ANR Headset Kits--ANR KIT REVIEW

[bagarre]

Does anyone have any experience with any of the DIY ANR add on kits for non ANR headsets?

I'm planning to convert my Dad's flight helmet as a birthday present.
I purchased a kit from reputable store but it's been on back order since February with no end in site.
So, I'm considering canceling the order but I don't know how any other shops measure up.

Can anyone share any experience with one of the kits out there?

Cheers,
-David

[170C]

There is a company in Amarillo, TX that converts non anr David Clarks to anr units. I have heard they work very well, but have no personal experience myself.

[canav8]

I have done two of them over the years. It works good as an alternative to buying an ANR set. Hardest part is soldering the 22 guage wire. If you have good eyes it can be done. It is not difficult. I still have the two headsets but I do not use them much anymore as I found the new ANR sets like Lightspeed work better for the open cockpit flying I do. The units are power hungry also but it is a better alternative then using a plain headset. Also Make sure you do your homework. Some David Clark Headsets do not work well with this kit. Doug

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

I have and use a DC 13.4 converted to ANR with Headsets Inc. kit MX-001-A kit. http://www.headsetsinc.com/ANR_kits.html.

A friend has the same. We both like them but they are not perfect. For example when the battery goes dead you can hear but it is horrible.

What do you mean you want to convert his HELMET? Why does he wear a helmet and what helmet?

At work I wear a Gentex SP4 converted to a B with dual visor Oregon Aero hush kit and CEPs. http://www.cep-usa.com/current/ I like the CEPs but they are also not perfect for my business (Helicopter Medical Evacuation) because I have to be able to hear the medical crew when they are not plugged into the intercom and being earplugs it is very difficult with them in my ears.

I've resisted ANR for my helmet and the helicopter, one because ANR has blocked some warning tones but mostly because I've already invested money in the CEPs and I don't feel like dealing with the battery and battery pack required of the ANR.

[blueldr]

I did a conversion with a kit that I bought directly from the company that makes them. Worked OK. Fast service. I sort of think they were in Amarillo. The thing kind of used to eat batteries, so I would recommend finding a way to use ships power.

[n3833v]

http://www.headsetsinc.com/ These are the sets I have with hot plugs in the panel or I can take them in another plane buy using the battery pack.

John

[bagarre]

Wow! Great replies!

My Dad is finishing his RV-8 this year and he bought a Gentex HGU-33 helmet to 'complete the look'.
After years of flying aerobatics in his S1S, NOW he buys a helmet?
I thought it'd be nice to put an ANR kit in it for him.

I couldn't find any real comparisons between the different kits out there. From different pictures, they all look to be the same but electronics like this can vary greatly in quality. I'll take a look at the

I know they won't be as good as my wife's Bose headset but, I think the Bose cancel TOO much noise and I don't like using them. My current headset is an old GCA/ Dave Clark knockoff with minimal ANR (takes some of the rumble out).

Using ship's power is a good idea and not difficult to hook in.

[N3531C]

Headsets Inc, had one set ( DC's)done at OSH 2 years ago, had a second set done last year,love them.
Scott

[sfarringer]

I have two Sigtronics headsets that I installed the Headsets Inc kits in. I run them on ship's power.
I like them pretty well. On trips when I might spend 6 to 10 hours in the airplane, I believe that I am less tired at the end of the day.
One negative comment: My wife bought a Bose headset a couple years ago, as it is more comfortable to her. When the intercom volume is set so she can hear me, I have to turn down the earcup volume controls on my headset, or it sounds as if she is yelling at me.
Not all headsets brands play together well.

[GAHorn]

I have two Sigtronics headsets that I installed the Headsets Inc kits in. I run them on ship's power.
I like them pretty well. On trips when I might spend 6 to 10 hours in the airplane, I believe that I am less tired at the end of the day.
One negative comment: My wife bought a Bose headset a couple years ago, as it is more comfortable to her. When the intercom volume is set so she can hear me, I have to turn down the earcup volume controls on my headset, or it sounds as if she is yelling at me.
Not all headsets brands play together well.

It might be that the microphone "gain" needs to be adjusted on the Bose (or reduced on your Sigtronics), depending upon which set best modulates your transmitter. Any good avionics shop should be willing to do this for you as a "complimentary" service.

[bagarre]

Well, I finally got my ANR kit in the mail.

I'm not one to name names or bash a company but, I will never buy anything from Gibson and Barnes again.
I thought going with a bigger company would mean better support and a more complete kit. That was a mistake.

Support was TERRIBLE as the parts were back ordered several weeks. The sales person used every stall tactic in the book to blow me off and kept promising it will be delivered 'early next week'. I finally called on the phone and another sales person told me they had none in stock and mine should be available in a few weeks (10 minutes after sales guy told me they have mine in and will ship in a day or so).

The kit finally came with no cross over cable, no power cable and no wiring instructions at all. (these aren't part of their kit)

I had to go to HeadsetsINC to get the extra parts I needed and use their wiring instructions.

BTW, the parts from Gibson are IDENTICAL to the ones sold by HeadsetsINC and HeadsetsINC has a MUCH better price, includes the cables and instructions in their kits and have REALLY friendly staff that actually responds to emails.

If I ever have to do this again, I'll use HeadsetsINC for everything.

[GAHorn]

Thanks for that first hand review.

Please tell us how the kit works in comparison to factory ANR headsets.

[bagarre]

I'll take some photos while I wire the thing up and compare it to my Dave Clark knock offs and my Wife's Bose.

But I refuse to take a picture of me flying my 170 while wearing my Dad's new ANR HELMET

FWIW I think the Bose X ANR are TOO quiet. It bothers me to taxi or land the airplane with the ANR turned on because I don't hear the motor how I am used to.

[GAHorn]

my lightspeed used to make a regular- spaced star wars "bleat"
when I taxied around large airports.
I finally figured out it was the ground based radar and the lightspeed was receiving the radar signal every time the antenna swept.
it was not too bothersome but it did create a puzzle for a short time

[bagarre]

The helmet is done.

In order to finish the install, I had to buy parts from Headsets INC as the Barns and Gibson kit does NOT come with the crossover cable nor the POWER cable.

Second issue but this only applies to the helmet installs. You have to buy rigid ear cups to mount the ANR units into the helmet but the ones sold by B&G do_not_fit with their ANR kits. They aren't deep enough!! This required very delicate work with a dremel tool to remove the micro plug and fine soldering to put the wires directly onto the unit. In the end, even that wasn't enough and I had to remove the mounting screws and epoxy the whole unit together.
I sent a detailed email to B&G about this and got no reply...Barns and Gibson is a 'never again' company for me.

ANRKIT1.jpg

Past that, the install was so straight forward I forgot to take more pictures.

Three wires (Power+, Speaker+ Common-)
I bought all new wires from HeadsetsINC to make it a look like a factory job so I had to wire up the mic and everything. HeadsetsINC even included a printed copy of their installation documents when I bought the wires...Gibson and Barnes provided nothing except the units and their units cost much more than HeadsetsINC's entire install kit (with wires).

If you're going to convert an old headset, replace ALL the wires. For an extra $30.00, it makes a really nice and clean install and you WILL save time. I couldnt figure out how to just add the power cable without making it look like a hack job.

How well do they work? Pretty darn good! Better than my cheapo Dave Clark knockoffs but not as good as my wife's Bose X. They don't appear to have the 'hiss' of low end ANR and voice quality is great.

Would I do it again? YES. I'd buy the ANR Kit from Headsets INC and save about 30% of the cost.

Somethings Gibson and Barnes did do right:
1. Their 'Quiet Kit' is top notch. It's a very dense memory foam that really quiets down the headset. I ended up using it in my headset as I couldn't fit it in the helmet and it made an IMMEDIATE difference in passive noise reduction.
2. They also sell very (very) nice leather ear pads that will fit any 'standard' (Dave Clark) headset. I really liked them and they still sealed up to your head to block noise.

Things to note to make the things work better:
1. Seal up everything in the ear cup. Use grommets or something around the wires exiting the cups and use a silicon on the ANR flange to seal the cup there too. Air leakage is sound leakage. Any sound that can get into the earcup will affect the back of the speakers and transmit the sound to your head. So, seal any gaps and put as much foam as you can in the cups.
2. Don't go cheap on the foam. The stuff from B&G was obviously a superior quality. It was heavy, it was soft and it behaved like memory foam. If you think you'll survive if your wife finds out, consider cutting a hunk off your memory foam mattress...its that good.