ANR headset and wind noise
 

I would recommend you take a good look at the intercom.
Are you using a portable (battery powered) intercom or is it installed in teh aircraft?
I'm leaning towards interference problems with the intercom rather then the headset.
Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headsets generally don't work well with wind noise since they (at least Bose) has a little microphone on the outside of the earcup that picks up ambient noise which it then counters.
I always have a lot of noise in the Bose when I open the storm window.

Piper,

If the two headsets aren't compatible then you'll have a problem setting the voice-activated squelch on the intercom, in many cases.

A sock around the microphone helps with airflow over the mic in some cases, but not all. Impedence matched communications systems, using the same type of headset (and especially same type of microphone) help. Some headsets will even break squelch when sunlight strikes the microphone.

For now, all you can do is turn down the squelch, or VOX sensitivity on your intercom system. You'll find that better intercom systems will give better performance, too.

Thanks for the input. The intercom is built in, and in fact will only work with the radio turned on, though the volume is independent. I usually switch it off when flying solo, and I do have emergency sockets that go straight to the radio. The two headsets are identical, DC 10-30. I will certainly try a sock over the microphone. I too am leaning towards an intercom problem but I would still like an anr headset (well, two of course, one for the other seat as well) if I can make everything work.

ANR won't help at all with noise coming in via the intercom - it only blocks out ambient noise (ie the noise which comes in through the shell of the earcup).

If you are only getting this noise when using the intercom, then the noise sources you need to address are the microphones on the headset and the intercom.

Might be worth trying microlight-style headsets and intercoms (see if you can borrow some from somewhere), they are generally designed to work in high-noise, windy environments. The gear I sell has a band-pass filter in it to block out unwanted parts of the audio spectrum (ie noise) and microphones designed to be less sensitive to wind buffet and noise.

Thanks for the input. The current intercom is a Digitronics SPA-400. Looks like microlight kit might be a good idea if I can get it to work with the existing radio (Bendix King KY 97 A). Correct me if I am wrong, but don't the microlight headsets have different jacks? I suppose there are adaptors available? The same question arises of course, does anyone have any recommendations for value for money gear, and what should I avoid like the plague? :}

The Lynx type headsets do have different plugs/sockets but do work well in a high noise environment. They were significantly however quieter than DC look alikes in the same aircraft. But they are expensive and need their own intercom unit.

Piper,

If you're reasonably confident with a soldering iron you can buy a kit (google the flying shop,) to upgrade your DCs to ANR. Or, if you'd rather not do it yourself there's a guy called Richard Holder who will upgrade them for you. I don't know if he frequents this site, but I think he can be found via the Flyer Forums.

Brooklands