ANR headsets

brian]

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brian]
Question: what is everyone liking for headsets these days?

I started with an early light speed ANR headset and loved it. Then I had a pause in my flying due to the economic meltdown (recession). I used the same headset for a bit to return to the air. But it was starting to fail. Then I purchased the old Bo and it came with a David Clark passive headset. Love it.

Age now has me wearing glasses (that sucks) and I see some on ear ANR headsets. Anyone using them? The David Clarke have me doing odd things with glasses to not break the seal required for the noise protection.

My flying is one hour legs minimum in an old Bo. Might get to 4 hours on a leg, but not too often. Not interested in something that will feel like a brick on my head... That would suck.
 
I bought a set of QT Halos for my bride, and she loved them, so I got a set for myself. May never change.

They are not ANR, but the actual noise reduction is supposed to be comparable.

I also have a pair of David Clarks into which I installed the Headsets, Inc. ANR conversion, and it was a very satisfactory product.
 
I love my Zulu 2s. Really comfortable and I wear sunglasses sometimes without too much difficulty.
 
I really really tried to love QT Halos but couldn't, especially in the winter the foam plugs take a really long time to expand and don't feel comfortable inside the ear canal... With that said, I really like my Zulus (PFX); at first I thought the size of the battery box/volume control (it's humongous) would be a disadvantage, but in reality, after setting it, I don't even notice it. I wear them with sunglasses all the time - no issues. YMMV.
 
Zulu.2's. But I really want to try Shane's product.

I have the QT Halo and for what it is, it works and is comfortable. But I keep them around as my spares and use the .2's as my primary.

I also have the PFX, but didn't find enough differ nice to warrant continued ownership and will be selling them.
 
I have LS Zulu, Sennheiser, DC w/ANR, Flightcom and Clarity Aloft and a couple of others. What I like best is my friend's Bose.
 
Zulu.2's. But I really want to try Shane's product.

I have the QT Halo and for what it is, it works and is comfortable. But I keep them around as my spares and use the .2's as my primary.

I also have the PFX, but didn't find enough differ nice to warrant continued ownership and will be selling them.
I've got his anr headset, I've been using them for a little over 150 hours and like them. I've tried the a20s in flight and they are pretty close. Especially when you spend half the money

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
 
I've got his anr headset, I've been using them for a little over 150 hours and like them. I've tried the a20s in flight and they are pretty close. Especially when you spend half the money

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

Might give arcus a try and later buy an on ear headset. Would like to have some thing better for my wife.
 
Zulu 1s. Had them for years, thousands of hours on them using them for both work and my own plane. They also work fine with all sorts of sunglasses.
 
The Faro ANR on Amazon are cheap and work great. I have two pair.

I also just bought the Lightspeed Tango WIRELESS ANR headset. Expensive, but nice not having cords.
 
I also have the Faro ANRs. Work pretty well, but ARE still lifted off the temples while wearing glasses (even with thin arms [[forget it with RayBans]])
Same problem when I wore A20s while doing transition training.
Before my Faro's, I was using Sigtronics ANRs. They all do good jobs, but all are lifted when wearing glasses (definite improvement noticed when you forgo glasses)
 
I have the Sigtronics, and they do work well for the price. I solved the glasses thing with good gel pads.

I should say did work well. I've recently developed a feedback problem in the right ear cup, only on descent. No screech in climb or cruise. They are some better than 10 years old though.
 
I really really tried to love QT Halos but couldn't, especially in the winter the foam plugs take a really long time to expand and don't feel comfortable inside the ear canal...

Try the Halo with the silicone tips. Only takes a quick roll in your fingers to warm up, even with temps in the teens. Work well with sunglasses of all shapes and sizes, and hats with buttons on top or even wide brims.
 

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I tried Zulus for the first time today... I liked them. Comfortable. But my daily go-to is my Halo. The Halo is actually a bit quieter (in my opinion) and a bunch lighter. And no batteries required!
 
I used Zulu 1's for years... then after all of the rave reviews on the QT Halo's, I bought a pair. I now much prefer the Halo's. So, my wife gets the Zulu's.
 
brian];1948944 said:
Age now has me wearing glasses (that sucks) and I see some on ear ANR headsets. Anyone using them? The David Clarke have me doing odd things with glasses to not break the seal required for the noise protection.
How thick are your frames?

My primary go-to headset for the last 9 years has been an DC ANR. I wear glasses (thinner wire frames) and have never had an issue. If I change between glasses and sunglasses, it might take a few seconds to regain the full noise cancelling, but never really been a problem.

I like the DCs most because they offer great passive AND active protection. If my battery ever dies on a long trip, the headset can be used just fine in the passive mode.

I have a couple of Bose for pax, but I never use them.

In the biplane, I use Clarity Aloft.
 
I have the Sigtronics, and they do work well for the price. I solved the glasses thing with good gel pads.

I should say did work well. I've recently developed a feedback problem in the right ear cup, only on descent. No screech in climb or cruise. They are some better than 10 years old though.


That's EXACTLY the reason I replaced mine.
(Something intrisic with Sigtronics?)
 
That's EXACTLY the reason I replaced mine.
(Something intrisic with Sigtronics?)

Aha, so I'm not alone...tried new gel seals, checked the connections for cold solder joints, the speakers in the cup are in ohm spec (don't know about the ear cup mike). Does it on ship's power and with a new battery in the battery pack.

Oh, and in someone else's airplane.

I dunno...but the Halo's are starting to look pretty good, and I'll relegate these to the back seat.
 
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How thick are your frames?

My primary go-to headset for the last 9 years has been an DC ANR. I wear glasses (thinner wire frames) and have never had an issue. If I change between glasses and sunglasses, it might take a few seconds to regain the full noise cancelling, but never really been a problem.

I like the DCs most because they offer great passive AND active protection. If my battery ever dies on a long trip, the headset can be used just fine in the passive mode.

I have a couple of Bose for pax, but I never use them.

In the biplane, I use Clarity Aloft.


Interesting. Maybe I'm asking the wrong question. My first set of ANRs required a good seal or you got the oscillation and more noise than noise canceling. The passive DCs are great - but I have to flip up my sunglasses to keep the seal solid. What I would really like is to just keep the glasses on normally and not have to adjust them to wear a headset.

Unfortunately, I have my first set of full time glasses coming. I'm finally giving in to the reality that I now have a toe in the grave - ugh.. Not a thin wire set of frames - pretty much similar thickness to all the cheap cheaters I have stashed everywhere...
 
But reading this thread - Clarity Aloft may be something to look at ... Just not sure about screwing them into my head - but obviously some have gotten used to it ..
 
brian];1949970 said:
But reading this thread - Clarity Aloft may be something to look at ... Just not sure about screwing them into my head - but obviously some have gotten used to it ..
They are basically like foamy earplugs. If you don't mind wearing earplugs, then CA or QT Halo work nicely and are very comfortable.
 
Brian


If you want to try the Halos, I have a spare set.
 
Brian


If you want to try the Halos, I have a spare set.

This is the part that worries me - seems like there are a lot of them available to try.

Curious: what didn't you like about them?
 
I live them, and they are not for sale. You can borrow a set to see if you like them. I have two pairs.
 
Hmm... I'm definitely interested in a look see. With all the family stuff going on and the weather, the week is shot for me. Let me take a closer look at my schedule (and ask the boss) and I'll drop you a PM.
 
I just got to do the first really long flight with the Zulu 2s. Impressed. Work better than the Sierras but had "hot spots" after four hours aloft at those exact spots where the head pads sit on top of my short haired (and thinning shhhhh!) head.

Wish someone made the equivalent of the old "headlamb" for the DCs, or the continuous one piece head pad for the Zulus. Hot spots suck. And adding a hat would make it worse. (Plus they don't fit over my cowboy hat. Haha.)

Even had little bald spots with hair standing up that looked like devil horns right where the pads sat. LOL.

Found that about three hours in, I was tilting the headset fore and aft trying to avoid those spots. Wasn't as bad as DC hot spots but definitely there and mildly annoying in a long cruise.

ANR was great. Still noticed that the ultra high end hiss of air wasn't much attenuated at all. Either my glasses bows make the ear cups leak a bit or there's just not much attenuation way up there. Mids and lows the ANR dumps very well.

Loved the Bluetooth music link. iPhone played me tunes for hours and the auto-attenuate setting for ATC Comm worked well until someone started clicking their mic on Guard out of boredom. Hah. Only heard one "Guaaaaaaard" out of that one. Hahahaha. Which encouraged the slow mic clicker for another 20 minutes.

Kinda bummed the music thing works so well. Next flight with Karen she will want tunes too and I'll be back to feeding the audio panel with a cable at much lower (mono) quality because there's no way to link two headsets, even if hers had the Bluetooth (she's been using the Sierras).

Haven't checked but that might be the only real advantage to the wireless ones. I assume the Bluetooth feeds the "box" and all headsets get the music feed.
 
I'm in Dallas Co right now hunting. No, literally....I'm in the stand now . So it will will be a week or two.
 
brian];1949970 said:
But reading this thread - Clarity Aloft may be something to look at ... Just not sure about screwing them into my head - but obviously some have gotten used to it ..

The other issue is getting them. They can't seem to keep up with demand.
 
(Plus they don't fit over my cowboy hat. Haha.)
That is a good selling point for Clarity Aloft or QT Halos....you can use them and wear a cowboy hat while flying. If I get the Twin Beech, I might have to try that out...
 
I've used a Clarity Aloft set, my cousin let me borrow his once.

You just couldn't tell you were wearing them. I really am tempted to get a set. The one thing I'm concerned about is the noise reduction and possible hearing damage. Does the passive in-ear set kill the high frequency stuff as effectively as the ANR sets? I already have a pretty bad hearing loss and don't want to damage it further.

The A20s are very comfortable, but sometimes I do find myself shifting them around a little bit.
 
Does the passive in-ear set kill the high frequency stuff as effectively as the ANR sets? I already have a pretty bad hearing loss and don't want to damage it further.
A good in-ear headset should be sufficient as it essentially provides the same level of protection as ear plugs, although if you have already experienced hearing loss, you may want to discuss it with your audiologist.

Ear plugs are usually sufficient up to around 100 db. In the Navy, ear plugs are required above 84db. Above 104db, ear muff style hearing protection/headest is required.

According to the FAA, the noise level in the cockpit of a single engine airplane is around 90db.

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/hearing_brochure.pdf
 
Properly sealed earplugs will in most cases provided better attenuation than passive ear muffs.

I'll typically wear custom molded musicians earplugs under my headset.
 
Properly sealed earplugs will in most cases provided better attenuation than passive ear muffs.



I'll typically wear custom molded musicians earplugs under my headset.

Your first statement is not true at all. Ear muffs (think David Clark Mickey Mouse ears) provide better passive hearing protection than plugs.

Using both plugs and muffs is indeed best and that is exactly what we (Navy) require in extremely high noise environments such as Diesel engine rooms.
 
Using both plugs and muffs is indeed best and that is exactly what we (Navy) require in extremely high noise environments such as Diesel engine rooms.


Same thing at the shooting range when someone is forking around with the .50 cal S&W rental revolver, or a short barreled big bore rifle. Still feel the massive thumps through your bones, but it makes the range session a lot more comfortable.
 
I've had my (four) eyes on Lightspeed Sierras so I would like to give them a shot. I think Lightspeed has a 30-day moneyback guarentee and a 5 year warranty and with, I hear, great customer service, it seems well worth the price. Ear pads and glasses is a concern however.

Anyone have any experience with that?
 
I've had Shane's for a year and really like them. No problem with glasses.
Lightspeeds have become the backups.
 
right now my favorite set is my 15 year old DC passives with a headsets inc kit installed, my other set is a squawkshoppe ANR that isn't as quiet or comfortable and needs to go back for service I think (again)

I also want to try the halos but I'm worried by how many used sets you see for sale too.
 
Your first statement is not true at all. Ear muffs (think David Clark Mickey Mouse ears) provide better passive hearing protection than plugs.

Using both plugs and muffs is indeed best and that is exactly what we (Navy) require in extremely high noise environments such as Diesel engine rooms.

Yes, it absolutely is true in most cases, with properly worn deeply inserted foam plugs. Plenty of research on the subject.

But yes, plugs in combination with muffs do provide the best protection.
 
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