Worth buying headset?

[fabbe92]

Okay I see. For the comming 2 years I will fly something like 30 hours a year. After that I will move to a commercial flight school and do my time building, CPL, ME, IR etc so in two years I will begin to fly something like 5 days a week.

So I should go for comfort and get the sennheisers then since the Telex 50 are uncomfortable bearing in mind that I have sensitive ears and suffer from a small ringing in my right erar?

[Torquatus]

If you find the Telex uncomfortable, then yes - get the Sennheisers!

See if the Telex can be adjusted to reduce the clamping force. I don't know how it works, but they go on and on about their "comfort cam" system - has adjusting this helped at all?

With regard to the weight, have you tried wearing a baseball cap or a woolen beanie (or skullie or whatever they are called around your parts)? It sounds silly, and can look silly, but I find it helps distribute the weight so it is not pressing down on just one or two parts of your head. Try it out. And, of course, make sure the top of your head is taking the weight, and the headset is not just being held up by the clamping force.

I hope you can find something that works for you!

[Retire2015]

GA Headset

The Telex 50 headset is a popular choice for the 450 Knot TAS Boeing aircraft.

You do not need ANR in an 80 to 100 Knot TAS aircraft.

I believe you want to hear the radios and your instructor. You may want to minimize the engine exhaust and prop-wash noise.

A basic set that comes with most GA aircraft should do the job. Visit a GA avionics shop, they may have a basic set they will give you.

Typically rich guys will buy a Bose X to replace the original equipment thus freeing up basic sets for students.

R

[fabbe92]

I tryed out the Lightspeed Zulus today in a Piper PA28. With the ANR on they were very good but in mid flight I tryed turning of the ANR and they became extremly noizy. Much more than the normal passive Peltors that we have inn the flying club. Is it supposed to be like this or what?

With the ANR on I feel very comfortable but is it possible, Iīm damaging my hearing without noticing it?

Thanks!

[Torquatus]

Well, if it is comfortable with the ANR on then you're not suffering hearing damage (your ears don't care if the sound is damped by active electronics or padding), but you've hit on the problem - what happens when the batteries die? I guess carry a spare set and learn how to change them quickly is the go.

I'd expect that it is normal for an ANR headset like the Zulu or Bose to be noisier than a passive set without the ANR, I believe these manufacturers sacrifice passive damping in favour of making the headset lighter and more comfortable (e.g. less clamping force).

Another defence you could use is to wear foam earplugs (you can get them from the pharmacists or an occupational safety store, the kind that sells steel-toe boot and first-aid kits). You'll need to turn up the radio volume, but these will add to the protective effect you're getting from the headset and if the ANR fails you'll still have adequate protection.

[fabbe92]

So lets say I fly wit these for 5 years and the hearing won't be affected?

[Torquatus]

Just had a look at the specs, and yes it seems that the Zulu will offer you greater protection than my passive David Clarks (when the ANR is running, at least). So I'd say yes, you could fly with these for five years and not damage your hearing - provided you have a spare set of batteries with you to make sure the ANR doesn't stop! Your ears can't tell the difference between passive damping and active electronic damping - the sound waves that reach the ear have less energy after damping (in both cases), and too much sound energy is what causes the damage.

If you're interested, here's a link to the Zulu user manual from Lightspeed's website.

And regarding my previous post, I wear foam earplugs underneath the headset (I didn't make that clear).

[trex450]

Sennheisers are very good and do as they advertise, unlike Bose which despite the cost simply market themselves as the top of the range but forget to give any facts and figures. Go ANR if you can afford although I found little difference between active and passive in a 172. The biggest benefit with ANR is that you have less noise on the intercom and radios, to highlight this simply try the radios with ANR on and off and change the volume settings accordingly, you will be surprised how much you turn the radios down when the ANR is on. If you are training then this simply allows you to hear your instructor better which is usually a good thing. You could always consider peltor 8006's as an excellent passive option as well. The only down side that I have heard of with Sennheisers was from a friend with a big head, the headband gave out at the hinge which is much less sturdy than the peltors but was fixable by swapping the headband with an old peltor that he had.