The lowest cost ANR that I have found is the Headsets inc ANR mod kit
for existing headsets. Easy to install and works well. I have two.

NONE of the ANR headsets have active high freq attenuation. The high
freq attenuation is all passive. However the most noise is low freq
and comes from the low freq exhaust and prop wash.
If your intercom does not have separate mic bias resistors it will NOT
work well with different brands of headsets. Easy to find out this.
Get two mic plugs and with power off measure with an ohmmeter between
the two mic connections, (not the PTT). If it reads less than 100
ohms then you do NOT have separate mic bias resistors.

All noise canceling mics must be within 1/4 inch of your mouth to work
well or it will think your voice is noise and cancel it also.

john

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 15:48:13 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

Hey all. I've been looking to upgrade my headset to an ANR and
figured I'd ask for advice. Let me give you a few tidbits that I've found
so far as a background:

- My intercom is a DC Isocom (Mono, single squelch, simple, adequate
quality, doesn't mix/match well brands of headsets)
- Tried a DRE-6000, and can best describe it as complete crap. The
passive performance isn't very good with the weakly clamped (read: not too
uncomfortable) earpieces. The ANR helps slightly with the low-freq engine
noise, but boosts the audio frequencies to an uncomfortable level. Also,
the mic is much more sensitive than the rest of the headsets, and lets
through a lot of background noise.
- Tried Lightspeed 15/20/25 K/XL. Much better than DRE-6k, but
still amplfies voice too much, and doesn't attenuate high-frequency
cockpit rattle of 500Hz-2kHz or so (present in my plane). I find it
difficult to get a volume that makes controllers clear, but not too loud
otherwise
- Currently using FlightLine HS-60B passive purchased about 1.5
years ago. Fairly comfortable, good passive attenuation, great radio and
mic sound quality and low noise, but the mic isn't very sensitive. Have
to shout to break the squelch, especially when the DRE-6k is in the mix.

Questions:
- Are the Lightspeed XC solid with descent passive and mild active?
Seem like a good choice, but look a bit flimsily constructed.
- Anyone know about the FlightLine Sky Hawk? I've been pleased with
my passives, but don't know much about these new actives.
- Can mic volumes typically be adjusted on headsets?

Thanks in advance,
-Cory