Selecting a Headset

WDD

WDD

Final Approach
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Vintage Snazzy (so my adult children say)
I currently have a Clarity Aloft classic, and wondering if there would be any real reason to switch to another set.

First and foremost I'm after noise reduction. The Clarity seems to work fine.

Would something else be quieter? While Clarity Aloft publishes a 29 db noise reduction, the Bose A 20 for example doesn't publish any.

I'm also a bit concerned about durability. I've had it less than 9 months and I've already had to replace it once under warranty.

SO..... any first hand knowledge on Clarity Aloft vs Bose or other headsets on noise reduction and durability?

Thanks!
 
I sell used headsets and have tested every headset in lots of different planes I fly... Cessna'a, Bonanza's, Pitts, Christen eagles, Stearmans, Cubs, Breezy, Skybolts, Decathlons, Staudacher... I have a good test bed.
First the Bose A20 is nothing to brag about... The Lightspeeds kill them in performance and durability! I personally now use a Zulu 3 and a Clarity Aloft. I tend to use the Clarity in the aerobatic stuff because it is light and don't fly off. The Clarity is quiet and so are the Lightspeeds.
It boils down to if you would like a regualar headset. The Lightspeeds are much easier to put on and get going.
I would recommend a Zulu 3 or a PFX if you want the quietest.
I have a full line of like new Lightspeeds if I can help.
 
Sounds like I already have one of the quietest headsets. If it dies or I need a second set for the wife, I'll look for a Zulu 3. Interesting that you didn't put the Bose at the top. You mean it might be hyped up a bit, relying on its brand name and premium pricing? Shocking....

Clarity is great for me, when it works. Have you had any reliability issues with yours? Appreciate the insights!
 
asicer said:
Except for the Sierra. They still use the old-style thinly jacketed cords.
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The Sierra is durable. Don't get me wrong the new style cord is awesome. My wife has had her Sierra for years and it still looks new.
 
pigpenracing said:
My wife has had her Sierra for years and it still looks new.
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So did mine until it didn't.

This was on a QFR XC, which the Sierra essentially replaced, so it may not have been exactly the same cord. But I've got the two in front of me at this very moment and they sure look awfully similar.
 
I dislike the Lightspeeds, because I find them uncomfortable and bulky. I find the A20 much more comfortable, and the Bose noise cancelling is better. My understanding is that the ProFlights definitely do not cancel as well as the A20, but do still do a good job.
 
I went through just about every headset at Oshkosh a few years back. Once you get into the premium lines, the noise cancellation is all roughly the same. The first thing you have to decide if you want an active over the year thing or one of the in-the-ear things like the Clarities you have now. My wife flies with the latter, and I keep a few earpieces for it in case I want to use it. It has probably one of the nicest Microphones on any headset I've come across. I wasn't a big fan of the "in your ear things" until I started wearing hearing aids. Now of course, I need to take out my aids when using the CA, which is a pain.

As for the over the head, everybody's head is a different shape. I found that the Lightspeed Zulus fit ME the best of everything I tried (including the Boses). After the last cable battle in the cockpit, I've decided to try out the Tempos. I'll let you know as soon as I have a few hours on them.
 
flyingron said:
I went through just about every headset at Oshkosh a few years back. Once you get into the premium lines, the noise cancellation is all roughly the same. The first thing you have to decide if you want an active over the year thing or one of the in-the-ear things like the Clarities you have now. My wife flies with the latter, and I keep a few earpieces for it in case I want to use it. It has probably one of the nicest Microphones on any headset I've come across. I wasn't a big fan of the "in your ear things" until I started wearing hearing aids. Now of course, I need to take out my aids when using the CA, which is a pain.

As for the over the head, everybody's head is a different shape. I found that the Lightspeed Zulus fit ME the best of everything I tried (including the Boses). After the last cable battle in the cockpit, I've decided to try out the Tempos. I'll let you know as soon as I have a few hours on them.
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I think you really hit the most important element. Your personal fit. I happen to find the Lightspeed Sierras the most comfortable for my pumpkin sized head. A little better comfort goes a long way on a cross country.
 
Because of bone conduction, 29 dB is about the best Noise Reduction Rating that means anything. But, let me tell you about my Halloween outing this year. I found some Steam Punk aviator goggles and helmet and went as The Aviator (Howard Hughes).

I don't tolerate loud noise nearly as well as my wife, not even when I was her age, and we were going to a concrete walled bar where the minimum amplifier volume control setting is 11 (thanks, Spinal Tap). So, I wore a pair of musician's earplugs with about a 29 dB rating. With those in, there was still a major racket in my ears. I also had my Lightspeed 3G headsets (ANR capable). With the earplugs in, and ANR off, I couldn't tell any difference in noise level. With ANR, the noise faded away, and about all I could hear of the music were low taps from the snare drums. At times, the bass was so loud that it made my headset clamp vibrate, but none of it made it to my ears. On the way home, my wife said the music was really loud. Too bad Halloween is the only night I can get away with wearing massive hearing protection to that bar. (I don't go without it, too.)

Also, I have big ears, and as far as I could tell, my ears didn't touch the ear cups.

Maybe next year I'll buy an airline captain or FO uniform shirt, and wear the earplugs and headset again.

Takeaways: ANR works, might give better than 29 dB attenuation, esp. when used with ear plugs; and the earcups are big enough for my ears.
 
I have the Bose A20s and a Halo in-ear. I've been really surprised at how the Bose hurt my ears after an hour or so. I really wasn't expecting that. Of course the Halos are in-ear and light, and I like them, but after awhile they hurt the inside of my ear. I can't win. :D
 
N1120A said:
I dislike the Lightspeeds, because I find them uncomfortable and bulky. I find the A20 much more comfortable, and the Bose noise cancelling is better. My understanding is that the ProFlights definitely do not cancel as well as the A20, but do still do a good job.
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Bose ANR does not compare to the Lightspeeds! Maybe in a quiet little Cessna or Cherokee. So what do you fly?
Put that Bose in anything loud and they are HORRIBLE!
I do lots of testing and fly lots of planes. Put that Bose in any of the loud aerobatic planes and the ANR will just buzz, crackle and pop....
The louder the plane the better the Lightspeeds work.
Heck the Bose would not hanndle the window open on my 172
 
Note that a lot of headphones won't tolerate the wind so if you fly in an open cockpit or with the canopy open, you may have problems with the ANR type.
 
flyingron said:
Note that a lot of headphones won't tolerate the wind so if you fly in an open cockpit or with the canopy open, you may have problems with the ANR type.
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The Lightspeeds work great in the wind... I flew them in my Stearman, J-3, open cockpit Pitts and even on the Breezy. The Lightspeeds work, the Bose do not. The LS also has a adjustable mic gain and I keep mine all the way down.
 
I really like my Zulu 3's. I like how they fit over my ear much better than the Bose A20.
Things I don't like about the Zulu 3'.
The Microphone like to get turned so it is not oriented to my mouth and then either doesn't sound right or starts canceling out my voice when I am talking. Seems like the Squelch on the intercom is set to high. Easy to fix once you figure out what is going on, just reorient the mike.
The operation with dead batteries is worse than the Bose with transmissions sounding garbled. Just keep a spare set of batteries and if voice starts sounding muffled or garbled replace the batteries. Sometimes will start doing this before the LED starts flashing red.
The Recording feature is pretty much useless, it usually only records 1 side of the conversation. Doesn't seem to matter much if I try recording via bluetooth or via the cable. But I haven't tried it for a while since it doesn't work for me. Fortunately not a feature I purchased them for.

I don't use the A20's as much I just keep them in one of the airplanes I fly a bit. The Zulu's get carried from airplane to airplane with me. The A20's were given to me, the Bluetooth feature doesn't work, but that is just this set, not worth it to me to have it fixed. but otherwise they seem fine. I don't care for how they sit on my ear as opposed to the Zulu's that go around my ear.



Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
brcase said:
I really like my Zulu 3's. I like how they fit over my ear much better than the Bose A20.
Things I don't like about the Zulu 3'.
The Microphone like to get turned so it is not oriented to my mouth and then either doesn't sound right or starts canceling out my voice when I am talking. Seems like the Squelch on the intercom is set to high. Easy to fix once you figure out what is going on, just reorient the mike.
The operation with dead batteries is worse than the Bose with transmissions sounding garbled. Just keep a spare set of batteries and if voice starts sounding muffled or garbled replace the batteries. Sometimes will start doing this before the LED starts flashing red.
The Recording feature is pretty much useless, it usually only records 1 side of the conversation. Doesn't seem to matter much if I try recording via bluetooth or via the cable. But I haven't tried it for a while since it doesn't work for me. Fortunately not a feature I purchased them for.

I don't use the A20's as much I just keep them in one of the airplanes I fly a bit. The Zulu's get carried from airplane to airplane with me. The A20's were given to me, the Bluetooth feature doesn't work, but that is just this set, not worth it to me to have it fixed. but otherwise they seem fine. I don't care for how they sit on my ear as opposed to the Zulu's that go around my ear.
As for the Bose. You probably have a old style bluetooth A20. They do not stream music.



Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
Click to expand...

The mic gain is adjustable.....
Pull back the muff and pop off the tiny round cap. Clockwise is more sensitave and Counter clockwise is less.
I like mine all the way down because I fly in the wind and really noisy planes.
As for the Bose. You probably have a old style bluetooth A20. They do not stream music.
 
BrianNC said:
I have the Bose A20s and a Halo in-ear. I've been really surprised at how the Bose hurt my ears after an hour or so. I really wasn't expecting that. Of course the Halos are in-ear and light, and I like them, but after awhile they hurt the inside of my ear. I can't win. :D
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I have the same issue. Got a two sets of Bose A20s with the Husky and after an hour I can't stand them, they hurt my ears. totally took me by surprise given all the hype about Bose. But there are lots of others that really like them.

Once again, headsets are a very personal thing. Beg, borrow, steal a few different models one might be interested in. Use them on at least one serious cross-country, and see which one prefers.
 
pigpenracing said:
Bose ANR does not compare to the Lightspeeds! Maybe in a quiet little Cessna or Cherokee. So what do you fly?
Put that Bose in anything loud and they are HORRIBLE!
I do lots of testing and fly lots of planes. Put that Bose in any of the loud aerobatic planes and the ANR will just buzz, crackle and pop....
The louder the plane the better the Lightspeeds work.
Heck the Bose would not hanndle the window open on my 172
Click to expand...

Math. Bose ANR is more advanced and wins on battery life as well. Further, the Bose is TSO'd..

I fly a Tiger and a Bonanza. My partner in the Bonanza ditched his Zulus for A20s
 
I fly with CA, my wife Sierras.
I’ve had a couple occasions where I had to shift the CA because the headband was digging into my ear. But for the most part, I usually forget I have them on. They really are comfortable.

I’ve yet to try the Sierras, but my wife really likes them. The batteries seem to last forever. 50+ hours, and only on the 2nd set of batteries. She thinks they’re comfortable too. We’ve done several 4+ hr trips with no issues.
 
N1120A said:
Math. Bose ANR is more advanced and wins on battery life as well. Further, the Bose is TSO'd..

I fly a Tiger and a Bonanza. My partner in the Bonanza ditched his Zulus for A20s
Click to expand...

They may work in your planes... what I saw in LOUD airplanes is about 2 hours battery life and the Bose went to crap.. In the Model 12 me and my son both took brand new A20’s on a trip that was 2 hours total. Started with new batteries and before we got back the anr was total garbage and making all kinds of feedback noise. I landed, put in new batteries and it worked ok... not great, just ok.
Like I said. The quiet airplanes you fly you should be fine...
 
WDD said:
... Would something else be quieter? While Clarity Aloft publishes a 29 db noise reduction, the Bose A 20 for example doesn't publish any. ...
Click to expand...
It depends a little bit on what you mean by "quieter." Clarity used to have some hearing laboratory test results on their web site comparing an ANR headset with the Clarity. The ANR set did a better job reducing low frequency noises but up on the important frequency ranges where human speech lives, the Clarity set was better. For me, the Clarity set provides significantly better understanding of ATC. On some airplanes, its higher frequency attenuation is so good that I can't hear the stall horn. That's not necessarily advisable of course, but it does help answer your question about quieting.
 
I wrote on this subject many times on the Red Board, mainly because it affected me in such a direct way that it really got my goat after awhile.

In my experience, Lightspeed quality has been several notches below Bose. I like the company, and even like the product when it works, but they are prone to failure, especially in a heavy duty working environment.

I've purchased multiple copies of most of the Lightspeed products going back to the 25XLs (remember those?) That was a nightmarish experience as the two pair I owned broke constantly. Each pair went back to Lightspeed 2-3 times. Finally the pilot shop who sold them to me offered to give me full trade-in value towards two pair of Bose X. Turned out they were responsible for the shipping charges back to Lightspeed as the repair was "free." They were starting to lose money on me.

But that was a good 20 years ago or more. I used my Bose X in my various professional jobs and when I was promoted to Chief Pilot of my small flight department, I wanted to go with Bose but Lightspeed's prices (for four copies at a time) were lower and they had just come out with bluetooth. Eureka! All of the pilots loved bluetooth. We flew a lot of late night transcons and the music helped pass the time. As Bose did not offer a bluetooth option at the time we decided to go all in with Lightspeed's new "Zulu."

It didn't take long for the Zulus to start breaking. The failure points tended to be the control box or the cords at the point of connection to the box. Also the box would sometimes start to break down chemically, getting sticky and leaving a mess around the cockpit... or various components in the box would break, either the bluetooth would stop working or the ANR would die. We upgraded to the Zulu 2s. At the time I was ready to move on to the A20s but there was still no bluetooth available. We took a vote and decided to give the Zulu 2s a try. We just weren't willing to give up bluetooth.

Same problem. They broke - a lot. We actually ended up ordering a fifth headset just to keep on standby as one of the four Zulu 2s was nearly always in transit to or from Lightspeed.

Then the PFX came out. I decided -- this had to be the one. So I bought one for myself. It was a major disappointment. The huge control box was one problem, taking four (!!) batteries was ridiculous, and it would give me weird warbling sounds whenever I turned my head. And it wasn't aircraft specific -- I tried it in Challengers and Hawkers, as well as my own Twin Comanche, and no matter what, when I turned my head, I'd get that weird noise. I sent it back to Lightspeed. They worked on it and sent it back. I tried it again. Same problem, exactly. No change! I was really fed up.

Finally Bose announced that the A20s were going to be upgraded to offer bluetooth music. Thank the heavens! But it was at this time I stepped away from that job. I purchased my own A20s.

Fast forward a couple of years and the current flight department I work for (24 pilots) purchased headsets for all of the pilots. We had approximately four choices: Bose A20s, Lightspeed Zulus (whatever the current model was -- probably the 3), David Clark One-X and one of the in-ear models, possibly Clarity Aloft. 21 out of 24 pilots selected the Bose A20, two Clarity Aloft and one David Clark. Lightspeed had zero takers.

I don't really want to sound like I'm bashing Lightspeed. I'm not - the company is very responsive and it's possible the Zulu 3 has improved some of the quality/reliability problems. But in my career I've yet to see a single Lightspeed product stand the test of a heavy duty environment. Not even one! And so it's like getting bitten a few times by the dog you try to get friendly with -- I've given up. I only buy Bose. During that entire saga, I sent my Bose X in for a repair once; and in the time I've had my A20s (I now have two pair) I've never had to have them repaired for anything. They're a much more durable product. I've personally dealt with something like 12-14 individually purchased Lightspeeds, and dozens of RMAs, so I am certain my bed of experience is plenty enough to form a solid takeaway.

Comfort is in the eye (ear?) of the beholder. One brand might be more comfortable than another to any given user. That's important. I actually do think the Lightspeeds are comfortable, probably equivalent to the Bose A20s, although bulkier. The A20s sound better (voice and music) and are just bulletproof.
 
After 5,000 hours in single-engine GA airplanes I made the switch from Lightspeed (Zulu 3s) to Bose A20s after borrowing a friends and I couldn’t be happier. The Bose are a better more comfortable fit for ME, but you may find the exact opposite is true for you.

Only way to be sure is to see if you can find someone to let you borrow them all and test them.
 
How are they breaking, do you throw them, drop them, sit on them, or ?
I have had 3 personal Lightspeed headsets, and retired the two older ones, to passenger headsets, and they still work perfectly. Having gone wireless, I cannot ever see myself going backwards to the old plug in style, regardless of the brand. Cords truly suck, and I wish I had these when I started flying from day one. Cords might be okay for the lamp in your living room, but shouldn't be used to connect a headset in your plane IMO. I have dropped mine, and they were fine. I don't leave them on the seat though, where they could be sat on.
 
One other consideration irrespective of the brand you eventually purchase is ambient temperature. I use 2 sets of headsets with a Lightspeed Zulu 3 in cool and cold weather and Halo in-ear headset in the heat of the summertime. I find that any ear cup type headset (over ear or on ear) traps perspiration under the ear pads. Besides being uncomfortable in its own right, since I use a mineral based sunscreen (ZnO/TiO2), a significant amount of the protection winds up transferring via the perspiration to a white stain on the pads. Because of that, and despite that my Zulu's are my preferred headset, I use the Halo in ear type during the summer. My only complaint is that the ear pieces take longer to insert than pulling on the Zulus, and the mic boom doesn't stay in position as well as I'd like. The insertion issue is mitigated some by replacing the compressed foam ear inserts with the silicone "Christmas tree" type earpieces (just make sure you get them deeply inserted for max sound reduction).

Good luck whatever you decide.
 
Shuswap BC said:
How are they breaking, do you throw them, drop them, sit on them, or ?
I have had 3 personal Lightspeed headsets, and retired the two older ones, to passenger headsets, and they still work perfectly. Having gone wireless, I cannot ever see myself going backwards to the old plug in style, regardless of the brand. Cords truly suck, and I wish I had these when I started flying from day one. Cords might be okay for the lamp in your living room, but shouldn't be used to connect a headset in your plane IMO. I have dropped mine, and they were fine. I don't leave them on the seat though, where they could be sat on.
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None of the above. Babied them. After a while we stopped unplugging them from the aircraft thinking we were wearing out the cords with the repetitive insertion/removal. Made no difference.

9+ hour legs make wireless headsets a no-go unfortunately. Neat idea for GA applications. Keeping an eye on it. I hate cords, too.
 
Ryan F. said:
None of the above. Babied them. After a while we stopped unplugging them from the aircraft thinking we were wearing out the cords with the repetitive insertion/removal. Made no difference.

9+ hour legs make wireless headsets a no-go unfortunately. Neat idea for GA applications. Keeping an eye on it. I hate cords, too.
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I can see for sure how that would tick you off Ryan, and yes 9+ hours is a heck of a day for sure.
 
I haven't flown in 16 years. The lightspeed QFR headset I stowed away in a plastic bin in the garage with all my flying stuff completely disintegrated. All the soft stuff...the foam, cable insulation, seals, etc... just crumbled when I pulled them out a couple months ago. Meanwhile the four low end flightcom headsets in the same box... that were all older, and a couple were quite a bit older than the lightspeed (one was my original student set bought back in 1990)....were pretty much good to go except the foam muff over the mic. They seemed to still work when tested with the old portable flightcom intercom too...but the mics were a bit odd when my son and I took two of them along for our "discovery flight".

I did notice that lightspeed has a trade up program though, for these old legacy models, so I do find that very impressive at least.

(side note: don't store stuff in the garage!)
 
pigpenracing said:
The mic gain is adjustable.....
Pull back the muff and pop off the tiny round cap. Clockwise is more sensitave and Counter clockwise is less.
I like mine all the way down because I fly in the wind and really noisy planes.
As for the Bose. You probably have a old style bluetooth A20. They do not stream music.
Click to expand...

I was aware of the mic gain, the issue is that when moving from plane to plane the mic get rotated 90 degrees more or less and then it start canceling out my own voice. Simply rotating back to it is pointed at my mouth resolves this.

The issue with the Bose is that is will never link up via bluetooth, does not show up on any devices when you press the bluetooth button. Not sure of the exact link up process now since I haven't tried in quite a while, since I never got it to work. but read the manual and troubleshooting a number of times when trying to get it to work. Pretty sure it is just not working on this set of bose and not worth trying to get it fixed.

Brian
 
brcase said:
I was aware of the mic gain, the issue is that when moving from plane to plane the mic get rotated 90 degrees more or less and then it start canceling out my own voice. Simply rotating back to it is pointed at my mouth resolves this.

The issue with the Bose is that is will never link up via bluetooth, does not show up on any devices when you press the bluetooth button. Not sure of the exact link up process now since I haven't tried in quite a while, since I never got it to work. but read the manual and troubleshooting a number of times when trying to get it to work. Pretty sure it is just not working on this set of bose and not worth trying to get it fixed.

Brian
Click to expand...

The Lightspeed mic should not rotate... I pull 6 g's in the biplane and my mic does not move.
Send it back to Lightspeed and they should fix it free.
 
pigpenracing said:
The Lightspeed mic should not rotate... I pull 6 g's in the biplane and my mic does not move.
Send it back to Lightspeed and they should fix it free.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear it does not rotate during flight. It gets rotated putting the headset in and out of the headset case and removing and setting up from airplane to airplane. As a CFI I move from airplane to airplane often several times per day.
Are you saying if you grab end of the mike and try to rotate it will not rotate with light to medium force applied to it. Several if my students have Lightspeeds, I will compare it their's.

Brian
 
I chose light speed for several reasons. I get them for a discount so they were almost $500.00 cheaper than Bose. They are hands down made better with real metal and braided cord. They fit my size head better than A20’s. The noise cancelation is pretty equal. I find the Bose has better sound quality. I like that the Bose is lower profile and lighter but that also means they don’t fit me as natural nor as durable. The Lightspeed headsets can’t really cope that well I’m really noisy conditions. In the Cessna and Venture they are great. In a Carbon Cub and a Pitts they were terrible. I keep a pair of Clarity Aloft’s in case I take a flight in something really noisy.
 
Grum.Man said:
I chose light speed for several reasons. I get them for a discount so they were almost $500.00 cheaper than Bose. They are hands down made better with real metal and braided cord. They fit my size head better than A20’s. The noise cancelation is pretty equal. I find the Bose has better sound quality. I like that the Bose is lower profile and lighter but that also means they don’t fit me as natural nor as durable. The Lightspeed headsets can’t really cope that well I’m really noisy conditions. In the Cessna and Venture they are great. In a Carbon Cub and a Pitts they were terrible. I keep a pair of Clarity Aloft’s in case I take a flight in something really noisy.
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the Zulu 3 was bad in the Cub and Pitts? I find the louder the plane the better they work. The Bose are the horrible ones in loud conditions.
I do lots flying in Pitts, Cubs and Stearmans among with regular planes.
 
brcase said:
Just to be clear it does not rotate during flight. It gets rotated putting the headset in and out of the headset case and removing and setting up from airplane to airplane. As a CFI I move from airplane to airplane often several times per day.
Are you saying if you grab end of the mike and try to rotate it will not rotate with light to medium force applied to it. Several if my students have Lightspeeds, I will compare it their's.

Brian
Click to expand...

gotcha!
I never put mine in the case but I am always flying different planes. I can see them getting wacky in and out of the case all the time. I just grab mine and carry it to the airplanes caseless...
 
pigpenracing said:
the Zulu 3 was bad in the Cub and Pitts? I find the louder the plane the better they work. The Bose are the horrible ones in loud conditions.
I do lots flying in Pitts, Cubs and Stearmans among with regular planes.
Click to expand...

yep they are terrible. I imagine the Bose are the same way. ANR headsets just don’t work well in extremely loud environments. One guy wears foam ear plugs under his Zulus which seems to help. Others have switched to passive headsets. One variable is most of us wear hats and sunglasses which certainly doesn’t help the ANR’s. I found in the cub I can squeeze the headsets against my head and they were fine, without it was pretty unbearable.
 
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