Garmin 350C vs PS Engineering 450B

Ryan Ottis

Filing Flight Plan
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Jan 26, 2022
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Red 182
I’m going to upgrade the audio panel and intercom wiring in my 310 and am going between the Garmin 350c and the PS Engineering 450B

I would like to be able to split audio imputs between everyone, pilot gets Bluetooth, co-pilot gets input 1 and rear seat passengers get input 2. Is this possible? I’m pretty sure you can do this with the 450B but I’m not sure if you can with the 350C

My main pros to each:
350C:
Tellitalk command interface (probably more useful with a 750, but still pretty cool)
can be interfaced with a 750 screen if I upgrade to that one day.
might be plug and play wiring wise if I traded for a remote 35c as part of a future 750 to replace my current 530?

450B:
2 Bluetooth inputs vs just one on the Garmin
I think the screen is going to be easier to understand and set up audio distribution (could be wrong)
Audio based warnings (I’m not sure how helpful this would be, only things I have come up with for warnings are low voltage and the gear horn, maybe there’s something else that would be helpful?)

I think both are good options and probably can’t go wrong with either.

For reference I’ve usually liked PS Engineerings products better with the other 2 airplanes I fly having the 8000BT and the PAR200B - both of which I have been happy with.
 
I have the PMA450C in both of my planes. The options for music distribution and handling are unparalleled.
The audio quality is excellent, but that would likely be the same on the 350C.
 
The 450B is fantastic. I recently had mine re-wired for stereo and the aural separation makes it much easier to handle handle two comms (e.g., picking up ATIS while still listening for calls from Approach). The music distribution is fantastic. I like that I can set different mute modes for each position, e.g., I want radio mute and passenger wants no mute.

Being able to replay a radio call also comes in handy. Miss the start of a call and don't know if it's for you? Want to double check your landing clearance? Trivial on the 450B.

Edit: it looks like these features may be available in the 350C as well. I also like the display on the 450B, which makes it easy to navigate/discover these features. The garmin panels feel like you need to memorize way more fancy button presses. Even if they were the same I'd go with PSE because they're a great company and people who know the hardware (including Mark) answer your emails.
 
See this thread. I have the same question on what audio panel is recommended, and PS engineering seems to be preferred choice. (Cult? :cool: )

 
I just ordered my PMA450B..... what made me also add to PS Eng side is their customer support and service compared to Garmin.
 
I just ordered my PMA450B..... what made me also add to PS Eng side is their customer support and service compared to Garmin.
Thank you very much for trusting us with your audio. I hope the common sense approach to the user interface along with functions that make communications easier will make you happy with your decision.
Mark Scheuer
 
Wow... I didn't expect a response from Mark!! Sooooooooo.... I will be at Oshkosh.....do I get a free t-shirt for my endorsement? LOL
 
Wow... I didn't expect a response from Mark!! Sooooooooo.... I will be at Oshkosh.....do I get a free audio panel for my endorsement? LOL
FIFY
 
I’m going to upgrade the audio panel and intercom wiring in my 310 and am going between the Garmin 350c and the PS Engineering 450B

I would like to be able to split audio imputs between everyone, pilot gets Bluetooth, co-pilot gets input 1 and rear seat passengers get input 2. Is this possible? I’m pretty sure you can do this with the 450B but I’m not sure if you can with the 350C

My main pros to each:
350C:
Tellitalk command interface (probably more useful with a 750, but still pretty cool)
can be interfaced with a 750 screen if I upgrade to that one day.
might be plug and play wiring wise if I traded for a remote 35c as part of a future 750 to replace my current 530?

450B:
2 Bluetooth inputs vs just one on the Garmin
I think the screen is going to be easier to understand and set up audio distribution (could be wrong)
Audio based warnings (I’m not sure how helpful this would be, only things I have come up with for warnings are low voltage and the gear horn, maybe there’s something else that would be helpful?)

I think both are good options and probably can’t go wrong with either.

For reference I’ve usually liked PS Engineerings products better with the other 2 airplanes I fly having the 8000BT and the PAR200B - both of which I have been happy with.
I have the 350c, but I do like PS Engineering's gear a lot.

I think you have a good handle on the pros and cons of the two. What pushed me to the 350c was the Telligence voice command capability. However, I don't ever use it for the audio panel functions! That's why I have the thing with the buttons in the panel. Poke, done. Telligence works well but it's not perfect, so it's not worth using for something that has a button right in front of me. It is VERY worthwhile in combination with the GTN 750, as I can go directly to any page in the interface with a voice command, and I can tune radio frequencies as well. "Tune destination tower" for example. Or "Show Traffic." So, I guess the question is, how likely are you to be getting a 750?
The 450B is fantastic. I recently had mine re-wired for stereo and the aural separation makes it much easier to handle handle two comms (e.g., picking up ATIS while still listening for calls from Approach). The music distribution is fantastic. I like that I can set different mute modes for each position, e.g., I want radio mute and passenger wants no mute.

Being able to replay a radio call also comes in handy. Miss the start of a call and don't know if it's for you? Want to double check your landing clearance? Trivial on the 450B.

Edit: it looks like these features may be available in the 350C as well. I also like the display on the 450B, which makes it easy to navigate/discover these features. The garmin panels feel like you need to memorize way more fancy button presses. Even if they were the same I'd go with PSE because they're a great company and people who know the hardware (including Mark) answer your emails.

Yep... All those features are there on the 350c as well. Generally, the 450B is somewhat easier to use thanks to its screen. I wouldn't say I need to memorize much, though, as things are well labeled on the 350c.
 
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