Clarity Aloft

[greekboy]

hi all

just wondered if any of you have experience in use of clarity aloft headsets and whether they a suitable for use in f/w and rotary(s 269). is the noise reduction any good?

thanx
gb

[Gomer Pylot]

I can't speak to fixed-wing use, but I assume they're fine there. I've used them extensively in helicopters, and they work better than any standard headset I've tried, including ANR models. The noise reduction is directly related to the earplugs you use, and their fit. I generally use standard foam earplugs, with the connectors inserted into them. I just remove the plastic connection part from a used set of eartips, and use that inside the regular foam plugs. Cheaper, and quieter. The difference in noise levels between this and a dome-type headset is dramatic, and the difference in comfort level is even more dramatic. I won't use a headset with domes again, no matter the brand or price.

[PlankBlender]

I've been using the Lightspeed Mach 1 in different single/multi engine fixed wing and rotary (H300) for a few weeks, and my experience is like Gomer Pylot's: Excellent quality of audio :D, even without the ANR very good noise reduction (I use the standard no roll plugs that came with the set), and apart from the feeling of the ear plugs you don't know you're wearing a headset, which is of course quite different from the head-in-a-vice feeling after a long flight with a dome type headset :{. I won't ever go back, either!

The only thing you may need is an adaptor from the two plugs to one as some helis don't have the two plug system. I've had an issue in a brand new H300 that didn't have an intercom fitted yet, I assume it was the different impedance ratings of the microphones that made the David Clark's of the other pilot sound scratchy and cut out momentarily. Not a huge issue in my view as most machines will have intercoms of course.

Have a look here: http://www.anrheadsets.com/PDF/Aviation_Consumer_Lightweight_Headset_Article_R.pdf

An interesting comparision of the Clarity Aloft, the Lightspeed Macht 1 and a bluetooth headset. I went for the Mach 1 because of the absence of a headband and the general build quality. I am sure the Clarity is just as good, so it's really a matter of taste..

I am just about to get myself some custom earpieces made (any audiologist will do it, I am in Australia and cannot use the Lightspeed US-based infrastructure for this), from what I could read in other threads this elevates the noise reduction to another level (apparently you can get up to 35-40db this way) and you can lose the "over the ear support" because the custom earpiece doesn't rotate in your ear like a simple plug and therefore the super lightweight boom will not slip down from the correct position next to your mouth..

In my view this type of headset is the proverbial bee's knees, and I would be very surprised if we don't see the majority of pilots switching over in the next decade or so. Why wouldn't you, given the advantages? I haven't yet heard about any drawbacks, and you cut out the battery consumption and with the ANR a costly piece of circuitry, thereby eliminating a source of failure from the cockpit (ever run out of batteries in a Bose X?? :eek:).

[greekboy]

HEY GUYS

thanx a lot for the info.that article makes interesting reading.

my girlfriend said she'll spoil me with a pair of my choice(clarity or lightspeed) next month...;)

gb

[Bushfiva]

my girlfriend

Bang go my preconceptions about your handle.

[greekboy]

huh ................

[Bravo73]

Certain Ancient Greeks were very keen on 'boys'. :E

[greekboy]

oh lol. good one. was confused there for a second

:ok:

[PlankBlender]

..just ordered my custom earplugs for the Lightspeed. My local audiologists took ten minutes to take the moulds, and a specialist company in Queensland will take about ten days to come up with the finished product, including postal times. No need to send in the actual headset, they've fitted plugs to the Mach 1 before and apparently know how to drill the plugs so they fit perfectly.

I was told the whole thing will set me back about 180 Aussie bucks (just north of 100 Euros), I'll post my first impressions here when I've had a chance to try them..

[PlankBlender]

I've now used the custom earplugs with my Mach 1 in fixed wing and rotary for a little while, and can confirm it lives up to the promise: No need for the over-the-ear hook any more, just plug it in and adjust the boom, done. Fantastic noise reduction even without ANR, more than good enough for a noisy door-off R22/H300 environment. :ok:

3+ hour nav flights, no problem, you don't notice the plugs even at the end of the long flight (standard plugs started to be a bit annoying after that amount of time), and just watch the instructor sweat under his dome headset :E

[500e]

Have used Mach 1 for a few months now, with the standard ear plugs the mic was always moving even with the over ear clip, with custom moldsI still have to use the clip (strange ears perhaps) but what a difference in noise suppression they were about £60 and worth every penny, still hear the helio but at a level that is real quiet, Rx audio clear, Told Tx audio is real crisp, & no batteries :ok:

[VP-F__]

I am considering buying one of these and wondered if anyone out there has any experience of them. My other crew members (S61) all have Peltor headsets and have been advised against Bose due to interference that they generate. Do these have any compatability issues with Peltors? Are they comfortable for 6-8 hours continuous wearing?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Hawkeye0001]

I can't tell you about their performance in the S61 in particular, but I used them on every flight for the last 9 months and I am still in love with them, never felt the urge to go back to my Zulus (which I liked a lot at the time). So far I tried them on R44, C206 and C208 and have no complains.

I was very hesitant at first, too, but after reading a great review by another helicopter pilot I took the plunge. It was the very first time in 6 years that I was able to get out of the cockpit after more than two hours of flying and not have a throbbing headache from headset clamp force or feel fatigued. They are so light that one tends to completely forget about them (careful on exit...). They also offer advantages in conjunction with using sunglasses and baseball caps: you can put on either one single handedly AND you won't suffer the usual noise increase from the stupid temple gap in the earseal.

The important thing is that you order the right size of ear plugs. They ship them with a handful, so ask them to include one of each size (S, M, L) to test before you go ahead and order a set of a dozen. I believe you can also have custom fit ear plugs made at your local acoustician.

If you have the money go for it, you will definitely not regret it!

BTW: call them up / write them an email when you order that you'd like them to put on the hardwired helicopter plug (+$40) but ask them to send the connectors for FW with it ($0). That way if you ever want to resell the headset it is simply a matter of 4 screws and 5 minutes to rewire them to FW if need be.

[aa777888]

I will second Hawkeye's post. I've been using them for a well over a year in both R22's and R44's, with and without doors off, and they are equal to or better than Bose and Lightspeed's. And no batteries to fail! They are incredibly lightweight and comfortable. No clamping force, no hot ears, well compatible with sunglasses and hats. You also look great on camera :}

As Hawkeye points out, be sure to select the proper size eartips. The "Comply" tips that come with the the Clarity's are definitely much better than standard foam tips. Initially I flew with the mediums but then I tried the smalls and found them just as good but more comfortable so don't be afraid to experiment.

In addition to playing with and trying the different eartips, do spend some quality time bending the living cr*p out of the headband to fit your head. Clarity's instructions encourage you to do this and warrantee against breakage associated with this. Out of the box I thought they fit terrible, but 30 minutes and a surprising amount of force later they fit like a glove. I suspect that most people who give these headsets negative reviews skip this step.

They do have two unassailable downsides. 1) They take longer to put on. I work around this by putting one eartip in before startup and then the other during warm up. 2) In cold weather if you let the eartips get cold they are hard as a rock and difficult to insert. Do keep them warm at all times during cold weather. In either case however no different than any other CEP type setup, so those wearing helmets with CEPs are no doubt familiar with the same issues.

[whoknows idont]

I wanted to buy a set recently but I was a bit sceptical because I had read about the problems people had with them. But the store I went to had stopped selling them (after offering them for a couple of years). They claimed that they had A LOT of broken cables and that it always took a long time shipping them to the states and back for warranty service. And they said that the bluetooth unit (which seems to be the "Pilot USA Blulink") was not satisfactory.

Instead they sell the Phonak Freecom 7100 now and told me that they didn't have a single failure yet. Of course I don't know if they had sold enough of them to judge durability but the headset does seem to be very sturdy, you can tell it has industry grade build quality. Also they have a smart "ambient awareness" feature where you can let a controlled amount of ambient sound in. Very smart. They are pricey but still less than a Bose headset. It comes with a coupon for a free set of custom molds. Only downside for me was the lack of bluetooth. Long story short, I bought them and I also got to pick up the ear pieces already. Didn't get a chance to fly with them yet. But they are really comfortable and seem to block noise very well.

Before that I came really close to ordering the "Nanocomm 2 GA" from the UK. They seem very well thought through and for a good price. I think they sell quite good in SA. In the end I didn't find enough reviews to justify the leap of faith and the wait. But they still seem like a great deal.

If I was in the states I probably would have tried the Quiet Technologies Halo, they have some cool ideas put into them, also for a great price. And I was temped by the yellow version. I decided against them because of the strong dollar, customs & import tax, delivery times.

I will get back to you when I have some experience with the Phonak headset but so far they feel like the right decision.

[Gomer Pylot]

I have both a Clarity Aloft and a Quiet Technologies HALO. The HALO is a little lighter, and the comm cord comes out the front alongside the mike boom, which is better than behind the back, where the Clarity Aloft goes. I generally prefer the HALO, but either is an excellent choice. My only regret about either is that they didn't come along decades ago when I was just starting out.

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Hi whoknows idont,

My situation is very similar with yours
I came really close to ordering the Nanocomm 2 GA from the UK as well as I always look at those very light weight with custom ear-molded shell features.

Nanocomm 2 GA is really in a good price and good deal, and they even have the AUX input jack. (But that's AUX input don't have Auto-Mute which is not good for me)

However, I am considering Phonak Freecom 7100 as well although it is very pricey. I hear quite a lot good reviews of Freecom 7100 and smart "ambient awareness" is quite unique and useful for me.

Would you mind to tell me more about your experience with the Phonak headset regarding the quality, comfortably and sound protection & quality?

For the lack of bluetooth, I think you can try the BluLink/FlightCell Pro (3rd party products) or even use the AUX input adaptor for inputting the music/cell phone. However, as you mentioned, the feedbacks of BluLink were not very satisfactory...quite pricey as well

The final options is try the Bluetooth connector/Adaptor of Bose/LightSpeed/Sennheiser... (But its may be only work for their own headset...)

Thanks

[Eastern2217]

I use Clarity Aloft, and can only give positive feedback. No more ringing ears...

[Hawkeye0001]

As mentioned above I've been using my Clarity Aloft for a year now in R44's and on occasion the odd Caravan flights. I was about to sell my Zulu 2 the other day but had a minute of doubt there and thought I'd try them once more just for the heck of it. Just confirmed my decision, won't be looking back to them! I never realized just how much noise the earseal gap creates when wearing sunglasses and how much hotter they are in high temps. In addition I found that the battery case plastic started to turn itself into a sticky gooey mess! :eek:

I agree on the Blulink unit though: Lightspeeds Bluetooth unit is far superior to the Blulink; the most annoying feature being the Auto Mute function that doesn't have an override toggle. Basically renders it useless for listening to music during most of the flying I do. Not to mention the sheer excessive amount of straight cord of this whole assembly cluttering everything in the cockpit (headset ~6-7 ft, blulink assembly with box 6.5ft, RW->FW adapter 1ft, that's a total of almost 15ft of cable!)! Mildly annoying at best if not outright unsafe. One definitely has to coil the whole length of cable and secure it with zip ties or safety wire to ensure safe everyday operation.
Does anyone have experience with the Flightcell Pro box yet?

Also a little addition to my review from earlier: I noticed that the ear plugs become dramatically less effective over time as they become more plyable from wearing. Even though I like to clean them with mild soap water every now and then to increase their lifespan a new pair in regular intervals is a must to obtain the full effect for passive noise cancellation.

[whoknows idont]

Ray, as per your request here goes my preliminary field report.
The build quality and the feel of the headset really are top notch. Although the earpieces are made of a hard plastic with a rough surface they surprisingly are absolutely comfortable and I forget I wear them as soon as I get busy operating the helicopter. Inserting and removing them goes really smoothly and easily with a bit of practice. The noise attenuation really is superb. The ambient blend feature as well as the signal attenuation both are really smart and work just as imagined.
I only got to try it in a 269 and two different 355's. It worked like a charm in the 355's. Also in the 269 but only when flying alone. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to work together with other headsets in the 269. When combining with a Sennheiser ANR, the Sennheiser's mic gets low and distorted. When combining with DC ANR, the DC's mic gets cut out entirely. But this 269 only has the most basic intercom, it does have a squelch of some sort but no control panel or other means of adjustment.
It was a big downer at first but then again this helicopter has issues in this direction anyway, the Sennheiser and the DC don't work together properly either (but less problems then with the Phonak in the mix). I know it's probaly not a problem with the Phonak but more with the helicopter but it does prevent me from always using it. So far I'm bound to using the terrible Sennheiser's whenever taking a PAX along.
I wanted to try it out in more aircraft and also contact Phonak about the issue before sharing my experiences but since you asked...
Bottom line, if I can figure out this one problem I will be absolutely satisfied with this lovely piece of equipment. Until then it's always painful (literally) having to go back the Sennheiser's.

Regarding the music/phone interface, the Vx ASX-2B (http://vx-aviation.com/AMX.html) appears to me like the way to go. But this is not a pnp device but just a single bare IC. Obviously it requires a little bit of work to complete but seems promising. I might have to get around to building it at some point. Basically all you need is an enclosure, a battery or other power supply and some connectors, maybe a pot for adjustment. Should make for a really nice ultra-low budget solution if you like getting crafty.

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Hawkeye0001
The Blulink is not too bad to be honest. If you are looking for the Music/Cellphone interface with Bluetooth, I do hear a lot of good words of Flightcell Pro which produced in New Zealand. It can connect with multi devices including cell phone, MP3/Ipod, GPS, satellite phone as well as Bluetooth connection. However, the price is quite expensive comparing with other adaptor or even Blulink. Also, the pro box is quite large as well. One good thing is pro box is rechargeable, so you may not need a lot of batteries.

The other Bluetooth choice of Commlink pro Angel which includes a built in stereo, Bluetooth wireless technology, and a multitude of input and output jacks, as well as an integrated E6B flight computer.

However, to be honest, they are quite expensive and I don't really often use the phone function (make call) during flying, so I haven't tried those products yet. And sound quality of music in Bluetooth should be not good as the wired connection. Its will use a lot of battery in your device as well. (Although I do hear that the sound quality in Flightcell is very good)

If I need the Bluetooth connection and phone function, I will definitely look at those two products (Flightcell pro and Commlinkpro Angel)

If you consider wired options, have a look in Matchbox FC-1, Vx Makerplane ASX-2B and Safetycell for phone/music interface.

For me, I will probably choose the PS Engineering the Muse as the unique soft mute feature, however it only support one input for music only.

Hope it help

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

whoknows idont, thanks a lot for your field report.
Its really help.

Where do you buy the Phonak Freecom from?
I will definitely order a pair of Freecom 7100 lateron.
Do you know the Freecom 7100 are Mono or Stereo headset? (Can you choose which one you use and have a switch in the headset?)

For the music/phone interface, the Vx ASX-2B is seem a nice product with reasonable price. However, its doesn't have bluetooth connection, right?
However, the wired connect should produce the better sound quality especially you are hearing the music (not the phone call).

However, its really difficult to find the information and review in term of sound quality in the Internet of those Music/phone interface. Some guys said that Blulink already have a very good quality. Some guys said even Flightcell pro/Commlink pro is not so good in term of music quality.

For me, as I haven't used the phone feature up to now, so I mainly focus on the music sound quality, easy to use and the Auto-mute feature and the PS Engineering the Muse seem to work in his way...

Hope you enjoy your new headset.

[whoknows idont]

Ray, not sure about stereo/mono. It does not have a switch for that. I bought the headset from a local pilot store. Right afterwards I went to a hearing aid audiologist and got my ear impressions. Then took them back to the pilot store. They have a 3d scanner for that, scanned the imprints and uploaded them to Phonak. If your store does not have the scanner they will have to mail the imprints to Switzerland.
If you check out the Freecom product page there is a "how to buy' section which lists two dealers for UK.
Looking forward to reading about your experience. :ok:

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

whoknows idont, the ordering process is seem quite straight forward. Would you mind to tell me which dealer/local pilot store you order? As they have a 3d scanner for scanning the imprints and uploaded them to Phonak, its seem save a lot of time.
Ya, I know that there are some dealers in UK, but unfortunately I am not staying in UK currently and I can't find any Phonak aviation dealers around my area. That's why I am looking for your store and probably order it online or via phone as they are seem quite good and straight forward regarding the service and the ordering process.
Thanks again!

[whoknows idont]

PM sent to avoid advertising. It doesn't make much sense to mail the imprints to the store for them to scan. Instead you could just mail them directly to Phonak. The headset contains a fold-up box specifically for that. Maybe the hearing aid audiologist could have the 3d scanner as well (Phonak is one of the market leaders for hearing aids). I'm sure you will figure it out. :ok:

[aa777888]

I agree on the Blulink unit though: Lightspeeds Bluetooth unit is far superior to the Blulink; the most annoying feature being the Auto Mute function that doesn't have an override toggle. Basically renders it useless for listening to music during most of the flying I do. Not to mention the sheer excessive amount of straight cord of this whole assembly cluttering everything in the cockpit (headset ~6-7 ft, blulink assembly with box 6.5ft, RW->FW adapter 1ft, that's a total of almost 15ft of cable!)! Mildly annoying at best if not outright unsafe. One definitely has to coil the whole length of cable and secure it with zip ties or safety wire to ensure safe everyday operation.
I also have the Blulink, although I acquired it separately from the Clarity Aloft. The cord is ridiculously long and in fact I do have it wrapped very carefully in a way that allows me to hang it from the headset storage hook as it is otherwise so heavy it might pull the plug loose from the jack in the R22 or R44. I don't use it for music, but it does work quite well for phone calls.

A slight tangent on this subject: Android voice commands don't work so well in the cockpit. If I'm not using a tablet on a kneeboard for nav I will often Velcro the phone in its place. It would be very cool if someone would come up with an app that allowed the phone display to be replicated on the tablet!