AKG AV100 Headset Pilot Report

Greetings from St. Louis,

Recently purchased a Bose A20 and an AKG AV100 for a direct comparison in my RV-4 (not the quietest cockpit). I have an older Dave Clark that was modified by Headsets Inc. many years ago and although working flawlessly I made the costly mistake of borrowing a buddy's Lightspeed Zulu so I found myself relishing the quiet that the Zulu provided.

Since I had flown with the Zulu I decided to try the other two top of the line headsets and yes I considered the QT and Clarity but don't want to mess with sticking something in my ear. I also do a bit of cross country and enjoy listening to music.

So how do they compare: Overall the sound quality is pretty much a wash for airplane communication but a definite edge to the AV100s when listening to music. Unlike the A20s, the AV100 comes with a standard Lemo plug PLUS a GA Y cord (extra $ for the Bose). The AV100 allows you to use Bluetooth for both music and phone calls as well. Coupled with the music equalizer in the Garmin GTR 200 (latest software update) I use, it truly is an incredible music sound in the headset. As good as any music headsets on the market. After using the AV100 I tried my DCs again and let's just say they are now relegated to the back seat.

As far as comfort goes, the Bose A20 was pretty comfortable at first then I had to keep fidgeting with it because it started clamping and giving me some hot spots. The AV100s feel like you don't even have a headset on at all. They come in a Carbon Fiber finish and one really cool feature is built in LED lights on the front of each earcup. I flew an EARLY morning (read DARK) formation with KC Flight for the KC Chiefs "Red Friday" and was glad I had the lights. Lit up the cockpit pre start pretty nicely.

So the Bose A20s got sent back and I'm now happily enjoying the AV100s. If you want a great headset look no farther, this is the one you want. They are not cheap but at the price point of the Bose A20 they are a superior headset with more features, see the link below. To answer your next question, no I do not work for them!

http://www.akg.com/AV100-1704.html?pid=2068

Oly

How do they compare with the Lightspeed? I guess you bought the AVK;s for a reason instead of the Lightspeed. What was it?

Just curious...

Bob

Thanks Oly! I've been waiting for someone to report back on these things! I had high hopes and it sounds like they meet expectation.

Sounds like I need to finally order some headsets!

AKG AV 100

Bob,

Yes they're significantly better than the Lightspeed in my opinion. The Lightspeed had good audio quality but I didn't find them to be all that comfortable. They weren't nearly as quiet as the AV 100s either.

Oly

If you have the privilege, compare the Bose A20's, AKG AV100's and the Lightspeed Zulu PFX's before you buy anything. Also, compare apples to apples. The latest from one company can't be compared to older model headsets from another company. I.E. You can't compare PFX's to Bose X, or Zulu 2's to AV100's, etc...

I believe the top 3 headsets are very close and it comes down to personal preference. I had (2) new sets of Bose A20's that I flew from AZ to OSH and back....tried the AV100's and PFX's several times at OSH. Then, upon landing back in AZ, I returned the A20's and I now have a pair of PFX's in my flight bag.

My reports:

A20's-
PROS: Great sound
CONS: Bluetooth ONLY for cell phone calls, my ears seemed too big for the cups, the cord is too rigid, the battery box cord is too short to get tucked behind my elbow (padded side armrest in RV-6A), soft carrying case

AV100's-
PROS: Company has LOADS of experience in mic's and speaker's (zero experience in aviation though), lightweight, looks cool, full bluetooth, front LED lights
CONS: Fake carbon fiber print, too much plastic, too much white noise for my liking

PFX's-
PROS: Totally flexible cord, hard carrying case, full bluetooth, metal used in places where it seems appropriate, great sound, cord from battery box to plugs are long enough that I can tuck the battery box behind my elbow (padded side armrest in RV-6A)
CONS: Battery box is heavy due to (4) AA's, my Oakley sunglasses seem to keep the front of the cups from closing so I'm going to try wire frame sunglasses instead

AKG AV100

In response to Robert's comments, I haven't tried the LS PFX but I have heard it is a good headset. Kamikaze stated that the Sennheiser Digital S1 "adapts in real time to your environment".

The AV100 has mics inside and outside that compare noise levels and also adapts in real time. In addition to the very quiet environment, the earcups seem to breathe better than the Lightspeeds I used which made me sweat around the ears. The AV100s use a feature called "protein leather ear cushions with slow retention foam", not sure exactly what this means except they are extremely comfortable, light and cool. I also wear sunglasses with the headset and the earcups must seal pretty good around the glasses because this is one QUIET headset. Forgot to mention in my initial post that it also has an aux jack for music & phone if you don't have Bluetooth. And with the included LEMO plug this gives you the flexibility to wire a LEMO jack (extra) in the airplane and not have to continually change batteries. It uses a small inline type battery/control box that uses 2AA batteries.

The carbon fiber does not look like cheap plastic and is tastefully done. Since I have a carbon fiber instrument panel and canopy rails on my -4 I like the look of the AV100 and it complements my interior. All of the headsets nowadays have a lot of plastic and I don't think the AV100 has any more or less than others on the market.

As with anything, you have to make your own decision based on your personal preference. The other guys made some good comments but the best way is like Robert suggested above, try all the brands yourself in your airplane. All of them have return policies and the worst you'll have to pay is the shipping charges. Think of it as "renting" so you can pick your favorite.

Good luck,
Oly

I just purchased the AKG AV100 but decided to trade them in (Return them) for Bose A20. It wasnt an easy decision but it ended up being pretty clear to me....

My previous headset was a Bose Aviation X. I thought those sounded good until I put the AKG on. They blew me away. Until I put my A20 on and realized the AKG and A20 were just on another level from my BoseX (make sense, my BoseX are close to 5yrs old!).

Here is what I thought about the AKG set:
-The headset fit is very comfortable.
-The headset itself is very good looking.
- The headset itself has higher quality materials then the Bose A20 - metal headband as an example.

- The cable and control module are very cheap feeling. I was shocked at how cheap the cable and control box felt compared to every other headset in it's class. I was very disappointing with this.

- The cable is VERY long
- The ANR comes with a white noise/Hiss. Similar to Lightspeeds but Bose do not exhibit this. You cant hear the hiss/white noise in any single engine piston airplane but you will hear it in turbine/jet.
- The audio lacked bass - things sounded tin-can like.
- The audio was far superior to Lightspeed Zulu and Zulu 2
- The ANR was on-par with lightspeed 2
- The music quality was fantastic
- the headset case is by far the best headset case on the market - it's like a mini flight-bag!

Why I chose the bose?
- The audio quality sounded much fuller to my ears
- The music quality sounded exactly the same if not a bit fuller to me
- The fit of the headset felt the same as the AKG - this is a very subjective matter though.
- the cable and control module were much nicer and felt would last much longer
- the ANR is indeed superior but I realize that they are so close that anyone who has invested in the AKG and used them for awhile has probably become accustom to the point where any difference between the bose ANR and AKG ANR has been erased from memory.

If I could make a reco, it would be to try both and pick the one that fits the best for you. Because the bose fit like the AKG did for me, I went with what sounded better to me. however everyone I talked to said the AKG fit better for them. If you have small earlobes - the A20s will fit like the AKGs.

Net/Net: Both are great headsets but the A20s are and felt like a known quantity where as the AKGs did not feel as substantial in operation. Also the A20s are a physically lighter headset (though again some claim them to clamp too much which is an absolute deal breaker if you experiance this..if I felt clamping, I would easily go to AKG).