Bose

IFly85

Well-Known Member
Anyone use the bose headset before? Any comments. I am interested in it. My DC 13.4 is begening to make my ears hurt after about an hour.
 
I used a pair in a bonanza once and they were nice, however my david clarks H20-10's feel almost as good to my ears; they may be a little bit heavier but for 1/4 the price of the boses I'm not going to complain too much. Nice if you have the money or they come with the airplane, otherwise I wouldn't bother spending 1000/pair or whatever they're asking for them.
 
I typically recommend David Clark ANR headsets, but since your head's apparently not DC-compatible, I'd suggest you check out Peltor's offerings. A friend of mine who owns a Super Cub swears by them--very comfy, good ANR available for much less than the Bose. I've flown with the Bose X; it's certainly quite nice, but not worth the price premium IMHO.
 
+++ Love the comfort.
+/- Originally had trouble with the microphone.
--- Battery life is short, and doesn't have auto-off

I originally bought the Bose when I was doing time-building (6-10 hours a day) across the country. Today, most of my flying is flight instruction (3-9 hours a day).

COMFORT: The comfort is great. Without question, the most comfortable headset.

MICROPHONE: Compared to my old DC's the mic did not work very well at all. I talked to Bose about it, and they told me that the standard mic was a lower gain mic. They put a high-gain mic on for me at no charge, and it works great. (Don't know why they don't make the higher gain mic the standard). Anyway, I'm happy with the microphone now.

BATTERY: Takes a 9V battery. Battery MAYBE makes it 20 hours, but sure feels like less to me (perhaps the Piper Seminole has more noise than an average airplane, and the ANR has to work harder?). They don't recommend the NiMH batteries because they are 8.something volts and you don't get much warning when they get low on charge. I use them anyway (I'm either concerned about the environment, or too cheap to buy dozens of $2.00 alkalines). What I really don't understand, is why a $1000 piece of hardware can't have an Auto-Shutoff? It's a simple circuit, and would add negligible cost.

SUPPORT: Company DOES support their product. No question.

I
 
I had a pair for almost two years and 150 hours. Just sold them on ebay two weeks ago. I found that they were very comfortable and wrked very well for the most part. Problems: When the battery went dead (and this happened very often) you were screwed. You might as well be wearing paper towels on your ears, the anr does all the work in this set. The set was very comfortable up until about hour 2 1/2, then, like many sets out there, the ear seals were just not enough support and the area around my ears began to get sore. My final opinion...do not waste your money. I will be looking seriously into Lightspeed's new thirty 3G and Telex's line for my next purchase. The DCs seem to be way overrated. THey are very rugged and hold up well and have a good reputaion but I just feel that they are plating catch up on technology as are many of the pilots that still use their non anr sets. Hearing is something you DO NOT want to take for granted. My mom has two hearing aids at 50 and she has a really hard time with things, not to mention she is really irritating to talk to!
 
Thanks alot. The DC's are just getting uncomfortable now. I don't know why, but after about an hour my right ear lobe starts to hurt. My friend has the same headset and has the same problem with his. I want something that is really durable, and will last. I am just about to finish the IR. so I have alot to go. Need something that will last thanks a bunch.
 
Your ear lobe starts to hurt? Take the earring out and suck it up, princess.

That, and maybe try their new undercut ear seals.

p.s., you won't find a headset more durable than the DCs, and the comment about DC struggling to catch up with others in the ANR arena simply isn't true; to my ears, my DC ANRs are every bit as effective as the Bose X, and I've switched back and forth between the two on a long XC. If I'd have bought the Bose and then tried the DCs, I'd have been pissed over the extra $$$ wasted. Yes, the Bose are more comfortable (tho I don't find the DCs uncomfortable) but toss in DC's build quality, ruggedness of design and customer support and choosing a DC is a no-brainer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Your ear lobe starts to hurt? Take the earring out and suck it up, princess.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tough crowd!
 
I'd take a serious look at the Telex 50-D if I were you. They are GREAT without the ANR even turn on, better as far as noise goes than likely any other passive headset out. Then you add on the regular, and the digital ANR and things get real quiet. They will save you $200-300 over the price of the bose as well.

The only "bad" thing I see out the Telex or the Lightspeed mentioned is they are a bit larger on the sides. If you care about that though, just fly without a headset
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I have heard lightspeed users say that passive is not that great. Something to consider if you don't want the battery to run down on a short little flight, or something quite like a little 150 or something.

Me, if I had $1000 to spend on a headset, it would be the Telex 50-D and I'd put the $200 leftover into a handheld nav/com. Believe Telex even has a further discount for a CFI on that set.

Josh
 
Josh, good stuff.. I'm looking at the Telex 50-D's myself. The cheapest I've seen them is $695 and the most is close to $800.

Have you tried them yet?
 
I use the BOSE X, and they are probably the best if not the best investment i have ever made. Very comfortable, and very good on battery, not BIG and bulky and great quality+ a cool little bag! Only one downside, they are $1000.00.
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Hmm...I thought by the looks of the earseals and the specs that Lightspeed would have been about the best thing going in passive attenuation...guess I will find out if I ever get a chance to try them. The Telex set is up there on the list too. I have yet to hear a bad thing about them.

When I made the comment about the DCs, I made is based soley on the specs and the rather low tech designs used. I have not had a chance to try them yet so hey I could be wrong..its just a perception based on available visual and technical information. I do have experience with the Bose X, Pilot, and Flightcom Denalis. Along with several non anr sets. None of which have I been terribly impressed with as of yet.
 
Lightspeed is the only way to go for comfort, noise reduction and price. More comfortable than the Bose, comaprable noise reduction and a fraction of the cost! Not to mention the batteries last at least 40-50 hours.
 
I have the DC 10-13x and use my father in law's Bose and the Bose is more comfortable and the noise cancellation is superior in my opinion. I used the Sennheiser passive model before getting the DC and loved them. I think the Sennheiser ANR would be great. I got the DC's as a gift and I am going to try the new undercut earseals which will hopefully be more comfortable. I must have big elephant ears because there does not seem to be enough room inside the DC model. I think you could find something equivalent to the Bose for a lot less $$.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Your ear lobe starts to hurt? Take the earring out and suck it up, princess.



[/ QUOTE ]

Hehehehe, right on.

My dad flies with the Bose system and I've used it a few times on his plane. Agree that it's very nice, but a very nice amount of $$$ too, probably for the name and for the look (with the little clear piece on the back of each ear cover that exposes all the inner workings). Not something I personally would invest in when some DCs could do the same or close to it.
 
ANR is great, but if you're on a tight bidget and already own a pair of passive noise reduction headsets you might try ear plugs with your headset. I do this in the VERY noisy J41 cockpit and it works okay with my David Clark's. I just turn the volume up on the radio, intercom, and headset and it works fine.

Another tip . . . If you ever send your DC's in for repairs, remove the ear seals and head pad and mic muff. When you get the headset back, they will have all new stuff intsalled. I've pulled this trick twice and it works. DC has GREAT support.
 
Update on my Bose...
I mentioned in my last post, that I had a new mic installed. Much easier to talk into.

Well, I was landing at Renton airport (a few miles NE of SeaTac) and what would you know. First, the battery went out (I laughed, because it was such bad timing). I was with another pilot, and we were discussing the wierd ATIS information regarding the huge X on the runway. Runway was not closed... just half. Next, the mic stopped working. I resorted to "fly the plane". I had lots of options for communicating, but they all contribute to workload.

Here's what I know. The intercom system is that plane is marginal at best. Debugging on the ground, my buddy's DC worked fine in either socket. My Bose wouldn't work in either. My Bose worked fine with my hand-held using an adapter. I guess you could blame it on the intercom system, but the bottom line was last night.... The DCs worked and the Bose didn't.

Disclaimer: One bad experience does not make a trend. Seek more data.
 
I am a musician and therefore have very sensitive hearing.

Get the Bose.

BTW, the new Bose X has an auto shutoff for the power.
 
I'm also a musician and 99% of the products Bose puts out are enormously overpriced for the money (a well known fact in consumer electronics circles). I personally steer clear of BOSE just on principle. If you have money to flush then go for it.

"Bose....better sound through marketing"
 
HEY aloft I dont have an ear ring buddy and I dont plan on ever having one. But thanks for all the responses.
 
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