headset time...advice?

[wingnutt]

ok, after many moons of flying its time for a new headset. this $59.00 pair has went and lost sound in the left ear, the padding is all but gone, and the mic will not stay in position in turbulence over Level 2, and if ever there were a time you wanted your mic to stay in place, its in the middle of an embedded Level 3-4

i thought i wanted a pair of the ~$250 yellow passive denalis ($500 for the actives is too rich for my freight-hauling blood) until i laid my hands on a pair, they just felt cheap

id also like the ability to plug in tunes in some form or another as the other "unauthorized" way is kinda problematic (see reference to Level 3-4 thunderstorms above). obviously, id like a voice interrupt so i dont miss ATC's call ("hows is your ride now?")

any suggestions on which to take a closer look at?

 

[jetdriven]

BOSE. I've had mine for over a year and 1100 hours now and I wouldt use anything else.

second choice would be the Lightspeed QFR Cross country. it is almost as quiet but not as comfortable.

 

[SWAlifter]

I've heard great things about the Bose headsets, but aren't they around $1000?

 

[Flying Illini]

The cheapest I have seen the Bose is $995. Which is why when I was in the market for a new headset I looked to the trusty DC's. I had a pair of 10-30s when I started flying and they went through all the rigors a new pilot can put them through and more. When I started flight instructing and being in the airplane for 5 or more hours a day I decided I needed better. I tried the Bose and absolutely loved them but decided on something less out of my price range I bought DC's 10-13X. They weigh around 17 ounces but the ENC on them is awesome. I've had them for just over a month now and couldn't be happier. They also stand behind their product a little better than Bose does. I was surprised to learn that Bose only has a 2 year warranty on a $1000 headset. If you can afford the Bose, go that route, but if you are like most of us, DC is a fairly affordable solution. I bought mine of of www.marvgolden.com and got a pretty good price.

 

[airgator]

denali

I've had my passive denali's for 3 years and I love them. They are extremely light and comfortable. They really aren't cheap, I absolutely abuse them and they work perfect.

 

[corky]

I flew about 1500hrs with Davie Clark 10-30s. The mic finally died and the ear cups leaked. I took advantage of Bose's 12 month NO INTEREST payment plan and I absolutely love them. The price is worth it and besides, I wrote them off on my tax return. I fly 6 to 7 hours a day in Beech 18s. At the end of the day I no longer have headaches and I'm not nearly as worn out. So I think the expense is worth it. the only problem is I only get about 4 days flying per battery.

 

[wingnutt]

lol...ok, perhaps y'all didnt see the part where im balking at the thought of spending 500 clams. where in the world would i come up with twice that amount...have y'all not seen the "payscale" for a freight dog lately

batteries is yet another reason for me not to get into the passive game. tryin to keep it simple(er).

anywhoo, ill look into the DC lineup.

what about the tunes issue? any of you guys plug your MP3/CD player into yourheadsets, or is that not possible?

 

[Rick1128]

Wing, yes we know what a doggie is making these days. But we are also trying to steer you right. In a few years when you're sweating the hearing test on your medical, you don't want to be thinking, "Oh I should have gotten an ANR headset". Bose is nice but I have had my Telex ANR for 14 years now. And they're still going strong. I use to fly Metros and after a long day with a set of DC's even with super ear muffs, it still hurt. The ANRs made a world of difference. Over the long run a good set is cheaper than a cheap set.

As for price, I went through Trade-A-Plane and did a little dicering. Sometimes getting two or more to buy together, you can get the price a little lower.

Good luck.

 

[Beantown]

I flew about 1500hrs with Davie Clark 10-30s. The mic finally died and the ear cups leaked. .

You should have sent them to the factory to have them fixed. I have had mine for over 4 years (and over 2000 hrs.) and the mic finally went. I put it into a box and sent it off to the factory to see what would happen. A couple days later I got an email saying that they had received them and were working on them. A week after that I got a phone call saying that they had replaced the broke mic AND the ear seals, the head pad and the volume controls. All at no charge. Two days later I got my "almost new" head set via FedEx. Soon after I got an email asking how it was working. I can honestly say that my experience with David Clark has been better then with any other company I have EVER dealt with. There headsets are build for CFI's (that's to be abused) and there customer service is second to none, period. When I returned there last email saying that everything was working great and wondering if they had any plans to enter the light headset (jet) market in the future (they are working on it as we speak) I got an email from the CEO thanking me! That just blew me away. I have always liked my DC's but now I will never use anyone else. It's amazing the kind of loyalty you can build with a quality product, a good price and people who make you feel like you matter. (maybe some of our airlines should take notice!) -Bean

 

[Flyer7SA]

DCs

I've tried a lot of different pair of headsets. The most comfortable option I've found is the David Clark 13.4s. Get the gel ear seals and then cover them with the ear cover material. Those will be the most comfortable, reliable headsets you can think of. Granted putting something over the gel earseals takes away some of the noise reduction, but not enough to be noticable in my opinion. They will set you back about 260-270, but quite worth it. I've had mine now for three years and they've only gotten more comfortable with time - and no batteries to change out.

Flyer7sa