David ClarkDC ONE-X ENC Headset

I’m a captain on a Legacy 600 which has a fairly noisy cockpit. We managed to pick up a new aircraft which didn’t have headsets and after a month of borrowing sets from other people, and constantly emailing my mx department, I decided I might as well get my own. Prior to having my own set we’d been using Telex 850s in the other Legacy. They seemed OK but I always had an issue hearing every radio call and on any flight over 1.5hrs my ears would start to burn from the pressure. I don’t know why they get so sensitive but it kept happening over and over.Initially I wanted to go with the smaller, and cheaper, David Clark DC-pros. I know some people don’t like the green but I’ve always loved the brand. Their reputation was built on quality so when it came to spending my own money I went with what I knew would work. I went by a local airport that had the DC-pro X ANC and tried them on. They felt great, were compact, and I liked the ANC so I picked them up. My first day of flying with them was a pretty long one and even though they felt great initially I really started to have discomfort by the end of the day. Burning ears all over again. I need to point out this is not DC’s fault I don’t think there’s anything I could wear on my ears that wouldn’t cause burning after a while. So I returned them then ended up lucking out finding a demo pair of the DC-Ones on Amazon for $825 with free shipping and no taxes. That managed to cut a good amount off the total price which is normally $895 pre-tax.After the new DC-One set arrived I couldn’t wait to get out and give them a try. Our aircraft had been down for maintenance having wifi installed so it was nice getting it back to service. I showed up and the first thing I saw when I poked my head in the cockpit was two still-in-the-box Bose A20s. Can’t lie that I felt upset considering how many times I had written maintenance about getting some with no reply, not to mention the money and time I had spent getting these. I decided I’d use this opportunity to put the little nagging voice in my head to bed by doing a real comparison. Everyone and their mother pushes the Bose A20s. I don’t know if it’s because they truly think they’re the best or if it’s a certain pride they feel knowing they have the most expensive headset made sitting on their head. (kind of like riding in my gf’s Porsche which at first seems great but the reality is it rides like crap and sounds cheap).Today has been a 6hr day of flying. I’ve had both headsets powered on and sitting on my lap swapping them back and forth. My impressions are that the DC-one is the superior product in in everything but two aspects. To start the DC’s are built with a much superior quality using a magnesium alloy instead of plastic. Simply holding them in your hands you can instantly see which pair will last. The cord on the Bose is thicker but I’ve actually found that to be annoying and unneeded. DC gives you a longer cord that’s still ample thick. I’ve also found that the DC’s are better from a comfort standpoint, which was the #1 thing I was looking for in a headset. The DC’s have a hinge just above each ear piece, built with extremely sturdy hinges, which allows the earcups to be pressed evenly against your head regardless of shape or size. The hinges also allow the DC’s to be folded up to a much smaller and more manageable size. The earcups on the DC’s seal firmly against your head so regardless of how your turn or flex your jaw it never breaks seal. Should the batteries die the DC’s are very usable with their passive noise reduction which is much more than what the Bose A20s can offer. The DC’s sound quality is very impressive. I used the Bluetooth to connect my phone and was completely surprised and how how well they sounded. If the mic could come off DC could make a pretty penny selling these as quality headphones, however the A20s are very good as well so I considered this a wash. I’ve also found I prefer the DC’s electrical box compared to the Bose. They have digital volume control instead of the rotating slider and overall feels like it’s built tougher. The cord to the box is also longer so I can easily drape it over the window slide so it hangs conveniently next to my seat, easily in reach. The next big ticket item is the ANR abilities of the headset. From sitting on the ground to climb out, en-route cruise and various altitudes up to 40k ft, and descent, I swapped each headset multiple times. Regardless of phase of flight the DC’s were superior. This was something I hadn’t expected as I had heard some say the A20s were better. Doing a little digging the very few that said that seemed to be sitting at an airshow table and not real world. I haven’t dug through the specs but my real world ears kept telling me over and over that the DC’s had the better ANR system. The Bose give a little bit of a false-positive feel by not just using noise reduction through a processor but by also pumping in a lot of barely audible “white noise”. The DC’s sound like they just cut down the noise precisely as they should. Granted I haven’t used these in a prop, and God willing I never will, but in the cockpit of the Legacy the DC’s just beat the Bose.The two places the DC’s might fall a little short compared to the A20s is the microphone and the weight. The mic isn’t bad by any means I could very clearly speak with everyone I just believe the Bose has a slightly better one. This could be by DC design as I’ve flown with several people in the past where you heard absolutely everything that person did from swallowing to heavy breathing and I found that to be pretty annoying. As far the weight I honestly haven’t noticed the difference at all but I believe the DC’s do have an extra ounce or two. I also haven’t had the opportunity to see how long each could last on a pair of batteries but that’s something I really care too much about. I keep a spare pair.I’ve never used the lightspeed’s outside of trying them on at a FBO so I can’t really compare the DC’s to them but between the DC’s and the Bose I just kept reaching for the DC’s. They provide the comfort, exceptional quality, and $400 cheaper price tag when it’s all said and done. David Clark really did their homework with this headset. Even if evenly priced I’d have to go with the DC’s. It’s my money so there’s no favoritism here. Unfortunately they’re probably going back. As much as I love them I can’t justify paying for them when there’s two new A20’s sitting in the cockpit I can use for free.Headsets are a very big deal to me considering how it’s my profession and pretty much the one item I’ll always use. It was killing me reading so many reviews on so many different products. With these being so new it was hard to find any worthwhile review so hopefully this helps someone out. If you’re looking for an over-the-ear headset I recommend the DC’s over the Bose.

I've been using David Clark products for many years and I've always been impressed with how rugged they are. The few times I've had to call the company's support folks, I've been impressed with how well they do customer service...they are one of the few companies that seem to genuinely know how to put the customer first.With that in mind, I was looking forward to upgrading my 1990's H10-20's to the DC ONE-X. Although I'm also impressed with the Bose A20 (I don't own them, but a fellow pilot friend has them in a plane I use), the DC's are almost 30% less expensive, and I know I don't have to worry about customer service with David Clark.Getting started wasn't easy - I ordered a set of DC ONE-X headsets, but it was dead on arrival. The speakers and noise canceling worked fine, but the mic was dead. I had tested them using my handheld radio, but I didn't try transmitting...I didn't discover the mic problem until I was in the airplane. Luckily, I had my trusty twenty-five year old H10-20's standing by.After the flight, I called David Clark thinking there might be some magic to getting them working. One of their engineers walked me through a few tests and she agreed my headset was defective. Amazon took the return with no questions asked, and I had a second pair within a few days. This time, I tried transmitting through my handheld radio, and I also paired the headset with my phone and made sure both reception and transmission worked before going flying. I'm happy to say that the second pair works perfectly, as I expect for any headset in this price range.With that behind me, my first impressions are that the DC's are excellent in terms of build quality. Everything fits precisely and the fit and finish on everything from the ear cups to the small screws is perfect. The control unit is simple to use and clips on easily. I might prefer the plugs to be gold-plated (or solid brass as in the really old DCs), but that's a very minor issue. About the only thing I don't like is that the auto-off and mono/stereo switches are hidden under the batteries and require a tool to adjust.For my head, the DC's are about the most comfortable headsets I've ever worn. Going from my old H10-20's, there is quite a bit less clamping force - so much less, I was worried they would be shifting around on my head, but that wasn't the case - they stay exactly where I put them. The DC's seem quite a bit more compact than other headsets, which is also appreciated. The way they fold up lets them fit into my always over-crowded flight bag with ease. Some headsets make me feel like I can't move my head lest they fly off...not so the DC's. I wear them with sunglasses - I don't notice any performance difference with my glasses on or off.I've had the DC's in several different airplanes and had no issues with PS, Garmin or King audio panels or my Yaesu handheld radio. The Bluetooth feature works well with my iPhone and iPad. It pairs easily without issue, and it works well for phone calls as well as to listen to music (or other audio). I use the auto-off feature and it seems to work reliably. In terms of battery life, I've been using Eveready AA Ultimate Lithium batteries, and after 50+ hours (a mix of aircraft and ground testing with and without Bluetooth), I haven't needed to change them yet. This seems substantially better than folks tell me they are getting from their Bose headsets.Then there's the sound quality and noise canceling...First, without turning on the noise cancelling feature, I'd rate the passive noise reduction as good - very similar to my H10-20's, just more comfortable. This is important should the batteries die...you won't be left with a totally ineffective headset, even without batteries.On the ground, the sound quality for music is nothing to brag about, but in a noisy airplane, it's more than adequate. Still, you're not going to be tempted to sit in your favorite home theater seat with your DC's on. To be clear, in the cockpit, radio communications are excellent in terms of sound quality, and the various controllers I've asked report that they hear me loud and clear. The headset seems to be tuned to the range of the human voice - ATC and other planes seem to be more legible to me than with other headsets I've tried.When you activate the noise canceling circuit, you definitely get that sense of sudden quiet a few seconds after you power it up. The effect is most dramatic at lower frequencies, such as you hear from an aircraft engine. But, at the same time, it's not like going from noise to silence - you still hear the ambient sound of the engine, it's just more muted. It is definitely quieter than my H10-20's, but it's not like being plunged into silence.Several of the online reviews of the DC ONE-X mention that the noise reduction isn't as good as the Bose A20. I always wonder whether these comments are based on personal experience, or if it gets to almost be "urban legend" as one reviewer quote previous reviews. I thought the fairest comparison I could make would be if I had the DC's and the Bose side by side on the same flight, so I invited another Bose-owning pilot to fly with me in a C206. We flew for half the flight and switched headsets, then compared our impressions at the end of the flight.Both of us agreed that the Bose is in fact quieter. Wearing the DC for an hour and switching to the Bose is almost eerie...the difference is fairly dramatic. Here's the summary of our impressions:- Bose has better active noise reduction- DC is slightly better passive noise reduction- DC is more comfortable- Bose sounds better for music- DC sounds better for cockpit communicationsGiven the lower price, compact size, battery life, build quality, lower price and customer service reputation, I'm personally 100% happy with the DC's, and even after using it and the Bose side-by-side, I'd probably still choose the DC. I suppose the question boils down to whether the DC's have "good enough" noise reduction, and this depends on what you're flying and whether you prefer as close to silence as possible or to hear a little ambient noise. For me, the DC ONE-X was the right choice, and although different people might make other choices, it's one of those products I can recommend without hesitation.

My son is in pilot school and begged for these. He loves them and according to him, they are so much better and comfortable than his previous headset. Personally, I think they’re a little bit expensive but then again I’m not a pilot.

Amazing headset. Wear for hours with no discomfort. Great sound and noise canceling.

Wish I had bought these much sooner. I did a lot of looking and if you are looking at ANR headsets, I think this is your best bang for your buck. A bit cheaper than the Bose sets and in my opinion, there is no noticeable difference in sound quality. I always noticed with Bose A20s that I would start feeling a lot of pressure on my ears and the sides of my head after about an hour. I have not noticed that with these and they seem much more comfortable to me. The David Clarks also feel like they are built better. I have run David Clarks for years and I have always been happy with their customer service in the past.