buttman wrote:
On Mar 29, 12:09 pm, "Google Madness" wrote:

I'm just learning to fly and right now my instructor loans me his set but
i'd like to have my own.
I'd like to keep the expense to a $350 limit.
Can any of you give me a recommendation on...
- Features to look for
- Makes and Models
- Cheapest places to purchase

Thanks,
Gene


The thing I hate about the headset market is that it's way over
priced. You can buy a set of isolated earmuffs (the kind ground
personnel use) for $20, a microphone for $20, a pair of ipod-esque
earbuds for another $20, and a roll of duct tape for 6 bucks. The
absolute cheapest pair of aviation headsets start at like $300. It
certainly doesn't COST upwards of $1000 to produce these headsets. It
costs that much because headset companies know they can charge those
amounts, and us pilots will buy them anyways. It kind of sucks, but
what can you do?

In the audiophile headphone market, the Sennheiser HD-580's (which I
own) were top of the line just a few years ago, and they cost me $150
when I bought them new. I saw a pair of ANR headphones at the Sharper
Image store a few months for like $25.

I'm hoping someday a company will see that a market exists for cheap,
well made headsets. It's totally possible for a nice DC X-11 quality
set to sell for $200 without a loss.


I agree 100%
It's not like they need to get FAA certification or anything. The
technology is no longer new.