Pirep on any "in-ear" headsets (Halo QT, Clarity aloft, etc)

FlyGirlKHWO

FlyGirlKHWO

Pre-takeoff checklist
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FlyGirl
Anyone a current user of such a headset? Considering one for use in my Grumman AA5B.
 
Do a search for "halo" on here. You'll find a jillion posts, 98.6% positive. Only bad thing is the guy can't make 'em fast enough. And he's always swamped with orders after Oshkosh and Sun'n'Fun.
 
Jim_R said:
Do a search for "halo" on here. You'll find a jillion posts, 98.6% positive. Only bad thing is the guy can't make 'em fast enough. And he's always swamped with orders after Oshkosh and Sun'n'Fun.
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:yeahthat:

I carry the Halo in my bag as my backup set. Small, compact, and no need to keep the batteries changed.
 
My pirep for the halos, I love em!
 
Clarity Alofts..... Been using them for 6 years now I have the pro and the regular ones, I use them both in my 182 and at work flying the jet and its fantastic in both places. I used them flight instructing for a few years too they are fantastic. I tried the halo's on before i bought my claritys and I personally didn't find them nearly as comfortable. sound quality is good, comfort is good, customer service for me has been very good, can wear any glasses without it hurting your head, and most importantly keeps your hair looking sharp
 
Flew with Clarities for quite a few years...noise attenuation was better than noise canceling headsets for me, probably in part because I wear glasses that break the seal of over-the-ear headsets.

Great customer service, too (although I should disclose that I worked for Bill & Jo at a previous job).
 
I use Clarity Aloft and love them. Ditto on great if you have glasses (and/or hair you care about not wanting to mess up, but that's never been my priority). And though I should probably take better care of them, I've had them in a soft exterior pouch of my flight bag (ie no separate headset bag, woo) for years and they hold up just fine. I'm sure Halo's are just as good; to be honest I picked CA after looking at both websites and judging the book by its cover.
 
I have clarity alofts and zulu 2's.

The zulu 2's have better noise attenuation and clarity but require batteries, are heavier and take up room between the top of my head and the canopy resulting in my head rubbing the canopy on occasion.

The clarity alofts are so comfortable I can wear them for hours on end and forget they are there even on a hot summer day. The sound quality and noise attenuation is pretty good.

I prefer the clarity alofts.
 
I hate earbuds, they hurt. Wear foam earplugs at work, don't like the feel, they're too squishy and take a long time to expand after rolling between my fingers.

But I love my Halos! I use the silicone rubber tips, and gave my foam ones to someone else here on the board. The speaker is on the headband, only the earplug goes in your ear. With Clarity, you're wearing an earbud, shoving the speakers into your ears. Don't like that.

It all boils down to your preference. Would you rather have an earplug with sound in your ear (Halo), or wear a padded earbud (Clarity)? I've worn my Halos on 6+ hour flying days, and know people who wear them on 8+ hour flight legs. Comfort matters . . . My FlightComms gave me headaches after about two hours. No more! :p
 
I use the Halo's and they are great. I have flown a PA-12, PA-18, sport cub, cirrus SR 20, Piper archer and warrior, as well as a pipistrel alpha with them. Excellent noise reduction every time and clear sound every time. I bought mine in yellow so I wouldnt forget them, plus they match the sport cub that way :)
 
Here's another vote for Clarity Aloft. But some people don't like things in their ear so you need to decide that for yourself.
 
My wife as a CA and loves it. I don't particularly care for it but I've flown it a few times and it works well. Their customer support isn't quite up to the standard that much of the rest of the industry is (slow turn around and expensive).
 
AggieMike88 said:
I carry the Halo in my bag as my backup set. Small, compact, and no need to keep the batteries changed.
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:yeahthat:

I also use the Halo primarily as a backup set.
I am impressed with the quality of the sound in the human voice range; better than any of my DCs.
I don't use them regularly as I find the in-ear foam plug a little bit irritating on long flights. Just noted another post that mentions silicone rubber tips that I should probably try.
 
Halo for myself and wife. Neither of us could go back to head clamps. Works as well or better than ANR for me. YMMV. Only problem for me is that they are so light, I forget I have them on. I tried to get out of the plane once with them still on and felt like the old fool that I am.....
 
After 29 yrs with a beloved set of mono PNR DC, and after trying a light speed Zulu that made ATC unintelligible to my ears, I bought a set of Halos last summer. In general, I am pleased with them. You have to get the plugs in correctly though; you can really tell the difference when you don't. I use the foam plugs; they're a little harder to get in in the winter.
 
I'm a Halo user - it's better than the old headsets I used to use and I'm talking with a window open at 90 KTS on a photo run.
 
> "Halo for myself and wife. Neither of us could go back to head clamps. Works as well or better than ANR for me. YMMV. Only problem for me is that they are so light, I forget I have them on. I tried to get out of the plane once with them still on and felt like the old fool that I am....."

Except for the wife part, same here. I almost need a "leave the cockpit" checklist I've done that so many times. The noise cancelling mic is excellent.
 
Like any other headset, you need to try it for yourself. I tried the Clarity and did not like it. I thought the sound quality and noise attenuation were great but did not like the "stuffed ear" sensation they gave me.

But that reflects personal preference - I prefer a headset to earbuds for listening to music also.
 
On Hanks recommendation, I got Halos for my birthday last September, I prefer the foam tips.

ETA: Recent picture of Hank and I on Monkey Flight,both with Halos, you can see how they look/fit pretty good here.
 

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I only wear the Clarity's. I have plenty of head clamps for passengers, but I don't wear them anymore.
 
Love my Clarity Aloft headset, super comfortable and I feel like I'm not wearing them while flying both my plane (Diamond DA20) or other planes like the Extra I fly.
 
I have the Halo and I like it but often have difficulty getting it to stay in place on my head. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
 
\__[Ô]__/ said:
I have the Halo and I like it but often have difficulty getting it to stay in place on my head. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
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This is a little cheesy, but you can see how the demonstrator wears the headset. That is exactly how I wear mine and I have no issues with them moving. Caveat, I do have to use the clip to hold the cable or else it will pull them out of place.
 
Thanks. I do have issues with the cord pulling. I think my real problem is the clip keeps coming loose and then the wire pulls. I think is this probably user error on my part. I'll have to play around with it some more.
 
Yes, due to the light weight, you *must* have the wire clipped in a way that leaves enough slack for head motion but does not allow the slack to get caught on something and yank the headset off (which is not a problem...I usually clip to the shoulder strap on my seatbelt).
 
That makes sense. I've had mine several years now though and I've never once - that I can remember - used the clip for anything. I just hang them on my ears, on top my head, around my head (doesn't make much difference) plug the ear inserts in, bend the mic wire so the mic is next to my lips and that's it. Really minimalist in design and use. Maximum in performance.
 
Jim_R said:
Yes, due to the light weight, you *must* have the wire clipped in a way that leaves enough slack for head motion but does not allow the slack to get caught on something and yank the headset off (which is not a problem...I usually clip to the shoulder strap on my seatbelt).
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Yep, but I'm having issues with it staying on even with the clip. I haven't heard similar complaints so I think I'm either doing something wrong, or my head is just a weird shape. :(
 
Don't be afraid to bend it to make the halo portion smaller or bigger. It's made of some pretty strong wire and it can be shaped to better fit your head size. I've bent mine several times with no issues, just take your time.

Cheers,
Brian
 
\__[Ô]__/ said:
Yep, but I'm having issues with it staying on even with the clip. I haven't heard similar complaints so I think I'm either doing something wrong, or my head is just a weird shape. :(
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I just wear it around the back of my head like backwards glasses. The only time I have a hard time keeping it on is when it rides up the back of my head. Pushed down near my collar, it just stays there. The cord clip,though, is required--I clip it on, oull some slack through it, and turn my head both ways to make sure the cord doesn't pull. Maybe put it on,mother out your sunglasses on, so that the sunglasses earpieces will be above the headset wire on your ears.
 
Anyone try the Faro in ear yet? I had never heard of that brand till recently.
 
flight2000 said:
Don't be afraid to bend it to make the halo portion smaller or bigger. It's made of some pretty strong wire and it can be shaped to better fit your head size. I've bent mine several times with no issues, just take your time.
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+1

I spent a few minutes when I first got my Halos, bending the set to rest comfortably but securely around the back of my head ("like backwards glasses", as Hank said), but haven't really had to adjust them since.
 
My wife has the Halo, it's the only headset she's ever tried that she feels is comfortable (and I've tried about six different brands with her). Someday when my ANR headset dies (again) I may switch to one for me too...
 
Halo's for me as well. I could never go back to over the ear headsets. The best analogy I can use is the feeling of riding a motorcycle with no helmet. No sweaty ears, I can wear hats and sun glasses with no problem. Compact design takes up less room. The only draw back is if you carry passengers that do not have their own head sets you will want to carry a traditional one for them to wear instead of the in ear style.
 
Been using Halos for 2 years. Love them.

95% of people will put them in with no discomfort and you'll forget they are there (the best part, no weight, no clamping headaches). The other 5% will complain about how they feel. Just make sure you aren't in that 5%.
 
I use a Clarity Aloft. I have also borrowed a Bose A20 numerous times. I also have a set of Shure in-ear headphones for music on commercial flights, so I am used to having something stuffed into my ear and living with passive noise reduction. Intolerance for things in your ear would be a deal-breaker on the in-ear sets, but assuming you don't mind that element, here are my observations:

Bose is better if you:
  • Will ever share your headset with someone else
  • Have really waxy ears or are the kind of person who refuses to clean out the wax (the CA can be entirely inaudible if the tips get plugged with wax, and this is not a gradual process so you may be in the air suddenly trying to find something to clean them out with)
  • Take the headset off and put it back on often, especially in colder conditions (the CA tips harden pretty rapidly in cool air in my experience and need to be massaged a bit before you can put them in)
  • (Unconfirmed) Use an oxygen cannula that runs over your ears
Clarity Aloft is better if you:
  • Are in a J-3 Cub (where turning my head significantly tends to twist the Bose just enough to break the seal and let in the screaming wind noise)
  • Want to wear a hat (for warmth or otherwise)
  • Want to wear sunglasses without any weird pressure on your head or decreasing the effectiveness of the headset's noise reduction
  • Have neck weakness, pain, or even just fatigue on long flights
  • Don't want to deal with batteries
  • Get weirded out by the artificial silence when ANR turns on
  • Are vain but not bald
  • Never want anyone to surreptitiously borrow your headset

I suspect that Halo is identical to Clarity Aloft except for the location of the wire and any resulting changes in the way it balances on your ears.
 
I love my Halos. I use foam tips and wear them around my head. Noise reduction is equal to or greater than any ANR I've tried and they're lighter. The greatest quality is that my ears don't sweat! I also bought a couple of bags of the ear plugs from an audiology shop and will be good for many years to come. Sunglasses don't break the seal, so that's awesome. I also use a BluLink for BT, so that's not an issue for me. Audio quality is phenomenal. The largest gripe I have is that I accidentally bump the volume dials every once in a while and I can never remember which side is L vs R.

I only break out my over-the-ear headsets if I'm planning a 10 minute ferry to another airport in town. Otherwise, they're strictly loaners for pax and I use my Halos.

The advantage to Halos over CA is that the speaker isn't right in your ear, so ear gunk won't cause an expensive part to break. The disadvantage is that they're not TSO'd if you need a TSO'd headset.
 
The QT Halos are awesome. Love mine. The Halos are as quiet as the Bose A20 in the rental aircraft I fly, the microphone can be positioned better on my face, the comfort (especially when wearing sunglasses) is better with the QT Halos (no pressure around the ear cuffs), and they're a bargain at the retail price. Bonus is that it doesn't require batteries.
 
iamtheari said:
Bose is better if you:
  • (Unconfirmed) Use an oxygen cannula that runs over your ears
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you mentioned in your post and can help with this one.

In my opinion the QT Halo (I have these) or Clarity Aloft version will be easier since you don't have to take the headset off to put on the oxygen. Never an issue keeping the cannula in place and very easy to put on and take off. See below (this was the first time my son had to use oxygen, so I'll cut him some slack for it being crooked... :rolleyes:).

Another advantage (and believe some already mentioned it) is I have more headroom in my cabin compared to using traditional headsets. Never bumped my noggin in turbulence with the QT's but have with my older David Clark headsets.

6660080_orig.jpg


I see the QT's are on the website again for ordering, get'em while you can... :)

Cheers,
Brian
 
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