Stepping back from ANR

B A R R Y wrote:
...
Those of you who say good ANR is a waste of money must already be
deaf.

For those of you that have made the leap, use your old set again one
of these days! G

One of my cheapo passive headsets that I use for the 3d passenger
recently died (in one ear). I'm toying with the idea of getting an ANR
set to replace it (for me, of course, and the others all get relegated
to passenger use). I've only sampled the effects of ANR in my avionics
shop, when the owner had me try it in the shop one day "just for fun"
(good active selling technique). It's nice, very nice...but my
question is this : I like to hear the engine just a bit since a little
change in the sound or hiccup can signal an upcoming problem of
potentially serious consequence, and gets my attention very fast. How
well do the ANR sets let me hear a little engine sound for peace of
mind? The cost of a decent ANR set is significantly more than a very
good passive set, and I just don't want to give up safety for
comfort/convenience.