The results of the survey about aviation headsets costing less than $400 are in. The survey asked, is there an economical headset that feels good on the head, provides good audio quality, and holds up over time? The answer in this week’s show.

Questions asked in reader and listener email

 

“Tiring of hearing “tally ho” and “no joy” on ATC [frequencies], my wife and I are on a quest to find the real word on this slang. I love that you always reference the docs –the AIM, the FARs, maybe a chart — and say when your opinion is just your opinion, and I hope that you can help us!” David T-G

“I’ve noticed in the radio simulator, the books, and podcasts you say numeral 9 as the word “nine” instead of “niner”. Is there a reason for this? While I’ve not yet heard controllers refer to numeral 3 as “tree” and 5 as “fife”, it’s been common practice for years to say the 9 as “niner” as in “Cessna seven niner quebec, Hanscom tower, cleared for takeoff runway two niner”. I’m just curious in your experience the “niner” thing is overkill for private pilots.” Andrew W.

These questions answered, plus one question I’ll ask you: Your Question of the Week.

T-minus fife, four, tree, two, one, zero. Launch Radar Contact!

Show Notes:

Survey Responses (By Headset Model)

 

ASA HS-1 (Approx. $113)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 1

Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “I bought this headset for the backseat of my Warrior. With the mic plugged in it adds a lot of extra static noise no matter who is talking.”

Gulf Coast Avionics ANR (Approx. $249)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Durability: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Pretty comfortable for awhile but once I’m over 2 hours it starts to get heavy and uncomfortable.” “This is my first headset which has been great for the money so it was excellent entry level set.”

Faro G2 Passive (Approx. $170)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 1; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This was the headset I used during training. It is a excellent value, and performed well. ” “These are probably the most comfortable passive, wired headsets you can get. The thick gel cushion makes all the difference. The gel flows around sunglasses temple pieces and never really feel like they are ‘clamping’.” “Very clear. You have dual volume control so you can turn the volume on the radio up and turn your own headset down in case your copilot has a different impedance on his set.” “The construction is solid and the mic boom feels like it’s going to last a long time even when you fiddle with it a lot. Faro offers an excellent warranty so you really don’t have to worry about it if something does break.”

Faro G2 ANR (Approx. $349)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 3; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Durability: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Mine has the gel ear cups and is very comfortable, even with my glasses on. When I first got the headset, I had to slightly bend the headband to relieve the clamping pressure on mine, but not my wife’s (guess I have a big head). It has been perfect ever since. I use this headset from below zero to 100+ temps and no problem with comfort, even on 5-6 hr flights.” “I have poor hearing and hearing loss. this headset has been a big step up from the DC h10 that I used before. The ANR is very effective and does not distort the audio at all. Everyone says that the transmit audio is perfect, with no background noise. Love the aux audio input that I plug my tablet into for audible alerts.” “I’ve had these for about 2 years and 150 hours. No sign of a problem.”

Flightcom Classic ANR (Approx. $345)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: None

David Clark H10-30 (Approx. $280)

Number of Responders: 8

Comfort: Great! 2; Just okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0

Clarity: Great! 2; Just Okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0

Durability: Great! 7; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This headset felt a little heavy at first, but that abated. The comfort problem I had related to my sunglasses. Specifically, the side arms and temple piece that curves around my ears did not fit well under the ear seals.”

David Clark H10-13.4 or H10-13S (Approx. $320)

Number of Responders: 9

Comfort: Great! 5; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0

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