Anything new in headsets?

jpower

jpower

Cleared for Takeoff
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
1,350
Location
Northern Virginia
Display Name
Display name:
James
Hey all,

I don't hang around here much anymore, something about work being super busy, but I have a question that I'm hoping someone here may have some insight into.

I have your standard David Clark headset right now, but I'm planning to upgrade to ANR once I get my CFI, or perhaps sooner due to an impending long trip. My understanding is that the two gold standards are the Lightspeed Zulu PFX and the Bose A20, but both have now been available for a number of years. Is anyone aware of anything new that's coming that may be worth waiting for? If I'm going to drop $1k+ on a headset, I really want to avoid a Cool New Feature™ from coming out right after I buy mine, since I expect them to last a very long time.

My expectation is that the noise cancellation in these headsets is already so good, and they are already so feature-packed (namely with bluetooth phone and music), that there's not so much that you can add to them to make them better, but was just curious to hear your opinions.

Another side question--I've flown as a passenger with Lightspeed Sierras, and they don't feel great on my head after a while. Should I expect the same fit on the PFX? I'll be trying out someone's A20s in the coming week(s) so I'll be able to see how those feel, but I don't know anyone with a PFX and I don't know of anywhere here in SE Michigan where I could try them out.

Thanks in advance!
 
I have the A20s, but seems like the Zulu 3s are a nice way to go and cheaper than the A20s.

Some folks really like the in ear headsets like the Clarity Aloft or Halos. I have the Clarity Alofts. I do like them, but for some reason they hurt the back of my ears after a few hours of flying (even though they are incredibly loose and don’t clamp my head). Anyways...that’s another thing to consider.
 
Got the A20 the first of the year, if there’s anything better I’d be shocked.
 
I am long time Bose fan, tried A20, and PFX, settles with PFX


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
David Clark pro X. Cheaper and still a good alternative. I don’t think the difference in performance is worth the difference in price for the 1k headsets.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
David Clark pro X
Click to expand...
I was less than impressed with the Pro X. For someone who is flying turbine/jet aircraft, they might be okay, but for piston aircraft, I found that they let in excessive outside noise. I tried to find the 'sweet spot' but was unsuccessful in doing so, which pretty much negated their ANR abilities. They might work well for some, but it's best to take them for a test drive before purchasing if able.
 
Aviation consumer did great story on all major headsets. The short of it was Bose A20 and Lightspeed PFX are the best with Bose better for lighter weight and lightspeed better for people with larger ears. Close second was Lightspeed ZULU 3. I own both the A20 and Zulu 3. I fully agree with their assessment. The A20's feel lighter and the external control is smaller and more sturdy. Zulu 3's external control is a little larger and the volume sliders are very cheesy, where the Bose is more precise.

If you got either one as a gift, you wouldn't return them.
 
Last edited:
I'm kind of in the same boat right now with regards to headsets. My DC is a H10-13S and my thinking is that it is over-valued and ripe for trade-in ($150 from Lightspeed) or resale right now.

I was looking at the PFX but am rather turned off by the huge control box, the high battery consumption and the need to regularly tweak and update the firmware. If I were to go that route, I'd buy a refurbished from @pigpenracing who has them for sale here on PoA on a semi-regular basis for only $699.

I've heard some pretty good things about the DC One-X and Pro-X but they don't seem to be as proven a quantity as the Bose and Lightspeed competition.

They're a bit pricey but if money were no object I'd get the A20. But I look for value so that leaves the Zulu 3 for me. Bear in mind that I've not yet pulled the trigger, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
 
Ryanb said:
I was less than impressed with the Pro X. For someone who is flying turbine/jet aircraft, they might be okay, but for piston aircraft, I found that they let in excessive outside noise. I tried to find the 'sweet spot' but was unsuccessful in doing so, which pretty much negated their ANR abilities. They might work well for some, but it's best to take them for a test drive before purchasing if able.
Click to expand...

I use a DC One-X for this reason. The over-the-ear works better (for me) in a piston aircraft environment. No problem on 4+ hour legs. Super light. I've had it about 9 or 10 months now and absolutely no complaints.
My beef with the Bose is I can't count the number of people I know who have had to send them back after something broke on them. They seem a bit fragile. I have enough fun keeping things on the airplane in repair, I don't need the hassle of my headset breaking.
I've been using DCs for decades and the only thing that has ever failed is the microphone on an H10-30 I bought used in the 1980s. Even though it was used and long out of warrantly, DC replaced the mic for the cost of mailing it to them. I have one DC for each of the 6 seats, and a Halo for passengers that don't want their hair messed up.
 
Last edited:
You probably need to try them yourself. I have flown a lot of hours with the Bose A20 and the ear cups aren’t deep enough for me and I get ear pain after an hour or so. I have a two pairs of Zulus (1 &2) and they are the most comfortable for me. I flew with DC’s during the first part of my training and did not like the clamp pressure, but they weren’t the new ones. As far as in ear headsets, I haven’t tried them, but my my ear canals are large and don’t do well with most of the excesize ones I have tried. Everyone is different.
 
jpower said:
Hey all,

I don't hang around here much anymore, something about work being super busy, but I have a question that I'm hoping someone here may have some insight into.

I have your standard David Clark headset right now, but I'm planning to upgrade to ANR once I get my CFI, or perhaps sooner due to an impending long trip. My understanding is that the two gold standards are the Lightspeed Zulu PFX and the Bose A20, but both have now been available for a number of years. Is anyone aware of anything new that's coming that may be worth waiting for? If I'm going to drop $1k+ on a headset, I really want to avoid a Cool New Feature™ from coming out right after I buy mine, since I expect them to last a very long time.

My expectation is that the noise cancellation in these headsets is already so good, and they are already so feature-packed (namely with bluetooth phone and music), that there's not so much that you can add to them to make them better, but was just curious to hear your opinions.

Another side question--I've flown as a passenger with Lightspeed Sierras, and they don't feel great on my head after a while. Should I expect the same fit on the PFX? I'll be trying out someone's A20s in the coming week(s) so I'll be able to see how those feel, but I don't know anyone with a PFX and I don't know of anywhere here in SE Michigan where I could try them out.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I have used everything out there and do lots of testing. My personal favorite headset now is the wireless Tango. After flying with it for awhile I got real used to not having a cord. My second favorite is the Zulu 3... These two headsets fit completely different. The Tango fits like the Sierra and the Zulu 3 is completely different. I have a small head and the Tango fits me well. If your looking for something slightly used but as good as new I can hook you up.
 
I fly with the Carity Aloft, and I really like them. Very comfortable for me.
I fly safety pilot for a buddy in his T-210, and he has A20s in there. I really like those too.
Either one is very comfortable and effective in my opinion.
 
Been running light speed Zulus for a few thousand flight hours, been very happy with them, work great in white glove turbines as well as my loud skywagon.
 
The in-ear headsets, QT Halo and Clarity Aloft, are much more comfortable, lighter, and the noise reduction is excellent without the need for batteries.
 
Yea there is no way I could ever go back to over ear headsets. I like my clarity aloft ones slightly better than the QT Halo ones.
 
I looked into it and found the Lightspeed Tango is the newest tech on the block with wireless tech.
Built in batteries, with back-up cable.

Very happy with mine
 
Consider the connectors. If you are going to be a CFI, you want to connect to the standard jacks. They all work well. I recommend Bose. They fix their stuff and have the best warranty service IMO.
 
Anything new will debut next week at Sun N Fun. I’d wait at least til then before making a new purchase.
 
Lightspeed's customer service is excellent as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lots of good info in here--thanks for your input! I've heard really good things about the in-ear headsets here and elsewhere, but my ears have never been conducive to in-ear headphones I can't imagine a headset would be any different, so I think those are out.

I hadn't heard of the DC One-X before, so that's good to know about. I'd love to check it out, but I'm not sure that there's anywhere near me where I can do that.

Sounds like waiting until Sun n Fun would be a good idea--until then I can try out the A20s to see how they fit my head, and if all goes well, make my move assuming nothing big comes out.

Thanks again!
 
Ryanb said:
I was less than impressed with the Pro X. For someone who is flying turbine/jet aircraft, they might be okay, but for piston aircraft, I found that they let in excessive outside noise. I tried to find the 'sweet spot' but was unsuccessful in doing so, which pretty much negated their ANR abilities. They might work well for some, but it's best to take them for a test drive before purchasing if able.
Click to expand...

Yea I agree...the reviews reflect that as well. Hard to expect the same ANR abilities since they don’t actually cover your whole ear.
 
CC268 said:
Yea I agree...the reviews reflect that as well. Hard to expect the same ANR abilities since they don’t actually cover your whole ear.
Click to expand...

The over-ear One-X is the better bet for piston airplanes, and as I posted earlier that's what I currently use.

However, I have quite a few hours trying out the Pro-X as well. The ANR works just fine...provided the headset is positioned on your ear properly. The problem I had is every time I moved my head it would shift just enough to compromise the ANR. I still have the Pro-X as some of my passengers seem to like it over the conventional over-ear or the Halo in-ear option.

btw, I had a similar problem with the early Bose headset (circa 2000, don't remember the model). Every time I moved my head the seal at the temples of my sunglasses would break and screw up the ANR.
 
GRG55 said:
The over-ear One-X is the better bet for piston airplanes, and as I posted earlier that's what I currently use.

However, I have quite a few hours trying out the Pro-X as well. The ANR works just fine...provided the headset is positioned on your ear properly. The problem I had is every time I moved my head it would shift just enough to compromise the ANR. I still have the Pro-X as some of my passengers seem to like it over the conventional over-ear or the Halo in-ear option.

btw, I had a similar problem with the early Bose headset (circa 2000, don't remember the model). Every time I moved my head the seal at the temples of my sunglasses would break and screw up the ANR.
Click to expand...

Ohhh I see...the One-X is typical over ear, Pro-X is the other one...gotcha
 
No substitute for flying with them. Different people have different sized heads and prefer different headsets.

For me, I would not spend the extra for the PFX. I like the Zulu3 and A20 about equally (hundreds of hours in both), so the Zulu3 being a bit less expensive made it an easy choice.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Consider the connectors. If you are going to be a CFI, you want to connect to the standard jacks. They all work well. I recommend Bose. They fix their stuff and have the best warranty service IMO.
Click to expand...

FYI: The Lightspeed warranty was recently increased to seven years, the Bose one is still five. The responsiveness from both organizations has been excellent in my experience.
 
CC268 said:
Ohhh I see...the One-X is typical over ear, Pro-X is the other one...gotcha
Click to expand...

Same electronics and controls, Bluetooth, etc. Just different earpiece configuration.
 
I have the very early version of the A-20 and have used them for years. Batteries last a long time, noise reduction is great and they are very comfortable. HOWEVER, I find voice clarity not to my liking. The Bose seems to make the voices seem much "bass-ier" than other headsets. To me, the voices are not as clear as the Lightspeed. Perhaps the newer Bose A-20's have improved by reducing the "bass-iness" of the older A-20's? Maybe someone here can offer a comment on the voice clarity of the older vs. newer A-20's?
 
jpower said:
Lots of good info in here--thanks for your input! I've heard really good things about the in-ear headsets here and elsewhere, but my ears have never been conducive to in-ear headphones I can't imagine a headset would be any different, so I think those are out.
Click to expand...
They aren't like earbuds. Compare them to foam earplugs. If you can wear foam earplugs comfortably then you can wear the in-ear headsets comfortably.
 
I just have the old Lightspeed Sierras. They work fine for me. I figure if I never try anything else, I won't know what I am missing.
 
What you fly should determine what you wear.
The in ear headsets are not the best choice for a really noisy plane, like a Cub, biplane or (I wish) a warbird.
 
Shepherd said:
What you fly should determine what you wear.
The in ear headsets are not the best choice for a really noisy plane, like a Cub, biplane or (I wish) a warbird.
Click to expand...

Yeah, There's no way in hell I get in a 38 without my ears stuffed full of foam, plus the cups, plus the helmet.

The reality is that you folks are being bamboozled by ANR. ANR headsets have terrible passive attenuation capability, and their low frequency band protection is borderline derelict by design. Where they do a decent job of attenuating background noise is in the speaking range, as they've been intended. But that's not the range that's gonna kill your hearing. Passive attenuation is the only way to protect your physical ear hairs in earnest, and that's only going to be accomplished with physical barriers aka foamies and/or in-ear insulation, or fully enclosing cups meant as passive headset (aka over the ear passive). Yelling in your ear at a 180 phase shift when it comes to percussive noise protection is the biggest gimmick ever invented, plus most headsets can't gain that high even if they wanted to. Reminds me of the poor souls that stuck their feet on those X-ray machines at the shoe store they used to have for funsies. ANR is a gimmick in an industrial noise setting.

Airline pilots speak well of ANR because they rely on the acoustics of the airplane, that's why things like a dispatch style headset like a DC prop is workable in that environment. In a 737 you're still gonna lose your hearing on those things without fully enclosing cups.
 
Shepherd said:
The in ear headsets are not the best choice for a really noisy plane, like a Cub, biplane or (I wish) a warbird.
Click to expand...
Why not? Their noise reduction is excellent without the need for batteries.

I've used both the QT Halo and Clarity Aloft as well as ANR headsets from Bose and David Clark. When properly worn, the QT and CA have as good, if not better, noise reduction.
 
Max Trescott has an excellent website and podcast that covers this very subject. Aviation News Talk is the podcast and aviationnewstalk.com will take you to the info. Good luck and enjoy his podcast. He spends lots of time talking about ANR headsets including those you have mentioned. Remember, ANR headsets are not for everyone.
 
asicer said:
And what's the best way of doing that, short of knowing a guy or dropping 5-6 AMU?
Click to expand...

Knowing people is by far the best way. Take your friends up for rides if they will let you try their headsets.

Short of that, Bose and Lightspeed both offer 30 day money back guarantees. So you could try them that way also.
 
Larry in TN said:
Why not? Their noise reduction is excellent without the need for batteries.

I've used both the QT Halo and Clarity Aloft as well as ANR headsets from Bose and David Clark. When properly worn, the QT and CA have as good, if not better, noise reduction.
Click to expand...

ANR does nothing for bone conduction noise. With a big ear cover headset, I can use less volume and still hear what's being said.
 
Shepherd said:
ANR does nothing for bone conduction noise. With a big ear cover headset, I can use less volume and still hear what's being said.
Click to expand...
These aren't ANR headsets so that doesn't help me understand why you think the QT/CA headsets are not the best choice for noisy airplanes.

My experience is exactly the opposite which has been that the in-ear headsets have as good, if not better, noise reduction as the over-ear headsets--ANR or not--and they have superior audio quality and comfort. They do require the proper insertion of the ear plugs but that just takes a little practice if you aren't already familiar with wearing foam ear plugs.

I frequently fly with flying partner with the best headsets from David Clark, Bose, etc. Many of them remove those headsets during cruise due to comfort issues while I continue to wear by Clarity Aloft headset which remains comfortable for the entire flight. The only disadvantage that I've found is that you can't remove and replace them as quickly as you can an over-ear headset.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top