First GA Aviation Headset
 

Hey all,

Looking for some guidance on what to look for in buying GA headesets? ive been looking around and there are so many to choose from. Ive read about the Bose A20 but certainly cost a few pounds, but if they are worth the money then should it be a good buy for a first set?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ewan

I would buy some good ol' David Clark H10-13.4. The Bose A20s and other ANR headsets are very quiet and comfortable, but it comes at a cost. I have also found with ANR headsets that if you wear sunglasses with them and turn your head you can get severe and painful vibrations in your ear. I assume it's because the sunglasses cause a gap between your ear and the headset and the ANR tries to reduce the noise.

I probably didn't have the A20 fitted correctly on my head, but that painful vibration was enough to send me back to David Clark's PNRs.

It does depend how much you want to splash out on it, I'd get a cheap set. You might not even like flying.

Had the same "problem" before starting my PPL. My seasoned instructor gave a simple and most helpful advice: "get the cheapest one that fits". Tried several ones and picked a David Clark H20-10, mostly because it had gel pads which are comfortable when wearing my glasses (all other ones I tried from different manufacturers were equally OK sound-wise).

So +1 for getting a cheap yet comfortable headset for starters. If you stick with flying and decide one day that you want a fancy high-end headset, you'll have your old one as a reserve or for a passenger.

If your just going to fly ppl then its good advise if your taking it further get the best noise canceling headset you can get from the start thats comfy.

You can't turn back the clock with hearing damage.

Tinitus is a real swine and something I have to live with after doing a 1000 hours of instructing with a cheap pair.

I recently (2 weeks ago) brought a pair of David Clark H10-13.4's on the recommendation of my instructor. They work great, both my instructor and the tower can hear me and I can hear them.
They also fit well.
Highly recommended.

Ewan, I appreciate that you are new here but may I suggest you do a search on headsets which will bring up lots and lots of threads and information for you. It will also save those of us who have posted on one or more of them from having to do so again. :ok:
Search - click search at top of page, then advanced search. In keywords box put "headsets" then look for "Search in Forum(s)" and put Private Flying in this then click the "Search now" button.

I haven't posted on any yet headset thread so I'll do it here! I got myself a David Clark H10 13.4. I found a relatively cheap one on ebay, but not one so cheap that it is already past its best. I don't want it to fall apart as I plan to get a fair amount of use out of the thing! It's comfy and I haven't had any problems with it so far.

The David Clark's are extremely robust but they are a heavy fit on the ears (something I personally don't like), but if hardwearing is what your after for GA use rather than comfort they are the best.

You can also get spares for most bits of them and also fix with cable ties if you really have to.

Now that is a bit of a minimum requirement, I would say.

+1 on David Clark. The reason is it's a relatively affordable headset that is very robust. Once you have you're PPL, you can still decide on where to go from there (active noise cancellation or not) and use the DC as a headset for a friend.

When you're a flight instructor (many take offs at full power) or have an instrument rating (long flights) then you might want to upgrade.

MJ, sorry to hear you have tinnitus. You know that there are now specialist neurosurgeons in Antwerp (and probably also in the UK) than can cure it ?

For my 2c, I would definitely look at the Lightspeed Zulu - they are light, the noise cancelling is on a par with the Bose A20 and significantly cheaper but what settled it for me was the Bluetooth streaming of music - on longer distance flights, having music streaming in the background breaks the monotony. You can set it either that it lowers the volume when radio traffic is received and raises again once the airwaves are silent (which, if it's a busy frequency can mean you never hear the music) or just set it at a low background level. Makes flying alone more of a treat. Also, the set comes with a wired music input, should you not have a bluetooth phone but want to use a regular iPod etc.

Also, when choosing your headset, check the sound quality you are receiving. I had a Peltor headset and found myself repeatedly saying "say again" when ATC / FIS called me - with the Zulu, everything is crystal clear.... Oh yeah, the sound quality of music reproduction in the Zulu, especially with their FRC function, just has to be seen to be believed.

Sod that, a quack routing around in my head chances of keeping a class one would be minimal.

To be fair I had spent 15 o so years in heavy industry with grinders and the like all about although I don't have any damage in that range just the 2000-2400 rpm range in one ear and not so much in the other. And I was doing 4-5 hours a day in C172/PA28/PA38's.

It not that bad and falling asleep listening to radio 4 or an audio book is no great hardship. Back ground noise stops it.

Thanks guys for all your input, just looked at the David Clark headset mentioed above and they look quite good. It is probably a good idea to buy "cheaper" to begin with then upgrade once progressed on with tle licence.

DX Wombat - yeah i do hear what you are saying and appreciate that a search should or can be done on various subjects on here, i think most subjects would already be covered but i feel its good to put a quick post out as others at this moment in time could be in the same situation or want to put their input across that havent already, thats what forums are for in my eyes, to talk with others and also to search for information. Dont mean to come across bad? :ok:

i have a beyerdynamic 400

Are the Beyerdynamic 400 good? I like the look of them, as well as the price.

A guy at a flight shop told me the Pilot PA12.8T are pretty good. Reckons they're pretty much the same quality as the David Clark 13 10.14 but with slightly higher noise reduction, and built in phone/mp3 jack. It's also around $150 cheaper. Looking at getting a pair myself.

I bought a DC H10-13.4 Headset a few years ago when I started my training. I've never had any problems with it but I'm not sure how it compares to some others. It cost £260 approx.

+1 for the gel seals, whatever you buy, as a fellow glasses wearer.

I have a Sennheiser which I love, but the gel seals are the best feature.

Tim

You might find that while you aretraining that you need to, or your instructor recommends, that you listen to thedifferent sound of the engine while climbing, flying level and descending. Soan expensive ANR headset may not be suitable, while you are training.

Thats good to note actually, i will need to ask the question. :ok:

Go and buy a proper one (ANR!)

I did a single lesson (my very first) with an PNR Sennheiser headset borrowed from the school. Next thing I did was buying a Bose X. It simply is a different league and imho worth every cent. And suddenly you can concentrate on learning to fly the aircraft since ATC / FI are crystal clear in your head. Oh and it is way lighter and needs way less pressure. And of course: more quiet!

Sorry that is BS. You can hear the slightest change in RPM / Engine Sound with a (Bose) ANR headset. Same for the stall warning / gear warning / whatever warning. I remember a night flight with an FI in the RHS and an ATC guy in the back, both of them wearing PNR headsets. When we entered a light rain shower I could in fact HEAR the rain on the screen (but couldn't see it, since it was pitch black...) which made me switch on the landing light to confirm my suspicion. Until then both of them didn't notice a thing... and still the overall noise level in my ears was way lower due to the ANR...


maehhh