Which DC Headphone is best choice?

like Emily said they're expensive
and use batteries which adds another weak point in the system.


No, they're not. and how are batteries a "weak point"?

I don't get hung up on ANR, I just hate it when people judge things
with no basis in facts. ;-)

My advice: Get a Marv Golden or Avshop branded version of the
Lightspeed QFR XCc for 250 $ or so. ANR, lightweight, cheap. If you're
in the UK, you can get them in Europe, too.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:45:21 +0200, Thomas Borchert
wrote:

like Emily said they're expensive
and use batteries which adds another weak point in the system.


No, they're not. and how are batteries a "weak point"?


I was thinking of extra wiring being vulnerable and possible flat
battery. However I now see some include auto-shut-off.

I don't get hung up on ANR, I just hate it when people judge things
with no basis in facts. ;-)


Sorry if you misundertood me, I wasn't getting at you personally, I
just wanted to stay on topic and not have a battle of passive/ANR.

My advice: Get a Marv Golden or Avshop branded version of the
Lightspeed QFR XCc for 250 $ or so. ANR, lightweight, cheap. If you're
in the UK, you can get them in Europe, too.

That's interesting. I haven't really looked at 'cheap' ANR but these
two are looking good. Now you've got me thinking again. My only
remaining reservation is reliability.

The reviews of the 'AvShop Design A450 ANR' seem favourable but some
problem with slipping and not gel seals also a comment about a problem
with the sliding volume controls.

The Marv Golden MG-ANR seems to have the edge but I would still like
to know more about the 'Leatherette Ear Seals'. It appears not ot have
auto-shut-off?

At $250 I'm much more interested as long as I'm not getting poor
quality at the expense of performance.

As for trying headsets I'd love to but I'm a long way from anywhere in
the UK that has a pilot shop. The only slight chance of trying
anything will be next year when I'm in Honolulu, but I don't hold out
much hope of a wide choice!

David

In article ,
Thomas Borchert wrote:
the claims that
ANR protects your hearing better than passive attenuation


Who exactly claims that? All claims I've seen relate to total noise
reduction. And we can probably all agree that less overall noise is
better both for your hearing (where higher frequencies are more
dangerous) and your comfort (where lower frequencies play a big part).
ANR headsets (most, that is) offer dramatically lower total noise.

What's not to like about them?


ANR has no effect on higher frequencies, where noise-induced hearing
loss is most likely. Worse yet, some ANR headsets provide almost no
passive attenuation.

I will agree that ANR does provide for a more comfortable ride.


JKG

In article ,
Thomas Borchert wrote:

Emily,

They're expensive, heavy, and require batteries.


Look again - at all of the factors you mention.

Expensive? You can get excellent ANR at a price below the passive DCs.
Heavy? Pure BS. The top-end Lightspeed is lighter than the passive DC,
not to mention the featherlight Bose.
Batteries? well, tere is one model powered of the mic power, there are
on-board powered variants, and the battery models run 20 to 50 hours on
2 AAs. Who cares?


The top-end Lightspeed, the 30-3G, is around 16 ounces, with some of the
middle-grade Lightspeeds weighing in at around 20 ounces. Quite a bit
more than the DC 10-13.4, at around 13.4 ounces.

Batteries are an inconvenience, but the battery life on most ANR sets
these days seems to be decent. There's always the panel-power option,
though that removes the flexibility to move the headset into another
aircraft.



JKG

In article ,
real_name wrote:
ANR doesn't affect your ability to hear the engine, but the claims that
ANR protects your hearing better than passive attenuation have no proven
scientific support. ANR is little more than a comfort/convenience item,
and certainly not a safety item.

When ANR allows me to hear the radio better, it most certainly
contributes to safety. It's not flight-critical, but still...

I don't know, I've flown quite a few different aircraft--include
twins--and never had a problem hearing the radio using my passive DC
10-20 headset. I also don't consider the radio to be a safety item.


JKG

In article ,
Jonathan Goodish wrote:

I also don't consider the radio to be a safety item.

N12345 traffic 12 o'clock, opposite direction, same altitude


While it's aviate, navigate, and THEN communicate, there are
most definitely hazards mitigated by the radio.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

In article ,
Jonathan Goodish wrote:

There's always the panel-power option,
though that removes the flexibility to move the headset into another
aircraft.

Not always. My DC ANR set has a battery pack as well as the ability to plug into
the panel-mounted power module.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Bob Noel wrote:
In article ,
Jonathan Goodish wrote:

I also don't consider the radio to be a safety item.

N12345 traffic 12 o'clock, opposite direction, same altitude

You must be using a pretty ****ty passive headset if you can't make that
out.

In article ,
Emily wrote:

I also don't consider the radio to be a safety item.

N12345 traffic 12 o'clock, opposite direction, same altitude

You must be using a pretty ****ty passive headset if you can't make that
out.

I only claimed that I can hear the radio *better* with ANR. Not once
did I claim I couldn't hear. YMMV.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

The reviews of the 'AvShop Design A450 ANR' seem favourable but some
problem with slipping and not gel seals also a comment about a problem
with the sliding volume controls.

The Marv Golden MG-ANR seems to have the edge but I would still like
to know more about the 'Leatherette Ear Seals'. It appears not ot have
auto-shut-off?



They should be the exact same headsets. The seals are made of ConFor
Foam which gets soft with body temperature. Seals quite well, IMHO. They
should have auto-shutoff, too.

As for trying: How about money-back guarantees?

If you like, send me an e-mail and I could send you some further
information pertaining to this.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)