Headsets for Wife and Kids

OkieFlyer

OkieFlyer

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Andrew L.
Looks like we'll be stepping up to a six seater soon, and we'll need more headsets. My wife's headset is cheapo, so we'll bump that one down to one of the kids, get her something a little higher quality, and grab a couple more for the other kids.

1) Are there any good sets in the $400-500 range for the lady? I know that won't buy the best, but surely there are some decent options. Lay em on me.

2) I'll need 2 sets for boys ages 6 and 8. I prefer something on the cheap side for them, but obviously want the best bang for the buck. Any suggestions?

I haven't used ANR before other than a couple short flights in a friends plane. I don't know if that's something the wife would desire or not, but I'm not opposed to getting her some with ANR. I really don't care about having ANR but she might dig it. I'm thinking passive for the kids, mainly because of price and I don't want to juggle a bunch of batteries. Those with kids and small budgets, what are your thoughts?
 
Look at getting some Bose QC series and add the nflightmic to them. Ive been running with those for over a year and love them.
 
PaulS said:
I bought a Bose A20 bt for my wife. I borrow more if I have more passengers. Once hearing is gone, it doesn't come back. Not worth penny pinching over.
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If I had Bose money, I wouldn't be looking for opinions on cheaper sets. There's a difference in pinching pennies and not having the pennies to pinch.

EdFred said:
Look at getting some Bose QC series and add the nflightmic to them. Ive been running with those for over a year and love them.
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Noted. Thanks. What's the damage on a set of those, Ed?
 
IMO noise cancelling is well worth the money. My wife does too....she knows how to turn it on and change the batteries. She also knows how to work the bluetooth. This is the extent of her interest in avionics. You might consider the Lightspeed Sierra. They're $650. The Bose QC's are about $300 and the mic kit is $150 IIRC.

I bought some DC 13.4's off ebay for the kiddos. I was like you and didn't want to worry about batteries. What I learned is that my ungrateful little bas kids would rather play with their tablets than listen/talk to us. We ended up buying several sets of cheapo (like $50) noise cancelling over the ear Chinesium headphones. They do bring back the battery issues, but they protect their hearing and allow them to continue being little screen addicted zombies...in other words quiet. They DC's still ride around and they will occasionally put them on to say, "how much longer" or "I HAVE TO PEE!"
 
This is going to sound snarky, but it's not meant that way. Get them the cheap headsets, and give them earplugs to go underneath them. Especially the kids, it sucks when your hearing is not as good as it used to be.
 
If one of you can communicate with the kids other than headset - hand signals or signs or something, then maybe some shooting muffs for the kids. Bang for the bug you're going to get better protection that way. They'll grow out of headsets soon anyway I'd think. NRR of 30+ should be good. For the wife and you, I'd get whatever cheapest brand ANR you can get from sporties or spruce. Less fatigue and probably less hearing damage than passive. My experience has been that the no names are just about as quiet, but clunkier than the name brands.
 
I really like my Clarity Aloft. Your wife may also if she doesn't mind using an in ear set. Keeps from messing up her hair and she can wear a full brim hat too. ;)
 
OkieFlyer said:
If I had Bose money, I wouldn't be looking for opinions on cheaper sets. There's a difference in pinching pennies and not having the pennies to pinch.
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I don’t understand how someone can afford to step up to a 6-seater (with all the extra fuel, maintenance, and up front cost that entails) and in the next breath say they don’t have pennies to pinch to protect the health of their wife and kids. Seems like odd priorities, but to each their own.
 
skier said:
I don’t understand how someone can afford to step up to a 6-seater (with all the extra fuel, maintenance, and up front cost that entails) and in the next breath say they don’t have pennies to pinch to protect the health of their wife and kids. Seems like odd priorities, but to each their own.
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People down on the normal scale of things have to sacrifice sometimes. If he bought that six-seater so he can take his family flying with him, maybe that means he can't afford to drop $5000 on A20s for everyone right now. Okie says he wears passive headsets and never has had an ANR one, so I don't really see not putting ANR as a priority as not considering the health of his wife and children. Of course, I'm used to pinching pennies in every way I safely can so I can afford to do stuff I wouldn't normally be able to do. Flying without headsets is dumb. Flying with passive headsets is pretty normal. Flying with ANR headsets is a nice luxury. But that's just my personal experience and opinion. :)
 
EdFred said:
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products...ng_headphones/quietcomfort-headphones-45.html
or
https://nflightmic.com/collections/nflightmic-store/products/bose-qc35-ii-headphones
Plus
https://nflightmic.com/collections/nflightmic-store/products/nflightmic

I didn't think my suggestion was incoherent.
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Wasn't for your post EdFred. It was a lame attempt at humor on my part as to what happens with long periods of exposure to loud noise.


I will say that the consumer level noise cancelling headsets do not provide the same degree of protection in a piston AC environment as the A20. That should be obvious, but sometimes it isn't. I'm surprised Bose hasn't done a paper on this, I'd be interested in it if they did.
 
Borrow some from another pilot. Or ask a local flight school what they are using and try some. Or get a trial.

If you want your family to want to fly with you and not consider it a chore, you have to make them comfortable. Cockpits are noisy and as much as we love that noise, they won't. You don't have to make huge financial sacrifices. There are some lost-cost brands with good reviews (some with a try and return policy). There are some higher end solid performers available used. Some are posted right here but eBay can be a great source (my Lightspeeds are from eBay).

But the important thing is their comfort. Some love in-ear, others hate it. Same for over the ear. Some just feel better than others. But one thing I will guarantee - if they try two headsets in the airplane, one ANR and one PNR, they will choose ANR every single time (I guess there are exceptions for those who just love noise). I love that "OMG! That's wonderful" when I remind my wife or any passenger to turn their ANR on.
 
Daleandee said:
I really like my Clarity Aloft. Your wife may also if she doesn't mind using an in ear set. Keeps from messing up her hair and she can wear a full brim hat too. ;)
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^^ This. I did a 4 hr flight a couple days ago using the in-ear for the first time for an extended period. I liked not having the crunch on my head after a while and the rush of noise when I turn my head while wearing a hat and/or sunglasses.

There are a few options floating around for in-ear and most of them have several options for ear bud styles. I settled on the rubber style rather than the foam 'squeeze and insert' style, but they're easy to change out to what works best for the person.
 
PaulS said:
Wasn't for your post EdFred. It was a lame attempt at humor on my part as to what happens with long periods of exposure to loud noise.


I will say that the consumer level noise cancelling headsets do not provide the same degree of protection in a piston AC environment as the A20. That should be obvious, but sometimes it isn't. I'm surprised Bose hasn't done a paper on this, I'd be interested in it if they did.
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Ah, I missed that.

Compared to the ANR (not Bose) headset I previously used and is now the pax headset, the QC35s have better cancelling. So while it may not be A20 level cancelling, it's still pretty good.

I doubt Bose would put a paper out on it if it came out that a QC setup with the flightmic was just as good as an A20. Hard to sell the A20s at twice the price if the protection is still there.
 
It's been mentioned above but I'd like to reiterate two very important points: 1) How headsets fit the individual wearer is critical for both comfort and noise reduction. So try before you buy if at all possible. 2) Used can be a very cost effective way to get some. I bought 2 pairs of Telex first generation ANR headsets off of eBay for ~$65 a few years ago and they are both still working fine. I use them for passenger headsets right now as my wife bought me a pair of Bose for Christmas. But the Telex are being temporarily promoted as the Bose ANR turns off randomly so they're going back to Bose for warranty work. Bose are better, no question. But the Telex are pretty nice-especially for the price.
 
I have always used passive headsets, so have no basis for comparison. I had a set of Telex which were okay, but the mic didn’t always trigger like it should. I have a David Clark now, and it has worked well for me for many years. And, I can still hear well for an old guy :).

I completely understand Okie’s wish to be conservative with his spending. Some of us have to stretch our dollars just to be able to fly.
 
CJones said:
^^ This. I did a 4 hr flight a couple days ago using the in-ear for the first time for an extended period. I liked not having the crunch on my head after a while and the rush of noise when I turn my head while wearing a hat and/or sunglasses.
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Took me a few tries to find ear tips that I like. The ones from Clarity work well but I actually prefer the tips from https://earphonesplus.com/

I also like that there are no batteries to replace, the ANR never goes off, and they weigh very little. I've used a few higher priced ANR sets and it's my experience that the Clarity Aloft, when using properly inserted ear tips, work just as well (and better than some) of the ANR sets I've tried.
 
I used to fly C-206 and 207 in Alaska with passive headsets. After 8 hours my head was about to bust.

Then I got ANR headset. After 8 hours I was still feeling ready to go. Such a big difference at the end of the day.
 
EdFred said:
Look at getting some Bose QC series and add the nflightmic to them. Ive been running with those for over a year and love them.
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Interesting. Too bad the mic alone is $250. I wonder if this setup could be 'rigged' further(McGyvered) to achieve max anr and min price. Like maybe the nflight mic + 3M ANR ($30) + $20 ear buds? Might be a cumbersome contraption to put on though! :)
 
skier said:
I don’t understand how someone can afford to step up to a 6-seater (with all the extra fuel, maintenance, and up front cost that entails) and in the next breath say they don’t have pennies to pinch to protect the health of their wife and kids. Seems like odd priorities, but to each their own.
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Well, I could explain that to you, but I'm not gonna.
 
Albany Tom said:
If one of you can communicate with the kids other than headset - hand signals or signs or something, then maybe some shooting muffs for the kids. Bang for the bug you're going to get better protection that way. They'll grow out of headsets soon anyway I'd think. NRR of 30+ should be good. For the wife and you, I'd get whatever cheapest brand ANR you can get from sporties or spruce. Less fatigue and probably less hearing damage than passive. My experience has been that the no names are just about as quiet, but clunkier than the name brands.
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The kids have been wearing muffs since birth in the 182. They are tired of not being able to talk to us and want to try headsets. I'm not totally convinced that all three kids will want to stick with them, hence the call for cheaper ones. If they dig it, we can see about dropping more coin later on.

I wear a QT Halo in-ear headset, and I prefer it to any other headset I've ever tried, but I'm used to wearing ear plugs all day at work. It weighs nothing, and noise reduction is better than just about anything except maybe the highest end ANR. My wife is not a fan of earplugs, however, and has tiny ear canals.
Might spend a little more on her. She's been wearing an old passive Telex set for too long.
 
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SkyChaser said:
People down on the normal scale of things have to sacrifice sometimes. If he bought that six-seater so he can take his family flying with him, maybe that means he can't afford to drop $5000 on A20s for everyone right now. Okie says he wears passive headsets and never has had an ANR one, so I don't really see not putting ANR as a priority as not considering the health of his wife and children. Of course, I'm used to pinching pennies in every way I safely can so I can afford to do stuff I wouldn't normally be able to do. Flying without headsets is dumb. Flying with passive headsets is pretty normal. Flying with ANR headsets is a nice luxury. But that's just my personal experience and opinion. :)
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Well said, and accurate. Thank you.
 
SkyChaser said:
People down on the normal scale of things have to sacrifice sometimes. If he bought that six-seater so he can take his family flying with him, maybe that means he can't afford to drop $5000 on A20s for everyone right now. Okie says he wears passive headsets and never has had an ANR one, so I don't really see not putting ANR as a priority as not considering the health of his wife and children. Of course, I'm used to pinching pennies in every way I safely can so I can afford to do stuff I wouldn't normally be able to do. Flying without headsets is dumb. Flying with passive headsets is pretty normal. Flying with ANR headsets is a nice luxury. But that's just my personal experience and opinion. :)
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yep. This!

I might add too that it might depend a little on how often they fly. If rarely or mostly short flights then it's a little more justifiable to sacrifice comfort or luxury features.

Back when I was flying Flightcom was a good brand for cheaper but good decent quality headsets. I had great experience with them. I have no idea where they fit in on the scale nowadays....
 
I go back and forth as I read the various comments. I do understand the desire to get the best bang for the buck, but two things stick out.

Hearing is irreplaceable. If I could not afford quality headsets, I would not take my kids up in an airplane, or at the very least I would follow the advice of ear plugs and a shooters headset. (This is from someone that is profoundly deaf without using VERY expensive hearing aids. And even then my hearing still sucks and it is awful. I'm just really glad I can blame it on my own choices to damage my hearing rather than on my PARENTS CHOICES.

Also, I"m sorry, but if one can move up to a six, I just don't buy the "poor me" story of not having the pennies. But that is your choice, so no need to explain it to me. But I urge you to "Think of the Children". Perhaps you should use the cheaper headsets and buy good ANRs for the rest of the family.
 
ahh...I really don't think he's looking for suggestions for something without decent noise attenuation.
nothing wrong with a good passive headset.

this, from a fellow hearing aid wearer
and I wear mine...I think..at least partially on "parent's choices"...or really not choices but lack of knowledge....
 
Speaking of hearing protection ... I use hearing protection at the range (obviously), when I'm on the Z-turn mowing the lawn, and most anytime the noise level will be above moderate or sustained for any length of time.
 
EarPods or Bose QC, they won’t care about ATC or hearing you talk on the radio, probably just watching movies or listening to much or sleeping.
 
Jackk said:
EarPods or Bose QC, they won’t care about ATC or hearing you talk on the radio, probably just watching movies or listening to much or sleeping.
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QCs do just fine. Not sure if you are saying they are crap or not, but if you are, you're wrong. They do better than my flightcom ANR.
 
ANR is great. One of my partners started with the good old DC passive ones, recently he finally got a light speed set. He’s like wow I can hear atc now.

I under the idea of getting something cheap for the kids who might be careless or hard on their stuff. That’s said it been told to me that the light speed sierra fits kids well. When the time comes that’s what I plan to look into for the little one.
 
This is what bose says about using the qc 35 for an aviation communication headset.

Do NOT use the headphones as aviation communication headsets except in case of emergency.

– No incoming audio will be heard with a discharged or improperly installed battery. This could result in the potential of missed communications while piloting an aircraft.

– Extremely loud ambient noise levels common to many propeller-driven aircraft may impair your ability to receive incoming audio communications, particularly during takeoff and climb out.

– The headphones are not engineered for noise conditions, altitude, temperature or other environmental conditions common in non-commercial aircraft, resulting in possible interference to critical communications

811772_og_quietcomfort-35-wireless-ii_en.pdf (bose.com)
 
PaulS said:
This is what bose says about using the qc 35 for an aviation communication headset.

Do NOT use the headphones as aviation communication headsets except in case of emergency.

– No incoming audio will be heard with a discharged or improperly installed battery. This could result in the potential of missed communications while piloting an aircraft.

– Extremely loud ambient noise levels common to many propeller-driven aircraft may impair your ability to receive incoming audio communications, particularly during takeoff and climb out.

– The headphones are not engineered for noise conditions, altitude, temperature or other environmental conditions common in non-commercial aircraft, resulting in possible interference to critical communications

811772_og_quietcomfort-35-wireless-ii_en.pdf (bose.com)
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Of course they are going to say that when they are trying to sell the A20. And they are wrong. When the battery is dead (or headset is off) you can still hear fine because with the nflight mic is a wired connection, not a blue tooth connection, and you can hear just fine all the way up above 10,000 ft. And the noise reduction is better than my Flightcoms

Basically Bose is straight up lying so you'll buy the aviation series.
 
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