Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Noise-cancelling headphones-best

I think I will purchase a Noise cancelling headphone for my personal use.

If the $$$ is not a big issue, which would you recommend.

Bruce

Bose A20 all day long. I had a Bose aviation X (older Bose headset) that worked great, but I got the A20 last December since it can do Bluetooth to my phone, ipad, and gamin aera 660. I kept the old Bose headset for the copilot seat. I think there is a promotion where you get a free Bose Bluetooth speaker right now. I'm not sure when that deal goes away though.

I have Lightspeed Zulu and Zulu 2 (now upgraded to Zulu 3). I really like the Lightspeeds and the one time I needed service they were great to deal with.

However, different headsets fit differently on different heads. Thus, the best ones for me might not be the most comfortable for you. If you can, try them all out. It seems the leading contenders right now are Bose A20, Lightspeed Zulu 3 or PFX, and David Clark One X.

Some may argue you should get an in-ear headset, like a Clarity Aloft or Halo. They truly block out unwanted noise, instead of masking it. I can’t stand to stick things in my ears, not even ear buds. Thus, they are not a candidate for me. Others swear by them, though. Very light and don’t mess your hair!

I have a Telex Echelon 25XT with 25 db passive noise reduction. I love this headset for it's comfort, its reliability and it's noise reduction. A benefit to this design is the comfort gained from the thick, soft ear cup pads. Even though the fit might be snug, the foam and covering is so thick and soft that they do not get uncomfortable for me on 2 hour flights in the Kansas heat.

When I decide to finally buy an ANR headset (if the 25 XT ever wears out, I guess), I'll strongly consider the Telex Stratus 30XT or the Telex Stratus 50. Both use a combination of active and passive noise reduction. Also, in the unlikely event that the battery runs out, you'd still have 29 db passive noise reduction. Not bad!
Geoff

Thanks for your reports on the ANR headphones Both Bose and Telex seem to be the best in the business and I'll make up my mind soon.
I tried a Bose ANR this morning and really like the noise reduction it gave. "The absence of so much noise kind of make it "spooky" to me.

thx again

Bruce

I love my Bose A20. I have contracted Bose service with a question and got a very quick and helpful response. I have a Bose headset for my ham radio station and had them repaired once. Great service. I like having my passenger wear them and clicking on the ANR after I start the engine. Their face is like "Wow what just happened?" From talking to other club members I think, as long as you stick with one of the quality brands, it comes down to personal preference.

I also hate sticking things in my ears. Ear buds are not for me. But that is just my personal preference.

All ANR headsets use a combination of active and passive noise reduction. For technical reasons, it's just about impossible to reduce high pitched noise with active reduction, so all ANR headsets actively attenuate only low pitched noise and depend on foam or other stuffing in the headset, just like non-ANR headsets do, to reduce the high pitched noise. This is of course still effective if the ANR fails for any reason.

Roy

If money is no object, it seems Bose is the way to go according to most pilots that have used them.

If money were a factor however, and you just wanted to get ANR for the best price, I would recommend the PilotUSA PA1779-T. It was the first headset I ever bought, used from eBay, on recommendation from my ENT doc who also flies. According to him, from strictly an ANR standpoint, they're just as good if not better than Bose, and they're what he flies with. Being a doc, money is no object for him, but he insisted there was no reason to pay $1,000 for an ANR headset. However, after using them for about a year, I can say the PilotUSA definitely not the most comfortable you'll find, and not the easiest to maintain. The ANR may be great, but the rest of the headset falls into the category of "you get what you pay for," so I'm a little in disagreement with doc on that point.

I bought a used Lightspeed Zulu, first gen, off this forum for not much more than I bought the 1779 for. I couldn't be happier with the fit and also with the ANR. Plus replacing the foam ear pads is a snap, literally. The old ones just snap off, and you can snap the replacements right in. The 1779 has adhesive-backed gel ear pads that can be replaced.

The plane I trained in had a choice of Bose or David Clark passive, both of which were fine, but I personally didn't like the way the Bose fit, so I mostly wore the David Clarks until I got my own. Not sure about all brands, but some of the newer in-ear sets appear to be marketed toward quieter environments like corporate jets and such. I have a hard time thinking they'd provide as much passive protection as an ear cup that covers the entire ear, but I've been wrong a time or two in my life, so take that for what it's worth

I agree with Henry, if you have a chance, try several different brands and see what you prefer.

Brian, I get it, but, I sure would like to get rid of that stereotype, which is not correct and wrongly held by even the doctors themselves. It pushes them to waste money, trying to live up to a lifestyle they think they should have because they are a doctor. I agree with your otolaryngologist friend, there is no reason to waste money. Some doctors I know who could be pretty rich if they'd save, are not savers and therefore live this kind of high-end paycheck to paycheck existence. Some are in so much debt, any kind of wealth accumulation forever escapes them.
No big deal, though.

Yep, I guess I should have guessed that. Thanks Roy!
Geoff

I'm partial to the Bose too. Melissa and I tried them at Oshkosh and we both liked the feel. We got the blue tooth version and now she can rock and I can twang to our own music. And if she ever gets another iPod with nothing but Monkees music from Colonel Buchner again I won't have to listen to it. We went with the A20s. I changed over to the LEMO jacks and they are now plugged into ship's power too.