Headset choice
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: EuroGA.org
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Sticking earplugs in your ears and turning up the volume is a very effective old trick, which works superbly in a car (esp. if driving fast). It also works really well in a nightclub where the sound level is right up against the ear's dynamic range.
It works with any headset but not all headsets will handle the high volume which may then be needed. Also, a simple earplug will kill off the high frequencies more than the lower ones, which is bad for speech and also bad for engine noise which is mostly low frequency. One has to get custom earplugs which have a more flat attenuation spectrum.
The Bose X is the only headset which I have come across which can be worn for several hours nonstop. Even a £500 David Clarke will be like having your head in a vice after that time.
What amazes me is that the Bose is still the best, after all these years. I've been doing audio circuit design since the 1970s and it really isn't rocket science. I guess that anybody who has developed something as good will try to sell it at a similar price (you never bomb the price which the market will clearly pay) but they can't penetrate the very loyal distribution channel.
It works with any headset but not all headsets will handle the high volume which may then be needed. Also, a simple earplug will kill off the high frequencies more than the lower ones, which is bad for speech and also bad for engine noise which is mostly low frequency. One has to get custom earplugs which have a more flat attenuation spectrum.
The Bose X is the only headset which I have come across which can be worn for several hours nonstop. Even a £500 David Clarke will be like having your head in a vice after that time.
What amazes me is that the Bose is still the best, after all these years. I've been doing audio circuit design since the 1970s and it really isn't rocket science. I guess that anybody who has developed something as good will try to sell it at a similar price (you never bomb the price which the market will clearly pay) but they can't penetrate the very loyal distribution channel.
Join Date: Sep 2007
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So here goes my 6 cents...
DC10 13.4 <--- Excellent head sets!!!!!!
I use Avcomm AC-900 , with gel ear pads. These are great, I would have bought the DC's but as a instructor i LOVE the PTT on the head sets! so I am happy....
Similar question as "which car is the best" , anyway remember you get what you pay....
so dont complain when u buy cheap and they are *turd*
DC10 13.4 <--- Excellent head sets!!!!!!
I use Avcomm AC-900 , with gel ear pads. These are great, I would have bought the DC's but as a instructor i LOVE the PTT on the head sets! so I am happy....
Similar question as "which car is the best" , anyway remember you get what you pay....
so dont complain when u buy cheap and they are *turd*
Join Date: Oct 2003
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IO,
I am not talking about the bog standard dayglo coloured sponge jobs. These are specially designed for the attenuation of all sound, but less attenuation for the voice frequencies. I don't have to change the volume of my headset/intercom since the reduction of other noise means I can hear the radio /intercom more clearly.
To my mind, stopping noise energy getting to the inner ear has to be better than adding to it to cancel it out.
The fancy headsets do sound great, but when testing scientifically in the environment I fly in (which I hasten to add is not sat behind a Lycoming) they do not meet statutory requirements.
I am not talking about the bog standard dayglo coloured sponge jobs. These are specially designed for the attenuation of all sound, but less attenuation for the voice frequencies. I don't have to change the volume of my headset/intercom since the reduction of other noise means I can hear the radio /intercom more clearly.
To my mind, stopping noise energy getting to the inner ear has to be better than adding to it to cancel it out.
The fancy headsets do sound great, but when testing scientifically in the environment I fly in (which I hasten to add is not sat behind a Lycoming) they do not meet statutory requirements.
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Just wish to point out that
To my mind, stopping noise energy getting to the inner ear has to be better than adding to it to cancel it out.
is not what an ANR headset does.
The headset earcup (each one) contains a miniature mike, which detects the instantaneous sound pressure level in the earcup, and there is a little amplifier (this is why you need a power source) which drives the speaker in antiphase, so as to cancel out the sound pressure.
So, it isn't a case of emitting extra sound to cancel out the external noise. The sound pressure level inside the earcup is lower, not higher.
Due to limitations caused chiefly by the chamber volume being quite large (the thing has to go over one's ear, after all) together with the speed of sound not being all that great, the cancellation works only at low frequencies, which is fine for attenuating piston engine noise.
The best ANR is achieved with in-ear systems, where you have a tiny air volume and a nice short distance to the eardrum... but then you don't really need ANR because you can mould a shape which jams nicely into the ear so external noise doesn't get in in the first place.
I gather a lot of aerobatic pilots use in-ear headsets, because standard headsets fall off. I was talking to one of these the other day; he was using the Clarity headset. I've tried the Lightspeed Mach 1 and got rid of it because it is useless without custom earplugs and I didn't want to mess around with it.
To my mind, stopping noise energy getting to the inner ear has to be better than adding to it to cancel it out.
is not what an ANR headset does.
The headset earcup (each one) contains a miniature mike, which detects the instantaneous sound pressure level in the earcup, and there is a little amplifier (this is why you need a power source) which drives the speaker in antiphase, so as to cancel out the sound pressure.
So, it isn't a case of emitting extra sound to cancel out the external noise. The sound pressure level inside the earcup is lower, not higher.
Due to limitations caused chiefly by the chamber volume being quite large (the thing has to go over one's ear, after all) together with the speed of sound not being all that great, the cancellation works only at low frequencies, which is fine for attenuating piston engine noise.
The best ANR is achieved with in-ear systems, where you have a tiny air volume and a nice short distance to the eardrum... but then you don't really need ANR because you can mould a shape which jams nicely into the ear so external noise doesn't get in in the first place.
I gather a lot of aerobatic pilots use in-ear headsets, because standard headsets fall off. I was talking to one of these the other day; he was using the Clarity headset. I've tried the Lightspeed Mach 1 and got rid of it because it is useless without custom earplugs and I didn't want to mess around with it.
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Trading Bose X for Clarity Aloft
I've been flying my Cessna 421 with a Bose X for several years. I always thought it was the best money could buy. I flew with the Clarity Aloft set today and I'm sold on it. Look for the Bose on Ebay!
There is some subjectivity involved, but for me, the CA is superior not just in comfort but in sound quality and overall noise reduction. Believe it or not, there is only slightly more low freq noise with the CA even though it doesn't have noise cancelling circuits. It's really negligible. For the mid range and higher frequencies the CA is MUCH quieter. One caveat...you have to be comfortable with in-the-ear devices. Some people aren't.
There is some subjectivity involved, but for me, the CA is superior not just in comfort but in sound quality and overall noise reduction. Believe it or not, there is only slightly more low freq noise with the CA even though it doesn't have noise cancelling circuits. It's really negligible. For the mid range and higher frequencies the CA is MUCH quieter. One caveat...you have to be comfortable with in-the-ear devices. Some people aren't.
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Consider importing a headset from the USA. They are much cheaper than in the UK. I got a David Clark H20-10 in perfect condition for £150 including delivery on ebay. They are £230 in shops over here.
