from Florida, it does very well at reducing the low frequency stuff like the engine noise but does not seem to touch the high frequency stuff. This may be an advantage to people who are concerned that they may not hear the stall warning. I must warn you too that my basis is only with about three hours of use compared to the (excellent) David Clarke 13.4 set.
They are extremely comfortable though, and even more comfortable than the DC 13.4's (if that's possible). As a word of warning, my instuctor (Henry) wore his DC 13.4's in preference to a Sennheiser ANR set dues to comfort (he only wore the Sennheiser set on a 3hr night cross country dual when he plugged in his iPOD).
Having said all that I will not be going back to my David Clarke 13.4 (as good as they are - especially with the cloth covers) after the David Clarke X11's - any attenuation is a good investment in your own hearing. I hope one day to still hear the whispers of my wife next to me.
Ah,
T.
PS To put it into perspective though, how on earth can a headset cost the same as a leather sofa....