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ANR headset suggestions

McFly

McFly

Well Known Member
I am looking to buy an ANR headset. My only experience with ANR headsets are my old and cranky Lightspeed 15XL and a new pair of Lightspeed 30G that I borrowed for a recent trip. Both of these headsets occasionally produce a thumping sound. I assume that the ANR is out of sync somehow. Do all ANR headsets have this issue?

On to my main question, I am looking for some traditional (non halo) ANR headsets that work well in the noisy RV and preferably without the thumping. I know everybody loves the Bose X units but they are too pricey for me. Any OSH deals, manufacturers reconditioned units ,suggestions? Thanks
 
McFly said:
I am looking to buy an ANR headset. My only experience with ANR headsets are my old and cranky Lightspeed 15XL and a new pair of Lightspeed 30G that I borrowed for a recent trip. Both of these headsets occasionally produce a thumping sound. I assume that the ANR is out of sync somehow. Do all ANR headsets have this issue?

On to my main question, I am looking for some traditional (non halo) ANR headsets that work well in the noisy RV and preferably without the thumping. I know everybody loves the Bose X units but they are too pricey for me. Any OSH deals, manufacturers reconditioned units ,suggestions? Thanks
Click to expand...

Just my opinion, but here goes...

You can buy a used Bose and save some bucks. They're by far the most comfortable headset and they're quiet. Ellen and I finally caved in a bought a pair. They're expensive but they're worth every penny when you have them on for hours a day (we use them at work and really do have them on our heads for 5 or 6 hours at a time....NO SWEAT).

I also have a set of David Clark H10-13X. They're my second favorite in terms of comfort. They're heavy but they fit my head very well and are very comfortable. Personally, I always found the Lightspeeds uncomfortable (they give me a headache) but I'm in the minority there....most seem to like them. The David Clarks are a lot cheaper than the Bose but a little more than the Lightspeeds.

I tried the new David Clark model (that carbon fiber thing) and found it to be incredibly uncomfortable.

re: the thumping. It might be coming from a poor seal between the headset and your ear. My Bose seem pretty immune to this. My David Clarks require a good seal for the best performance but don't thump.

I'm surprised you don't like the Lightspeeds. Ellen and I thought we were the only ones. All three of must have 3 sigma headshapes, or something!
 
Headsets inc

I recently bought two EM-1 headsets from Headsets Inc. I wrote a review in a post a few weeks back. Generally very happy, and can't beat them for the price, IMO. As well as good active, they have great passive (similar to a DC fit). However this means they do clamp harder than the Lightspeeds and other ANR sets.
 
consider non-ANR

You might want to consider one of the non-ANR models, such as the ones made by Clarity Aloft. If you're going to OSH, be sure to chek out Clarity Aloft. On a recent thread on this list or Matronics, many people felt, as I do, that the in-the-ear ones attenuated better than the best ANR ones. And my Clarity Aloft are so light, I forget I even have them on. CA has great customer service, too.
brian
 
Spend the money and buy the Bose. If you're still wiring up, get the single wire panel powered ones and forget the batteries. I absolutely love our Bose headsets. Three and a half trouble free years of comfort and quiet and not one penny spent on batteries.

Roberta
 
HALO--Try 'EM!

Please don't write off in the ear type phones. I will never wear over the ear types again. The comfort is incomparable, no batts required, you can wear your hat, I could go on and on....
 
I think the Bose headsets are the best for ANR type of operation. My only complaint about them is that if you loose power to them then you are worse of having them on your head then using nothing at all.The noise levels seem to be worse. My opinion only.
 
Radar

McFly said:
Both of these headsets occasionally produce a thumping sound.
Click to expand...

Could that thumping be the local radar? I ran into that problem with my LightSpeed headset and my instructor pointed out the radar dish. The thump was the radar output passing our position.

LightSpeed is great on customer service. I wish I could afford a Bose, but I can't, so I say LightSpeed.

John Edwards
RV-9A - Empennage
N5806L-KCOI
 
I've always liked my 13 year old set of Telex ANR's much better than some other offerings, and plan to try out the Telex Stratus 50 Digital. Still costly, but about $300-$350 less than than the Bose. And BTW, I think the Bose are great too.

L.Adamson
 
Bose, they are great for 75% of the people out there, but don't work for me at all! After an hour they start pinchin the top of my head (where the spring is)

David Clark, X11's are my dream set right now, but I don't know, the lightspeed Zulu's look nice too, we'll see at osh.

For a cheap set, get the Lightspeed QFR Xc's, they are $239 at www.marvgolden.com under the marv golden brand name (eagle headsets). The best buy around that I know of, and they work GREAT. MP3 interface, good passive, average active.
 
Dual wiring?

robertahegy said:
Spend the money and buy the Bose. If you're still wiring up, get the single wire panel powered ones and forget the batteries. I absolutely love our Bose headsets. Three and a half trouble free years of comfort and quiet and not one penny spent on batteries.

Roberta
Click to expand...
Roberta,
Did you wire up dual jacks? one for the Bose plugs and one for a standard jack, in case you sell or need to use a standard headset one day?

Lightspeed will upgrade and change the G3-30 plugs to the bose plug if asked to. I was thinking about it and thought about dual jacks just in case.
regards,
 
My Input Re Bose and Telex and UFlyMike Bose adapter

I fly the a pair of the latest Bose, and I find them comfortable, but I wish they reduced a lot more high frequency noise. It seems that they really made little attempt at passive attenuation.

I also have the Bose Quiet Comfort II headphones with the UFlyMike adaptor, and it works very well, a little noisier, but these are my seven year old son's headset of choice.

I bought a pair of the Telex ANR 50D's, and sent them back before ever trying them in the plane because they had a pretty strong hiss when I turned the ANR. I was also disappointed in the cheap plasticky nature of their construction. I have considered giving them another try, maybe only some of them have that hiss.

I have done multiple-day flights with brand new Lightspeed 30G's (tryout loan from Aerotronics). They were a real disapointment. I liked the lightness, but they have kind of a Bose-like lack of high frequency attenuation, and much poorer fitting earcups that caused frequent leakage of low frequency noise with the corresponding beating of the ANR. Completely annoying and crappy headsets for my head.

My favorite headset so far was one I bought off of ebay for $235 under the brand Basler Aviation. They had really good ANR, not as good as the Bose with the lower frequencies, but the overall attenuation was much better than the Bose with the higher frequencies. I was warned by the seller to be sure not to put the battery in backwards, but did so one day anyway, and they have been dead ever since. If anyone knows what brand these are made under now, or how to get these fixed please let me know.

I think that maybe the ultimate noise reduction might be combining in ear pieces with the Bose going over them. In other use the bose microphone, but receive communications through the in ear pieces, and have the ANR benefit of the Bose with the high frequency attenuation of the in ear headsets.

I basically want the maximum noise reduction possible. I have very good hearing (I can hear ultrasonic motion detectors no problem) and I want to keep it that way.

Hans Conser
 
Clairty Aloft

I used a Bose for several years but with glasses there was some loss of the ANR and overall noise reduction. I also had an old DC and purchased the aftermarket ANR do-it-yourself kit. That actually worked as well as the Bose. All the while my wife did not like the clamping pressure of either the DC or Bose.
On to Clairty Aloft................I really did not want to spend the money! I bought one then about 8 months later I went for the second one (worth the money). They are great for long hauls and short stuff too.
Some people cannot get the seal that is needed. CA has a 30 day trial period. Try them you probably will like them. If you can get the seal you will like them. Wearing glasses is no problem. I like Bose and I love the CA. :)
 
About face: CA product review

There were so many favorable comments about the Clarity Aloft headsets that I thought maybe I should give them (halo style headsets) a try. The reason I was not initially interested is that they look to be a pain to put on. Most of my flying consists of short hops so ease of installation is a big deal. The CA?s have a 30 day trial period so I thought, why not.

First Impression: Although they cost about half of what the Bose X costs, there is not a whole lot there. Low mass is part of the appeal of this style of head set but still, there is not much there. I had that same ?what a rip? feeling I get on the occasions I buy my wife jewelry.

Putting them on is not a big deal. It takes a little longer but even with my rookie mistakes they go on fairly quickly. I assume I can get them on faster with practice, we?ll see. So my biggest argument against this style of head set did not hold water, good deal.

The sound quality and attenuation are simply fantastic. I cannot overstate what a difference they make. These headsets are like Claritin for my ears and I have been using what most would consider decent headsets.

I have not used them on a long flight yet so I can?t say much about long term comfort but they have been very comfortable on short hops.

Thanks for the CA suggestion and no I am not getting any kickbacks from CA ;)
 
QT Halo

If you like the CA, you will definitely like the QT Halo. Many of us in these forums are already happy customers.

QT Halo

And, no, I am not affiliated with QT. I'm a happy customer and think the QT Halos are the best value including Bose, Lightspeed, Telex, Clarity Aloft, etc.
 
QT Halo's

I bought a QT Halo at Osh and flew them home. Three hours and I couldn't be happier with them. They are much quieter than my Sennheiser ANR's and much more comfortable. I like that I can wear my hat, not just a ball cap. I listened to planes several states away, and anything that would break the squelch was completely understandable. Not bad for $340, way less than my ANR's.

Bob Kelly
 
I took my new Bose X out for the first time today. The difference between them and my old Red Barons (shut up and stop laughing, I was poor!) is astounding. Of course, for 10x the price, they'd better be, but still. I couldn't believe how awesome the Bose unit is.
 
The lightspeed ZULU really impressed me. I have the twenty 3g and have loved them until I tried the Zulu. Much quieter than the Bose, Is as comfortable and it is outstanding for music! I liked the Bose but it has no music or audio input.
I have the garmin stereo audio panel with aux input but the audio input for my twenty 3g is Waaaay better.
The new Zulu not only was designed to reproduce quality music as well as being very quiet but also has blue tooth input for my phone so I can connect my Ipod and answer incoming phone calls. "any other distractions?"
Lightspeed offered a upgrade path if you wanted to get a nice headset now like the thirty 3g that is even better than the ones I have now. If you buy the thirty 3g now for around $500 then lightspeed will give you $500 towards trade in for the Zulu when they come out in October. You can use a what I think is the second best headset "Behind the Bose" for free.

I saw at least 10 things at Oshkosh that I would have bought then and there but it was not in production yet. The Zulu is going to be the one I wait for.
 
CA and Halo comparison

I visited the Clarity Aloft and the Quiet Technologies booths while at OSH last week.

Things I knew beforehand:
1. The Clarity Aloft cost $150 more than the QT Halos.
2. The QT Halos can be worn in front of, on top of, and behind the head while the CA is worn behind only.

Things I learned at OSH:
1. Both headsets were designed by PhD audiologists who were very knowledgeable and personable folk. The QT inventor told us he found that simple 10 cent foam earplugs provide the same noise reduction capability as ANR headsets while studying in med school.

2. The QT Halos "headband" is a length of heat-shrink tubing shrunk over the wires and speaker box. The ear tubes connecting the speaker box and the earpieces are long enough to almost touch my shoulders. Looked like large hoop earrings. Sound quality was excellent. The demo units were connected to portable Flightcom intercomms with an external music source. The control box had a volume knob only. They come in black and yellow.

3. Overall appearance of the CA is top quality. It is constructed of stainless steel with black plastic covering the contact points. The unique foam earpieces are tapered for ease of insertion. The mic and earspeakers are hearing aid quality. The mic frequency is adjusted to minimize loss of the soft sibilant sounds such as S and F. The US Army provides these to their helicopter pilots. A TSO'd version is available for $625. The control box has a volume knob, a stereo/mono slide switch, an 1/8" audio input jack, and a recessed balance adjustment pot. Black only. Sound quality was excellant. I think we were connected to a Signtronics intercom. All external sound from the exhibition hall was blocked. Only the demo lady and my friend on the other 2 channels were heard.

I bought the CA and used it on the 9 hour flight back to Utah. My Bose ANR wearing friend also bought a pair (for the wife, of course) and used "hers" on the flight home. I normally use 15 year old passive Telex 1000 headsets with Oregon Aero enhancements. The CA took a bit to get used to. You hear yourself speak as if your fingers are in your ear. Radio and intercomm talk was clear. However, you cannot comfortably lean your head back on a headrest without pushing the head band into you head. It's not an issue in our RV's. They were light and comfortable without any pressure points. CA also earned a "best of show" award from the OSH judges.

Steve
 
QFR cross country ANR headset

I looked up all that I could find on ANR headsets and the QFR cross country was deemed to be the best value for money in terms of noise reduction by the sites that I visited. The headset still works works well even when the batteries are flat which is an advantage ( I have flattened a set of batteries). They apparently revert to the same Db figures as the non ANR headset.
I was so taken with the reduction in bass noise that I bought a second set for the wife (who incidentally hates flying) . The quietness seems to have given her new spirit.

My examiner for my BFR had a top of the range David Clark but tried my headset and was impressed and continued to wear them for the next hour.

In the end the choice is probably a subjective thing. If you can try a few different makes of headset you may settle on one that suits you and your purse.

That's my two cents worth!


Ted
RV-6A "Rough Red"
 
I love the Clarity

I bought a pair for the wife and SnF and we shared on the way home between them and the bose, when I got home I called and ordered another set of CA and sold the bose :D
 
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