In-ear headset- another approach

[trib]

I had purchased a set of Comply NR-10 earphones to construct an in-ear headset as documented on the popular thread. I understand the comfort desire, but I'm mostly looking for noise reduction. Even with floor and firewall insulation, my O-360 seems to make quite a bit of noise, particularly when at full power on climbout and trying to listen to ATC instructions. I have a Sennheiser ANR headset. The ANR helps quite a bit, but like I said, there are still difficulties sometimes. The other day I was thinking I need to get around to that in-ear headset project, when a different idea hit me. Why not use the Comply set INSIDE of my headset? This gives the passive reduction of the Complys together with the active reduction (and passive reduction) of the headset. No need to construct a mike/boom assembly as that is still active on the headset.

I simply used an adapter I had from a headphone set for airline use (as a passenger ) which adapts the 1/8" comply plug to the 1/4" plug. Unplug the Sennheiser phone plug and insert the comply at the jack. The Sennheiser mike plug remains installed. The Sennheiser earcups fit easily over the in-ear comply plugs with no contact or discomfort. The Sennheiser ANR still works as it doesn't need to be plugged into the speaker jack for this function.

The result was impressive!! Engine noise was greatly reduced, as can be expected, and the sound reception was excellent with the comply speaker right in your ear. The only issue came when I first tested the setup, before starting the engine, and blasted my ears because the sound on the comply was near max setting. I adjusted the volume slide on the complys to about 25% for comfortable use.

If you're looking to improve your communications due to excessive cockpit noise, give this a try. I'm sure even with an inexpensive passive headset the difference will be significant. No effort needed, just an adapter!