Garmin GMA 350/35 vs PS Engineering PMA 450

[flyingcheesehead]

I look at the PMA450B or C verses the new Garmin audio panels:

• Prefer the Garmin if:
  • G3X EFIS is installed as the touch screen on the G3X bypasses the clumsy audio panel buttons
  • Using GTN Navigators and want voice control over the GTN radios
• Prefer PS Engineering if:
  • Added level of sound clarity
  • USB-C charging port (it does run an iPad while slowly charging it)
  • Simplified user interface with context sensitive menu buttons
  • Tech support on a Sunday night
  • 360º audio with both coms running (though some Garmin panels now do this)

This. This right here.

I have a 350c in my plane, and I really like the "push to command" button and voice recognition (Telligence is Garmin's word for it). It makes navigating the GTN series units much faster and easier, and works very well.

If you don't have a Garmin GTN (or Xi) series GPS, and/or you have no interest in voice commands nor a remote audio panel to save space, get the PS Engineering. Unlike Garmin, who can make a turd of an audio panel if they want because they make a lot of things (not that I'm calling their audio panels turds, BTW, just making a point), PS Engineering's entire business is audio panels. You don't stay in business in such a specialized niche for that long without doing what you do really well, and PSE makes a fantastic audio panel.

So, if you have no specific reason to want or need a particular feature of the Garmin, get the PSE.

 

[iamtheari]

I ordered a PMA 450B. The dual Bluetooth and easy switching between the three isolation modes I actually use were the deciding factors. The main thing is the ease of changing between Pilot, Crew, and All isolation modes. The old GMA 340 did this right. The PMA 450B does it acceptably. The GMA 350 and 35 are not so hot, requiring a long press and verbal alert (350) or a different menu page (35) to change between Copilot as Crew and Copilot as Passenger modes.

I sometimes enlist the front-row passenger as a flight attendant. For example, before landing I will be on pilot isolation mode, change to crew iso and say “make sure everyone is buckled in and give me a thumbs up,” and change back to pilot mode. The passengers never deal with ATC audio, I don’t have to talk with all of them about seat belts when I’m flying a challenging arrival, and I don’t have to hunt for buttons or remember which intercom mode is the one I really want.

I wish the PMA 450B had separate pilot and copilot volume controls. (Garmin does this on most or all of their panels.) I wish it had a front-screen pause/continue button for Bluetooth playback. (I listen to audiobooks and ATC has a knack for starting a long conversation with American Airlines about whether it’s really “extreme turbulence” if they haven’t even spilled their herbal tea just when there’s an exciting plot twist. Garmin has a pause button on the G3X Touch intercom page for the GMA 245R, but apparently not for the GMA 35c, and my plane isn’t approved for the G3X Touch.) I wish the manual were clear about whether Intelliaudio “on” is persistent or has to be selected each time you go from one radio selected to both. (A couple of POA members’ YouTube videos about the PMA 450 demonstrate and rave about Intelliaudio but also come up short on a direct answer to this question, so maybe I’m just the first one to ask it.)

But ultimately the more efficient ICS mode button could save my bacon someday, so that’s what the plane is getting.

 

[Hang 4]

I wish the manual were clear about whether Intelliaudio “on” is persistent or has to be selected each time you go from one radio selected to both.

The chosen setting - ON, OFF, AUTO is persistent. On keeps each radio in the same "position" at all times. e.g. if you have Com 1 at 3 o'clock it stays there. Auto moves the active radio to everywhere unless there is a signal on the other radio, then they move to their "Intelliaudio" relative positions. I have found it to be more effective with my Bose headset vs my Clarity Aloft. The better the speaker, the more effective the effect of hearing each radio in a different place.

 

[iamtheari]

The chosen setting - ON, OFF, AUTO is persistent. On keeps each radio in the same "position" at all times. e.g. if you have Com 1 at 3 o'clock it stays there. Auto moves the active radio to everywhere unless there is a signal on the other radio, then they move to their "Intelliaudio" relative positions. I have found it to be more effective with my Bose headset vs my Clarity Aloft. The better the speaker, the more effective the effect of hearing each radio in a different place.

Thank you. That's what I would want it to do. The manual just says that, if you turn Intelliaudio to ON with only one comm radio selected, it will turn on the selection for the other comm radio, hence my confusion with the implication that you can't have Intelliaudio set to ON without both radios selected. I'm glad it works the sane way.

 

[iamtheari]

The next thing to sort out is whether to wire any of the flightmate discretes. My thought is that the TXi system will give audio alerts for most things, but I would like to know what others have done on this side of the install and how they like the results. Do any of you have experience with these audio alerts, good bad or indifferent?