Headset Question?

What do most folks recommend when it comes to headsets and RV's? I've got an old David Clark (I'll wear with earplugs!) but does a top of the line noise canceling model make any difference (besides to thin out my wallet). I'm thinking more for those long flights, coast to coast flights and such.........trying to minimize fatigue as much as possible...

Gracias

Telex Stratus 50-D

A good set of ANR headsets makes quite an improvement in your comfort in an RV.

Everyone seems to like what they bought (you better after spending upwards of $700) and I don't know anyone who has put 5 or 6 in the plane and gone up to compare them all. There is an article in this month's Private Pilot magazine on headsets, but it wasn't very specific in the comparisons between them.

I personally have a Telex Stratus 50-D and love them. They're a little heavier than some, but I don't notice it even after a long flight. The ear cups are thick memory foam and fit over glasses well. If you wear glasses when flying and the earcups don't seal well, all the ANR in the world isn't going to help you. My only complaint would be that the mic seems to pick up more background noise after breaking squelch than my david clark H10-13.4, but I probably just need to adjust the mic sensitivity down a bit from the present setting. I hasn't bothered me enough to actually do something about it yet!
They are built to last and I haven't had any issues in the 100hrs I've been using mine. (I seem to see a lot of reports of broken plastic on the lightspeed, even though the company will fix them)

One other note... I bought an ANR head set from another company for $300-400 and they were terrible. You get what you pay for.

I'd be curious to hear from someone who has tried some of the new, lightweight in-the-ear models. On hot days in the summer, not having a traditional headset on your head would be nice, even if they're not as quiet.

Whatever you order, make sure you can return them if you don't like them.

-Clay

ANR Headsets

A300Driver said:

What do most folks recommend when it comes to headsets and RV's? I've got an old David Clark (I'll wear with earplugs!) but does a top of the line noise canceling model make any difference (besides to thin out my wallet). I'm thinking more for those long flights, coast to coast flights and such.........trying to minimize fatigue as much as possible...

Gracias

Click to expand...

I added the Headsets Inc. ANR conversion kit to my D/C 10-13.4's. What a difference. Then again, I flew with a friend and used his $400 or so Lightspeeds.
They were real nice.

Greg Piney
RV-8 GonnaBe

Headsets

I've flown in RVs with Bose ANR and Lightspeed Thirty-3G (their top of the line ANR). The ANR really helped and my preference was for the Lightspeed. I too am looking to buy a nice ANR headset and was reading the Lightspeed website figuring I'd just drop the 700 bucks on the Thirty-3G set. They discuss active and passive noise reduction optimization and the eye-opening comment for me was they recommended ANR optimized for passive noise reduction for noisy experimentals (the RV has to be in this group). If that's accurate (and I only have their word for it), the Lightspeed XC headset for <$400 would be the best set for an RV. I've read good things about this set from RV drivers but I'd like to hear from someone familiar with both sets. If I plunk down $400 for a headset, I really don't want to be wishing I'd spent $300 more. As a rule you get what you pay for but this may be an exception.

Don RV-9A Fuselage

Bose X panel powered

I fly with the Bose X panel powered. Love them!!

VK

I would not fly in a RV without some ANR headsets. I have the Lighspeed 25XL and they have worked flawlessly for four years. I'm amazed at the noise when I turn them off in flight.

My wife already claims I'm deaf. She'd really have a point if I didn't use the headsets.

I am using an "in-the-ear" headset made by Clarity Aloft (http://www.clarityaloft.com/expertise.htm). I like them much better than my Bose X ANR set. They are a lot quieter and are much more comfortable. They do require a little more time to put on properly than a regular headset, however.

My opinion is that very effective pasive noise reduction is a better solution than active noise reduction, especially in noisy planes like RV's. Clarity Aloft's are very effective at PNR.

When my wife flys with me, she gets the Clarity's and I have to revert back to the Bose.

Ben Beaird
-6A

Thanks for the responses. Also, thanks Ben for the link to Clairity Aloft headsets, a pretty neat idea that I'll check further into.

I like the thought of not scratching up the sides of the canopy by accidentally bumping the headset if looking over your shoulder......


Adios
Bob

ANR Headsets

I have used a Lightspeed XC for several years in a Grumman AA5. When I started flying my RV6A, I purchased a Lightspeed Twenty 3G for about $480 from Sportys.
The huge pad on top of your head has a tendency to cause you to smack the canopy in turbulence and, in my opinion, the ANR circuit of the XC is much better.
I've gone back to the XC.
The only feature the Twenty 3G had that I really liked was the cellphone interface. I had to use it one time when flying in to Denver for the Rocky Mountain Regional last year. Instead of orbiting for 20 minutes and having family waiting for us and wondering where we were, we were able to call and let them know.
Best bet, see if you can borrow someone's XC and or Twenty 3G or Thirty 3G and compare for yourself.

Good luck.

Mike Reddick
RV6A N167CW

Lightspeed 25XLs here.
I found the performance and company support to be outstanding. That said, I did run into a situation in a Pitts S-2B where the Lightspeed did not like the system in the Pitts and simply would not work. I never solved that one, but my instructor said he ran into similar situation with another make with his intercom.
Benefit? Better understanding of tower and pax. AND the noise goes away.

I also have the Bose X panel powered headsets and love them.

I have the new bose in mine (x-mas gift) panel powered they work and feel great they don't feel like your head is in a vice like many others i have tried also my hearing is not as good as it once was now things are clear

RV-7 grinning in maine ever chance i get

I sometimes use DRE 6000's (look kinda like the traditional David Clarks. These are good value priced ANR headsets that work particularly well with the wonderful DRE244e intercom.

At other times I use the Bose X's.

More "bottom end" on the music using the DRE's. It's hard to beat the fir and feel of the Bose.

ANR headsets, in general, make a SIGNIFICANT difference in the quality of a long airplane ride, especially in the RVs.

Whatever you get, you will probably be happy with as part of the satisfaction is based on how they FEEL on YOUR head and SOUND to YOUR ears. Different people hear things differently and want to hear different things.

I can tell you , the sound of the plane is quite different between the two aforementioned headsets. Both are good in their respective spaces.

James

A300Driver said:

What do most folks recommend when it comes to headsets and RV's? I've got an old David Clark (I'll wear with earplugs!) but does a top of the line noise canceling model make any difference (besides to thin out my wallet). I'm thinking more for those long flights, coast to coast flights and such.........trying to minimize fatigue as much as possible...

Gracias

Click to expand...

You may also consider:

www.quiettechnologies.com

These are similar to the Clarity Aloft headsets in that they go IN the ear instead of ON the ears. I haven't personally tried them, but a friend of mine has about a thousand hours on his--mostly in a Beech 1900 turboprop, but also in a Cherokee 180.

The website isn't all that great, but according to my buddy, the headsets are fantasic.

Head sets

What would be a good headset for someone who can only hear out of their left ear. There's no help for the right one.

Hi Richard,

If you can't hear out of your left ear, the type of headsets like quiettechnologies and Clarity Aloft may work out well for you. A bunch of airline-types only wear an earpiece in one ear--usually the outboard ear. I.e., a co-pilot wears one in his right ear and the captain in his left.

From my experience, the molded style earpieces don't cut out as much ambient noise as the softer (roll them up and stick them in your ear) type. I tried my Telex 5x5 Pro headset in a Cherokee with my molded earplug and it was way too noisy.

This friend of mine with the Quiet Technologies headset used both ears and the roll-em-up type earplugs. Apparently the audio driver pokes through the center of the earplugs so that the only thing you hear is what comes through the radio or intercom.

I'm not describing this too well. I guess the best thing to do is to look at the websites.

Best regards,

RW

Thank you Mr. Woodard