I don’t think Bose publish attenuation numbers. They didn’t for the Bose-X (at least not anything I ever saw) and this was apparently done to prevent direct comparisons which can be misleading. I had a long run-in with the manufacturer of a “Pilot PA17-79” headset and eventually they admitted their numbers were bogus. I have just read the emails I had with them… You can make a headset which attenuates a lot at one frequency, for example.
Most German electronic gear is made in China. That’s the way it is. The EU labelling rules refer to the last major process or something like that so you can do the final assembly…
I only tried a Bose once, and wasn’t that impressed. It was while flying the very quiet diesel DR400 so it might have been because of this. It probably needs trying again in a normal SEP.
For passive attenuation I can recommend APcom: well designed and the best PNR I’ve experienced.
I originally got the pink one for my wife, who was so pleased 
Trying it out, it was considerably quieter than the David Clark (at half the price) and also much more comfortable, so I got another (non-pink) one immediately. The headband is well padded so you can wear a cap with button on top, and the gel ear seals are tight without being painful. There’s also an input to connect to the ipad with a 3.5mm jack.
Most of these cheapo headsets are made in China (RayTalk is one of the bigger players) or in Taiwan.
Capitaine wrote:
I only tried a Bose once, and wasn’t that impressed.
I tried all the headsets in the “noise room” at AERO Friedrichshafen last month and there was no doubt in my mind that the Bose A20 was the best of all the headsets on display.
@Snoopy we have those available to borrow at our club, for students and visitors. ANR is decent but nowhere near the Bose or Lightspeed, and eats batteries (I got 15h once on a fresh battery set, while in my A20 I usually get to 40h). They are heavy (the top of my head hurt after 2.5-ish hours) and the clamping force too high (I have a big head). I can barely feel my Bose A20.
So, better than passive, but you get what you pay for.
Thank you very much!
Pretty great service by Bose. Have my A20s back within 10 days with new ear cups, and fuzzy head strip (probably not the correct name!) as well as new cabling and a Form 1 with them.
Sorry to revive an old topic (I thought this might be preferable to starting another headset thread); has anyone tried the CQ1 in-ear headset? Reviews suggest they improve on some of the shortcomings of the Halo and Clarity Aloft headsets. They offer a 30-day trial, but given the shipping time from the US → UK I’m not sure if that will be feasible.
Although the following link may have been overlooked, because it appeared very early in the postings, I do recommend checking out this site and consider having your non-ANR headset upgraded.
I upgraded my David Clarke’s a few years back: At a ¼ of the cost, my headset is still working perfectly and is better than any commercial outfit as this Review demonstrates.
Thank you for the suggestion, as it happens I’m currently enjoying a set of anrman-upgraded DCs! I find that my glasses make the seal less effective though, and the clamping force gives me a headache after an hour or two. So I’m thinking of using the DCs for passengers and trying out in-ear for me.
