Bose is the way to go!

I had an DC and a Lightspeed, both ANR, until my Boss gave me a brandnew Bose.......

I don't wanna go back! It's not just about the noise, it's just so freakin' comfortable on the head.......

It's a little bit more expensive than the other headsets, but u can't beat it!!! Worth every penny!

Even if the batteries die, u can still hear fine. (But i have to admit it gets quite loud)

The 61 is probally a low-impedance mic (ours were, and our Pumas are), and Bose offers a conversion, but it replaces the cord, mic and the volume control thingy. Super easy to swap but pricey. I used my BOSE for 2 years then went back to a helmet and those cep-usa ear thingys, far quieter IMO, and I'll put a set in an older regular DC for the summer. I never liked the wind noise in either the 61 or the Puma with the Bose ANR, especially with a window open.

I tried the Bose before buying my lightspeed ZULU, I wouldn’t pay a lot of money, for a little sign saying BOSE, I would rather by the ZULU that has better noise reduction when the battery dies, and also fits better to my head :8
I also like the Bluetooth feature so my phone are coupled to the headset, and listening to music over the Bluetooth is also nice. The headset has an inbuilt priority that levels down the music whenever there is someone speaking on the radio.

But that's just me, everyone has different taste, some like men, other like women. :E

Does anyone know where to buy the Zulu headset in UK? Have been trying different places but they all seem to be out of stock. :ugh:

Here is a couple of dealers.

U.K.
Commander School - Europe
Hermes House, Saumarez St.
St. Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2PU
Phone: +44 (0)1 481 725 914
Fax: +44 (0)1 481 728807
Email: [email protected]

Harry Mendelssohn
Harry Mendelssohn Sales, (GPS Europe Ltd.)
49-51 Colinton Road, EDINBURGH, EH10 5DH.
Phone: (0131) 447 7777
Fax: (0131) 452 9004
Website: www.harrymendelssohn.com
Email: [email protected]

But if you want it to be with a helicopter plug, wait a month or so, then they come out with spiral cord and helicopter plug. Or buy it now and get it changed in a month or to for 25$ (it was what the dealer said where i bough mine)

Støy.

Mendelssohn is out os stock. I will try calling Commander school on monday.

Where did you get yours from?

Some pilot store in aurora in Oregon, can't remember the name. But they had a testing "divice" where you could turn on some speakers to represent background noise så you could try different headsets under the same circumstanses.

Støy

DC 13H with earplugs is the way to go.
 

The less parts, the better.
I've got a DC 13HXL. Really nice, but flying for flying 8 hours a day, ANR using batteries is not practical. It is however a excellent passive headset.
I found them to be better value for fixed-wing.
Bose X is the best noise cancelling.

BOSE "Popping" Problem Advice Please
 

I am having a problem with my Bose.
I get "popping" and then lose the audio - I can still transmit however.
It usualy comes back after 10 or 15 secs or if you turn off the ANR.
Changed batteries a couple of times - no joy there.
Poked and prodded to make sure the little holes ( TriPort openings) in the earcups are clear ect. Checked the Optional Operation Switches. Tried varying the volumn both on the headset and the audio panel. All looks OK but the problem persists.:{
Someone told me to send it back to Bose as they have a "fix".
The headset was built in Oct 2004.
Does anyone else have the same problem? (S-76 and S-92)
Before I open fire in Bose's direction does anyone have some good advice?
Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Headset recommendation.
 

I'm in the market for an ANR headset. Spending most of my time in R22s so need one that will work with the other headset in the 22 (seems to be a bit of an issue with mismatched headsets in the 22 in particular, my passive DCs will work with some but only some). Any recommendations? I like the DCs. Not a huge fan of the comfort of the Bose Xs. Hate passive Peltors.

tu154,

I tried the Bose when they first came out. While they were nice, I really don't like the price. I went with the Telex ANR4000 \. I was flying Metroliners and B100 King Airs. I was quite pleased with them. The difference between them and the Bose was almost indistinguishable and the price was about 1/3 the price of the Bose. Last year, I upgraded to the Telex Heli-XT headset. I have been quite happy with it. Telex's support is as good as David Clark's support. Telex uses AA batteries which makes it a better choice than units that use special rechargeable batteries. The only units better in these regard are the ones that get their power directly from the radios. Due to a couple of features of the Telex, it appears that this was not possible.

I've used my Lightspeed Zulu in a number of different Robinsons, and am very happy with it. It's comfortable and clear. I have run into a particular R22 which didn't work with one ANR and one basic, training school standard non-ANR (same behavior with a Bose or LS ANR), but was fine with 2 ANRs. I've also seen an R22 which refused to work with any ANRs at all, in any combination. I suspect this is more an audio system thing than an R22 thing.

Hmmm, managed to try both the new bose and the lightspeed today. Both excellent headsets, which you would expect for the cost. Chap with the lightspeed reports no issues with it in any of the 22s he's tried it in...

I have been watching this thread and not keen to get involved as I find the R-22 headset problem depressing. But I guess I should as in my experience I haven't had an R-22 that haven't had issues with Lightspeed.
I am a great advocate of Lightspeed and their headsets, but not in my R-22.
I have had a Zulu in my R-22 and have had enough problems with it to make me not be willing to fly with the Zulu.
I have had 3 Lightspeed ANR headsets, since the original 20XL, and cosider Lightspeed to be a great company with great products.
The Zulu in my 22 had an intermittent loud sound (not at all like the transient sound if an ear cup shifts on the ear as you turn head - I have seen this occassionally and it is a non issue for me). The loud sound prevents hearing ATC comms and lasts a couple of seconds.
I sent my first Zulu back to factory and it was returned with no improvement (and no communucation from factory as to if the found anything wrong so I assume they tested it and found no fault with headset).
As prob continued I complained to the factory and they arranghed for me to swap my Zulu over at local dealer for a slightly used later serial number set. This was much better but did not eliminate the problem.
So from my view Zulu is a GREAT headset but as is well known the R-22 can be a cantankerous beast when it comes to headsets.

Just out of interest my original Lightspeed 20XL mic would not work at all with the first R-22 I flew. Lightspeed suggested it was that some R-22's are wired so the Lightspeed mic does not get power and I should make up my own short adaptor (NATO plug to the Lightspeed 2 jacks) but reverse the mic wires. Immediately this fixed the problem and mic worked perfectly. I have never seen an authoratative explaination as to why some R-22's have so much prob with headsets but anecdotal info is ?some R-22's have a wiring prob as per above.

Of interest I have never had a problem with DC headset in R-22. Seem to work every time.

John

Another good one...
 

I got myself a Lightspeed Zulu (Lightspeed Aviation - ANR, Passive and In-the-ear pilot headsets - Home) with Bluetooth connectivity and it really works well. Price was OK, delivery also, and the best part is that people can't hear the wine and the thump of the Bell 206 as I speak on the phone!

ANR is good too.

I am very impressed with this product!

/per

ANR Bose X fitted with DC earcups.
 

Love the headset but just hate those flimsy earcups. A bit too small for us guys with big ears:sad: and they usually only last for 6 months or so in hot and humid conditions.:confused:

Recently I decided to fit a pair of David Clarks gel-filled ear cups onto my Bose and it was just great. They fit my ears much better as they are much bigger and the passive noise reduction was even better.:D

More Protection
 

I am not an audiologist, but as I understand ANR all they do is "mask" the sounds so that you no longer hear them. I would suggest that if you are looking to protect your hearing, ANR alone will not do that. You might want to look at adding the Oregon Aero hush kit to your headset. You need passive noise reduction as well as active noise reduction. I have been flying with an older DC set modified by that outfit in Amarillo for ANR and then added the "Hush Kit" from Oregon Aero and if my batt's fail, I hardly notice. Oregon Aero's passive is awesome!

Selling my Zulu
 

I have flown a lot with Bose. Don't care for them too much. Nice but not very strong for hard use. Also they press on my ears after a while. The earcups are too shallow (I like to think my ears are normal size, lol)

I bought a Zulu. Same quality of sound reduction as Bose but nicer additional features such as : audio in, bluetooth and deeper, nicer fitting earcups. Either way, still not impressed.

Nothing, nothing nothing IMHU comes even close to a HGU-56 with ANR kit. If you want a headset and a helmet is not an option, go Zulu. I will never use anything different then my Gentex ever again.

In fact, I have a HGU-56 (size large) dual visor (without ANR), nice paint job and civilian mic and speakers. Used it for a while and bought another (size medium) to fit a little better.

ANR
 

Foggy,

I am not an audiologist either, but if we just concentrate on what's entering the ear itself, ANR really does cancel the air movements by applying counter waves with the speaker. Given that the audio "signal" (noise) is fairly complex in waveform, this is probably not an easy thing to do. It appears that today, however, many companies have the technology and the knowledge to do this very efficiently.

The rest of the noise that ruins your hearing and gives you a nice headache reaches the ear drums via other routes, like the cranium and on via the soft tissue inside of it. That's where the helmet comes into play.

In response to your "masking" statement, which is true in a sense, I would say that if the airwaves are gone, then the noise is gone and the result is harmless since it produces no movement of the ear drum.

Anyway, a helmet with ANR-cups in it must be the optimal solution.

Any comments on ANR and CEPs?

I’ve just added CEPs to my ANR (aftermarket) equipped Gentex.

I’m not sure if I wired it correctly, or more precisely the ramifications of wiring the CEPs in parallel with ANR speakers. I assume the noise reduction is inbuilt (self contained in the speakers) and the conventional connections would be “non ANR”.

It seems to work, but I’ve only used it once in an unfamiliar AC. I have a work supplied Alpha (No ANR, or CEPs) for most flights.

I found the CEPs uncomfortable (But foam earplugs are fine, except for ICS/Radio, of course)

There is plenty on CEP's in CEP-Communication Ear Protection :cool:

I have used most types, currently own DC ANR's and have used Bose Noise Cancelling, both hard wired and battery.

I now fly the 92 which has a real issue with noise, and have settled with CEP's as by far the best solution. I have two sets, Peltor and DC passive, both with CEP's fitted. It's important to find the size of foam fit for the CEP that is right for you, there are three options, it took me about a week to get used to the feeling of the CEP, but now I don't notice it, even after regularl 7-8 hour days.

My preference is the Peltor's with the CEP, just because they are lighter and fit me better, but I use DC's because the Peltor's won't work in the 92. I recently switched to the mini CEP's, which are much more comfortable, they seem to just sit better in your earlobe.

So for about $100 with a couple of spare packs of ear foams or £100 delivered (including customs tax) in the UK I think they are by far the best solution. I was also advised that they don't provide any addition benefit when used with ANR as the foam earpiece provides such good protection. Also useful that you can take off the headset and the CEP's will still provide ear protection.

This is all personal experience, I can't vouch for the science, but after long days they work for me and make the radio transmissions much easier to hear.

Customer service great too, one set became faulty after 8 months and a new set was despatched immediately, no quibbles.

I also prefer CEPs. ANR does well enough with lower frequencies, but can't react quickly enough to reduce high frequencies as well as I want. You can check the graphs of the noise reduction at various frequencies, and ANR just doesn't cut it at high frequencies. CEPs work better at all frequencies, and provide clearer audio for me. Plus I don't have to worry about batteries.

Cheap CEPs
 

I had one of our avionics guys at the company base wire a mini stereo jack into both of my DC passive headsets. When you plug into the jack, the audio goes into the jack, when you don't, it functions as a normal headset.

This allows you to use ANY set of mini-stereo earbuds as CEPs. The hardware is extremely cheap, the labor is whatever you can negotiate, and the sound quality is much improved. I would not consider this to be the equivalent of professional CEP installation or equipment, but it is awfully cost effective and gets you most of the CEP bennies.

The downside of using regular earbuds is that the stems of the cords were never designed to go under earcups, therefore you might have to experiment quite a bit with how you align the earbud cords, or you WILL experience some new and troubling ear pain in a relatively short amount of time.

But the benefits of CEPs are still there, as it was explained to me a long time ago, they enable you to back the volume WAY down and audio clarity still goes WAY up.

Whether you can stand another set of wires running down your neck in a hot and sweaty cockpit is for you to decide...

I have to agree, CEP's are the way to go, but I don't like the idea to have additional wires around my neck'.
Also, being a copilot in EMS ops sometime I have to jump off the cabin quite fast, and I'm sure sooner or later I will forgot to disconnect the CEP jack and screw up something when I pull off the headsets from my head.. LOL

Anyway, I'm waiting to receive a ANR conversion kit to upgrade my trusty and old D.C. headset (actually they are older than me! ) .

If you want I can take some photos during the installation and share with you my impression about this kind of conversion.

"Customer service great too, one set became faulty after 8 months and a new set was despatched immediately, no quibbles."

Where did you get yours from? I've seen them on Communication Earplug Kit for $139. I also looked on the CEP website briefly but couldn't see an ordering page.
Also, what kit did you order for the Peltor (I have a spare Peltor headset I'm going to modify for use on the EC225)?
Thanks.

Just received my shiny new Bose A20's. Flew with the Bose X for the last 5 years in the 61 and other than a few snags I was generally happy with them.

The one thing that took a bit getting used to was that the side tone was low, so I always found myself talking louder than necessary.

I can confirm that the new A20 is an improvement to the X. The ANR is noticeably better, the side tone is what I would call normal now and the comfort/fit is better as well. The annoying easily moved volume wheels on the X have been addressed as well. One interesting thing is with the X when you stored it the ear cups were spring loaded together, which in the tropics meant that the sweat was trapped. The A20 design prevents the ear cups contacting each other when its in the storage bag, so I think that will help.

I got the kit from this site:
ANR Headsets
Nice guy to deal with.

I did the installation in a pair of DC 10.00 ( headphones only ) I have fitted a mic boom from from another pair of DC I had before and the game was done!
I got also the super comfort head cushion and undercutted ear seal from D.C.

Tested in a 109 doing EMS and I love them! the difference is like night and day, the comunications are much better now, and most of the noise is gone. Even if the battery goes down you still have a pair of "passive" David Clark so the quality is not bad at all!

Ciao,

Can i use the Zulu or Sierra headset for my AW139 ?

and what is the best Zulu or Sierra ?

Regards,

CEP-USA isn't really set up as a retailer, but you can buy directly from them, and unlike most manufacturers/wholesalers, cheaper than from a reseller. The list of products with part numbers is here, and you have to email or telephone them for prices and for ordering. The email address is on the home page, as well as on the contact page. I've found them excellent to deal with.

Has anyone got any info on this new DC ANR headset???


DC PRO-X: DC PRO-X | David Clark Company | Worcester, MA