My wish would be a completely wireless solution for children. With our 2 little ones it is a constant battle to keep them from ripping out the connectors, making a big cable knot etc. while they move all over the cabin.
A) Buy a smaller aircraft with tight 5 point seatbelts ;)
B) Repurpose some Bluetooth transceivers to eliminate the cables
PJ adapter → bluetooth tx/rx → bluetooth tx/rx → headset
C) Find used Lightspeed Tangos
D) Design and sell a plug&play system for A20s etc…
Hello John, you may try QC35 + nflightmic (a bit worse than avee) when we’ll see in Cannes. definitely more confortable than A20 (if you don’t have, i’ll bring mine too).
I’m going to take a contrary view and suggest that you get 3 bose A20s 
That’s assuming you have one already yourself. If you don’t then make that 4 bose A20s.
I know you said not to suggest that, but I’m going to suggest it anyway, because I think it’s the right decision for you.
1. The cost of three headsets is going to get lost in the noise of aircraft ownership. So while they might be expensive, they last a long time and you’ll have long forgotten the cost when still using them.
2. Your passengers will enjoy the flight much more if they can hear things easily and comfortably. They will find it harder to hear and understand that you will (you’re used to the intercom, radio and pilot speak). So if you buy a crappy headset, you might well end up using that yourself and giving your paxs your headset!
3. You’re pax won’t appreciate you having a better headset than you give them. That will have you on the wrong foot from the start!
Just consider it part of the aircraft purchase price! They should last you 20 years + and easily get lost in the noise of aircraft expenses.
If you buy crappy ones now, you’ll regret it for as long as you have them. That could be 20 years+!
Just consider it part of the aircraft purchase price! They should last you 20 years + and easily get lost in the noise of aircraft expenses.
If you buy crappy ones now, you’ll regret it for as long as you have them. That could be 20 years+!
Exactly my thoughts. In aviation the best is barely good enough 
I got a pastel pink APcom PNR headset for my wife a few years ago, and was shocked to discover it was markedly better than a David Clark which cost twice as much. I got another two in different colours for passengers.
My flying is solo, 1 passenger, or 2+2 with the children; the extra headsets are rarely used. I’ll get a second A20 for my wife soon, and the QC looks interesting for the kids when they’re a bit bigger.
For Johnh, maybe a mix of headsets depending on frequency of use?
dublinpilot wrote:
I’m going to take a contrary view and suggest that you get 3 bose A20s That’s assuming you have one already yourself. If you don’t then make that 4 bose A20s.
I don’t know why you recommend Bose. I have a friend who has had to have 3 repairs to cables during the 7 years they have owned their Bose A20s, at a cost – during the last repair – of €200 a piece… I’ve owned my Lightspeed Zulus 2 for the same period of time – no issues.
Having said that, I wouldn’t recommend one brand over the other because I’ve found that different headsets suit different heads. I didn’t like the way Sennheiser & Bose sort of “perched” on my head, whereas others swear by them – if the headset is comfortable, fill your boots. But test them at a dealer to see which fits best.
If longevity is a characteristic my head clamp DC ANR is pushing thirty years old. I am the first to admit they are not super comfortable but they are very robust.
fwiw I already have a Bose for myself, and thoroughly like it. But there doesn’t seem much point in spending $1200 on pax headsets that might get used half a dozen times a year. My wife already has her own Clarity Aloft which she loves.
I still have my DC ANR which I bought as a present to myself when I got my PPL in 2002. It still works just fine. And I also have an even older non-ANR headset that I bought when I started flying.
I just ordered a PilotCom AN1771 ANR headset, I’ll see what that’s like. I may buy a second one or I may just make do with the other odds and ends as above. I do still have two Lightspeed XCs that I bought about 20 years ago, but they aren’t in very good shape.
As for service, I broke a plug on my Bose a couple of years after I bought it. They replaced the cable free of charge. No complaints there.
I’m very reluctant to buy any Lightspeed product. I had an early Zulu for a very long time, which I was fine with. Then it had a problem and rather than get it fixed, I traded it in for their then-new top-of-the-range product. That was a disaster, it ate batteries and had various other problems. They outright refused to give me any kind of deal. So I sold it on eBay, bought the Bose, and haven’t looked back. Not in a hurry to do business with them again.
If they’re for passengers, you might consider that passengers come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of people (including me) cannot wear Bose headsets comfortably due to their very small ear cup size. Also headsets of any brand can be too big for smaller people, sitting too low over their ears which messes up the seal, and even more so the ANR when applicable. Then passengers don’t enjoy the flight and think the effects are normal, which is not what you want.
I have a couple of Zulu 2s which have been good for me, no issues to speak of. I got an extra thick head cushion for one of them, and it’s helpful for my wife. Before that she was wearing a hat under the headset to lift it high enough for her.
My other Zulu 2 is mostly used as a spare now because I’ve been experimenting with a Clarify Aloft Flex in-ear setup. I wouldn’t recommend the CA for passengers or anybody else who isn’t fully committed due to the elaborate procedure to use it, but I will say I’m sticking with it for myself and it freed up another headset. The CA sound quality is considerably better than anything else I’ve used, Bose and Lightspeed included, and the lack batteries + ANR complexity is a plus. Also I’m used to wearing ear plugs – I haven’t ridden a motorcycle without them for decades. It is very fragile – in an epic move of stupidity I managed to get it wrapped up in a power drill (you had to see it to believe it) and it was ripped to shreds. I gathered up the pieces and sent them back to CA. They rebuilt it for free, including return postage. This was really great but not entirely unexpected because the $775 price is a bit absurd for what it is, and you’re really
paying in advance for the extreme service.
Q1: How many PAX are we talking, spouse only or bunch of kids, and for how long flights?
Q2: Du you want the specific PAX to enjoy the ride and do it more thereafter?
A1: If it is only spouse and you want to scare herhimit away, just to continue flying solo in peace, get the worst cheap crappy stuff and you may only need one piece of sh*t to establish target.
A2: If you want them to enjoy and look forward to fly in happiness, buy more Bose A20.
Y3: In between there is a lot of opinion in the air, all good and valuable, but worthless for you.
Yes, I know, you didn’t want to listen to expensive advice, but given the cost of flying and peace in family the expense is well spent (unless A1). You got a plane and you enjoy the wonder of somebody else willing to join you on flights, so get them best in terms of enjoyability. There is almost nothing worse to getting into trouble with hearing, as there is not really a way to repair damaged hearing, so do everything possible to protect the health of your passengers! Same advice I give to ground people starting to learn to fly – get the best ANR there is. You will be able to sell it easily and the expense is only the difference in buying and selling. You already got a Bose and know how good it is, so why do you want to hold back the good experience from your PAX, A1?
