Headset: Sennheiser HMEC 250 vs. Beyerdynamic HS600

[Direct-Law]

Hi,

I'm going to buy an ANR headset for my both PPL and CPL flight training (mostly Cessna 152/182, Piper, etc.). I have choosed two models which I consider. It's Sennheiser HMEC 250 and Beyerdynamic HS600. The first one has these cons for me:
* Most of buttons are situated at the earphone, so it could be little complicated to control it.
* Batteries are also included in the earphones instead of cable box. So I'm afraid of weight.

The second one has no pros/cons for me, I just like the design.

Any experiences or advices? Many thanks!

[The500man]

I'd buy neither if it's just for training and hour building inbetween. What type of flying are you planning on doing afterwards? I think it would be hard to justify the expense unless you were planning to fly noisy props for a while afterwards.

Edit: If you really want to get an ANR headset why not check ebay for a used Bose X?

[mixture]

I think it would be hard to justify the expense unless you were planning to fly noisy props for a while afterwards.

You've only got one pair of ears The500man.

If Direct-Law can afford top-notch headsets, then he should not be discouraged.

Plus, if you buy good headsets and find you no longer need them in the future, it should be fairly easy to find a second hand buyer either on the internet or at your local flying club.

Direct-Law, the one important thing to check is the failure-mode in the case of lack of battery power. Some (such as the Bose, I believe) fail closed, i.e. you loose comms .... others will correctly revert to being a passive headset (from memory, the David Clarke ANRs are that type but don't quote me on it).

I just had a look at the YouTube videos about the Beyerdynamics... they look like the mutt's nuts of headsets...I suspect they would be a fine choice :ok:

[The500man]

You've only got one pair of ears The500man.



Do you think ANR is better for your hearing then? My understanding is they may reduce fatigue while doing nothing extra to protect your hearing.

[Clintonb]

what about these 2 DC models set price aside which model is good? has anyone used these models and can give some input on them.
DAVID CLARKE H10-13.4
DAVID CLARKE H 10- 13.4 XL for this model can anyone explain the dual voice call?

thanks

[HidekiTojo]

Get yourself a decent headset asap. You can't buy new ears.

ANR reduces fatigue.
PNR protects ears.

HMEC250 is the budget ANR choice.
Bose is best.
Lightspeed Zulu is great but the boom is stuck on the left side :cool:

[mixture]

Do you think ANR is better for your hearing then? My understanding is they may reduce fatigue while doing nothing extra to protect your hearing.

Fair enough, posted in haste, fatigue is what I was referring to, which is pretty much as important as your hearing.

But then you knew that anyway.... :cool:

[MIKECR]

The Hmec 250 is a great little headset, light, comfortable, and folds into a particularly small,flat carry case. The earpieces arent heavy at all as theres only one tripleA battery per cup. As for the buttons on the right earpiece, theyre a piece of cake to operate. If you can afford an ANR headset then I would certainly consider getting one. The difference between ANR and a passive set is worlds apart. I used a Dave Clark H10134 passive set for many years before buying the Hmec 250. The difference in noise reduction and comfort in particular was fantastic. I can wear the Hmec's all day now whereas the DC's would typically start to clamp my head and become painful after an hour or so. The Hmec's noise reduction isnt quite as good of course as the Bose-x or the Lightspeed but at half the price the Hmec is a good alternative at an affordable price.

When it comes to shelling out cash for a headset, buy the best that you can afford....you've only got one set of ears!

Oh and shop around, you can pick up the Hmec for less than £400 if you shop around.

[rmcb]

My flight enjoyment increased exponentially after buying a relatively cheap ANR headset - I didn't realise how tiring white noise can be. I suffered from nausea, strangely, for the first half hour of wearing them but soon got over it. Love 'em and only reluctantly wear PNR headset.

Interestingly, I've had a number of conversations with newbies who whinge about the costs of headsets yet still sport Breitling watches and single bar epaulettes... The cost of both of these should have gone towards a decent headset, IMO.

[Halfwayback]

fatigue is what I was referring to, which is pretty much as important as your hearing.

Sorry but you are referring to flying for pleasure and NOT conducting revenue flights where fatigue is important. If you are fatigued then you should not be flying but resting.

You only have one set of ears and the damage is accumulative! I know having had audiograms for thirty years of military and commercial flying. At one stage the doctors could even tell the seat I occupied from the loss of tone on one side.

The purchase of a good headset to protect the hearing is a wise investment. It will no doubt be something you will need to change as you progress from from noisy light aircraft through turbo props to the front of a long jet well away from the engine noise. It is undoubtedly more pleasant (and better cross flight deck communication) to have just a single earpiece inserted than have even a lightweight headset clamped on one ear. However the choice of what you use is dictated by what you are flying!

HWB

[dl_88]

I'm currently doing my PPL and CPL, and i've been using the HMEC250. Its really good and light. The headset don't really clamp down and still allow some noise to get through. Which in my opinion is good as you still can hear some external noises.
And when it fails it reverts back to a PNR. (which i found out after not turning the ANR on)
Its a good headset. Simple, economical, compact and light. 2 AAA batts per side.

[mixture]

Halfwayback,

Sorry but you are referring to flying for pleasure and NOT conducting revenue flights where fatigue is important. If you are fatigued then you should not be flying but resting.


I worded my post the way I did because I know its a tough call beween the two.

Obviously hearing loss will always come top of the list, afterall, your medical and everything else depends on it.

However, the fatigue element should not be ignored and hence is I said "pretty much as important"..... I did not say "more important" !!

[PlanetEarth]

Do you think ANR is better for your hearing then? My understanding is they may reduce fatigue while doing nothing extra to protect your hearing.
Do you have any scientific studies or something that says this?
I'm no expert, but if you create "counter-sound" that effectively removes the sound waves, making your eardrum not vibrate as much, wouldn't that protect your hearing just as much as PNR?

[The500man]

Do you have any scientific studies or something that says this?


I do not, but try using the search function I'm sure this topic has come up before.

My understanding is that an ANR headset will reduce fatigue because it cancels some of the sound electronically rather than passively meaning that the headset construction can be made more comfortable.

A passive headset works by generating a pressure seal around your ear, hence it needs to hold the ear cups firmly against your head. With ANR part of the noise is electronically cancelled by destructive interference (reproducing the sound with inverse phase) and therefore the headset does not need to clamp the ear cups on your head so firmly. The extra equipment in the headset may also reduce passive noise reduction because it takes up space that would have been used for sound proofing.

Now passive headsets stop sound before it gets to your head. ANR headsets attempt to cancel the penetrating sound inside the ear cup using the headset speaker. Arguably this is not so good for protecting your hearing as vibrations may still be getting inside your head, particularly at low frequency. The cancellation is not 100%.

One interesting point is that with a passive headset you may be damaging your hearing by turning the radio volume up too high. With an ANR headset the perceived noise level will be lower so you may use the radio at a lower volume.

I'm not an expert so if anyone knows more about this or knows that my understanding is wrong, please do say so.

[mnehpets]

Now passive headsets stop sound before it gets to your head. ANR headsets attempt to cancel the penetrating sound inside the ear cup using the headset speaker. Arguably this is not so good for protecting your hearing as vibrations may still be getting inside your head, particularly at low frequency. The cancellation is not 100%.

One interesting point is that with a passive headset you may be damaging your hearing by turning the radio volume up too high. With an ANR headset the perceived noise level will be lower so you may use the radio at a lower volume.

Both of the above statements apply to both active and passive noise canceling. With both types of noise cancellation, they don't stop acoustic energy that doesn't go thru the ear. So it won't stop your teeth from rattling, for example. A good passive headset will have a low perceived noise level, so you would also turn down the radio volume while wearing such a headset.

There is one significant difference between ANR and PNR , which is that ANR is more effective than PNR at low frequencies, while PNR is more effective than ANR at high frequencies. In the single engine piston trainers, you'll find the bulk of sound energy at low frequencies (I'm not sure about turbine engines - I haven't run into any good docs for them).

- S

Well, apart from the $$$$ that you'll pay for ANR.

[Adhemar]

MIKECR, please check your mail.
regards,
A.

[Brian 48nav]

That you Paddy? Or off-spring.

BW