Since you're required to have TSO'd headsets for use in 121 flying, you're limited pretty much to Bose and DC, and some few Telex models. I haven't flown with an A20 Bose (I've flown with the previous model), but I've been flying in my noisy P172D for about 1 1/2 years with a DC One-X, and it's great. It has excellent ANR, Bluetooths to my iPad Mini 4 or my phone (not both at the same time), and on my head is very comfortable. The longest flight with it so far was 6 hours of flight time (2 legs). DC says that the batteries last 50 hours; when I listen to music, it's a little less. It's built with the customary DC quality. The One-X is about $300 less than the A20, the last time I checked.

Cary

Cary wrote:Since you're required to have TSO'd headsets for use in 121 flying, you're limited pretty much to Bose and DC, and some few Telex models. I haven't flown with an A20 Bose (I've flown with the previous model), but I've been flying in my noisy P172D for about 1 1/2 years with a DC One-X, and it's great. It has excellent ANR, Bluetooths to my iPad Mini 4 or my phone (not both at the same time), and on my head is very comfortable. The longest flight with it so far was 6 hours of flight time (2 legs). DC says that the batteries last 50 hours; when I listen to music, it's a little less. It's built with the customary DC quality. The One-X is about $300 less than the A20, the last time I checked.

Cary

Thanks for the heads up! I think I'm pretty well sold on the A20's, but I'm gonna see if I can find a pair of the new DC's to try at least before pulling the trigger. Thanks again everyone.

Rob

Not sure why I feel compelled to make an update here, but for anyone on the fence like I was, I ended up purchasing the A20's and I absolutely love them. I've been using them for just under a year and zero complaints so far, other than the plastic parts feel flimsy when it's cold, but I haven't experienced any problem with it. I purchased last spring during their biannual promo with the free bluetooth speaker, definitely the way to go. Thanks again to everyone for the input!

I had my wife try on the A20, Zulu 3, and the One-X. She wanted the DC because it was the most comfortable. Over the past year, I find myself using her headset every time I fly without her. I will be buying another. But really, all three of these are great products. The reason she preferred it was the re was less clamping pressure, and she usually gets a pressure headache from the others, specifically where they push on the top of her jaw. I also find less clamp pressure in the DC. Which is ironic given the historic joke about DC standing for David Clamp.

I just bought a CQ1 from Card Machine Works. It’s an in-ear, and I’m pretty happy with it.

My Bose X are getting tired and need seal overhauls, and my wife needed something as well. My Bose X is going to her for a couple of flights as we get her back into regular flying, then she wants to try the CQ1. We might buy a second one after that.

I put new ear seals from Oregon Aero on my Bose A20s about a year ago now and I would recommend them. Fits over my ears better and seals tighter than the originals. Money well spent IMO

I have a skinny head, love my A20s.

Have Zulu 2 for passenger (stumbled on a good deal). I find they don’t seal well for me.

Figure out what FITS best.

CamTom12 wrote:I just bought a CQ1 from Card Machine Works. It’s an in-ear, and I’m pretty happy with it. .

First I have heard of them! Might be great for the winter when a person gets all bundled up and has a bomber hat on!!

WWhunter wrote:

CamTom12 wrote:I just bought a CQ1 from Card Machine Works. It’s an in-ear, and I’m pretty happy with it. .

First I have heard of them! Might be great for the winter when a person gets all bundled up and has a bomber hat on!!

I’m pretty happy with mine. They’ve got a 30 day return policy too, so you can try it out at no risk.

CamTom12 wrote:I just bought a CQ1 from Card Machine Works. It’s an in-ear, and I’m pretty happy with it.

My Bose X are getting tired and need seal overhauls, and my wife needed something as well. My Bose X is going to her for a couple of flights as we get her back into regular flying, then she wants to try the CQ1. We might buy a second one after that.

Just a heads up, Bose announced that they're no longer supporting the X headset, and are currently offering $300 towards the newer A20 if I remember correctly. Definitely a good good time to trade in...

CamTom12 wrote:I just bought a CQ1 from Card Machine Works. It’s an in-ear, and I’m pretty happy with it.

Those appear to be a clone of the Halo headset from Quiet Technologies. The QT version has an adjustable headband, so it will fit pretty much anyone – including my big noggin! The Halos have an incredible reputation, and QT stands behind them very well. The price is also significantly lower than the CQ1s.

I own two noise-cancelling headsets, and they've been sitting on the shelf since my very first flight with the Halos. They are so comfortable I forget I'm wearing them! But some people can't stand wearing the yellow foam earplugs, so the Halo would NOT be good for them. For the rest of us, however, I cannot recommend them more highly – especially at $379 for the "standard" set, or $599 for the "Blue Halo" version that comes bundled with the BlueLink adapter for ($250 separately). Blue Halo is a good deal if you need the Bluetooth connectivity.

The one challenge with Halos is that they are so popular that QT is often out of stock, and they will NOT do back-orders for fear of disappointing their customers. It's a small company, and they just don't have the facilities to produce in high volume. They tried several 3rd party manufacturers, and were disappointed in the rejection rate from their internal QC. So back to small-volume manufacturing. Just keep checking the web site, and you'll eventually be able to place your order. Or go to their booth on the first day of Sun-N-Fun or Oshkosh. (They often sell out within a day or so, so plan ahead!)

Since we're updating, after another year of using my DC One-X headset, I'm still 100% satisfied with it. It's very comfortable, has excellent ANR, its Bluetooth works perfectly, and it's DC sturdy. I guess the biggest kudo I can give it is that if mine were stolen, I'd get another one.

Cary

If you have big ears (and yes, I do) stay away from Bose over ear headsets. I wore a set in a borrowed plane for an hour, and simply couldn’t stand to wear them any longer. The ear cups are small compared to other brands. I have no idea why they chose this ear cup design......none of the other manufacturers use a similar cup.

FYI.

MTV

I like the price point of the QT headsets and the fact I could wear a larger selection helmets with them. Unfortunately I can’t stand having stuff in my ears and I must have small ear canals because I struggle getting foam earplugs in properly.

I’m probably going to end up with a Lightspeed Sierra headset and whatever inexpensive helmet I can find that fits with them. I don’t see myself wearing a helmet very often but would like one for certain occasions.

I wear Zulu3s in my personal plane and in my 121 job.

I've never had a fed question them. Their concern was always the Bose QC adapter headsets.

I absolutely hate flying with pilots that wear A20s. So much white noise \ static. Terrible mics on those things.

The headset preference is such a personal issue. I personally love the Bose A20. Guess I have small ears and I can't stand the lightspeed Zulus, but I know people who feel the exact opposite. I have had a Bose X headset for years before I bought the A20. I now use it for my copilot. I have not had a single issue with either one other than needing to replace the ear cups every 4-5 years. You can find them for sale on craigslist every now and then for 500-600 dollars. I have a friend who has has gotten 2 sets that way. He actually was able to get them for around $450. They were both in perfect condition and were hardly used. Lastly, I would get the 6 pin panel mounted power supply. You will save yourself some batteries and it is super convenient. Bottom line - get the headset that feels the most comfortable. I think the sound quality is about equal with all of them.

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/hea ... _acc_black

ZPilot wrote:I wear Zulu3s in my personal plane and in my 121 job.

I've never had a fed question them. Their concern was always the Bose QC adapter headsets.

I absolutely hate flying with pilots that wear A20s. So much white noise \ static. Terrible mics on those things.

I flew with many copilots with A20's and never noticed any bad mics or white noise on their headsets or mine.

whee wrote:I like the price point of the QT headsets and the fact I could wear a larger selection helmets with them. Unfortunately I can’t stand having stuff in my ears and I must have small ear canals because I struggle getting foam earplugs in properly.

I’m probably going to end up with a Lightspeed Sierra headset and whatever inexpensive helmet I can find that fits with them. I don’t see myself wearing a helmet very often but would like one for certain occasions.

I was the same way with ear plugs until I tried the Comply ear plug tips on my Shure ear buds.
They have different sizes. The large ones hurt after 15 minutes but I could leave the mediums in for 8 hours and forget I had them in.

The Comply tips fit the in ear headsets too.

FWIW the noise isolation on the Shure SE-215 earbuds rival the Halos I had for $99. You need to use a hand mic tho.

whee wrote:I don’t see myself wearing a helmet very often but would like one for certain occasions.

Must be nice to have the ability to plan ahead on whether you need the helmet or not.

IncipientSpin wrote:After doing some reading on Reddit, I'm seeing the same trend; DC's don't provide quite enough ANR for louder GA ops. I do quite a bit of flying in an older 172, so I'm leaning towards the A20's. Price is high, but I haven't found anyone that owns them that wishes they didn't.

Which DC's? The Pro X is not made for pistons - just turbines and they do great. The One X is made for pistons and a buddy who switched from A20's to the One X says the DC is a lot better than the A20. DC has better product support, is made in America, and has the same trial period that Bose has.

I've only flown with one guy who flew the jet with One X and he liked them.