David Clark One-X

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Tinstafl

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Tinstafl
I searched but came up blank.

Anyone on here have a review of the DC One-X? I know people swear by their A20s, but I’ve liked the DC’s I’ve used in the past. Durability is always excellent and I have never had any issues with their comfort. ANR performance sounds roughly similar and non-ANR performance (when I want to hear that wind and engine ) will likely be far superior...

Saving a couple hundred bucks is currently worth it to me but yes, the A20s are an option if that’s the way to go.

Honestly I’ve never even had a problem with non-ANR headsets in the past so convincing myself to upgrade at all was actually a big step already.
 
One-X is fantastic. I've got two of them for my plane and I've used Bose's and Lightspeeds both of which are no where near as comfortable. I'd say the Bose are marginally quieter, and the Lightspeeds were noticeably louder to me. My instructor actually sold her Zulu's (I don't know which #) to buy a One-X after trying the ones in my plane.
 
Awesome, thanks guys. That’s good to hear. It’s strange to me that DC gets so little love in what I can find publicly available. Bose has done a very good job with their product, sure. But sometimes it seems like their dominance is at least as much a result of how great their marketing has always been.

Besides, considering they all do a pretty damn good job of canceling out noise with ANR, the durability, passive mode effectiveness, comfort (admittedly personal), bluetooth, and price have all become my measurements. Seems DC should be on more folks’ radar.

Thanks again. More opinions still welcome of course.
 
I have the One-X and I wouldn't use anything else. They are very comfortable and very quite. I've tried a co-workers A20 and the slight reduction in sound wasn't worth the extra cost. Additional I've had DCs in the past and always appreciated their customer support. So far I've had no issues with the One-X but it is nice to know that the customer support is there if I need it.
 
I have the DC One X and recommend it 100%. I use it in a helicopter and find the performance to be on par with the Bose A20 but more comfortable on long flights with less clamping force. The One X also folds down into a smaller shape for storage and transport when not in use. I also have yet to hear of any other owners complain about any technical problems or durability issues with the One X whereas I have heard complaints from many A20 owners. This may be a function of the number of A20s out there vs DCs but its still worth mentioning.
 
Tinstafl said:
Bose lists at 12.0oz, DC at 12.3oz, and Lightspeed at 14.5oz ... so that’s a bit of a head scratcher ...
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I deleted my comment, was confusing the DC One X and the H10-13X (the lower tier ANR). It weighs quite a bit more.
 
I have the DC One-X and they are great. Very light and comfortable, and build quality is fantastic. Very quiet with the noise cancelling and the bluetooth setup is a breeze foreflight. I like how they sit on, not over your ears. No hot and sweaty ears!
 
SC777 said:
I have the DC One-X and they are great. Very light and comfortable, and build quality is fantastic. Very quiet with the noise cancelling and the bluetooth setup is a breeze foreflight. I like how they sit on, not over your ears. No hot and sweaty ears!
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Isn't the Pro-X the on-ear and the One-X is over ear?
 
I've always preferred wearing the DCs over the Lightspeeds but at the time I bought ANR, it was either Bose or LS. Hm....might be a good Christmas present to myself.
 
You are correct. I have the Pro-X. My mistake.
 
Tinstafl said:
Bose has done a very good job with their product, sure. But sometimes it seems like their dominance is at least as much a result of how great their marketing has always been.
.
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Change the the word "sometimes" to "consistently" or "always" and leave out "seems like," and you'll have an accurate statement.
 
Every head, cockpit, and combination is different. In my Bonanza, the Lightspeed Zulus were 100x better than anything. In the 185, nothing works as well as I wish it did, but Clarity Aloft seem kinda OK, maybe better than the Zulus. In my buddy's 172, David Clark One-X work just great. That's on me, which means exactly nothing for you.

Fortunately, the headset sellers generally have generous refund policies. Buy two different headsets, compare them, and keep the ones you like better.
 
I'd get the Clarks before the Zulus, but Bose over everything.
 
Guess thing have progressed a bit since I bought my DC-10-30Ss 20 years ago, eh? ;)
 
I have a set of DC One-X for my primary headset and several Lightspeed Zulu III's. My experience has been they are very close in performance and I "think" I like the sound a little better in the Zulu's.

If you move from plane to plane - the DC's fold in to a smaller footprint and are easier to pack. Comfort-wise, certainly varies a lot pilot to pilot - I find them very comfortable.

Any of the top-tier ANR headsets are worth the cost. I have had great service from both DC and Lightspeed, another toss-up. Try them before you buy if possible.

Jim
 
I have the One-X and the Pro-X. I use the One in the Bonanza, and the Pro in the 605. Both are awesome. Much more durable than the Bose, which always felt cheap and plasticy to me. They are also American made, and they have awesome customer service.
 
Groundpounder said:
I have the One-X and the Pro-X. I use the One in the Bonanza, and the Pro in the 605. Both are awesome. Much more durable than the Bose, which always felt cheap and plasticy to me. They are also American made, and they have awesome customer service.
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Ground pounder, do you use the Pro in the 605 because the ANR doesn’t work suitably in the Bo?
 
Nick Pilotte said:
Ground pounder, do you use the Pro in the 605 because the ANR doesn’t work suitably in the Bo?
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Can't speak for gp, but that's exactly the reason I use the Pro-X for work but not GA. Simply not quiet enough.
 
Nick Pilotte said:
Ground pounder, do you use the Pro in the 605 because the ANR doesn’t work suitably in the Bo?
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I have never tried my Pro in the Bo, but I did use it in a 172 once. It was OK at best. Better than nothing, but not nearly as good as a One. I used the One in the 605 a few times, and it was massive overkill. I couldn't even hear the engines.
 
I have gotten a headache from flying on two occasions. Once was in an Arrow with no headset, the other time was in a 182 with a Pro-X.
 
I tried my One-X today. Light and comfortable. ANR works well. Confirmed switch was set to mono, go to do a radio check and... nothing. Flipped switch to stereo, and I got audio in the right ear. Good enough, go fly. I fiddled with the volume buttons and got feeping in both ears. Bluetooth works in both ears. What gives? No issues with zulus or bose x in the same plane.
 
GeorgeC said:
I tried my One-X today. Light and comfortable. ANR works well. Confirmed switch was set to mono, go to do a radio check and... nothing. Flipped switch to stereo, and I got audio in the right ear. Good enough, go fly. I fiddled with the volume buttons and got feeping in both ears. Bluetooth works in both ears. What gives? No issues with zulus or bose x in the same plane.
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Bet the Mono plug in the dash doesn’t line up with the stereo connector on the headset. Flipping the switch won’t be able to fix it if they were expecting left channel and all that’s touching in there is the right (and even that sounds like it’s shorted).

Adapter would fix that.

Hold the Bose plug up to the other headsets and I bet it’s off by a couple mm one way or the other.

Or it wasn’t fully seated.

Did you try the plug on the other side? That’ll rule out the one on your side having a problem.

The shorting thing (without checking it with a multimeter only ten seconds, this is what I’m assuming your squeal is) could also be bothering the output amp of the intercom itself.
 
I have both the DC and the Bose (actually, I have four pairs of Bose). I’d rate both excellent but with one difference I haven’t seen anyone mention, and that’s sound quality.

I guess at my age my high frequency hearing isn’t what it used to be, and this is a bit of a problem with my Bose headsets. For whatever reason, Bose rolls off the high frequencies aggressively...I think this is why the Bose sound quieter to most people. But for me, it makes it harder to clearly hear things like female ATC controllers with higher pitched voices.

I’d call the DC sound “brighter” - they seem to emphasize the high end more, and while that might make them a little noisier, for me they are night and day better in terms of clarity and being able to make out ATC.

Otherwise, I’m not sure there’s a huge difference...though I would give a slight build quality advantage to the DC’s...I’m still on the original DC ear cups, but I’ve replaced the Bose twice.
 
I've got the zulu PFx and was contemplating switching. I've found that on longer flights my ears start to hurt because they're so tight on compression.
 
I use headphones for work, sometimes upwards of 8 hours at a time. Over the ear rather than on the ear is the only way to go for comfort. On the ear compresses the ear between your head and the headphones.

Edited to add: I use Lightspeed Sierra
 
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