DC super reliable
 

There is what looks like a good pair of DC 10-40s on Ebay ending tomorrow (and more later, of course). The vendor recommends fitting new gel ear seals, and that is the set and combination I've used for nearly 30 years. Yes, the DC does clamp a little, but with gel seals it helps (and helps seal out noise if you wear glasses). Best thing about DC is total reliability. My fourpennorth.....

Sad about Sennheiser as I love mine - though I think it's a matter of taste as they appear to divide opinion. Maybe I have a weird head.

H10-40 every time.
Perfect headset, mic can be positioned accurate, low head band height, reliable and clear electret mic.
Originally came with foam rubbers which were good, good wires and plugs. They do crack with age (20+ years) between the mic and earphone grommets.
I have had same headset since 1988 in almost daily use, 14k hours

I have used these with all sorts of headsets with students. Still to find better.
Even the noise cancelling annoy me as they seem to use poor mics that pick up a lot of cockpit noise. Which is ok for it's owner :) but not me :(.
Avoid the rubber boom mics they are hard to position next to the mouth for best transmission verse noise and now our DC one's the booms are breaking off at the ear cup. Also avoid tall head bands, they can catch on the ceiling or sun visors.
Noise cancelling are hard for students as they can't hear engine noise feed back.
Also avoid, but it's hard, gel ear seals, they don't last long and burst.
Early ones were liquid which would ruin clothes, the later gel look like snot all over your hands.

I think that some of the confusion comes from you thinking that you need a headset.

You only need to buy one if the school do not supply them free for use.

The price you pay needs to be looked at in terms of how much training that you could get for that money. Do you feel happy paying the price of an hour in the air to have your own talking hat, or do you feel happy paying the price of ten hours in the air for a talking hat with bells on it?

When you get halfway through your training, I suspect the quality of your hat will be less relevant than the amount of experience you will wish that you had.

I upgraded my 30yr old DCs with an ANR add on. Brilliant!

I got a new pair of DC H10-13.4 after many years of playing about with cheaper models. What a revelation!
After that I bought a second hand set off ebay for the passenger. Obviously that was at risk, and there is a tiny amount of microphone whistle on that set. However, the price of having that pair serviced and repaired still left me very much in pocket.
In fact, the guy who did the repairs also sells ANR conversions for the H10-13.4!

Er.....if you were in the mob that would be straight in the squadron line book!

I use DC 13.4s. Had them yonks and they do what it says on the tin. I think if I was flying 100+ hours a year I would invest in an ANR set but for the odd weekend bimble I don't think it's worth the extra expense unless you have money to burn. But then if we fly for a hobby I guess we all have that...