Clarity Aloft or Telex 850

I demoed both in a CRJ and was much happier with the 850, but that may have been because I was using a 750 for a few years prior to that.
 
And I'm using a Clarity Aloft in the CRJ and am quite happy. Never tried the Telex. I really like how light the CA is and if we have a jumpseater or the captain wants to remove his/her headset I can just pull out an ear bud and still be able to hear them and clearly hear ATC at the same time.
 
I've used the Bose and uflymike in the Dashs, King Air, 757 and 767. It is the best headset I've had.
 
I have tried both of these headsets. These are my observations and ultimately why I didn't go with either of them.

Clarity Aloft

Pros:
  • No clamping
  • Doesn't ruin my sweet haircut
  • Passive audio input is pretty good (i.e. your jams sound alright and no batteries)

Cons:
  • Band around the back of your head hurt the tops of my ears after a while
  • You can't swing the mic boom out of the way for eating, etc. You have to bend the mic boom every time.
  • Kinda pricey if you go with the TSO version


Telex 850

Pros:
  • Lightweight
  • No batteries
  • Small
  • Fairly inexpensive
Cons:
  • ANR isn't that good (I fly CRJ 200/700/900)
  • Audio quality sucks. I found my self needing to have ATC repeat themselves because in my opinion, voice communications sounded like you were talking to Charlie Brown's teacher. Wha waa waa... Wha waa waa waa. Frequency response is heavily weighted to the mid-range (350 Hz - 3 kHz)
  • Lots of crosstalk. It seems that the 750 has this problem too. If the other pilot is listening to Com2 getting ATIS or the ADF getting the latest scores or whatever, the other pilot will hear it.
  • Not that comfortable. It's a supra-aural design, i.e. it sits on your ear. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but the 850 doesn't have that much padding.
  • No auxiliary audio input. Not that I need that...

I ended up getting a Sennheiser HMEC 26-2-BV-K and I'm happy with it. YMMV.

HMEC 26-2-BV-K

Pros:
  • Great audio quality. Frequency response is almost as good as most "hi-fi" headsets. (20 - 14,000 Hz)
  • Stereo audio input. Sound's really good.
  • Good battery life
  • Cushy ear seals
  • Phone input, although I haven't been able to get this to work with my iPhone yet.
  • Fairly small. (when compared to my old DCs)
  • Designed by a company that makes actual pro-audio equipment.
Cons:
  • Somewhat expensive. I got a good deal on a "used" set from an "airport pilot shop" in Naples, FL.
  • Uses batteries. AA though so nothing too exotic.
  • Audio "ducking" can not be disabled. Not that I'm listening to music en-route anyway. ;)
  • Supra-aural design does get a bit fatiguing after a long day even with the padded ear seals.
 
I've used the 850's in the Dash 8 and Citation 550-560. I find the audio to be OK and the noise cancelling works well enough. The Dash is more vibration than wind noise, that might have something to do with it. The Citation isn't really quiet, but I imagine it doesn't have the wind noise problem that faster airplanes. 262 or 292 indicated down low and .73 up high for the 560 (.60 in the 550)

They've been decent for the cost, but long days(6+hours) makes the outside of my ears hurt,especially wearing sunglasses. The ear seals tend to fall apart in a few years, but they are a simple fix. It's $20-$30 to get the seals.

I might replace them with something else once they break, but I've been happy with them. I have Lightspeed Zulu's for back-up from my instructing days. I love those, but just too bulky to have in the kit and wear, even though they are comfortable. Not a fan of in-ear style.
 
Telex 850
Cons: Lots of crosstalk. It seems that the 750 has this problem too. If the other pilot is listening to Com2 getting ATIS or the ADF getting the latest scores or whatever, the other pilot will hear it.

I would have agreed with this two years ago, but now I think that this is more a problem with the RJ than it is a headset problem. Since leaving Pinnacle two years ago, I have used the 850 in both the Citation Mustang and the Embraer Phenom 100. I haven't had any bleed over in either plane. Overall, I am still very happy with the headset.
 
What kind of flying? Those spindly little in-ear deals don't stand up well in our operation, where they get removed every 27 minutes or so.
 
Give the David Clark Pro-X a try. It's not your typical DC headclamp, it is very comfortable and has great ANR. It's also built very well, seems like it could take a beating.
 
I've used the 850's in the Dash 8 and Citation 550-560. I find the audio to be OK and the noise cancelling works well enough. The Dash is more vibration than wind noise, that might have something to do with it. The Citation isn't really quiet, but I imagine it doesn't have the wind noise problem that faster airplanes. 262 or 292 indicated down low and .73 up high for the 560 (.60 in the 550)

They've been decent for the cost, but long days(6+hours) makes the outside of my ears hurt,especially wearing sunglasses. The ear seals tend to fall apart in a few years, but they are a simple fix. It's $20-$30 to get the seals.

I might replace them with something else once they break, but I've been happy with them. I have Lightspeed Zulu's for back-up from my instructing days. I love those, but just too bulky to have in the kit and wear, even though they are comfortable. Not a fan of in-ear style.

Just tried using my Zulus in the Dash for my past trip and the noise difference is incredible. Even with my ear seals all torn up, they were great. Not as "clampy" as I thought, but not as light as the 850's of course. Downsides are: batteries and the battery box and not as compact as the 850's.

Great earmuffs in winter too, not so much in the summer.
 
What $1000 nerd-rig is right for you? There's an app for that!

http://www.herroom.com/know-your-breasts/Questions.aspx

For the rest of us, there is only one answer:

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