Sennheiser S1 Passive: High Marks on Comfort

Active noise reduction (ANR) headsets are a terrific investment. But not everyone can afford the $400-$1100 to baby the ears of occasional riders. Sennheiser thinks they have a good solution in the passive (non-ANR) version of their S1 Digital headset. We half agree, finding it an exceedingly comfortable headset, but only up to the challenge of cutting the noise in quieter cockpits. The S1 Passive inherited several features from the S1 Digital. The ear pads are thick, with a special “eyeglass zone” of extra pliant foam right where sunglass or eyeglass temples would pass under the earseals. Our experience was good even with thick sunglasses, but there is still some air leakage compared to no glasses at all.