Just to add some subjective info to this thread. I have been enjoying my Quiet Technologies Halo headset (shipped to me in NL via a friend in US) for a few years now, using the yellow 3M tips. A friend just got a new Bose A30 so we decided to do some tests in the car at highway speeds. Subjective conclusion: both the QT and the A30 are great and they perform similarly. The QT is slightly better at muting mid to high noise (the A30 suffered a bit from leaks around the mufflers), and the A30 is impressively good, mildly better than the QT, at the lower frequencies. For me personally, this means I will stick with the QT for as long as it lasts 
Note: my post is digressing quite a bit – Moderators feel free to erase it if too much off topic!
Laurent_N wrote:
Thank you. You are lucky. I do marketing (slowly getting into aviation marketing just because I love the field) and tech stuff all day long, and have a lot of calls.
Looks like we have the same job :) Except that I’m in tech (semiconductor), not aviation. I wouldn’t mind a change into aviation, although there’s a lot going on in semiconductor at the moment. We are probably experiencing the “second golden age” of semiconductor, with technology enabling a lot of cool stuff we could only dream of before – starting with wireless communication. I spend all my evening in calls (working with Silicon Valley) and luckily a webcam/microphone + computer loudspeakers work very well for that.
Indeed. What I wanted to say is that I am OK with Clarity foamies, while I absolutely hate cell phone in-ear headphones.
As a matter of fact I also use two different sizes in my left and right ears.
etn wrote:
For what it’s worth, I never use in-ear headphones to make phone calls (I prefer a $15 Logi H111 , which also features a microphone boom!) And apart from phone calls and flying, I never use headphones at all.
Thank you. You are lucky. I do marketing (slowly getting into aviation marketing just because I love the field) and tech stuff all day long, and have a lot of calls. Sometimes I work from a coffee shop that’s not very silent and keep the headphones on just to attenuate the noise. Thinking about getting some ANR headsets just for that (sorry, nothing to do with aviation).
@Silvaire thank you, I did not know that you could use third party ear bud foams, I thought you have to buy them from Clarity (or the other headset producer).
etn wrote:
Note that due to the foam, the Clarity (and the others you mention, which are similarly built) wear differently than in ear computer/cell phone headphones. For one, they are much more comfortable and adapt to your ear.
You can buy an endless variety of ear bud foamies, different sizes, materials and costs from different suppliers until you find some you like.
Laurent_N wrote:
Have you tested the in ear before buying? I am considering getting some regular in ear computer headphones
I did not. I bought blindly on the recommendation of a friend.
Note that due to the foam, the Clarity (and the others you mention, which are similarly built) wear differently than in ear computer/cell phone headphones. For one, they are much more comfortable and adapt to your ear.
For what it’s worth, I never use in-ear headphones to make phone calls (I prefer a $15 Logi H111 , which also features a microphone boom!) And apart from phone calls and flying, I never use headphones at all.
There is a fair number of these. I’ve tried some and they rely on a good tight fit into the ear. Lose the fit and loads of noise gets in through the gap. Most or all of them are not ANR, and ANR is not really possible in in-ear designs. The main application is inside helmets.
As regards delivery to Romania, this should be doable using someone here buying it and sending it on. I’ve done that for a number of people. Actually the UK has a bigger problem than Romania, right now, with loads of mainland suppliers not shipping there at all 
Or look on Ebay – the answer to a lot of things. I’ve bought a load of stuff there from Olimex – a Bulgarian firm which doesn’t like selling to the UK
I am trying to decide now between Axis , Clarity Aloft Classic and Faro.
I also looked at Halo but they don’t ship to Europe. Nanocomm very interesting and great price, however from reviews I haven’t seen a great noise reduction. CQ kind of unknown, very close to the price of Clarity Aloft with better support.
If you have any advice about the others (excepting Clarity Aloft which I think is great) please add it here.
Have you tested the in ear before buying? I am considering getting some regular in ear computer headphones just to see if I have any issue with these, but I keep the iPhone headphones on for about 8 – 10 hours/day (using them on the laptop as well, the only thing is that they are not inserted too much in the ear).
My CA Flex is my favorite headset to use right now but it is not for everybody. It is very expensive for what it is and despite what is said by some, it is very delicate and needs to be handled like an instrument. I prefer the sound quality and comfort over any other headset (I’ve tried most of them) but putting it on and taking it off is an operation, so much so that I have a set of tweezers in the cockpit to extract the speaker plugs from my ears and I feel that necessary to avoid damage. The lack of batteries makes up for some of that hassle.
I would not buy an in-ear headset if I were planning to use it to fly multiple planes regularly. I think they need to stay in one plane and not be transported in order to prevent damage. I use a Lightspeed Zulu if I’m flying with somebody else.
Through sheer stupidity I managed to destroy my CA not long after buying it, getting it wrapped up in an electric drill that I was using in the cockpit. CA rebuilt it for free, my only cost was one way shipping. I imagine it would be the same worldwide.
