Telex 850 Question

Anyone have any suggestions for the Bus as far as headsets go? Currently using the QC-15 ( and I love them ) but didn't know if they would be overkill in that thing.
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
At my shop 99% of the time the headsets stay on. If someone wants to take it off, more power to them, but I have a hard time hearing the radio without the headset in the E190.
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Do you guys ever get up into the 30s in those things? After the 145, the 170 is like nap time at the daycare, when in the 30s.
 
I used the 850 in the Dash when I was at Piedmont. Then I used them again when I got to C5. They are adequate in the Dash, but only just. They worked fine in CE-550/560. But I use Lightspeeds Zulu 2i n the Dash and will trade them for Bose when finances allow.
 
I've used the 850 in both the 757/767 and the 717. Bought it to replace my Sony MDR headset (yes, I'm that old, and it still works).

As reported, the volume can be low in some airplanes, but there is a small switch on the side that will boost the volume. The trick is that the ANR is driven by the 5 volt mike bias voltage from the mike plug, and some airplanes (maybe 1 out of 20) have weak voltage and the ANR wont work, and neither will the mike. It is a PITA to find that out when it's your leg to be PM.

The ANR is ok. Not Bose, Lightspeed or even David Clark with a ebay ANR kit installed good....just OK.

We have these ridiculous theft proof 1/2 DC (like 1 ear cup and a head band) sets in the 757s & 767s, so ANYTHING is better than those, up to and including a can with a string. The 717s on the other hand have very serviceable Telex 750s (as long as they haven't been left in the bait well), and half the time I don't bother fishing mine out of the bag, and I just use the ship set.

I've heard nothing but good things about the DC Pro X, and if my Telex dies, I might consider that. I've always liked DC quality....I still have two DC 10-40s that are like 28 years old and still work perfectly. They both went back to DC for refurb for a ridiculously small amount of money, came back like new, and I installed a ANR kit in one, and it rocks as well as a $900 Bose. I keep them as pax units in the Bonanza and keep the Zulus up front.

I like the Zulus well enough, but after about 3 years the plastic parts start to decompose into this slimy, flaky gunk that gets on everything. I wasn't down with the $100 (each) fee to Lightspeed, so I doused the parts with goo gone, and followed up with some acetone. Solved the problem but they look pretty funky.

Richman
 
Richman said:
I've used the 850 in both the 757/767 and the 717. Bought it to replace my Sony MDR headset (yes, I'm that old, and it still works).

As reported, the volume can be low in some airplanes, but there is a small switch on the side that will boost the volume. The trick is that the ANR is driven by the 5 volt mike bias voltage from the mike plug, and some airplanes (maybe 1 out of 20) have weak voltage and the ANR wont work, and neither will the mike. It is a PITA to find that out when it's your leg to be PM.

The ANR is ok. Not Bose, Lightspeed or even David Clark with a ebay ANR kit installed good....just OK.

We have these ridiculous theft proof 1/2 DC (like 1 ear cup and a head band) sets in the 757s & 767s, so ANYTHING is better than those, up to and including a can with a string. The 717s on the other hand have very serviceable Telex 750s (as long as they haven't been left in the bait well), and half the time I don't bother fishing mine out of the bag, and I just use the ship set.

I've heard nothing but good things about the DC Pro X, and if my Telex dies, I might consider that. I've always liked DC quality....I still have two DC 10-40s that are like 28 years old and still work perfectly. They both went back to DC for refurb for a ridiculously small amount of money, came back like new, and I installed a ANR kit in one, and it rocks as well as a $900 Bose. I keep them as pax units in the Bonanza and keep the Zulus up front.

I like the Zulus well enough, but after about 3 years the plastic parts start to decompose into this slimy, flaky gunk that gets on everything. I wasn't down with the $100 (each) fee to Lightspeed, so I doused the parts with goo gone, and followed up with some acetone. Solved the problem but they look pretty funky.

Richman
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Yeah, my problem with Lightspeed is build quality outside the ANR bits. Not terribly cheap, but not Bose, DC or Telex quality by any stretch. The ear seals, which admittedly see the most wear, are two years max on the Zulu with airline or instructing use.
 
Max Power said:
Yeah, my problem with Lightspeed is build quality outside the ANR bits. Not terribly cheap, but not Bose, DC or Telex quality by any stretch. The ear seals, which admittedly see the most wear, are two years max on the Zulu with airline or instructing use.
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My ear cups, along with the headband, decompose in my little Sporty's pilot geek bag (yea, I'm guilty) in an air conditioned house even with light use. I don't think use has anything to do with it...definitely a calendar limited part.

Richman
 
Richman said:
My ear cups, along with the headband, decompose in my little Sporty's pilot geek bag (yea, I'm guilty) in an air conditioned house even with light use. I don't think use has anything to do with it...definitely a calendar limited part.

Richman
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I have an Oregon aero upgrade with better ear seals and headband that solves that problem quite nicely.
 
The 850 leaves a bit to be desired in the Embraer 140/145, but in less noisy airplanes it seems to work pretty well.
My only complaint is that when the ear seals start to wear out they go fast, then you end up with little flakes of them all over your ears, face, neck, and shirt.

In my opinion they are very comfortable, and a great headset for the price if used in the right airplane.
 
TBH I don't understand why anyone uses less than a Zulu/ProX or one of the quality in-ear sets if that's your thing in this day and age.
 
I don't understand the hate. I bought a pair of 850s when I was hired at Pinnacle in March 2008. I spent nearly 4 years flying the 200 wearing them and now have used them in a Citation Mustang, Phenom 100, and Challenger 601. I've always been pretty happy with mine. The only problem that I've seen with them is what @Beep said above. The ear cups, when they go bad, flake away very quickly and those little black flakes are really hard to clean off everything.

Are they as quiet as the DCs? Nope. Are they plenty quiet for the airplanes that I've used them in? Yep. They are also light, don't go around or in my ears, and don't need batteries. Those are all good things in my book.

All that said, I probably wouldn't buy a set today. Technology has moved a long way since Telex put these out.
 
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