Adventures of an Aviatrix, in which a pilot travels the skies and the treacherous career path of Canadian commercial aviation, gaining knowledge and experience without losing her step, her licence, or her sense of humour.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Black Band on My Headset?
This is relevant because one of the products Sennheiser sells is aviation headsets. I have a bright blue one.
A great man - Sennheiser makes an excellent product. I work as a broadcast engineer in the radio biz, and all of our headsets are Sennheiser - Best quality for the price in the entire market.
I cannot imagine ever doing a studio session without the venerable Sennheiser MD421 microphone. The HD-414 headphones were the first professional cans to use the lightweight, "on-ear" design and were ubiquitous in recording studios and radio stations in the 80s. Herr Dr. Sennheiser, we owe you indeed.
David Clark is so traditional that they can't get their fat heads around the fact that pilot heads come in small as well as large. I've never been able to adjust a pair of DCs to fit me snugly, and they were slow to make the leap to AMR. And mould green isn't my colour.
I'm sorry to say I chose the Peltor over the Sennheiser. They are remarkably similar and the Peltor was cheaper. DC wasn't even considered. As Trix points out, the colour couldn't be worse. Also why are DC's so tall? Does it really need a foam pad the size of a paperback book under the top strap?
I've since gone "in the ear" and couldn't be happier. Lightweight, cool and great noise reduction. The real bonus is not having to select (sun)glasses that are headset compatible...
Jimmy, I've never tried it in the ear before. Not sure I'd like it.
Scott, my music headphones were HD585's for years - until I had to have ANR in the office, and bought the Bose QC15. Now I see I can get a (non BOSE approved) aviation mic adapter for the QC for $250; maybe I'll use them as a spare/pax pair.
Jimmy I really like the idea of in-ear. However the problem is that they don't give you the protection that a set of cans do. Whilst the apparent attenuation is great, they don't cover some of the bony structures around the ear. You get a lot of damaging conduction through those bony structures. The end result is that you happily fly along getting hearing damage. I've already got enough of that to last me a lifetime!
I have a nice set of ANR Lightspeeds (prior to the Zulu), and liked them. Nowhere near the "skull crushers" that DCs are, but after a 10-hour day, to OSH several years ago, I was done. And, what better place to decide to get a new headset?
Ended up getting Clarity Aloft, in the ear foamies. LOVE them. As quiet as ANR (though different), no problems with glasses, and - when flying in a bubble-canopied plane - I can wear a hat!
@ Sarah: They are an acquired taste shall we say. If you don't dig earplugs you will not enjoy them. I spent many years in trades wearing molded plugs... Sometimes I would remember to take them out only on the drive home lol. I can't really say how most people would like them. I'm obviously biased. I can't even lend mine for people to try with the custom molds I run...
@Critical Alpha: I 'hear' you ;). It is my understanding that it is only the low frequency that makes it through the bony structures. My audiologist claims that would not be damaging to my hearing anyhow. As I said to Sarah I spent more than a decade running shapers and other loud woodworking machines. Think 'so loud the steel shanks in your boots vibrate' lol. Way louder than most airplanes in other words...
FWIW even after all that time I have 95%+ of my hearing. Any loss is in the 'dog whistle zone' up high, with none in the low freq. range I would expect damage. I blame the high end loss on skil-saw use without any protection BTW (mainly right ear). Not conclusive proof by any means I know...
All I do know is for the comfort I'm willing to take some chances. I still get my hearing checked yearly, and I don't fly too much. I appreciate your heads up on the topic though!
12 comments:
So long, Dr. Sennheiser. Would that we all have such long and productive lives.
Funny, though. I'd have thought Aviatrix more of a David Clark traditionalist.
I dithered between Bose & Lightspeed and eventually went with the Zulu. ANR headsets are the best thing to happen to aviation... other than GPS.
A great man - Sennheiser makes an excellent product. I work as a broadcast engineer in the radio biz, and all of our headsets are Sennheiser - Best quality for the price in the entire market.
I cannot imagine ever doing a studio session without the venerable Sennheiser MD421 microphone. The HD-414 headphones were the first professional cans to use the lightweight, "on-ear" design and were ubiquitous in recording studios and radio stations in the 80s. Herr Dr. Sennheiser, we owe you indeed.
David Clark is so traditional that they can't get their fat heads around the fact that pilot heads come in small as well as large. I've never been able to adjust a pair of DCs to fit me snugly, and they were slow to make the leap to AMR. And mould green isn't my colour.
R.I.P. Dr. Sennheiser.
I'm sorry to say I chose the Peltor over the Sennheiser. They are remarkably similar and the Peltor was cheaper. DC wasn't even considered. As Trix points out, the colour couldn't be worse. Also why are DC's so tall? Does it really need a foam pad the size of a paperback book under the top strap?
I've since gone "in the ear" and couldn't be happier. Lightweight, cool and great noise reduction. The real bonus is not having to select (sun)glasses that are headset compatible...
"... And mould green isn't my colour."
Clashes with your hair colour? ;-)
Hehe. True, DC's are ugly.
Jimmy, I've never tried it in the ear before. Not sure I'd like it.
Scott, my music headphones were HD585's for years - until I had to have ANR in the office, and bought the Bose QC15. Now I see I can get a (non BOSE approved) aviation mic adapter for the QC for $250; maybe I'll use them as a spare/pax pair.
Jimmy I really like the idea of in-ear. However the problem is that they don't give you the protection that a set of cans do. Whilst the apparent attenuation is great, they don't cover some of the bony structures around the ear. You get a lot of damaging conduction through those bony structures. The end result is that you happily fly along getting hearing damage. I've already got enough of that to last me a lifetime!
Oh Sarah, putting in the ear is great!
I have a nice set of ANR Lightspeeds (prior to the Zulu), and liked them. Nowhere near the "skull crushers" that DCs are, but after a 10-hour day, to OSH several years ago, I was done. And, what better place to decide to get a new headset?
Ended up getting Clarity Aloft, in the ear foamies. LOVE them. As quiet as ANR (though different), no problems with glasses, and - when flying in a bubble-canopied plane - I can wear a hat!
I wear a baseball cap under my headset.
Baseball caps are OK, but when you're in a DA-20, PiperSport, or better yet an RV, a wide brimmed hat makes the whole experience better!
Little bit of Bob Hoover channeling there too... At least in appearance, if not flying prowess.
@ Sarah:
They are an acquired taste shall we say. If you don't dig earplugs you will not enjoy them. I spent many years in trades wearing molded plugs... Sometimes I would remember to take them out only on the drive home lol. I can't really say how most people would like them. I'm obviously biased. I can't even lend mine for people to try with the custom molds I run...
@Critical Alpha:
I 'hear' you ;). It is my understanding that it is only the low frequency that makes it through the bony structures. My audiologist claims that would not be damaging to my hearing anyhow. As I said to Sarah I spent more than a decade running shapers and other loud woodworking machines. Think 'so loud the steel shanks in your boots vibrate' lol. Way louder than most airplanes in other words...
FWIW even after all that time I have 95%+ of my hearing. Any loss is in the 'dog whistle zone' up high, with none in the low freq. range I would expect damage. I blame the high end loss on skil-saw use without any protection BTW (mainly right ear). Not conclusive proof by any means I know...
All I do know is for the comfort I'm willing to take some chances. I still get my hearing checked yearly, and I don't fly too much. I appreciate your heads up on the topic though!
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