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I was at an outlet mall over the weekend that had a Bose store. I chatted with the sales guy and asked him to demo me the headset. He took me to a sound system that had a couple of different planes/motors playing and I turned the ANR on & off, on & off.

Of course the sounds are provided by and for Bose and are no doubt optimized for their headsets, but even so, I was pretty amazed at the comfort & noise cancelling of the unit.

Back home, I decided to check out Bose.com. They have an option to purchase where they will bill your CC in separate payments so you can spread out the pain over a longer period. As I looked over the site, I found a note that said they wouldn't be shipping any product from June 27 through July 4th, right during my trip I have planned.

So I called my local Bose store and asked if they had them and if they would honor the web site spread payments. Actually, the rep told me, we will spread them out over 16 months instead of ten, no interest.

Long story short, I'm going to be flying my xcountry with a Bose headset this weekend. An 1100 mile journey should be plenty of time for me to decide whether I like them well enough. If not, they have a 30 day return policy that I won't hesitate to avail myself of.

So if you're looking for a painless way to make the plunge, check out the retail store, they have a better deal than the mfg. I pick them up at 10 and will be flying w/ them at 11. Can't wait to try them and will report back to the group.

Greg,

The Bose are what we use in the King Air. Sitting right between the PT-6s and the 4 bladed props would be enough to kill anyone's hearing, but the Boses are the cat's meow.

On ours, we use the battery pack version, versus the plug in power model. They're nice, and I've even been able to "borrow" my work headset on a trip in the 150/150. Very nice. A cool grand is a lot of money, though. Divvied up into bite sized pieces helps a bunch. May go that route. Hope you enjoy them.

Greg,

You won't be disappointed.

I have the Bose hard wired in both the split tail and Sierra and have been very pleased.


Jim

LOL,
I was on the USAF test team that developed the ANR technology for USAF Special Operations. I even have an original EMI protected headset that only weights about 3 lbs, and requires 3 9vdc batteries, and last almost 4 hours..... LOL It was a GREAT program I learned ALOT about our hearing and what can be done to protect yours. (too late for mine) I will be more than hapy to chat at CWI if you have questions. There are NUMEROUS systems on the market, and you really need to understand what noise you are trying to block/cover/reduce. Not all sets are designed with recip engines in mind. Price should not be the only factor.

Greg, I bought mine in December, '06 from the web site (not only 12 month deal but they were throwing in a stereo headset as well). Anyway I think you will find they are the best headset you've ever tried. Whether its worth the money is more of an individual thing but I didn't give one thought to returning them during the trial period. They are well worth it IMHO.

I really like mine ....

Terry

The Bose, in my opinion, is worth the money. Once you try it in your plane, you'll want one. It is the only ANR that I ever tried, though. I bought one shortly afterwards. My first instructor sold his David Clark ANRs and bought the Bose. Their microphone is better, too. I could hear him more clearly in the plane after he made the switch.

I purchased two sets one for me and one for the wife.

Two things that I had to deal with:

First not all intercoms are compatible so make SURE that what ever you use is.

Second don’t put them on backwards. Yes this sounds silly but I had an annoying POP intermently in both of my headsets (the serial #'s are 1 digit apart) and I even had the Bose reps at Sun and Fun examine my head sets. The cause could not be determined. Finally in desperation I called the factory and got a tech on the phone who pulled up my records. He asked if I could have had them on backward (Left ear cup on the right ear and visa versa). Naturally I could not have been that stupid.

WRONG

The headsets are so comfortable by comparison that the wife and I had on occasion swapped sets without realizing it and the mike will swing into the appropriate position. Bose allows the cords to be mounted to either earcup and you should take advantage of that. In my case the intercom is center stack mounted and NOW both headsets cords are in the center of the plane when worn rather than running across my chest, which I never noticed.

The Bose people offered to swap the cords which I declined (I can use a screwdriver) but they did send at no charge 2 sets of new leather earcups and the associated stuff. I was told that the earcups have a slight angle to them and MUST be worn over the correct ear and if not the leather earcups will take a set. The ear cup seal to the head is critical to the ANR operation.

I can not say enough about the people at Bose they were great. Now I just need to learn my left from my right.

PS: Incase you can not tell I think the head sets are the best I have used. When not worn backwards.

I've had mine for about 3 years now. I even upgraded the controls last year...very nice indeed. I've owned about every type of headset around and love the Bose.

It's kind of funny but when I received my Private in 1967, i flew 150s and never used a headset...just the old mike and speakers....no wonder my hearing sucks...

Oh wow I didn't realize all you guys & gals were using them. I took them for a test flight today and I can only say the difference between the low frequency rumble of the engine versus the quieter, filtered noise with ANR on just blew me away.

They were very comfortable and I'm looking forward to trying them on the long xcountry. Thanks Mr. Shubert for the heads up on wearing them backwards. I just assumed the mic was on the left ear but I'd better go check.

The guys in the store treated me like royalty and a five year warranty is nice too.