Headsets

Okay, I know this is a loaded question and preferences are personal opinion, but....I sold my Pilot ANR headsets with my last airplane and now I'm getting ever closer to flight in my RV-9 and I've started looking at ANR head sets.
The Pilots' I had were nice but I didn't like the way the cord stuck out of the side of the head set, it always rubbed on the side glass. David Clarks are nice, but expensive, although I believe their passive noise reduction would probably be quite good (can?t find any spec's on them). Light Speed seems to be popular but their passive noise reduction is not rated very high and I have heard of some plastic breakage problems. I see Spruce has the Light Speed QFR solo/c for $155. with 12/22 passive & 22/24 active noise reduction. Bose is nice but I could buy a nice used car for the price of two.
I would be willing to pay $500 or even $600 but at that price I'd like a little input.
I would be interested in any opinions and experiences out there good or bad.

Thanks

Roger

I have two sets of David Clarks sitting in a drawer in my hangar. I have two Bose X's in my RV-7A. Most comfy head set I ever wore. I have the panel mount ones so they only have 1 thin cord and no batteries to replace. The DC's always made me feel like my head was in a vice, yet they constantly slid around my head. The Bose stay put and feel great. I flew for 7 hrs one day and still felt fine. Spend the money. Your head and ears are worth it.

JMHO
Roberta

I agree that the David Clark headsets are a poor choice. I haven't used the Bose but they may be really good. Having used lots of different headsets over the past thirty years I have settled on the AuriComm. My wife and I have both used them for about a year and would never buy another conventional headset. At $365.00 they are well worth the money. Their web site is www.quiettechnologies.com

I have the Lightspeed QFR Solo (no ANR) I find them quieter than the ANR's I have tried, and I can wear them all day long and not even know thay are on. I replaced the stock ear pads with gel ones right away. They have very good sound quality, cheap, durable, and no batteries to worry about. Having said that, Bose will be my next choice, as I fly 300 hours / year and I want the best to protect my hearing. Too many rock concerts.
http://www.avionicswest.com/lightspeed.html#Solo

I have two of the Lightspeed QFR XCc solo, or whatever they're called. The ones with ANR. After 8 1/2 hr flight, definitely ready to get out of the airplane and not wear headsets, but had no headache or vice-grip feeling. I've tried Bose X and liked them better, but can't afford them.

I understand that there will be a new CORDLESS headset introduced at SnF. Don't have the company name handy, but u will probably be able to find it. I plan to check them out.
Doug Preston
RV7 N731RV

I have a flightcom classic ANR and love it. Its a lot better than my DC. I'd love to put panel mount Bose headsets in my 9a though.
Jeff

R.p.ping

OKAY...Bose it is. I bit the bullet and just got off the phone with Spruce. I ordered two Bose headsets, ouch, $939. ea. free shipping.
Several other web sites are saying that as of April 1 the price will be $995. as mandated by Bose so I feel a little better.
Thanks to everyone that responded. I had no intention of spending the amount of money that I did, but from every one I talked with and as you can see from the response on this tread the Bose were THE headset. I'm into this thing for about 60Gs so what's another grand over budget anyway?

Roger

RV-9 90869

I hadn't chimed in because I don't have the experience (and they seemed to be more than you wanted to spend), but I use DCs at work and have Bose for my personal flying, and I can promise you will not regret the money/cost. The Bose so far surpass anything else I've used, you'll be glad you spent the extra money.

Bose headsets rule...

I agree with the opinions on the Bose X headsets. I bit the bullet and bought a couple for my RV-6. I haven't regretted it a bit. When wearing other types of headsets, you learn to endure the pain after a while. With the Bose, you realize that you never really get the point of being in any pain. The ANR qualities are so good that I elected to reduce the amount of sound deadening materials used in my RV, thereby saving weight.
They also have very good acoustics for the audiophiles....
Enjoy!

Joe Blank
RV-6
N6810B

I have a set of Bose X headset and I consider them the best headset available. However, I have replaced them with Clarity Aloft "in-the-ear" sets. I think they are quieter than the Bose and are more comfortable. I highly recommend that you give them a try.

Ben Beaird
-6A
Plymouth, WI

Call me a traditionalist, but I like the dome earcup headsets. I owned a DC for 20 years and it served me well. However, like most I got squeezed and after an hour or so it was uncomfortable. I now own a DRE-6000 ANR with the Oregon Aero upgrade and I really like it. It comes with a cigarette lighter power adapter and it sells for $300. It is a US company and built here, not China, and is QUALITY!
$1000 for a Bose would be more painful to me than wearing a David Clark!

RH

Sennheiser Headsets

I read in different forums about the DCs, Lightspeeds and other headsets but nobody ever said anything about the Sennheisers!! I've used several audio headsets over the years (I currently own a PXC250 in-flight entertainment ANR headset), and I love them. The sound quality is excellent, they are confortable, and cheap for the quality that you get. As anyone ever used one of their headsets???

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_aviation

thanks