David Clark headsets

Eric Brunelle

Eric Brunelle

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jun 26, 2018
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Ericb
I'm working on my CPL, getting my complex hours in. Anyway, I carelessly somehow bent the mike jack on my DC headset taking it out of the rented Arrow. I had to go with my cheapo pax backups for a week or so. I decided (bad decision) that i could replace the jack myself. So, I bought a new jack, then cut off the broken jack, and found out that this is no easy solder job. I drove over to David Clark in Worcester, having been told that they would fix it there for me. Old mill building, great people there. Got there at 2:00 pm, greeted by a friendly lady. Told her the issue, that it was my own fault. She said they can fix it while I wait, but there might be a charge. No problem.

She came back 25 minutes later. New cord, with nickel jacks - better than the brass jacks mine had. Also new jell pads.
And NO CHARGE!

You don't encounter customer service like that very often. I'm a lifetime customer now.
 
Been a loyal DC fan since I bought my first (used) DC headset almost 40 years ago.
The mic failed on it about 20 years in. Sent it back for repair. They returned it completely refurbished, looked like brand new. Charged me a modest amount for the mic part and return shipping only.
 
I had a similar issue. On my One-X I got it pinched in the seat and it severed the cord. I also tried a crappy solder job and realized that it is much more complex than that. I sent them in and NO charge even though it was my fault. This is why I have the One-X, great headsets and a great company.
 
Lightspeed should take some lessons from David Clark. Their customer service, and unwillingness to stand behind their products, is inexcusable.
 
Good report that why they are still around
 
Hrrrrmm, yeah they’re pretty good if you’re still in warranty, which I believe is five years, but I just paid $230 to have them repair one of their original ENC headsets. Granted, it was probably 12 years old, so I wasn’t really upset, but it did give me pause. I went ahead and did it because I had already replaced my own headset and wanted a decent ANR/ENC headset for passengers, and it would cost about the same (or more) to get a decent used one.
 
I still have mine from 1984 when I got my instrument rating, they've been through a lot.
 
DC's customer service has been outstanding! I have an older 10-30 and one of their first ENC units. Most of the damage to both units has been my fault but only problem with ENC was a malfunction. Regardless, repairs have been free and fast.

The ENC unit was great and worked incredibly well in the Beechcraft 1900D a painfully loud aircraft. Several times other pilots offered to swap headsets for a few legs which revealed the only better unit was the top of the line, at that time, Bose which was slightly quieter. It was also notably lighter and had longer battery life.
 
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