Aviation Headsets Best?

X-Forces said:
My DC's would just lightly B**** slap your Bose if they were in the same aircraft, immediately sending them back to Bose for a lengthy repair. :D
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Bose would send out a brand new pair, as opposed to fixing them. Thats what's great about them.

I have Bose, I love my Bose.

I voted Bose.
 
sixoneseven said:
Bose would send out a brand new pair, as opposed to fixing them. Thats what's great about them.

I have Bose, I love my Bose.

I voted Bose.
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Maybe yes, maybe no.

There is a CFI over here that had to send his pair back twice. No replacement was issued, and he was (maybe still is) awaiting the return of his headset. In the meantime he is using an old and busted pair of ASAs as a stopgap! :laff:
 
X-Forces said:
Maybe yes, maybe no.

There is a CFI over here that had to send his pair back twice. No replacement was issued, and he was (maybe still is) awaiting the return of his headset. In the meantime he is using an old and busted pair of ASAs as a stopgap! :laff:
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Friend of mine had his bose chewed to pieces by his dog, sent in the pieces and bose shipped him a new pair.
 
newty said:
Friend of mine had his bose chewed to pieces by his dog, sent in the pieces and bose shipped him a new pair.
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Again, I'm sure they will, but it's not an absolute. I'm sure there are many cases where they will send a new pair, and I'm sure there are many cases where they will simply repair.

DC will also send out replacement units for the life of the headset when they are sent in for repair, sometimes they will repair the unit instead. It's just a roll of the dice. Just so happens that DCs are far tougher then Bose, so the issue doesn't come up as much.
 
David Clark. I've been with them since the '80's...okay '89. Anyway, when it came time to upgrade to a noise cancelling headset, I looked hard into the Bose. At the time they and DC were the only ones on the market. I chose the David Clarks because they had excellent passive attenuation. Bose has almost none. So, when the batteries die, DCs will still protect your hearing, Bose will not. In the high noise environment of some of the blimps I flew (for often 8+hours/day) loosing hearing protection with the Bose was not an option.

Currently, I'm flying CRJs and still use the DC H20-10XL. The passive attenuation is plenty. I don't even have the battery in it anymore.

I loaned my headset out a couple of years back and it was returned with a broken mic jack. I called DC to order a replacement cable, an $80 part. They told me to send in the whole headset. I told them I only needed the cable and that the headset was years out of warranty; they insisted I send the whole thing in. I did and it was returned with a new cable, upgraded power supply, new microphone boom (the old one was very servicable, but a bit loose), and new gel earseals (nothing wrong with the old ones). All together, this was about $300 in parts, not to mention the labor. I've toured their factory and met their people. There is no better customer service from any company in any industry.
 
Just another hearsay speculation:

I was talking to my Army Flight Surgeon a couple of months ago. He indicated that the military doesn't use noise cancelling headsets because there is a chance that long term use of the technology might actually cause hearing loss. The Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory has a study in progress, I believe.

I've noticed that when using ENC or ANR or whatever, there's always a weird kind of pressure feeling in my ears. I'm not really a "change bad," cavemanish technophobe, but there may be something to this issue. I'm a bit leary of any headset that relies completely on the broadcast of anti-noise.

In-ear stuff: no way. After an hour or so, my ears just freak out with itching.

Just something to think about. Good luck. Let us know what you decide on and why.
 
blimpguy said:
Just another hearsay speculation:

I was talking to my Army Flight Surgeon a couple of months ago. He indicated that the military doesn't use noise cancelling headsets because there is a chance that long term use of the technology might actually cause hearing loss. The Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory has a study in progress, I believe.

I've noticed that when using ENC or ANR or whatever, there's always a weird kind of pressure feeling in my ears. I'm not really a "change bad," cavemanish technophobe, but there may be something to this issue. I'm a bit leary of any headset that relies completely on the broadcast of anti-noise.

In-ear stuff: no way. After an hour or so, my ears just freak out with itching.

Just something to think about. Good luck. Let us know what you decide on and why.
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What type of headset were you using?? :confused:
 
I should have qualified that in that there is probably some psychomatic effect there. It's a very slight perception, but I've noticed on every ENC headset I've tried, DC, Bose, etc. Maybe it's just me being paranoid.

Anyway, when you have the headset on and you add power, there's kind of a wump as the noise disappears.

My theory goes like this: ENC/ANR works by reversing the wave form of the ambient noise. It adds that reverse wave to the inbound radio/intercom signal. If this reverse wave exactly matches the frequencies and amplitudes of the abmient noise as it would have conducted into the earcup, the noise is 100% cancelled. There is no 100% in science or technology. So, if the frequency is of just a hair, the sound may be reduced overall, but there is now an interference sound that could be produced. Now, this is my theory: the resultant interference noise is now above the range of human hearing. High frequency noise causes low frequency hearing loss (a fact). The noise cancelling properties of these headsets may reduce the noise we hear now, but may be causing hearing loss down the road.
 
blimpguy said:
I should have qualified that in that there is probably some psychomatic effect there. It's a very slight perception, but I've noticed on every ENC headset I've tried, DC, Bose, etc. Maybe it's just me being paranoid.

Anyway, when you have the headset on and you add power, there's kind of a wump as the noise disappears.

My theory goes like this: ENC/ANR works by reversing the wave form of the ambient noise. It adds that reverse wave to the inbound radio/intercom signal. If this reverse wave exactly matches the frequencies and amplitudes of the abmient noise as it would have conducted into the earcup, the noise is 100% cancelled. There is no 100% in science or technology. So, if the frequency is of just a hair, the sound may be reduced overall, but there is now an interference sound that could be produced. Now, this is my theory: the resultant interference noise is now above the range of human hearing. High frequency noise causes low frequency hearing loss (a fact). The noise cancelling properties of these headsets may reduce the noise we hear now, but may be causing hearing loss down the road.
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It think you will find that the diaphragms that produce the anti-sine wave in most ENR headsets are not capable of producing sound much above the low frequency ranges.
 
blimpguy said:
I was talking to my Army Flight Surgeon a couple of months ago. He indicated that the military doesn't use noise cancelling headsets because there is a chance that long term use of the technology might actually cause hearing loss. The Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory has a study in progress, I believe.
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Well and good...except that the military DOES use noise-canceling headsets...extensively.
 
When I decided to get rid of my DCs I purchased the CA headsets. While the main part of it (the in ear part) was very comfortable and quiet, the plastic part that goes over the top of the ear HURT. After about an hour it felt like someone was sawing into the skin on top of my ear with a plastic knife (right where the top of my ear connects to my head). I flew with them for 6 hours before I shipped them back. Bought the bose, they work great. Definitely not worth $1000, but the CAs just didnt work out for me. I have a big head, which may have contributed to the problem.
 
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