Bose X headset
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 832
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From: East Anglia
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.
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.
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,214
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From: S Warwickshire
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.
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.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 551
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From: England
I've got Bose X and Clarity Aloft 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 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.
I reckon that the Bose X is overrated, and its main appeal is its looks.
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 13,787
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From: EuroGA.org
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 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.
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 1,274
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From: Glen Prosen, Scotland
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.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY or at least make sure you can send them back if you don't like them.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,929
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From: SoCal
I've got Bose X and Clarity Aloft 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 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.
I reckon that the Bose X is overrated, and its main appeal is its looks.
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
Last edited by 172driver; 19th November 2006 at 12:46. Reason: to add PS
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 551
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From: England
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
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
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
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. 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.
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,929
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From: SoCal
172driver, I bought them from The Flying Shop, 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. 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.
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. 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.
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 806
Likes: 0
From: Maders UK
Bose X headsets
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
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
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 13,787
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From: EuroGA.org
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.
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.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 205
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From: UK
Plug some Bose-X headets into an R44 and BINGO! turns your piston engine heli into a smooth multi-million pound sound proofed wonder!! 
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....
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....
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
From: UK,Twighlight Zone
Plug some Bose-X headets into an R44 and BINGO! turns your piston engine heli into a smooth multi-million pound sound proofed wonder!!
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....
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....
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 806
Likes: 0
From: Maders UK
Playback function
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
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
