In ear headset question

I certainly haven't bought and sold as many headsets as @pigpenracing but I currently own and use both Clarity and Halo and I disagree with his commentary about the Halos.

Perhaps if you had actually tried them you'd opine differently. But why bother?

I saw a guy with LS Zulus. He was an *******. Those headsets suck.
 
I know I'm probably gonna get zinged for this, but I went from a QT Halo that I'd been using weekly doing aerial photography to the Lightspeed Tango and I can safely say I don't intend to ever go back...
 
Ravioli said:
I certainly haven't bought and sold as many headsets as @pigpenracing but I currently own and use both Clarity and Halo and I disagree with his commentary about the Halos.

Perhaps if you had actually tried them you'd opine differently. But why bother?

I saw a guy with LS Zulus. He was an *******. Those headsets suck.
Click to expand...

I guess everyone is different which is perfectly ok. I just put in my two cents from what I know and personally like.
If everyone liked the same thing they would only make one kind right?
 
RyanShort1 said:
I know I'm probably gonna get zinged for this, but I went from a QT Halo that I'd been using weekly doing aerial photography to the Lightspeed Tango and I can safely say I don't intend to ever go back...
Click to expand...

Everyone has an opinion. Yours is valued. I'd love to try some of the in-ear headsets (earplugs don't bother me at all), but I hate spending several hundred bucks on something before knowing I'll like it. (And there is no way to figure that out in a 5 minute demo at Oshkosh).
 
pigpenracing said:
I guess everyone is different which is perfectly ok. I just put in my two cents from what I know and personally like.
If everyone liked the same thing they would only make one kind right?
Click to expand...

I generally give your opinions some weight because you've have had so many headsets from so many manufacturers flow through... I was surprised you panned one that you said you had in your hand and "didn't try"
 
kyleb said:
Everyone has an opinion. Yours is valued. I'd love to try some of the in-ear headsets (earplugs don't bother me at all), but I hate spending several hundred bucks on something before knowing I'll like it. (And there is no way to figure that out in a 5 minute demo at Oshkosh).
Click to expand...

Clarity has a 30 day trial. If you don't fall in love you get your money back.
 
Ravioli said:
I generally give your opinions some weight because you've have had so many headsets from so many manufacturers flow through... I was surprised you panned one that you said you had in your hand and "didn't try"
Click to expand...

Maybe I got a bad one?? I know Phil is behind making the Halos and has hired new help. The unit I got looked like a 7 year old kid built it for the science fair. When I opened it I just laughed at how horrible it was. It went right back.
 
My Halo was not holding up to the wear and tear that well, sound quality was OK, but honestly, I finally decided I needed to start using ANR as much as I fly. I was starting to hear a little buzz at night and that's mostly gone away since I started using the Tango instead. I was using the densest highest noise protection earplugs available with the Halo. The light weight of the Halo was /is nice, but I still had to adjust the headset in flight and the cord always seemed to be in my way with the camera. For what I do losing the cord with the Tango is a lot more valuable, and I can handle a 9-11 hour day with the Tango just as well as I could handle that much cockpit time with the Halo. Sound quality is just fine with my Tango - it does occasionally have the "tinny" sound some mention, but I really don't care and it doesn't bother me a bit. I'm flying photo missions over DFW and pretty busy airspace and it gets the job done just fine. Also, battery life is holding up well so far.
 
Zeldman said:
Just got finished washing my hands, read this, gotta go wash the hands again...

...and designing the worlds largest all wood airplane called the "Spruce Moose..."
Click to expand...

On floats, no doubt?
 
Zeldman said:
Just got finished washing my hands, read this, gotta go wash the hands again...

Seriously, I do not let other people use my mouse..... I keep it in a locked drawer.

I am sure I am heading towards opening a casino, staying in my room, naked, wearing tissue boxes over my feet, keeping toe nail clippings and urine in jars and designing the worlds largest all wood airplane called the "Spruce Moose..."

200_s.gif
Click to expand...
I understand - no one uses my headset but me. However, I do have 3 others (Dave Clarks) that the pax use (Young Eagles, etc). After each trip, the ear cushions and the mic boom get cleaned with alcohol wipes, and the foam mic cover gets washed in hot soapy water.

But going back to the CA and Halo's - as much as I really wanted to use the Halo's, turns out I can't tolerate anything in the ears for any length of time (much like Mark)...sound was great tho. You can get replacement ear buds either on Amazon or from whichever company you buy the headset - either Clarity or Halo.
 
Radar Contact said:
At OSH I went to the QT Halo guy and his demonstration showed amazing voice quality and noise reduction. I also stopped by the clarity aloft and played with them. I went with the Halo's. I will give you a better pirep as soon as I get my pair. Got them for my lady but think I will end up liking them better than my zulu 2's and if so will order another pair. I have 2 other david clark's for passengers but need to build up to 6 total. At least one lucky passenger will end up with the zulu 2's.

Sorry I don't have real world experience yet for you but the Halo guy said once I try them in the 310 I won't go back.
Click to expand...

I have a set of Halos and can confirm the audio quality in actual use is a cut above any other headset I've ever tried.

However, I do not like the fussing of inserting ear pieces and on a long trip just don't enjoy having something inserted in them for hours at a time.

I keep a small box full of throw away foam earpieces in the plane and the Halo has been relegated to passenger use by those that don't prefer the over-ear variety. I've gone back to David Clark, at present the ANR One-X. All the other passenger headsets in the plane are DCs.
 
For being "garbage" my Halos have held up very well to tough use for years. And they are, indeed, well regarded by the great unwashed masses.
They do, at first blush, appear fragile and made of light materials, but that is a reflection of their inherent design - no speakers in your ears, no wires to your ears.
I would pay more for Halos but I don't judge quality by price.
 
kyleb said:
Everyone has an opinion. Yours is valued. I'd love to try some of the in-ear headsets (earplugs don't bother me at all), but I hate spending several hundred bucks on something before knowing I'll like it. (And there is no way to figure that out in a 5 minute demo at Oshkosh).
Click to expand...
Pick up a variety of ear plugs. There are the "christmas tree version" as well as the foam plugs and silicon plugs. Wear them around the house for a couple hours, see if they're still comfy. If so, then go for either of the CA or Halo's. Altho I haven't tried the CA, I did like the sound of the Halo's, just couldn't tolerate anything in the ear for long. CA offers a 30 day return on the Pro model, call and ask about returns on the other models. May want to email Phil at pmccand@yahoo.com and ask about his return policy.
 
My wife and both use CA. She uses the standard ear piece and I use the Etyomics ear pieces.
 
murphey said:
Pick up a variety of ear plugs. There are the "christmas tree version" as well as the foam plugs and silicon plugs. Wear them around the house for a couple hours, see if they're still comfy. If so, then go for either of the CA or Halo's. Altho I haven't tried the CA, I did like the sound of the Halo's, just couldn't tolerate anything in the ear for long. CA offers a 30 day return on the Pro model, call and ask about returns on the other models. May want to email Phil at pmccand@yahoo.com and ask about his return policy.
Click to expand...
This. Practice for wearing halo by wearing ear plugs and some some glasses on backwards, that pretty much simulates it.

At first glance they don't look 'finished' like most mass produced products. Mine have held up well so far. I even rolled the seat track forward over the ear tube, had to roll it over it again to get it unstuck, and there was no damage. Try that with an electric ear bud wire.
 
My wife uses the CA and loves them. I tried them and could never get a good enough fit including using the largest size so I could never get them to be as quiet as my Zulus for me.
 
Hank S said:
The big difference with CA is the speaker, and tonight I learned there's a box of electronics behind one ear of the CAs. The CA puts the speaker in your ear, ear bud style, and I hate earbuds--they hurt! With Halos, only the foam or silicone plug goes in your ear, and nothing goes around your head except the shaped wire.
Click to expand...
Have you actually TRIED on a CA headset?

Because a lot of people talk about how they hate CAs because they are like earbuds when they are nothing like earbuds.

Yes, with CA, the speaker is in the earplug itself, but it is not an ear bud. It is a foamy earplug that happens to have the speaker screw into the center.

I also hate earbuds because they hurt after a while, but the CAs don't hurt like that even after a 10+ hour flying day.
 
CC268 said:
Just out of curiosity - how are you using the 3M ear tips? Are you referring to the orange ones?
Click to expand...
The 3M model is E-A-RLINK size 3A. They're the yellow cylindrical kind. Unfortunately, they're hard to find online without paying an exorbitant rate for shipping. I've actually bartered for them a few times with students who had huge orders. There's an audiologist down the street from me where I am planning to get my next supply. I have used the orange ones with the black tubular inserts before, but I find the yellow ones are better for noise reduction.
 
Although I will under no circumstances stand behind this suggestion/recommendation - having used ear plugs as a motorcyclist most of my life and being quite comfortable with them and their various manifestations, I've of late been playing with adaptations to my Halos.
I've discovered that the little black plastic coffee stirrers available widely at fast food emporia are the same OD as the Halo adaptors and therefore MIGHT could be used to adapt one's favorite ear plugs to the Halos.
YMMV, the opinion expressed herein is solely that of an unnamed unindicted coconspirator, use at own risk, etc etc.
 
I've been a CA man for 10 years and can't imagine wearing anything else.

Hell naw, I ain't wearing clamps on my head that feel like a muthascratchin' vise as they squeeze my sunglasses into my temples after an hour or two!
 
I use the Halo's. You forget you're even wearing them.

If you wear glasses, take them off, put the Halos on, then put your glasses back on.
 
Last edited:
Fearless Tower said:
Have you actually TRIED on a CA headset?

Because a lot of people talk about how they hate CAs because they are like earbuds when they are nothing like earbuds.

Yes, with CA, the speaker is in the earplug itself, but it is not an ear bud. It is a foamy earplug that happens to have the speaker screw into the center.

I also hate earbuds because they hurt after a while, but the CAs don't hurt like that even after a 10+ hour flying day.
Click to expand...

Never been anywhere that had some CAs to try on . . . But have never used an earbud that I didn't hate after just a few minutes--generic, apple, airline . . . What's the difference between a painful earbud, and putting a speaker in your ear?

Also not a fan of foam earplugs; we have them at work, they make my ear canals sweat in the summer, and sometimes as the rolled foam expands, it pushes right back out of my ear (and becomes a mon-functional, low value decoration). Fortunately the nice Safety folks were able to provide some silicone earplugs when I asked them.

My Halos came with a handful of yellow foam tips, but I gave them all away unused since the silicone ones work so well. Have since read many complaints about trying to use foam earplugs in cold winter weather, but the silicone ones don't have that problem, either. Different strokes, different folks, etc.
 
Hank S said:
Haven't had to do that yet.
Click to expand...

I normally do it the way I said, but one time I forgot to take my glasses off first and they were hurting and I really couldn't figure why. Then I realized I hadn't taken my glasses off first, took off my glasses and put them back on and they were fine.
 
Hank S said:
Never been anywhere that had some CAs to try on . . . But have never used an earbud that I didn't hate after just a few minutes--generic, apple, airline . . . What's the difference between a painful earbud, and putting a speaker in your ear?
Click to expand...
It's not an earbud. It's an earplug with a small speaker that screws into the back of the plug.

They also make silicone 'Christmas tree' style plugs like the Halos use for CAs for those that don't like foamies.

My point is that you don't notice the 'speaker in your ear'.

For the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with Halos (other than the lead time to order them). Just trying to correct a common misperception I see about CAs.
 
I have Halos, love 'em.

Had forgotten just how well they worked until I replaced the foam eartips! Turns out the sound attenuation fades as the foam gets old. Properly inserted, the noise reduction is amazing, and light / comfortable is great in summer, especially.

Very good sound quality.
 
SCCutler said:
I have Halos, love 'em.

Had forgotten just how well they worked until I replaced the foam eartips! Turns out the sound attenuation fades as the foam gets old. Properly inserted, the noise reduction is amazing, and light / comfortable is great in summer, especially.

Very good sound quality.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the foam gets soft over time and just springs back without shaping itself to he ear canal. Loses it's "squish" so to speak. I've a drawerful of the Pro Foam things, was wondering if there's some way to bring hem back to life. When new, they work great, but they age pretty quick.
 
CAs or Halos for the win
 
Has anyone tried the UFQ L-1 headset? It's kind of a cheap ($200) Chinese knockoff of the CA or QT in-ear sets. Company is U Fly Quiet, no relation to U Fly Mike, I don't think. Claims to be as quiet as ANR sets. Says 29 db reduction, which is on the low end of the range CA quotes. Not sure if that could be improved with different tips. Few reviews online, but the ones I've seen (ebay, Amazon) are good.
 
Another Halo guy here. I've had them for a little over a year now, and they've done a fine job. I've only tried ANR a couple of times so I don't have enough experience to compare to any ANR sets. I personally dislike ANR. I like the Halo quite a bit. Good noise reduction, sound is very clear, and they are very light. As others have mentioned, about the only drawback is forgetting they are on when you get out of the plane. So much nicer than clamp-ons when wearing glasses. I haven't tried CA, but back when I was shopping and researching, I came to the conclusion based on reviews that there isn't enough of a difference over the Halo to justify the higher price.

I think it's important to be able to get the plugs up in the canal properly. I know some folks just don't have big enough earholes to get em' in there, and aren't able to get all the noise reduction potential from the plugs. Also, some folks get uncomfortable with prolonged ear plug use. I'm an oilfield guy, so I have to wear earplugs at work everyday, so I'm used to it. If you aren't used to earplugs, you may want to borrow a set to see if it bothers you before buying.

I can't say they are the best, but I can't imagine you being disappointed if you purchase them.
 
I let my brother use my Halos on Monday for an almost 3 hour roundtrip to watch eclipse while I used my Zulu2. He was sold on them and now wants a set himself. Yes, I gave him new earplugs. :D
 
N3368K said:
He was sold on them and now wants a set himself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately wanting them and getting them are too different things.:( For those of us who can't wait around indefinitely, we need to consider other options.
 
It took two weeks to get mine last year. Email the contact/owner and ask to be placed on list. He will notify you when you can order. No biggie.
 
N3368K said:
It took two weeks to get mine last year. Email the contact/owner and ask to be placed on list. He will notify you when you can order. No biggie.
Click to expand...

I emailed them weeks ago. No response. It's already been posted by others that he no longer maintains a waiting list. No idea if/when he'll ever start selling them again. Moving on.
 
I have the Halo's. There was a specific reason I wanted the Halo over the CA's. The CA's have the speakers in the in-ear part of the headset while the Halo's have the speakers attached to the head band. When looking at the two styles I took into consideration that neither was built like a DC and had a concern that it might be too easy to rip the wiring between the headband and the ear piece. With the Halo if the ear piece were to be ripped away from the headband all that would need to be done was replace the tubing. I also remember air traffic controllers headsets from the 70's and 80's using the same technology with the surgical tubing and figured if it was good for them it might be good for me.

Another POAer had a used set he was no longer using so I picked them up rather inexpensively. Unfortunately when I received them I discovered that the box with the volume control had been opened and a wire was hanging out. They worked but did so intermittently. I contacted the owner owner of Halo who is an audiologist and he said send them in. He worked on them and completely replaced the volume control box, and the mic saying it didn't quite meet his expectations for quality. The charge for all of this was, zero. I called him and said, hey, I didn't buy these from you, I bought them used. His comment was that regardless of where I got them I had paid for them and they should work. Needless to say, you just don't get that level of customer service from many vendors.

To be fair, a flying friend has a set of CA's and loves them. I have never used the CA's so cant say anything bad about them at all. In the long run it just depends on what you feel comfortable with.

For the record I bought a yellow set because I was afraid I might sit on them, and thought the bright color might help prevent that.
 
@Ravioli was gracious enough to let me test drive a pair of clarity aloft and halo headsets.

I think I am a clunky headset guy though.

The CA sound quality seemed really good but the fit was not right. It felt like wire hangers tugging on my ears.
I tried a few adjustments but flew with them for about 2 hours. I don't think they would be any less irritating on a 4 hour flight than a bulky headset. Just for a different set of reasons.

Then I put on the halos and the fit was perfect. You almost wouldn't know they were there.
But I couldn't hear myself at all when I would transmit. It was weird. I thought my radio was kaput for a bit.
They didn't seem to do as good a job blocking out cabin sound either so I landed and ended the experiment because it was hot, bumpy, and busy.

These things would probably be fine given time to get used to them but I feel like they are a little more flimsy.
If I accidentally snag a cord on the DCs or Bose, the subtle shifting that occurs is less dramatic because they are more firmly attached to my noggin.

I really wanted the CAs to be the ones for me. They got a lot of positive reviews but there is just not enough meat to keep the mic in place and I didn't find them to be that comfortable. It is literally a rubber band that holds them to your had. Not a rubber band in the traditional sense but in the sense of it being a band made of rubber.

Now to find a traditional ANR headset that is quality but less costly than the 320s.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
@Ravioli was gracious enough to let me test drive a pair of clarity aloft and halo headsets.

I think I am a clunky headset guy though.

The CA sound quality seemed really good but the fit was not right. It felt like wire hangers tugging on my ears.
I tried a few adjustments but flew with them for about 2 hours. I don't think they would be any less irritating on a 4 hour flight than a bulky headset. Just for a different set of reasons.

Then I put on the halos and the fit was perfect. You almost wouldn't know they were there.
But I couldn't hear myself at all when I would transmit. It was weird. I thought my radio was kaput for a bit.
They didn't seem to do as good a job blocking out cabin sound either so I landed and ended the experiment because it was hot, bumpy, and busy.

These things would probably be fine given time to get used to them but I feel like they are a little more flimsy.
If I accidentally snag a cord on the DCs or Bose, the subtle shifting that occurs is less dramatic because they are more firmly attached to my noggin.

I really wanted the CAs to be the ones for me. They got a lot of positive reviews but there is just not enough meat to keep the mic in place and I didn't find them to be that comfortable. It is literally a rubber band that holds them to your had. Not a rubber band in the traditional sense but in the sense of it being a band made of rubber.

Now to find a traditional ANR headset that is quality but less costly than the 320s.
Click to expand...

Dude, something wasn't right. My Halos are abundantly loud.
 
OkieFlyer said:
Dude, something wasn't right. My Halos are abundantly loud.
Click to expand...
Can you hear your transmissions?
I would hit PPT and hear nothing. I am used to that deadening the sound a bit but I can hear my transmission. Today it was dead air.
 
I bought a set of Halos second hand recently. Flew with them the first time on Saturday for two 40 minute flights. Some observations:

1) The fit and comfort were fine. I don't mind earplugs and the headsets were very comfortable for me. I was wearing glasses and a baseball hat. The hat, in particular, causes ear seal problems with my Lightspeeds.

2) Putting the Halos on takes 10x longer than putting on the Lightspeeds.

3) The Lightspeeds seem to have slightly better noise reduction.

4) The mic on the Halos is more sensitive than the one on the Lightspeeds. I had to turn the squelch way up to prevent ambient noise from "opening" the mic. Still, I got a brief burst of feedback after each time I spoke or used the radio.

5) The Halos are lighter and will never suffer from dead batteries. Those are both plusses.

I don't have a strong preference either way at this point. I think it'll be interesting to compare as I fly more with the Halos. A long flight might have a different outcome than the short flights I made on Saturday.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top