More and more of my friends are interested in going flying with
me. I guess word is getting around. I have a DC 10-60 for myself.
Shortly after I got my license I got another pair for passenger use.
I preferred not to spend so much but after trying on so many others,
I didn't want to subject my passengers to such crude torture.

Well it's time to get another passenger headset. I am thinking
about getting a cheaper pair for their use or just upgrading
mine to ANR. I tried my friend DC 10-13X's and for some reason
they sounded funny like some kind of odd feedback. It wasn't horrendous
but for $600 I'm looking for 'perfect' or as close to it. I tried
my other friend's Bose and they were damn nice but for $1000, ummm, I
can think of a 1000 other things to spend it on.

Does anyone have any experience with Panther and the newer Lightspeed?
I think there is one other too but can't remember the name. How's
the sound quality? How's the PNR and the ANR? How's the durability?
I know the Lightspeeds regular headsets have MANY more problems than
DC's but apparently this headset comes with a case.

thanks for your input.
Gerald Sylvester

Gerald,

> I know the Lightspeeds regular headsets have MANY more problems than
> DC's but apparently this headset comes with a case.
>

You know that? Many others here don't.

The new generation Lightspeeds don't seem to suffer from the problems
the older ones had. Even Jay would agree to that. The in-ear types are
not ANR, AFAIK. I would go with a 3G Lightspeed - but then, I never
once had a problem with my old 20K which I still use. And I don't like
stuff sitting in my ear canal.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Gerald Sylvester" > wrote in message
om...

> Does anyone have any experience with Panther and the newer Lightspeed?
> I think there is one other too but can't remember the name. How's
> the sound quality? How's the PNR and the ANR? How's the durability?
> I know the Lightspeeds regular headsets have MANY more problems than
> DC's but apparently this headset comes with a case.
>

I just got a pair of Sennheiser HMEC 300's. I've only flown with them a few
times, but so far I like them. The only other headset I've used is the
Lightspeed 20-3G that I borrowed from another pilot in our club for about an
hour, and I think they were slightly more comfortable because of a little
less clamping force. I may be able to adjust this on the Sennhesier's, but
the book doesn't say how. One thing that you might want to keep in mind is
that they are reputed to use batteries pretty quickly. I haven't used mine
long enough to say, but I suspect it is probably true.

The noise cancellation seems very good. They appear to be quite sturdy, and
quite light, and the clamping force might not even be noticable if I didn't
wear glasses and foggles so much. There is no jack for a cell phone.

I got mine for a little over $400 from a guy in Florida who mainly sells to
airline pilots. They were reconditioned, supposedly from a trade show, but
litteraly like new. They came with new gel ear cups, still in the bag.

Brad

Brad,

> The only other headset I've used is the
> Lightspeed 20-3G that I borrowed from another pilot in our club for about an
> hour, and I think they were slightly more comfortable because of a little
> less clamping force
>

Bought new, the LS is cheaper, too.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

>I tried
> my other friend's Bose and they were damn nice but for $1000, ummm, I
> can think of a 1000 other things to spend it on.

You can look at it 2 ways - you've discovered one way already - the other is
that you learn to fly because flying is enjoyable - but aircraft hire is
expensive - so why not invest in something that will help you get maximum
enjoyment out of the hard-earned $$$ you're shelling out at the FBO for the
aircraft?

For what it's worth, I currently own 2 Bose headsets - and am saving up for
a 3rd (then a 4th) so that my passengers can enjoy the same level of
comfort. The Bose has less clamping force - is easily adjustable - and the
service/warranty was amazing (we had one go faulty with a bad connection in
one ear cup - instant replacement with an entire brand-new headset). I keep
both existing sets in their carry bag - and both are in as good a condition
now as they were when I bought them.

I would give your friend's DC's another try.
He flew with them yesterday and heard no such feedback

:)

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 01:09:01 GMT, Gerald Sylvester
> wrote:

>
>
>More and more of my friends are interested in going flying with
>me. I guess word is getting around. I have a DC 10-60 for myself.
>Shortly after I got my license I got another pair for passenger use.
>I preferred not to spend so much but after trying on so many others,
>I didn't want to subject my passengers to such crude torture.
>
>Well it's time to get another passenger headset. I am thinking
>about getting a cheaper pair for their use or just upgrading
>mine to ANR. I tried my friend DC 10-13X's and for some reason
>they sounded funny like some kind of odd feedback. It wasn't horrendous
>but for $600 I'm looking for 'perfect' or as close to it. I tried
>my other friend's Bose and they were damn nice but for $1000, ummm, I
>can think of a 1000 other things to spend it on.
>
>Does anyone have any experience with Panther and the newer Lightspeed?
>I think there is one other too but can't remember the name. How's
>the sound quality? How's the PNR and the ANR? How's the durability?
>I know the Lightspeeds regular headsets have MANY more problems than
>DC's but apparently this headset comes with a case.

I have 2 sets of Lightspeed 20XLs and am happy with them. They are
comfortable and have reasonable noise cancelling. My headset prior to
these was a DC H10-13.4 (passive NR only). The DC blows away the
20XLs when only looking at PNR, but click the button to turn on ANR,
and the 20XLs sound better than the 13.4. Passive ANR is still
important though, as the ANR feature can break, or more likely the
batteries can go dead.

I would not hesitate to buy another Lightspeed headset, especially the
30 3Gs which advertise another 6dB of ANR. That would be nice.

I have also flown in a friend's Cirrus with Bose X ANR headsets. The
were quiet, I think quieter than my 20XLs would have been, and they
sounded phenomenal (we listened to a few CDs on the trip). However, I
thought both my DC 13.4s and LS 20XLs were more comfortable. In
defense of the Bose - I did not spend much time adjusting it (was
having too much fun playing with the Cirrus' glass panels) so maybe I
did not have them adjusted correctly.

Whatever you end up buying, make sure it has automatic shutoff. I
have forgotten to shut the headsets off after a good number of flights
- which with the 20XL's auto-off feature, is not a big deal. Another
feature nicety is panel power. This would be much better than
stuffing AA batteries into the headsets.

-Nathan

Jonathan Sorger wrote:
> I would give your friend's DC's another try.
> He flew with them yesterday and heard no such feedback
> :)

Who needs enemies when you have friends like this guy. :)
So Jon, have you found MOD yet? <grin>

:)

gerald

Nathan,

> with Bose X ANR headsets.
>

Well, if you think passive attenuation is important, did you check the
Boses for that?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Gerald Sylvester > wrote in message >...
> More and more of my friends are interested in going flying with
> me. I guess word is getting around. I have a DC 10-60 for myself.
> Shortly after I got my license I got another pair for passenger use.
> I preferred not to spend so much but after trying on so many others,
> I didn't want to subject my passengers to such crude torture.

You might want to consider a good ANR headset for yourself. After
all, you'll have more time listening to a headset than your passengers
and consequently more risk of hearing damage w/o an ANR headset.

> Well it's time to get another passenger headset. I am thinking
> about getting a cheaper pair for their use or just upgrading
> mine to ANR. I tried my friend DC 10-13X's and for some reason
> they sounded funny like some kind of odd feedback. It wasn't horrendous
> but for $600 I'm looking for 'perfect' or as close to it. I tried
> my other friend's Bose and they were damn nice but for $1000, ummm, I
> can think of a 1000 other things to spend it on.

Check out the AvShop ANR headset. It's good quality and a good price
too. I've got one as a passenger headset and am happy with it. It
even has a music input for those who might bring an iPod along for a
longer flight.

DC's came late to the ANR world, it's possible their circuitry is
still being improved. But I don't know as I've not tried them myself.
Having too much ANR in the design can make a kind of "odd feedback"
sound. After all, ANR is basically inverted feedback.

I fly with a Lighspeed 20 XL and am very happy w/ it.

As far as Bose goes, I don't have that kind of budget either. I've
never tried them. But, they did invent the ANR headset I believe.

> Does anyone have any experience with Panther and the newer Lightspeed?
> I think there is one other too but can't remember the name. How's
> the sound quality? How's the PNR and the ANR? How's the durability?
> I know the Lightspeeds regular headsets have MANY more problems than
> DC's but apparently this headset comes with a case.

Well, Lightspeed has excellent support, make a lighterweight headset,
has given me no problems, has been doing ANR longer, and is cheaper
than DC headsets. I wouldn't call those problems, more like benefits
really. Perhaps someone with an axe to grind about Lightspeeds told
you they had problems?

I saw the new AvShop catalog with the in-ear headset too. I have a
pair of earphones for music like that and it's a good thing, but not
for everyone. The eartips fit in the ear canal (there's differrent
size coverings to fit different sized ear canals). This bothers some
people, but others are very happy with it. The in-ear models are not
ANR, but as they block more sound passively with their fit in the ear
canal than ANR, that shouldn't be a problem.

And, for those who are really bothered by the odd feedback of ANR, the
passive blocking quality of the in-ear models might be very good.

But, I'd not use an in-ear headset for passengers as the replacable
coverings on the in-ear pieces are in intimate contact with your ear
canal and would need cleaning or replacement between passengers.

<grin> I'd be willing to test the in-ear model out for the group and
post a detailed review if someone was willing to pay the $500 to
purchase it for me!

-Malcolm Teas

The LSs are not bulletproof but their customer support is outstanding.
The passive NR is poor but so are most ANRs. I carry an old pair of
DCs just in case something goes wrong with the LS that a fresh battery
won't fix on the spot. The 30-3g has outstanding stereo sound for
music usage, plus automatic mute when a radio transmission goes either
in or out.

I doubt that in-ear types provide good ANR even if they exist. Heavy
ear canal usage can also produce irritation and ear infections, though
you can probably prevent the latter by changing foam pads often and
making sure they are always clean before use. Also, you wouldn't want
to use in-ear types for passengers because of possible infection
transmission.

In my defense, from reading this newsgoup I have found comfort in the
fact that many student pilots have difficulty finding the airport on
their first solo X-C.

And thank you to that pilot flying the Mooney at around 1:30PM on
January 18, 2004, headed into MOD whoever you are, wherever you are.
Without you I may never have actually found the airport.


In > Gerald Sylvester
wrote:
> Jonathan Sorger wrote:
>> I would give your friend's DC's another try.
>> He flew with them yesterday and heard no such feedback
>> :)
>
> Who needs enemies when you have friends like this guy. :)
> So Jon, have you found MOD yet? <grin>
>
>:)
>
> gerald
>
In > Gerald Sylvester
wrote:
> Jonathan Sorger wrote:
>> I would give your friend's DC's another try.
>> He flew with them yesterday and heard no such feedback
>> :)
>
> Who needs enemies when you have friends like this guy. :)
> So Jon, have you found MOD yet? <grin>
>
>:)
>
> gerald
>

> In my defense, from reading this newsgoup I have found comfort in the
> fact that many student pilots have difficulty finding the airport on
> their first solo X-C.

An old friend of mine got lost on his first solo cross-country. He tried to
land at an airport that he found. Made is final approach with the wind at
his tail just as another plane was taking off...right at him. Suddenly my
friend broke left as he realized they were going to collide but, the other
guy realizing that they were going to collide broke right at exactly the
same time.

All my friend could say was, thank god the other pilot was much better than
me! The other pilot saw what my friend did and immediately banked hard
right...and they missed by less than what anybody would consider "mess your
shorts close."

My friend continued to land. Got out of the aircraft and stumbled shaking
very badly over to two old guys with his chart. A chart which nobody could
read because it too was shaking so badly. Then he asked....."Where am I?"

The guy eventually got his PPL and then did a continued flight into IMC. He
survived that too after tieing up the very busy airspace for more than 30
minutes. I believe he quit after that flight and hasn't flown in about
18-20 years.

Carl