Anyone try Oregon Aero Headset Upgrade Kit?

ZapBrannigan

ZapBrannigan

If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
I have been looking at Oregon Aero seat cushions to use during long flights and I noticed in their catalog that they also offer headset upgrade kits.

I have a Bose X (and have for years). About once every few years I replace the earcups, the microphone cover, and the headband. It's probably about time to do it again anyway.

For $103 Oregon Aero provides a new headset cushion, ear cushions, ear seal covers, and a microphone muff. Supposedly it is significantly more comfortable and even offers more noise attenuation.

I've been playing around with the idea of picking up a ClarityAloft or a Lightspeed Mach 1... but rather than spend hundreds on a new headset, maybe a refurb of the Bose?

Has anyone used one of these upgrade kits who can offer some insight as to whether it is worth $103?

Thanks!
 
Had An OA upgrade kit on a set of DCs in the AF a few years ago. Looks goofy, because of the thick ear cushions, but felt great. Wore those things for 8-10 hr at a time regularly, good seal, great comfort.
 
Well, I've heard good things about the Oregon Aero upgrades for David-Clarks. Very comfortable and well built is what a few people that I know have told me. I haven't heard anything about kits for the Bose, and don't have any personal experience so take it for what it's worth.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
I have been looking at Oregon Aero seat cushions to use during long flights and I noticed in their catalog that they also offer headset upgrade kits.

I have a Bose X (and have for years). About once every few years I replace the earcups, the microphone cover, and the headband. It's probably about time to do it again anyway.

For $103 Oregon Aero provides a new headset cushion, ear cushions, ear seal covers, and a microphone muff. Supposedly it is significantly more comfortable and even offers more noise attenuation.

I've been playing around with the idea of picking up a ClarityAloft or a Lightspeed Mach 1... but rather than spend hundreds on a new headset, maybe a refurb of the Bose?

Has anyone used one of these upgrade kits who can offer some insight as to whether it is worth $103?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Used them on my Telex set and they were great for a while. They were a lot more comfortable.
 
I already bump those Bose earpieces on the windscreen in the tiny lear cockpit quite a bit. I wonder if the "thick" earcups will make it worse...

It's $46 plus shipping to replace the earcups, headband, and microphone muff with the OEM replacement parts. So almost double the price for the Oregon Aero stuff.
 
I have them on a few pairs of DCs my family uses. I'll second that it makes them more comfortable, and on the non-ANR set they give you foam pieces to go inside the earcups, so it does quiet them down a bit more. On the ANR set, I don't think it made it better or worse, but I remember a comment from Headsets Etc about not using thick earpads because it can affect the ANR microphones due to more air volume. No idea if that would be an issue for Bose or not.
Cost-wise, I got both kits on ebay for ~40-50.
I have a set of Clarity Aloft that I love-hardly know they're there after a 12 hr day. Could you get enough for the Bose on ebay to pay for a set?

And- wow is it really that small in there? Never got to sit in a Lear, just try enviously to peek in the windows of the one in the hangar.
 
Yeah. Unfortunately it's really that small.

I could get enough for the Bose to buy a Clarity Aloft or a Lightspeed Mach 1, but i'm unwilling to part with my precious Bose until I have the chance to try one of the others...

I'd hate to have buyers / ebay sellers remorse.
 
They were a big help for me, but then I have a bottom-of-the-line pair of DCs. The sheepskin headpad is especially nice.
 
I got the upgrade twice. Once for a set of DCs and the secong time for the Bose. They worked great on the DCs but crappy on the Bose. They turn the Bose into a typical headclamp and make them louder as sound "leaks" in. I would just spend the ~$150 on spare sets of earseals from Bose.
 
I haven't done the full upgrade, but ditto on the OA sheepskin headpad replacement -- I'd go as far as calling it a MUST-HAVE for the follicly-challenged.
 
Size. The OA headpad is much larger, has deeper/denser sheepskin wool. It replaces the stock headpad on the DC, and is 10x better than the sheepskin headpad DC offers.

p54_davdclrkhang.gif
 
I took your advice and ordered the Oregon Aero headpad. I did NOT order the rest of the kit. I emailed the company and this was the info I got:

You have another good question. The upgrade kit for the Bose X is an upgrade primarily to the comfort of the headset. Most people find our ear seals to be more comfortable than the stock version. Your noise attenuation may diminish slightly due to the thicker ear seals.

So, since ANR was the reason I got the Bose X in the first place, I decided not to order the rest of the kit.

Still looking at the seat-pad...
 
Well...

I have an old pair of Telex Proair 2000e's that I got for a steal when I was doing my Private. They were a great price but uncomfortable as heck.

I went ahead and ordered the Oregon Aero kit and did the upgrade which included the new leather/foam mic/muff, larger memory foam seals, internal insulation, earpad covers for cold days, and the sheepskin headband. Wow... what a difference... even PWM tower said they could hear me more clearly with the new mic-muff. The headset was much more bulky... but infinitely better performing and more comfortable. So... I recommend it for Telex/DC types of headsets.

That said... I too went straight to the Bose X when I started my advanced ratings and I haven't looked back. But... I never even thought about taking the uber nice and comfy sheepskin off of my old Telex to use on the Bose.

As another follically challenged pilot... I'm thinking I'm gonna have to give that a shot.

Bob
 
Hi,
My name is Lee Owen and I am the Military Sales Rep at Oregon Aero. Zap's question was about the Bose upgrade kit. I have personally worn this kit on a Bose Aviation Headset X for about 50 hours as a right seater or pax in Oregon Aero's PC-12. I think with our headset upgrade kit The Bose X is the most comfortable headset I have ever worn. I have worn the headset for as long as 10 hours at at time and it is great!

The "Soft Top" cushion that replaces the stock cushion is at least half again as large and much more plush than the stock unit. The "Soft Seal" and "Soft Skin" work in combination to give your pinna (the flap of skin that is your outer ear) more room in the earcup. Anecdotally speaking pilots tell us that they think they get better passive performance from the Bose headset after applying our kit.

I know this is a pitch... but I ride motorcycles and I like it when vendors at least weigh in when we have specific product question over on the forum I spend time on at advrider.com

Oregon Aero has a no questions asked 30 day money back guarantee and a 2 year "bumper to bumper" warranty on our products. If you would like to try our products please contact EDMO distributors.

If you can prove that you are a corporate or Airline pilot you will receive a substantial discount. Please contact bradb@edmo.com or ask for Brad Baker @ 1.800.235.3300.

I can be reached at lee.owen@oregonaero.com and 1800.888.6910 x 8048 if you have any product related questions. Thanks for allowing me to add to your discussion.
 
Well, after seeing the Bose upgrade kit today for the first time... it really doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. The seals don't look near as bulky as the DC seals do. Also the OA sheepskin for the Bose looks like it would fit better my Bose better than my older OA/Telex sheepskin would, since it has the gap in the middle for the clamp spring.

B_HeadstBlowaprt1529.jpg


Lee Owen said:
If you can prove that you are a corporate or Airline pilot you will receive a substantial discount.
Click to expand...
Wow...

Thanks for chiming in Lee.

Welcome to JC.

Bob
 
Lee Owen said:
If you can prove that you are a corporate or Airline pilot you will receive a substantial discount.
Click to expand...

I wish I had known that before ordering the head-pad. I still need to order the seat cushion. Guess i'll break down and do that in the next few days.
 
Lee Owen said:
If you can prove that you are a corporate or Airline pilot you will receive a substantial discount.
Click to expand...

Define "corporate pilot".

Lots of us are employed as pilots, you ought to broaden that to "professional pilot". Just like ski instructors get pro-form deals on gear for the express purpose of marketing that gear to their students, flight instructors ought to get the same thing from you, even though you wouldn't think of them as "corporate pilots".
 
aloft said:
Define "corporate pilot".

Lots of us are employed as pilots, you ought to broaden that to "professional pilot". Just like ski instructors get pro-form deals on gear for the express purpose of marketing that gear to their students, flight instructors ought to get the same thing from you, even though you wouldn't think of them as "corporate pilots".
Click to expand...

I will leave that to our distributor to determine... Please contact BradB@edmo.com and he will be happy to assist you.
 
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