Shooting a gun, working on a factory floor and flying an airplane or even riding a motorcycle are all very different sound levels.
Yes, high impact 190db sounds like a gunshot or jack hammer should have double protection but I'm not exposed to 190db levels in my 170. The 170 is about 100 to 105 db so the 30 to 36db attenuation I get out of the buds is just fine.

I use a Zulu....It is very good. I fell for the PFX hype and ordered one. I ended up sending it back because it was actually much in my little 140A than the a non ANR Dave Clarke...

I didn't do the remapping of the software because for 1100 smackers I felt I shouldn't have to. I'm a fan of Lightspeed but they're going to have work out the bugs in that technology...maybe when the PFX 2 comes out.

I guess I'm in the minority, I still like my 18 year old DC 13.4's.
I'm old school but if I was to go ANR, I'd probably get one of those Headset's Inc kits for the DC's.
In hot weather headsets are uncomfortable & I think about getting a set of QT Halo in-the-ears.
But since we don't get that much hot weather around Puget Sound I've never followed through.

Unfortunately the advice of trying each model really is the best if possible. Like others on here, past lifestyle took its toll. The harshest was the time on the AF Marksmanship team. Back in those days they had either the rubber ear plugs or the huge ear muff types. Shooting a rifle with a correct cheekweld isn't conductive to proper wearing of the muff style. We used to wear both at one time but even that didn't stop the damage. My left ear in particular, the one that was exposed the most, has the most damage. For my pre-discharge screening crap, they told me I had severe tone deafness (?) in that ear, Duh!!! May as well talk to the wall, when in a crowded place or more than one person talking, I have a difficult time understanding what is being said. Back on topic....
I had read all the reviews, saved my money and headed to Oshkosh to buy the new Bose. Luckily I was able to try on every brand on display at the various manufacturers. Tested them each for fitment and sound quality , as much as I could anyway, and ended up buying the Lightspeed Twenty3G. They are no longer produced but I was very happy with them. They cost less than half the Bose! In the following years I have revisited most of the same headset makers again. I have upgraded...but still using Lightspeeds. Zulu and a Zulu2.

Bagarre wrote:Shooting a gun, working on a factory floor and flying an airplane or even riding a motorcycle are all very different sound levels.
Yes, high impact 190db sounds like a gunshot or jack hammer should have double protection but I'm not exposed to 190db levels in my 170. The 170 is about 100 to 105 db so the 30 to 36db attenuation I get out of the buds is just fine.

You're fooling yourself, but it's your hearing. 100 plus dB is plenty to cause long term hearing loss. And, again, we don't "hear" just via our ear drums.

But, it's your hearing. Me, I'll wear all the hearing protection I can find. And, I fly a 90 hp Cub....some quieter than that 170.

From a hearing aid wearer, who worked shifts in a very "quiet environment".

MTV

yes, 100db is sufficient to cause hearing damage.
That is why I wear ear buds that provide over 30db attenuation.

And your comment about the bone behind your ear (which is your skull, by the way) is pretty much BS.
State a reliable source that says you can get hearing damage like that.

Old school here with old david clarks. They are like having a ratchet strap or come along on your head with tin cans. Spent $3400 on Lightspeed Zulu 2's dual plug straight cords for the T210 or Centurion and never looked back. Sold the Centurion and Cessna 180H not a skywagon to early Don't plan on being in a airplane again or want one, but have a few like new Lightspeed Zulu 2's sitting in a case going to waste. Frank if you are interested in Zulu's and want a better deal pm me.

Headsets are a big purchase but protecting your hearing is important. Passive headsets can protect your hearing but get heavy. Therefore, what you are really paying for is comfort. I have had Zulu2s, Bose A10s, Bose A20s, and they all work. The biggest factor is fit.

My wife tried to wear the Zulus and they were way too big. Zulu sells a headpad spacer that takes up the extra space for people with smaller heads. The Bose A20s fit her perfectly.

I have had my Bose A10s for 11 years now and still use them, usually in the husky. So they will last a long time if you care for them.

Frank,

I have a Husky. My wife has new Bose A-20 and I have the Lightspeed Zulu's. The Bose are great for my wife and the Zulu's are great for me.

The Bose are horrible for me and the Lightspeeds are horrible for my wife, strange.

I guess it all boils down to your head/ear fit.

Buy from someone when will take em back if they don't work right.

Kurt

I will chime in as somebody who recently pulled the trigger on a set of Lightspeed Zulus after my fancy 10-year-old $115 Softcomm headset conked.

I really like the build quality and modular construction of the Lightspeed. When plunking down $900 on a headset, it comforting to know that worn out pads or damaged parts can be easily replaced. I baby my headset and always keep in in the included case when not in use. Nonetheless, the quality of construction gives me confidence that it could take abuse.

Though the headset feels solid, it is remarkably light and comfortable to wear. Noise cancelling wasn't quite the game changer that I was hoping it would be, but part of that could be due to the fact that I fly a J-3 that squeaks, rattles and bangs its way through the sky. Maybe that random cacophony is just a little harder for ANR to cope with? I have bayonet earpieces on my sunglasses, but still prefer to tilt the glasses on top of the ear cup of the headset as breaking the ear seal even that little bit really diminishes the noise canceling. I see a lot of other guys wearing thick sunglasses and hats under their Zulus, but in my experience they really need a tight seal to work properly.

I've flown them for perhaps 20 hours and am still on the original batteries, so I am happy with the battery life. Rarely hook up the bluetooth, but it works great. Music is very clear, and evidently phone calls placed from inside the flying machine are received with clarity on the ground.

Recently I finished my preflight only to realize that I'd forgotten the Zulus back home. So, out came by backup pair that stay in the airplane (another disadvantage for Lightspeed: I don't feel great about leaving my $900 headsets in the plane). On another occasion my wife was along so I--always a gentleman--gave her the Zulus and I wore the backup set. In these instances my ears didn't ache for the Zulus. Granted, my flights in the Cub tend to be short so long-wearing comfort is less of an issue. For my purposes, I think that a set of DC's with the balance spent on gas would have been the better way to go...but I am enjoying the Zulus. (Just don't tell my wife how much they cost...)

mountainwagon wrote:.... Don't plan on being in a airplane again or want one.....

You getting out of the flying game?

Never thought of it as a game, but if it is I won!

Lightspeed Zulu and Zulu2 owner; I love em. Their headquarters is a mile from my house so if I had to have a warranty repair made it would be easy but they've never skipped a beat. My old 20-3Gs had a battery box/cord issue and they fixed them fast and for free.

The trade-up program makes them a lot more affordable. I traded in some older helicopter ANR headset that had been abandoned in my dad's hangar that didn't even work to get the discount.

Edit: looks like they only pay $100 for other brand ANR now. When I bought it was like $250 or something.

I still use my DC 10-13.4, which I bought right after DC came out with them way back when (early 80s, I think), which I converted a few years ago with a Headsets Inc. ANR conversion. So far I haven't had a desire to replace them.

I also have a second (not converted) DC -13.4 for the right seat passenger and my original 1978 DC -40 (predecessor to the current -30), plus a couple of el cheapo Softcomms for the 4th seat (an adult size and a child size, depending on who's there).

Here's my suggestion for those who are bothered by either clamping pressure or sealing with glasses on--get Oregon Aero SoftSeal comfort seals. They make a huge difference--they mold better to the head shape, and they seal better around glasses bows. They don't reduce the clamping, but they make it much more comfortable. The difference for me is that a 3 hour flight without the comfort items is about all I could handle with any of the DCs, but 8 hours is acceptable with the OA comfort seals. I think the OA comfort seals are better than any of the manufacturer's gel seals, but that's just my opinion.

If you're sticking with passive, then also get the OA Hushkit--it improves any passive headset significantly. I have the Hushkits on both of my passive DCs, and their SoftSeal comfort seals on all of my DCs. I haven't bothered to put them on the Softcomms because they're used so seldom.

Cary

+1 on the Oregon Aero upgrades on the DC headsets. I have both Zulus and OA upgraded DC's and my wife strongly prefers the DCs.
I'm curious to try the active noise cancelling upgrade. Seems like that would be the best of both worlds.

Oregon180 wrote: +1 on the Oregon Aero upgrades on the DC headsets. ....

Me too. Good stuff.

Oregon180 wrote:+1 on the Oregon Aero upgrades on the DC headsets. I have both Zulus and OA upgraded DC's and my wife strongly prefers the DCs.
I'm curious to try the active noise cancelling upgrade. Seems like that would be the best of both worlds.

If you already like your passive headsets and they're in reasonably good shape, it's sure the least expensive way of getting good ANR. The kit replaces the speakers with modules that contain both the speakers (higher quality than DC's speakers) and the mics that ANR requires plus the circuit boards. The conversion took me a little more than an hour, only because I'm pretty meticulous (and poky). I happen not to have stereo in my airplane, but it can be wired either mono or stereo. Still, music sounds good and speech (like from ATC) is very clear. My only beef is that it uses a 9v battery, so that if I hadn't opted for the auto-shut-off battery box, I'd have spent a fortune in batteries by now. After several years of using the converted headset, I'm still very pleased.

Cary

I'm no expert on hearing loss, but I had an interesting event when I was 34. I normally shoot with very well fitting rubber ear plugs. I went out and shot fifty rounds of handgun, and two days later I took a hearing test for employment, and failed.

The doctor learned I'd been shooting two days prior and instructed me to wear over-the-ear hearing protection all waking hours for five days (and no shooting) and come back to re-test. When I retested I passed.

Never knew my hearing was damaged from the shooting but it was. The earplugs which gave me 100% comfort from shooting noise were not giving me anything close to 100% protection.

Sorry to revitalize an old thread, and a thread about headsets but I was wondering if anyone has experience using the following:

- David Clark with ANR Upgrade Kit
- In a 2 Blade 985 Engine [Beaver] - or similar engine/prop


I am finding that this 2 Blade is outmatching the ANR on a few of my existing headsets, I'm wondering if the DC's + ANR can keep up to this specific chorus of Radial power

I have found that my David Clark One-X and the Bose headsets don't handle DHC-2 takeoff at all. Lightspeeds seem to do quite a bit better, so that is what we use at work. I prefer the DC headset for everything else because of the lower clamping pressure in the One-X, but I haven't tried a DC with retrofit ANR.