Hiya Smacktard,
Back in the day, Sony made 2 aviation headsets...one was the 6010, and the other was the 6020. The 6010, I didn't personally like because the ear parts were those small plastic things 90 degrees to your head, like some sports headphones, that stuck in your ears.
But the 6020 was Telex style with conventional ear pads. All the wiring was internal, no annoying miniature screws to loosen, and it had an excellent "flex" boom mike. It was slightly heavier than a telex, but the build quality was far, far superior.
Problem is Sony no longer makes them, and if you have one, there is no US service for them. BUT, some places still have them like Marv Golden or Hart Aviation. Be sure to order extra ear pads if you do (if they are even available).
The biggest weakness of the 6020 was the quality of the cord. Mine crapped out after about 4 years (and some 3000 hours of flying). I was able to get mine replaced at the Sony US service center, but that place no longer does any servicing of Sony componenets (or anything else for that matter). But it's a standard headset cord, so any avionics house should be able to replace it. I understand later models had an improved cord, and some guys who had them bought plastic cable wrap from Radio Shack to protect them (it worked really well, but makes the cable pretty bulky).
The other weak spot was the earpad covers. They are odd sized, and are worth only about 2 years of heavy use before they start to fray and come apart. Be sure to get some extras if you can find them.
By and large, though, I found the Sony to be far superior to the Telex in both fit and function.
Nu
