Headsets are a very personal purchase. The best technically performing products
may suck on
your head because of your head and ear shape. Best to try on ( in the plane )
and make liberal
use of the vendor's return policy.
I'm partial to Lightspeeds.
I have a pair of the Lightspeed QFR Cross Countries. I like them, especially at
the price.
They are a unique design in that they emphasize balanced active (low frequency)
and passive (mid- to high-frequency) performance over strong low frequency
active
noise reduction.
The earcup is actually a modified Howard Leight Leightning industrial
ear defender, which is the quietest ear defender on the market. Lightspeed
claims
that
they will work better than their XL series in planes with geared engines or with
lots of wind
noise. In this regard, one might consider them a better match to the "angry
sewing
machine"
sound of the Rotax, and in my own testing I found them suprisingly quiet -
better
than the
Telex 50Ds, with their much-vaunted Tonal noise reduction. I believe that the
reason is that
the QFR CrossCountries have much less mid-frequency "peaking" ( check out their
ANR 101
tutorial for an explanation ) than the 50Ds, which is perceptually very
noticeable.
Also, an
inevitable consequence of a headset that is very effective in reducing LF prop
slap passage tones
(50Ds, Lightspeed X, Bose) is that the engine tones above the prop slap become
easier to hear
(though still safely attenuated, but more by the passive portion of the
headset).
The Bose is a very good ANR headset, but one of the reasons I shied away from it
( aside from
the stratospheric price ) is that it has almost NO passive ear protection if the
electronics fail.
The highest possible noise protection comes from a combination of ANR headset
and
earplugs.
In this regard, wearing 20-22dB earplugs underneath a pair of a Lightspeed
30-3Gs
with the high
frequency equalizer set to boost to partially compensate for the earplugs' HF
loss
may be a viable
solution. It gives you the maximum prop slap attenuation - regardless of engine
type - and
improves the "strong ANR" headset's usually mediocre midrange attenuation.
Shaun
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