In Ear Aviation Headset!

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Hello all~
I am considering the in ear aviation headset because I feel very hot and uncomfortable to the traditional headset with or without sunglasses.
Personally, I choose three headset to become my final choices.

1. Tbone Aviation Headset
2. LightSpeed Aviation Mach 1
3. Clarity Aloft Aviation Headset

Or another better suggestion for in ear (I prefer Custom Made mold) Aviation headset?

I would like to compare the pros and cons of those three headset for the sound quality for both listening and speaking, also the noise reduction (Tbone Custom made ear mold and normal in ear mold (Clarity and Mach 1)).
I think Tbone Aviation is quite perfect however someone said that the sound and the voice is not so good for tbone because of the build-in mic.
However, Are the Mach 1 and Tbone Aviation no longer exist in the current market anymore? So, Can I find some similar product in current market?

I will use it both light aircraft (piston engine e.g: C-152, C-172, Diamond DA 20, DA40) and the Jet engine aircraft too.

Please compare and give me some suggestions.

Thanks a lot

[FlightPathOBN]

Why I am doing flight/Obs validations, I use a QT Halo headset, but I am not piloting...QT headsets do NOT have TSO cert

If you are flying part 91 there are no requirements.

When looking for a headset, Part 121 and 135 ops require TSO certification, but the language is vague at best.
Most chief pilots or companies specify headsets having TSO cert.

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks for replying!

I know that Clarity Aloft had two model which contain TSO cert.
Just not sure about Tbone and Mach 1....
BTW, If I plan to use my headset in training or even after entering Airline, should I get a headset with TSO cert?

[proxus]

Hi there.

From what I heard was that Tbone (a Danish company I think) went tits up last year. You should check on it before you dish out any lump sum of money to someone claiming to be selling those as it is expensive.

Another option for you could be a headset with custom made earplugs made by Phonak FreeCom 7000 Pilot Headset

This is a company that has been making hearing aids for some 60 odd years so they should know their way around the human ear.

But it is quite expensive to buy and has some process to it. I think around 8 weeks from start to finish but a better protection for your ears is hard to find.
Note: I do not have any affiliation to that company. It was recommended to me by a hearing specialist which is studying what the effects of cockpit noise is having to our hearing as pilots.

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks a lot Proxus!

Yes, I know that the custom made headsets are expensive.
However, I am really interested the built in mic with custom made ear mold.
I hear that the Tbone Aviation was closed and no longer exist, because the website cannot be opened!
You mean Tbone was really closed?
Anyway, I will have a look on freecom 7000 pilot headset.
Any other similar product with Tbone are still exist in market?

Thanks for recommending.

[FlightPathOBN]

From what I remember, the custom ear mold units had some issues as the air pressure would not equalize fast enough between the unit and ear on ascent/descent...

[3bars]

I have the clarity aloft headset and also a sennheisser hmec25. When the sennheisser clamps my head during long cruises, I revert to the clarity aloft headset, but its not practical for ground use - engine start / push / taxi where we normally leave one ear uncovered by the headset. The cable tends to pull the earbud out of my ear when I move my head. I also use the moulded earpieces which are much more comfortable than the standard foam buds. My advice for what its worth, stick with a good regular headset with ANR

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks for comment.

BTW, the FreeCom 7000 Pilot Headset is ANR and custom mold.
The different between noise reduction of active and passive was really large?
BTW, I will consider FreeCom 5000 (passive) and FreeCom 7000 (active) and Clarity Aloft. (As tbone and mach 1 were no longer exist......)
Yes, I know that the ANR should be better, however it need battery all the time and the weight is much higher than passive one, isn't it?
However, I still look for some Custom made headset with Build in MIC function which like Tbone but with ANR and PNR.

[Mark 1]

I have been using the QT Halo for about 3 years and am very satisfied.

In a very noisy cockpit it easily outperforms my old Bose X.

I understand that the conformable foam ear tips are better performing than custom moulded ones. I have used the foam ear tips on 4 hour flights with no discomfort.

The Clarity Aloft looks a more robust product, but is much more expensive. If you handle carefully, the QT should last a long time.

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Oh Really?
The normal in ear headsets are really more comfortable than custom made ear mold ?
According to my experience of listen music earphone, the custom made ear mold is much more comfortable than the normal one!

[this is my username]

I use a Clarity Aloft when I am flying fixed-wing and CEPs under my helmet when I'm flying rotary - they both use the same earpiece system.

I have got to the stage where I hate flying with anything else! They are a bit fiddly getting the earpieces in and out, but I just live with it in order to get the noise attenuation and clear audio (and to save what's left of my hearing).

I have tried custom moulded ear plugs on them but found them less comfortable and noisier than the standard conformable foam tips so I have gone back to using the standard tips.

Sometimes if you try and continue using the foam eartips after they have started to degrade then they will come off the wire and stay stuck in your ears, so it's worth keeping a pair of tweezers in your flight bag (though pointed-nose pliers will do at a push!).

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks for your comment!

The comment of Clarity Aloft is seem quite nice.......
BTW, how about the noise reduction of Clarity Aloft or Halo even Custom Ear mold with passtive one in both piston light aircraft or jet aircraft?
The noise reduction of in ear headset compare with the traditional headset (like bose A20 with ANR? Which one better and there are the big different between ANR and passive noise reduction?
Thanks

[Basil]

About 30 years ago used a custom moulded in-ear system with mic tube leading around to mouth.
Didn't like it because even the weight of the cable and mic tube seemed to prevent the moulded plastic from seating correctly and excluding noise.
In any case I prefer both ears in use.

[Foxcotte]

In ear headsets

I fly a Citation Bravo, two crew for a small company so there was no 'corporate' policy on what headset to use. The plane came with Telex headsets which both of us chose not to keep using for different reasons - basically it didn't sit well on my big head (no rude comments please) and I was constantly readjusting it in flight to catch radio calls. I now use a Sennheiser jet headset and love it for quality of sound, comfort and fit. My fellow captain chose to go the in-ear route, for very much the same reasons as you, and has tried both the Clarity Aloft and Lightspeed Mach which he much prefers. However we have had some conflicts between our choices of headset with some issues of volume differences and what sometimes seems to be interference.

He has also found the in ear to be not that comfortable after a long sector. And yes it's a bit of a fiddle to re-install in a hurry for a key radio call or situation. He is still experimenting to find what works but is slightly gravitating back to a standard Bose or Sennheiser like mine. For what it's worth....

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks Basil and Foxcotte comments!!

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

So, we cannot find any similar product with Tbone headset which provide a special mic built in.......

In fact, I am planing to get a Tbone headset........

Now, may be my choice is Clarity Aloft or FreeCom7000 with ANR.....
But, I hope I can find one like Tbone in the market

[Christophglex]

Phonak

Hi Ray,

I own a freecom 7000. I us it on a Global Express.
I like it very much but I'll tell you a little about it

There seems to be a misunderstanding of what active is with this headset.
It is not an active noise reduction headset. The custom made earplugs are protecting from noise very well as they are. But they are blocking everything, also when the C/A is asking if you need a coffee. For you not to miss that, Phonak integrated their "Active/Dynamic" thing. All it does is picking up the noise through the mic and let it in to your ears. on the little box you can set the volume. It's a bit like a device for a hearing impaired person. Once the coffee is ordered you can turn the volume back down or swith it off.
It's actually more quiet if it's off completely. The level of volume I need since I use this headset if way lower than with the standard Telex.

I don't know how it is in other aircraft but on the Global the only downside is that the squelch of the intercom is a bit to low. If my colleage is mumbeling only, the phonak won't pick it up, whereas the standard Telex did.

The headset has a quick connect at the little box with the controls. You can take it outside to do you walkaround if you like.

The earplugs themselfs are made from a hard plastic. I find it a bit uncomfortable if I am wearing it for an extended period of time. But everybody is different. I can't use earplug or ipod-headphones very long either as it starts getting sweaty and itchy. I usually wear it until TOC and then again from the TOD. Our plane is pretty quiet once we are above level 400.

Overall I can recommend the headset very much.

By the way I've tried the t-bone headset as well. As you might know it didn't have a regular microphone but picked up the vibrations of your voice in your ear on the bone.
It worked well for me but all the complains of my colleagues and all the "say again"-calls from ATC annoyed me so much that I had to revert to my regular headset. The quality of my voice was just too poor. I sent it back and left my money as a deposit for the new version which was supposed to come out shortly....and burnt my fingers, as the went bancrupt.

Cheers

[RAY - Musician Pilot]

Thanks a lot!

Any new idea or comment?

[STBYRUD]

Errr... T-Bone went bust quite some time ago! They still owe me over 800€ worth in headset...

[WhyByFlier]

I'm sure these headsets are wonderful for the user but the ones I have to suffer my colleagues using are dreadful - I can't hear much of what they say with interphone on full. I don't know if it's because they can hear themselves speak through their sinuses more because of the in ear effect or the mics receive no attention in the design and are crap. Perhaps it's a bit of both. When I miss several things they've said, incorrectly guess what they've said a few times and have missed several actions because I'm concentrating so hard on what they're saying - I finally ask them to change to the other headset. I'm then the bad guy because they spent €1000 on the piece of junk and can't use it. I wouldn't touch one.

I know all captains in my base use the same model and it's not one of those mentioned above buy consider it before you but one!