Headsets

[bbaggerman]

Originally Posted by c4c67b

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.

[larrynew]

Originally Posted by thiggins

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

Yes. The “free” headset was almost half the cost of the extended warranty.

[StuBob]

Originally Posted by bbaggerman

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.

[todehnal]

Originally Posted by c4c67b

What's the source on this?

Hey TT, The statement came from the Rotax Owners Forum that I found while researching the effectiveness of ANR in Rotax powered aircraft. Sorry, Don't know that author....Tom

[todehnal]

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

[Cloudboy]

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.

[Dvalcik]

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.

[olyolson]

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!

[scard]

This thread exemplifies just how personal a headset choice is.

[Bill_H]

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.