ANR Headsets
 

I am about to purchase one and wondered if anyone has any experience or can recommend any particular ANR headset.

Cheers

PFO

When I was in the final few hours of my training .... I found the extra cash to invest in some ANR's .... they are absolutley amazing, the diference between ANR and Passive is wonderful.

I've got a pair of Dave C's ..... but I hear Bose make a decent pair.

I assume that this is for use in a small general aviation aircraft?
I used the Pilot Avionics PA 17-79 and like them. I like the design of the PAs and how light they are. The rechargeable battery is fine, but if you forget to charge it you basically lose ANR until you can get to a power outlet. The omission of automatic power-off is an annoyance. Something I didn't find out until I'd "lived with them" for a while was that I get all sweaty in the cockpit of my little Katana during the summer (maybe that's just my own problem :) )Anyway, a set of cloth covers for the earpieces sorted that out nicely.
Many people swear by the Lightspeed range.
I tried the Sennheisers at an exhibition and they seemed nice, but to be honest, until you fly with them it is hard to say.
In the US, there seems to be something of a price war going on - well, as much of a price war as is possible with something that isn't exactly a consumer product. Most web sites selling pilot gear are discounting below Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) and several new models seem to be coming out. For example, Lightspeed just introduced a cheaper ANR headset and Pilot Avionics are doing the same.
Bottom line: you really need to try them out yourself. If you buy over the web, make sure that you can return the item if it isn't to your liking. Ideally, you can find a pilot supplies shop where you can try different headsets side by side. Remember, though, flying with them is the ultimate proof :)

David.

[This message has been edited by BayAreaLondoner (edited 15 May 2001).]

I bought myself a pair of Pilot ANR's (the black ones). I really like them, the battery is in the ear piece, they are light weight, great noise cancelling, very comfortable. I would stay away from DC becuase I heard the are very unreliable and the cord is about 10 feet which is far too much for a GA aircraft, and it has a power pack right in the middle, I can imagine tripping on that when trying to get out in an emergency!
Iain

The Bose X is more than decent in my opinion... Of course, for the $995 price tag they should be!
Apparently each one is handmade. Amazing customer service I'm told. They fold into something small too.

An addition to my previous post:
Make sure that the ANR headset has sufficient passive damping. In other words don't rely on the ANR circuitry alone: batteries run out, etc.

David.

Iv bought some clarks 10-13x...totally fantastic..not only do they take virtually all the engine noise away they make atc and intercom clearer,,,if i would wait till the pfa rally at cranfield or some other light aviation airshow were you will find everyone trying to sell headsets at airshow prices...I paid 545usd at sun and fun for mine...and as im starting to instruct now reckon i wouldnt be without them...a friend of mine has the pilot 79s...but the battery keeps running out so no good if your instructing and not able to charge them..I love the clarkys...you will never wat any other headset whatever make you buy after you try anr...cheers

Ive got the David Clarke H10-13X : Fantastic! Shop around though, I got mine from the states at www.marvgolden.com saved a bundle.
Great to get off a flight without a pounding headache :)

Oh yeah, get about 50hrs to a set of batteries... recommend some rechargeable ones. (6xAA)

[This message has been edited by Right Seat (edited 16 May 2001).]

Have you tried Lightspeed? Depending where you are in the world you may or may not have heard of them. The company specialises mainly in ANR and seem to be alot cheaper than most ANR sets. I thought Id mention it to you cos Ive read a few good reviews on them.
Search the internet for their website and reviews. One of the distributors is at...

www.webwings.co.nz/lightspeed

All the best.

Have you thought of making your passive headset into an ANR one? I ask as I recently done this modification to my DC H10-40s. The difference is amazing. I am training for ATPL so am flying nearly every day. The unit cost £120 from Adams Direct (advertised in Pilot and Flyer, also on the web).

The DCs give good passive attentuation, but with the ANR switched on, the engine drone goes almost completely. Also the intercom and coms with ATC are much, much clearer.

It is easy to fit the unit yourself, everything you need is in the pack, or if you're not up to soldering a few wires yourself, they'll fit it for £40.

Something to think about anyway. They are at least as good as the original DC 10-13x headset, i have comapred the two.

Happy hunting

high-flyer

I have a set of Lightspeed 15K ANR, they were cheaper than the other brands but they are brilliant. I have flown light a/c with and without them , much better with, all the wine of the engine just disapears and makes understanding the radio so much easier. I bought mine in the States but you can buy them in the UK.

Here's a good question for someone! If I buy a headset mail order from the US, do I have to pay any duty or tax, in adition the the cost of the headset? If I do, can I buy it tax free in the US (mail order) to cover the cost of the import tax here?

ickle :?

[This message has been edited by ickle black box (edited 16 May 2001).]

I heard that the David Clarke 10-13x are completely crap, and that the Pilot avionic headsets were far superior.
The Bushwhacker.

Great post. I've wanted to buy a set for years but I've just never got round to it.

I tried ANRs in a Harvard and they made a phenomenal difference.

Was there not a word of caution to be mentioned since they work so effectively they cancel out bangs caused by engines failing. I guess you would notice that anyway. On balance though it must be better than eventually losing your hearing via passive headsets.

Could you possibly make a ANR kit yourself? Does anyone have any circuit diagrams for such a device?

Thanks,
Tarmach.

While doing my ppl in Florida a couple of years ago, I bought two pairs of Lightspeed 20K's. The difference from the school units was amazing.

The second unit that I had bought for my wife to use was rarely out of a plane, because the instructors all wanted to fly with it. Several of them were thinking of getting a set instead of the David Clarkes that they were all using.

The headset is really comfortable, even when worn for several hours a day. A good trick is to wait until you're flying, and then turn on the ENC. It seems to suck all the noise out of your head.

Because I bought mine while in the states, They just came back in my flight bag, hence no tax or duty. If you know anyone going to the US to do some flying, this might be a good way to get a pair at a reduced price.

Hope this helps,

J.

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"Every time I learn some new stuff, it pushes some of the old stuff out!" - Homer Simpson Esq.

Ickle - if you buy mail order from the US, you probably won't be charged sales tax (which is 8% or thereabouts here in California), and varies by county. However, they will send it by a courier such as FedEx or DHL and that is likely to be costly. Then in the UK, the courier will need to collect both import duty and VAT from you.
The other thing to think about is the guarantee. I would hope that manufacturers of such items are sensible enough to offer a worldwide warranty, but it might be worth checking that.

Concerning noise reduction circuitry itself, the simplest method would be to use a filter, but this is simply going to attenuate low frequency noise, and would therefore mask both comms (probably only problematic if you have a very deep voice ;) ) or other low frequency things, which you might want to be aware of.
Advanced ANR circuitry on the other hand uses a digital signal processor to produce "anti noise". Yes it is something you could do yourself, however, for the costs involved you're probably better off buying a DIY ANR upgrade kit for a non ANR headset.

Go for a Pilot avionics ANR headset, I've used mine for 200+ hrs now and they are great, the after sales service is good too. You don't need to spend more on a 'big name brand' (BTW I've spent most of my career in the pro audio industry).

If you fly alot, esp in small/noisy aircraft a good ANR headset will really help prevent NIHL.

Umm, not sure ANR headsets are a good idea for ab inito flying training. You only have 3 decent 'channels' for info processing (touch, sight, sound). Cutting out 1 of them is not necessarily a good idea.

WWW

[This message has been edited by Wee Weasley Welshman (edited 16 May 2001).]

I know what you mean WWW, but I don't know if I'd agree totally with that.

Your hearing is one of your body's most easily damaged assets. Most training aircraft's (C152 etc) cockpit levels are well, well above SPL levels that will cause hearing damage, the more protection you can get the better (to spend 45hrs + on a PPL course in a old C152, wearing poor ear protection won't do you a lot of good). If your hearing is OK then you'll still be able to hear the engine fine, even with an ANR headset.

As a side discussion though, in 'higher-end' GA aircraft, with far quieter (modern design) cabins, I guess there could be a danger that a decent ANR headset could make the engine noise so faint that it couldn't be heard (dangerous situation?).

Best regards.

Thanks for all the responses.

On the safety issue side as raised by WWW, am I correct in thinking that the ANR does not cancel all the engine noise, or that some units come with the ability to alter the level of "noise" allowed through, a bit like the "squelch" knob?

Thanks again.

PFO

The Lightspeed website actually has a rather good explanation as to how ANR works.
http://www.anrheadsets.com/anr-tutorial.html

I've found that engine "roar and rumble" is what is cancelled rather than squeaks, pops, etc.

David.

I would also recommend the Lightspeed headsets. I've got a 20XL and the noise reduction is great. I've worn a pair for over 4 hours before and they stay really comfortable.

A really good thing about this unit is that if you forget to turn the power off (it is inline with the headset cord) it switches itself off after 20 minutes.

Regards,

STurns

From what I can remember from A Level Physics the ANR would normally only cut out the general "roar and runble" and not the individual pops and bangs as the ANR works on a feedback basis so by time the ANR has "responded" to a roar/bang etc you will have already heard it.

The same principal works on some of the "better" motor cars.

PFO

Go, yes I am quite silly, not only that, I still whack bush like a soft lad.