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Headsets

todehnal

Well Known Member
I'm interested in buying ANR headsets for my RV-12. I have been using David Clark H10-30 passive headsets for nearly 600 hours and thought that upgrading to ANR headsets might add a little extra comfort in the RV12. I was planning on buying the DC one X that David Clark offers, but then there is all of the hype from Bose about their new A30. In doing a bit more research, it seems that Rotax powered aircraft don't get along that well with ANR headsets due to the higher frequencies generated by these high RPM engines. Spending $1200 each has given me pause. Hopefully I can get some ANR users thoughts before making a huge investment. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.......Tom
 
I bought (2) Dave Clark one-X for my -12, 4 years / 800 hrs ago. They are comfortable and work great. I replaced the ear muffs and mic cover at 500 hrs. I have flown passengers that have their own Bose 20, and they did not work well, bad audio, maybe the aircraft or compatible with my DC headset.

I am fortunate to live close to Spruce, they have all the major brands on a display you can try on with working audio. I was sold on the “over the ear” style and fit to my head. My wife also preferred the fit and sound quality. I do fly with Bose in the helicopter and prefer them over others there but they do get uncomfortable after several hours. It is a personal decision considering fit, personal audio quality, cost.
 
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I bought (2) Dave Clark one-X for my -12, 4 years / 800 hrs ago. They are comfortable and work great. I replaced the ear muffs and mic cover at 500 hrs. I have flown passengers that have their own Bose 20, and they did not work well, bad audio, maybe the aircraft or compatible with my DC headset.

I have had Bose A20 headsets since they came out; they work great, crystal clear audio, and ANR second to none. Between work and my -10, I fly 1000 hours a year and have had zero issues with my A20s…
 
No one can tell you which headset will be the best on your head in your cabin. Fortunately, Sporty's and Marv Golden both have generous return policies, so you can try multiple models without risk. The most important thing is comfort.

FWIW, I haven't heard anyone say the Bose A30 is a significant improvement over the 13-year-old A20.
 
I like Stu’s advice about trying different headsets and it’s all about comfort. I’ve been using Bose A20 and they work well and are comfortable to me.
 
Headsets Inc

I started using headsets Inc conversion kit on my DC 10-30 (3 sets)about 18 years ago and and never looked back. I have a set of Bose and the ANR on both seems to be about the same.

Steve
 
No one can tell you which headset will be the best on your head in your cabin. Fortunately, Sporty's and Marv Golden both have generous return policies, so you can try multiple models without risk. The most important thing is comfort.
.

This ^^^^^. It seems to be a very personal matter with the size / shape of your head, etc. I’m the odd guy - I like my lightspeeds, disliked the Bose I tried.
 
I've been using Bose A20s for years. They work OK, no complaints. If I was buying now… No question I would buy the Delta Zulu's over the Bose A30. Significantly cheaper, equivalent noise reduction, comfortable, built in carbon monoxide detector.
 
The best advice I can give you is to fly with a few different headsets because not everybody likes the Bose and not everybody can notice the difference between a less expensive DC or LightSpeed and the more expensive Bose. You might end up choosing your next headset by how it feels on your head and not by the hype, advertising, or price.

Up to a couple of months ago the Bose A20 was the Gold Standard for a big chunk of pilots. Just because the A30 came out didn't suddenly make the A20 not work.

Having said that, unless you're the type that needs to have the latest and greatest, and you replace your iPhone and iPad every year with the latest one, take advantage of the A30 hype and buy some cheaper A20s !
 
I fly a light sport airplane powered by a 912 ULS. I own both a BOSE A20 and a DC ONE-X (both over the ear, both ANR). I use both regularly and I can barely tell any difference in comfort or noise reduction. Both headsets are very comfortable and both have excellent noise reduction.
 
In doing a bit more research, it seems that Rotax powered aircraft don't get along that well with ANR headsets due to the higher frequencies generated by these high RPM engines.

ROTAX included a new Bose A20 headset in the engine crate that came with my RV-12iS kit. Sure hope they get along well with the engine 🤞.
 
Just a quick warning about headsets. I had some old mono headsets that I like real well when I bought my -12. Don’t use mono headsets with the Flightcom 403 that comes standard. A mono headset will sound horrible for a while and then the intercom will fail. Ask me how I know. :D This info is in the Flightcom manual but they don’t make it obvious.
 
You might want to consider these: https://cqheadset.com/about-us/

I have been using them for 3 or 4 years and like them a lot. My airplane (Wittman Tailwind W10) is relatively noisy and these work very well. I personally think they are as effective as most ANR sets and certainly avoid having the "clamp" over your head. I originally did not think I could use them as my ear canals are small and I did not like anything in my ear. But after using the smaller ear tips (beige colored), it has not been a problem and they are very comfortable over long trips and for me are just as quiet as other headsets (including ANR) that I have used.

The speaker/sound quality is good with stereo and Bluetooth supported, and the mic quality is also good. As others have said, "it is a personal preference" but I am completely sold on the above headset. Not to mention they are a supporter of this forum and fly an RV.

Keith
 
ROTAX included a new Bose A20 headset in the engine crate that came with my RV-12iS kit. Sure hope they get along well with the engine ��.

Did you purchase “Rotax Care” (extended warranty) with the power plant?

I did, and expect the Bose headset to be included. That made the deal for me.

BTW, my light speed ANRs work great in both the 12 and the 12iS. I don’t understand some of the below comments. (I have sensitive musician ears…) ��
 
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Spending $1200 each has given me pause. Hopefully I can get some ANR users thoughts before making a huge investment. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.......Tom

Your best bet is to pickup a used A20 off eBay. A lot more people are dumping the A20, looking to "upgrade" to A30. The ANR is equivalent. I picked up TWO used A20's 2 years ago for about $650 each. There is nothing wrong with an A20 though today.

I feel its true that they don't do as good of a job on a Rotax as a dinosaur engine..and personally, I believe a mfg could do a better job with a Rotax-specific headset.. but it is what it is.. and they aren't bad at all..
 
What's the source on this?
Years ago at Oshkosh, back when ANR was new, I talked to an engineer at either DC or Bose (DC I think but don’t remember which) about ANR. He said their ANR at the time worked up to about 700 Hz. I was surprised it was that low. Fast forward to today, the technology has gotten better but the physics is the same. I am not sure where things stand today but there does seem to be an upper frequency limit on effective ANR.
 
Years ago at Oshkosh, back when ANR was new, I talked to an engineer at either DC or Bose (DC I think but don’t remember which) about ANR. He said their ANR at the time worked up to about 700 Hz. I was surprised it was that low. Fast forward to today, the technology has gotten better but the physics is the same. I am not sure where things stand today but there does seem to be an upper frequency limit on effective ANR.

Low frequencies are where fatigue comes from, which is why everyone loves ANR. Unfortunately, the hearing damage is caused by high frequencies.

I’ve been using ANR headsets for a very long time, but I’m not 100% convinced I’m protecting my hearing any better than I was with H10-30’s.
 
I really appreciate all of the thought and suggestions. I didn't mention this earlier, but some time back I bought a Clarity Aloft headset. It really worked pretty well but I had a personal issue with the "in the ear" product. In a very short time I would develop. what felt like swimmers ear in my left ear. Don't know why, but that caused my move to the DC's H10-30.

All in all, I think that I will shop for a couple of used Bose A20s. If I am unsuccessful with that, I may just pop for the DC-one-X. I've had very good service with my old H10-30s.
One more quick story: We went to SNF this year with the intent of buying new headsets. When I visited the David CLark booth, all they had were headsets hanging on plastic heads on the counter to try on. No intercoms, no hookups, no live tests available. I was totally shocked and sooo disappointed. What a bummer. Had I not known better, I would have believed that they were going out of business.
Thanks for all of the replies. Greatly appreciated.......Tom
 
I have a Lightspeed Delta Zulu and I'm having trouble with the audio quality. I have trouble understanding some controllers. I'm still trying to work it out but so far my old passive David Clarks have better audio. As of now, I cannot recommend the Lightspeeds.
 
Light Speed

I have had Light Speed Zulu's for years. The passenger’s is the standard plug and on my side I have a Lima plug plus the standard.

I just recently purchased the new Delta Zulu with the CO sensor. The are a much nicer upgrade with the ability to tune the range of frequencies for each persons needs along with the sensor. The Delta record data to the iphone app for review at a later time.
 

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ANR headset

Tom,

I flew with a Dave Clark H-10-13.4 headset for a number of years and when I got my first RV I realized I needed a quieter headset. You might consider sending yours to Headsets Inc to convert to ANR:
https://www.headsetsinc.com
It uses a 9V battery pack and works remarkable well. It doesn’t have anything fancy like Bluetooth but since I have a Bluetooth intercom in my -8 it’s not needed. It has really good audio quality and fairly comfortable. I think you can also just get the conversion kit and do it yourself if you are savvy with electrical stuff.

I also have a Bose QC-15 with the Ufly mic and it is also very quiet and has a audio jack input for listening to music if you don’t have anything set up to receive external audio inputs in the plane. I now use a couple of Harmon Kardon AKG AV 100 headsets and absolutely love them. They are equal to the Bose A-20s but are lighter and WAY more comfortable. Unfortunately the AV 100s are not being made anymore.

Good luck!
 
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Another vote for Headsetsinc conversion

I converted a Dave Clark using Headsets Inc and used it for another 20 years. Worked great. So it is certainly an option. Get new gel cups and a wool headpad.
 
Just bought a Bose AV-39. The ANR is amazing, but to be honest it’s not so much better than my AV-20 that it would justify replacing the AV-20.
 
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