X-11 David Clark Headset Review

[ScottSchmidt]

Well, I just got home from Oshkosh. I was there from Sunday to Sunday and I could have stayed another two weeks. Great show and great weather except this morning. We left from Appleton on Delta and a front came through with very high winds and there were many planes parked there. A Husky flipped over on top of a Bonanza. Before I get to my review, let me say that those F-22's are amazing aircraft and was the highlight of the week. I also enjoyed listening to Jack Rousch, Burt Rutan, Sean Tucker, and others tell their story. I can't get enough of Oshkosh

One of my goals from this trip was to test the new X-11 headsets from David Clark and Bose side by side with aircraft noise and music playing through it. So, I started at Gulf Coast where they had a aircraft noise generater and both headsets. I was looking for the most comfortable headset with good ANR capabilities and great sound.

At Gulf Coast I could only compare the ANR and comfort because they had no provisions for music input.

COMFORT - The X-11's are incredibly comfortable. They really are an 11 in this category. They are lighter than the Bose, and seem to fit much nicer around your ears. Now the Bose are great as well on the comfort scale. I would say the Bose are a 9 and the standard David Clark 13.4's are a 5.

ANR - Here is where both get beat. By far the best ANR system on the market is the Telex with digital ANR noise reduction but I didn't even consider them because comfort and sound are much higher on my priority list and all the top systems do a great job with ANR noise reduction. In this test though the Bose did better than the X-11's. You could notice a measurable difference between the two. I put the Bose at an 9 on ANR and a 7 for the X-11.

Sound - For sound comparisons I had to take the headsets (with their permission) to the PS Engineering booth where one of the girls hooked up her iPod so my wife and I could compare the two systems. Again the Bose was substantially better in this category. The X-11's didn't have the range or crispness in sound that the Bose had.

Summary- We bought three new Bose headsets at Oshkosh for the RV-10 due to our research. For me, I wanted the best system that was comfortable, good ANR, and great sound. Now if sound quality wasn't on your list, the differences in comfort is greater between the two systems than the differences in ANR and I would probably purchase the Bose. In looking at the construction of the two headsets I have some concerns over the life of the carbon structure on the X-11 if it was adjusted often.

You really can't go wrong these days with any system, they really are all great systems. Another feature of the Bose is the looks, they look cooler than the X-11, Telex, and others.

Enjoy

[CASSUTT PILOT]

I bought two X-11 headsets at Sun-N-Fun this year. The comfortof the D/C and the DRE are comparable. However, the enr performance of the D/C sets are not NEARLY as effective as the DRE headset, and the DRE cost $300. Unfortunately, DRE Communications is no longer in business. I suspect that David Clark will sell a lot of X-11 headsets simply because of their reputation which they have built through the years. It is my hope that they will improve the substandard performance of the X-11 enr feature and offer an up-grade, or perhaps a recall. One of the sets I purchased malfunctioned during the first flight and has been returned for repair. If David Clark does not improve the enr performance of the X-11, it will become their Edsel. I wish them well, and look forward to their meeting the competition, and improving my two X-11 headsets.

[n5lp]

I concur that the X-11 is comfortable but doesn't work well. Here is my earlier review and some comments of others. It is really a pity that David Clark put their name on these.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...highlight=x-11