Headsets

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Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 243

Is ANR any good? I've tried a couple of my friend's sets, but never while in the air. Just wandered if any you guys had an ANR set and whether you think they're worth the extra pennies. :D

Original post

Member for

21 years 1 month

Posts: 49

Simmer,

I've never tried ANR for myself but somebody told me recently that they can be dangerous as you can'thear the stall warner buzzer.

Can anyone confirm?

Seagull

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 16,832

Don't use them myself, can't afford them - or rather I can fly for about ten hours for the price of a pair so the decision is really a no-brainer.

One day perhaps.

But I have tried a converted set on the ground. It was certainly odd to be able to switch off a lot of the noise of a nearby ground-running PA28.

I can even recommend the guy who will convert yours for you at about 150 quid a set

There is no danger of them masking the sound of the stall warner. Just think how they work, they monitor the ambient noise level and cut out the BACKGROUND noise by broadcasting opposing frequencies.

So unless your stallwarner is beeping continuously you will in fact hear it more clearly against the reduced background noise.

The same applies to hearing odd noises from the engine. Anything out of the ordinary is heard more clearly, not less.

Moggy

Member for

21 years

Posts: 13

Moggy

I understood that ANR worked as you say and if this is so then the stall warning will not be heard, depending how good the ANR is, as it is part of the cabin noise - it will be a louder component of ambient noise and the ANR circuits will process it as such, this would also apply to engine noise. I could be wrong. The ANR headset is certainly something I could not warrant the cost of as a recreational flyer.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 3,538

My company issues us with ANR headsets. I only know of one guy who switches the ANR on as it feels like a pressure pulse when you do. I'm still amazed how it can ultimately be ok healthwise to have twice as much noise coming out the speakers (yes, I know they are antiphase but it's just tricking the brain).

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 16,832

Willitfly,

If a noise occurs suddenly (Stall Warner) it isn't ambient. It deliberately takes a while for the circuits to process it, so you will hear it quite clearly.

If you spend most of your time flying an aircraft not fitted with a mechanical stall warner, but being used to relying on the feel of the controls and your 'seat of the pants' senses this all seems a bit irrelevant anyway. ;)

wysiwyg,

Remind me, the large internal combustion engine(s) in the aircraft you fly are four feet from your ears like they are in mine? Or a bit more? Surely even doubling the noise in an airliner cockpit doesn't bring it up to half the level that we poor blokes who are bankrupting ourselves to fly have to suffer?

Interesting that so many do choose to switch them off all the same, not something I've heard before.

Moggy

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 3,538

Moggy - looking a bit more at the wider picture it isn't engine noise that we struggle with but the noise of a 550mph airflow around the windscreen frames. Add to this that we endure it for up to 12 hours a day on a very repetitive basis it can lead to long term hearing deficiencies. Whether it be engine noise or airlflow noise, noise is noise.

regards
wys

Member for

21 years 1 month

Posts: 137

Firstly, I have no experience of ANR headsets but I had a background in electronics in various disciplines. Surely if the ANR works on the principle of taking the cockpit/cabin noise, changing the phase through 180 degrees and putting it through the earpieces then any processing delay must be minimal for it to be effective. I presume there is some form of level adjustment so that the processed sound can be set to balance the real sound, and also a control (squelch) to set the level above which the ANR is not effective. Certainly if there is the latter then if it is set wrongly the a stall warning may not be heard. Just a thought.:confused:

Moggy, at least the Lysander has a wheel at the back where it should be.:eek:

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 16,832

"... it isn't engine noise that we struggle with but the noise of a 550mph airflow "

"Moggy, at least the Lysander has a wheel at the back where it should be"

Both very good points I think!

Moggy:cool:

Member for

21 years

Posts: 67

I luv ANR headsets. BOSE Aviation Headset X gives you 30 day trial and believe me, there's no going back once you try it. I have Telex ANR for a right seat passenger, but back seaters don't get ANR ... yet. They get David Clarks.

I believe they are worth the extra dough. :p

Member for

20 years 11 months

Posts: 15

Yes, Simmer

Some are VERY good.
First the "stall warning" thing :
ANR headsets only screen out a range of low-frequency noise that mostly corresponds to the engine drone. High frequencies remain; which means that you can still hear the stall warning, approach markers and any fancy gizmos you may have like GPS warnings or fuel computers.
I tested the BOSE X in my office one day, when there was a cement mixer under the window - the mixer disappeared completely but I could still hear my PC ding and buzz as well as the telephone ringing. Damn clever!
Secondly the clamping thing :
since an ANR headset does not rely on a physical seal to keep out the cockpit noise, it does not clamp onto your head as tightly as a passive noise reduction headset - only enough to keep it in position. This means that it doesn't press onto your sunglasses and give you a headache!

I borrowed a BOSE X for a ferry flight last summer - from Texas to Essex. Flying about 10 hours a day for several days, with the added discomfort of a cannula stuck up my nose, I felt far fresher in the evenings than I do with my old Telexes.

The only thing stopping me from writing the cheque is my extreme meanness - but with spring in the air, I think I will weaken pretty soon.