The world of noise-canceling headsets is largely ruled by the high-end units like the Bose X and Lightspeed Zulu. If pilots baby their ears, it seems they go for the best they can buy. But there’s still a place for good deal on ANR, be it for backseat passengers or just to stretch your own flying dollar. Headsets Inc. offers a drop-in module that fits a wide range of existing headsets and helmets. OK, its not quite “drop in.” Some wire clipping and soldering is involved. The company also sells complete headsets with their ANR installed headset, and they revived the DRE Communications line of headsets, which includes one with ANR.
Do It Yourself ANR
The most spendthrift way to go is to upgrade your existing headset yourself with one of the kits from Headsets, Inc. Theyve been selling these same basic kits for about 15 years, with periodic improvements over time. For example, the latest kits use a new foam that both improves the passive noise reduction of the headset (i.e., how much it blocks with the noise canceling off) and removes the need for the adhesive to hold the new ANR modules in place.
When you order, you’ll have to tell them which model you have and theyll put the right parts in. The base price is $169, which includes everything you need short of wire clippers and a soldering iron (even the solder is included). Some Peltor headsets and helmets require a special kit thats $189.
Options may ratchet the price up a bit. The auto-shutoff battery box is a $10 upgrade to the kit price. New mic and audio cables that have the power supply to the battery built in (the AMP cable its called) is an extra $19. We had both of these add-ons and would recommend them as a good value for ease of the install and lifetime of the headsets 9-volt battery. Alkaline 9-volts last about 15 hours of use in the unit, which isn’t terrific as ANR systems go. But one user told us he gets over 100 hours of use from a lithium 9-volt in his system. And the lithium 9-volt is lighter (course it also costs $7 a battery). There is also an option for panel-mount power.
The results of the upgrade flat-out wont match the performance of a purpose-designed ANR headset-you cant turn your old David Clark 10-40 into a Bose X. But you can get significant relief from cockpit noise with minimal loss audio quality. In fact, for many old headsets, its probably a gain. The sound in the unit we tested was the tinniest of any of the