ANR headsets are pretty cheap. It's only when you throw the word "aviation" into the mix that the prices become astronomical. The truth is that products are set at a price the market will bear, and most pilots are willing to overpay. However, some of them are cheap bastards and take a different approach and just build their own ANR headset.

Some people buy the "aviation" ANR kit and spend one to two hundred and then solder them into a passive set.

Some people buy a cheap ANR headset or earbuds
(like this one) http://www.amazon.com/Philips-110-Folding-Noise-Canceling-Headphones/dp/B00085ESA0 and then graft a microphone onto it from an old aviation headset. Or, you can use any old microphone if you supply a circuit to match the impedance. Search for DIY ANR AVIATION HEADSET to find various examples.

Some people build their own. The theory is pretty straightforward, and the heart of the ciruit is just a few operational amplifiers that cancel the noise by amplifying an inverted signal.
http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/noise_prj.htm

Zane wrote:Go take a flight with a Lightspeed Zulu and you'll realize you need to put that big brain to use on other problems. Anyone who's flown with one would never have posted this. But that's ok.

Zane - apparently you didn't read the posts by Oregon 180 and SkyTruck, and yes, I've used ANR headsets before. I wasn't impressed - the comfort benefit is mild at best. Maybe you haven't used a good quality passive headset yourself?

Oh, and thanks for the snark too ...

nmflyguy wrote:Zane - apparently you didn't read the posts by Oregon 180 and SkyTruck, and yes, I've used ANR headsets before. I wasn't impressed - the comfort benefit is mild at best. Maybe you haven't used a good quality passive headset yourself?

Oh, and thanks for the snark too ...

Why would I need to? I've owned Lightspeeds for the last 8 years. There is no such thing as a good passive headset, they require clamping pressure to seal out nose the old fashioned way. They suck.

My first headset was a pair of earplugs, doesn't mean I long for them. I'm not sure why anyone would put much thought into this. $600 is nothing for a quiet, non-squeezy experience. If you need to rationalize further, a brilliantly quiet headset makes hearing other people's shitty radios easier, which can be a safety issue.

If anyone deserves snark it's you, happy to provide.

Zane wrote:

nmflyguy wrote:
My first headset was a pair of earplugs.

My first headset was a nothing ... learned to fly in the 70s, where we were subjected to that 100-db drone and had to turn the radio speaker way up just to hear the tower. I was too poor to afford many hours in the cockpit back then, so that probably saved my hearing from what it would otherwise be, as that kind of sound pressure will definitely damage hearing. So maybe my standard for what is acceptable noise is a little different than yours. If it doesn't damage my hearing (which is what my unscientific study from the opening post showed), and my headset doesn't give a headache after a typical 2-3-hour flight, then I'm OK ... I'm easy to please, apparently.

nmflyguy wrote:

Zane wrote:

nmflyguy wrote:
My first headset was a pair of earplugs.

My first headset was a nothing ... learned to fly in the 70s, where we were subjected to that 100-db drone and had to turn the radio speaker way up just to hear the tower. I was too poor to afford many hours in the cockpit back then, so that probably saved my hearing from what it would otherwise be, as that kind of sound pressure will definitely damage hearing. So maybe my standard for what is acceptable noise is a little different than yours. If it doesn't damage my hearing (which is what my unscientific study from the opening post showed), and my headset doesn't give a headache after a typical 2-3-hour flight, then I'm OK ... I'm easy to please, apparently.

Cool, so you're happy with what you have, you just can't figure out why us rich guys are so foolish.

I drive a motorcycle to work everyday because.. At 55 mpg in a vehicle that cost only 2000 I can spend more on Flying.
I do not have an I-phone or a cool car.
I do have a Bose headset and really like it. Its not night and day better than the last one, but I feel better after a long flight
and better understand weak radio calls I may have missed before.

Priorities are different for everyone

sorry ... the quote formatting won't let us embed three levels of quotes, so have to improvise a little below.

Zane wrote:
My first headset was a pair of earplugs.

My first headset was a nothing ... learned to fly in the 70s, where we were subjected to that 100-db drone and had to turn the radio speaker way up just to hear the tower. I was too poor to afford many hours in the cockpit back then, so that probably saved my hearing from what it would otherwise be, as that kind of sound pressure will definitely damage hearing. So maybe my standard for what is acceptable noise is a little different than yours. If it doesn't damage my hearing (which is what my unscientific study from the opening post showed), and my headset doesn't give a headache after a typical 2-3-hour flight, then I'm OK ... I'm easy to please, apparently.[/quote]

Zane wrote, "Cool, so you're happy with what you have, you just can't figure out why us rich guys are so foolish."

Nope - I provided information, and asked a reasonable question in my opening post "what's the rationale ... ?".

What I can't figure out is why the moderator/owner of an aviation board enjoys acting like such an asshole at times, and seems bent on making the discussion personal, diving into the discussion apparently for the purpose of attacking the person who put some effort into providing information and asking for feedback, rather than just saying, you know, "I think you're wrong because ... or, "I like my Zulu headset for the following reasons ... ". Like some of the other posters did. You know, like a mature thoughtful person would do. You're not impressing.

Someone just tugged on Superman's cape, I'm thinkin' . . .

nmflyguy wrote:What I can't figure out is why the moderator/owner of an aviation board enjoys acting like such an asshole at times, and seems bent on making the discussion personal, diving into the discussion apparently for the purpose of attacking the person who put some effort into providing information and asking for feedback, rather than just saying, you know, "I think you're wrong because ... or, "I like my Zulu headset for the following reasons ... ". Like some of the other posters did. You know, like a mature thoughtful person would do. You're not impressing.

Cuz there's something extra douchbaggy and uptight about you in particular that causes me to suspend any principles I thought I had, something that ignites my need to fight with people on the Internet. I'm not proud. Asshole is an appropriate term. By my own policies I should be banned.

Vick's first response to you was the most insightful of all in my opinion. I don't care if you buy or like Zulus or are happy with your muppet earmuffs-- Start a blog cuz you answer all your own questions in your post-- you don't see 800-1000 dollars worth of value in a headset.

TomD mentioned higher freq. is worse or more damaging. I was just wondering.... I always thought that hearing loss in the higher frequencies, must come from high frequency sound. Logical, right? Then the headset guys told me research shows that it is the low freq. sounds that damage your ears. Are they correct?
Back when I flew Beavers and Otters, we only had passive green David Clark's. Even then, I stuck in some foam earplugs in addition. It seemed to help.
I can still hear my wife nag.... (actually she doesn't) just a verbal honey do.... now and then.
I have gone through ownership of all the Lightspeed models. 2 pairs of Zulu's in the plane now.
{The wife gives me grief about not locking the door on the plane. I am pretty sure regular pilots don't steal from other good guys.... Maybe I am a fool.}
Anyway, what have you guys heard? Bad =high or Bad = low ???

Suddenly, and for no particular reason, I just remembered a page about a guy named Simon.

http://www.27bslash6.com/f26a.html

Most folks have high frequency hearing loss, not that many with low frequency losses.

This really is not due to people not being exposed to low frequency sounds at the same levels as high frequency sounds. Waves arrive at your ear more frequently per second with high frequency sounds ( pretty much the definition ) much as UV light arrives on your skin or eyes at higher frequency ( shorter wavelengths ) than, say red light, and as a result during any given period of time more energy is delivered to the recipient.

Not that a big low frequency boom will not trash your hearing but the db's will probably be much higher than the db's of a jet whine or a heavy metal singer screeching through speakers the size of a house. Maybe the heavy metal dude might have the db edge.

Things like rifles and pistols have a huge high frequency component and large pressures and db's, which is why most of your 'Nam buddies reply....What??

Side bar: Recent research at Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, CA has shown there is actually a genetic predisposition to hearing hair cell loss due to sound. Ulrich Mueller, PhD has two strains of mice, one with and one without a particular gene for the predisposition to hearing loss. The mouse w/ the "bad" gene will lose cochlear hair cells at a give noise and frequency level while the over mouse will suffer no damage at all.

Life just ain't fair.

TD

TD

kevbert wrote:Suddenly, and for no particular reason, I just remembered a page about a guy named Simon.

http://www.27bslash6.com/f26a.html

Holy hell, now that was funny! I need to file a personal complaint against you for making me spit perfectly good clam chowder all over my key board and computer screen, dammaging company property! Oh, I got some on my phone too so I am requesting you pay for that! hahahahaha

I think this section would be much more appropriate at this time... you know, the pie charts and graphs to show the rationale would be great!
http://www.27bslash6.com/p2p2.html

Having been a contractor for 30 years I learned real fast that the best tools you can buy are usually the cheapest in the long run. When I started flying I bought a used set from a guy at the airport for $40 just to see if I would stick with flying (didn't realize how addicting it is). When I decided I was going to fly as long as they'd let me, I bought a Bose set. The factory had a interest only program that you paid about $76/mo. Since then I bought a used set for my passengers. I'm happy with my decision.

Having said that I had a cheap set in the 150 and I would just leave it in there. If I was going for an hour they worked OK but even after an hour you really notice the difference. Can't imagine going cross country with a cheap set.

PS: Blu's comparison it right on. Both will get the job done.

It took me a long time and much hearing loss to realize what was really important about the noise canceling headsets. It's not just the ambient noise reduction, it's that you can turn the radio volume way down. I used David Clarks for years and had the same result as if I had blasted rock music into my ears. Take it from someone with hearing loss.... the expensive headsets are worth it.

Have you priced hearing aids lately? A grand for a Bose headset seems like cheap insurance to me. In my experience, the cheaper the headset, the louder you have to blast the radio to hear transmissions... adding to further hearing loss. The peace, comfort, and quiet I experience when flying are reward enough for a quality high dollar ANR headset. If you have never flown with one on a long cross country... DON'T... because you will never go back!

I can hear the radio better when I'm wearing my Lightspeeds than when I was wearing my old David Clarks. That's why in my case.

I have hearing loss from military "noises".

That said, oh so many years ago, I was one of the first pilots on Kodiak Island to regularly wear headsets--in those days David Clark passive sets. That's cause I was flying a Beaver and, having flown airplanes including the Beaver for a while, without headsets was just miserable.

Having used the headsets for a while in the Beaver, I'd still come home with a headache and ringing ears after a long day of flying in the airplane. I started using earplugs AND headsets, and the headaches pretty much went away.

Pretty much the same thing happened when I went to ANR headsets. Doing a lot of radio telemetry work, I found that I could hear a lot of signals at gain levels that my back seater (using a passive headset) simply couldn't hear, even though the observer had MUCH better hearing than I do. We started putting ANR headsets in both seats of the noisier airplanes, and every one loved them.

They work. And, they're worth every penny in my opinion. I've lost waaaay too much hearing already, and I simply can't afford to lose much more.

MTV

Some of the guys in the last few posts make good sense. I know I probably have mid range hearing loss, usually detectable when the wife asks for another project around the house... But seriously folks... I have a set of DC. I'll most likely get a set of Zulu's when I have my own plane to fly. I got to try out Swingle's in the back of his S-7 and liked them. I also tried them on before that at sun n fun 2010 at their demo booth. I noticed I needed to ask for a few "repeats" when I was doing my instrument training with the DC's. Maybe not so much with the Zulu's, we'll see.

Geeezus m&m!!
Been flying with a tight thong on all day or what?? Seems like you want to pass off your pain to anyone that thinks the old headsets suck...cool you wore ear plugs and now you wear a david clark or whatever...didnt have color tv back then either... Now you can fly with a phone that makes your face fat while making fart sounds. I fly with a good headset because A. I cant afford them and B, the cheap one is like wearing a damn thong all day i would suspect. Hows that for quality feedback...sorry

Baby is crying and wife is pissed at me for flying all day...

Oh yeah... Vick flies at well over 60,000 feet for long durrations of time...i bet the govt gave him a nice headset