What is the Best Aviation Headset? Ultimate Buyers Guide

What is the best aviation headset to buy?

I’m going to try and give you the ultimate buyer’s guide, whether you’re a student, whether you’re a pilot looking for a new pair of headsets in order to make the best choice for yourself on which pair of headsets to buy. Now, it looks like I’m wearing a pair right here, but these are actually connected to my computer. These aren’t aviation headsets. , I just like using a microphone so it moves around with me and I don’t have to have it in front of me or something like that. So, this is not a pair that I’m recommending here, just wanted to get that out there.

All right. So, the short answer is the reliable one that fits your budget, but it is more nuanced than that. And that is why in this article, we will answer the question, what is the best aviation headset for a variety of different categories. And I like when I do these buyer guides, I don’t like to tell people which one to buy. I don’t make any commission whatsoever. Now, some of the ones that I like, I do reach out to see if my viewers and, you know, readers can get a discount code, but I don’t get any commission deals or anything like that because I feel like that makes it a little not transparent, obviously. And I want you, I’m going to come up and recommend these different categories based off these different categories, give you the information so that you can make the decision that’s best for yourself. So, those categories are going to be the best deal, best for noise cancelling, best for student pilots, and I’ll explain what exactly that kind of means, best for comfort on long flights, best for wireless and Bluetooth capabilities, and then best for reliability and longevity. I kind of combined those two, so let’s get straight to it. Oh, one more thing. How did I come up with these lists? Well, they’re based off my own experience. I’ve had a few pairs of headsets myself and used a few pair of headsets in my own training and flying, you know, lifetime. And then also I’ve heard from word of mouth from student pilots and other pilots and flight instructors and things like that. And I used to work as an aerospace engineer on as a flight test engineer. We worked with the military a lot and they had, you know, sometimes the military pilots would bring their own headset because they didn’t like the ones that were provided for them. All that sort of stuff. And then basically like online research, you know, forum groups, Facebook groups, discussions on things like that. That’s where I got all this information and kind of compiled it into this list for you guys.

So, we’re going to start off with the best deal. And there’s three ones that I want to talk about, but the best deal category is pretty simple. This is the headset that you can get the most bang for your buck with. It is not necessarily the cheapest, but the one that will get the job done just fine and can be a great choice for those on a budget. So, we have Kore Aviation, their P1 version. We have David Clark H10-13.4 and then we have Rugged Air RA200. So, let’s talk about each of these just a little bit more so you get an idea of the price and scope.

So, KORE Aviation P1, this is what they look like here. Pretty basic, but they get the job done. Again, only $120. They’re durable and pleasantly reliable for the price with better-than-average passive noise reduction. And that’s different than active noise reduction, which we’ll talk about here in a little bit. But they have really good passive noise reduction of 24 dBs. But active is better and that’s where you’re going to see the huge jump in price for those active noise reduction ones. But doesn’t mean they can’t get the job done. So, we have KORE Aviation P1.

Then we have David Clark H10-13.4. These are about $350 to $400 depending on where you get it. Obviously, there’s also, you know, secondary markets where you can buy used ones. These are durable with passive noise reduction again. So that PNR that we talked about that the KORE Aviation ones had and a great reliability record as we’ll learn about here in a little bit.

And then we have the Rugged Air RA 2000. These are what they look like here. You’ll see, you know, I’ve seen Instagram ads for these 9 or sorry not 900 90 to $100. So the lowest price option, decent audio that can be a good option for those on a budget. So kind of those three for if you’re looking for the absolute best deal. Again, not necessarily the cheapest, but I think Rugged Air would be the cheapest, but , all of these, you know, I have tried them before and they work right. But they have different levels of, you know, comfort, reliability, sound, and all that stuff.

All right, so what is my choice? Well, Part Time Pilot’s choice is the KORE Aviation P1 for the best deal. It’s only $120. And now again, I don’t make any commission for my recommendations. This is just one category, but we did reach out to KORE for a discount for our readers and viewers, and they said yes. So, you can use code coupon code parttime pilot for an additional 15% off at KORE Aviation. So, go ahead and check that out. Or if you want it the other ones, then that’s fine. Again, I am not trying to tell you what to do. I just want to give you my recommendation for each of these categories, and then you can decide at the end.

All right, let’s move on to best noise-cancelling. In this one we have Bose A30 Lightspeed Delta Zulu and David Clark One-X. Why have a category on noise-cancelling? Well, airplanes are loud, especially old trainer, you know, propeller aircraft, you know, they don’t do a lot to keep the sound out from that engine. And if you want headsets that kill the noise the best, then you want ones with active noise reduction. So ANR rather than the PNR that the cheap ones we just talked about have. But again, the PNR can get the job done, but if you have the money and you’re looking to spend up, you want to look for something with active noise reduction.

So, here are the best active noise reduction headsets. So, we have the Bose A30s. These are $1,300. So, you can see the huge increase in price because of that noise reduction. These are their latest and greatest ANR active noise reduction headsets. They are lightweight, comfortable, and come with Bluetooth capability. We’ll talk about why you would want to use Bluetooth here in a bit. Note, some pilots like, this is what I found in my research and, you know, word of mouth, some a lot of pilots like the older, cheaper A20 Bose versions better for overall value, even though the A30s have top ANR. So, if you they’re a little bit cheaper and you can buy secondary A20s on the market as well. So, people like to go that route, save, you know, a couple hundred bucks there. I will say the A30s are more comfortable than the A20s, but, and A30s have the latest and greatest technology, but I don’t know, that’s just kind of what people are saying in the forums that they would just rather prefer the older ones. All right, next up we have Lightspeed Delta Zulu. $1,200 again in that kind of 12 $1,300 range. Great active noise reduction with Bluetooth again, which we’ll talk about in a bit that are very comfortable for long flights according to the pilot reviews and online forums that I talked about. All right. And then we have the David Clark One-X. Again, these are David Clark’s kind of latest and greatest noise-cancelling ones. These are $1,000. So, a little bit cheaper than the other ones. Considered one of the more reliable and comfortable pair of headsets on the market when you do the research and talk to pilots. And again, they have great ANR.

All right. So, what is my choice? Well, my choice is going to be the Lightspeed Delta Zulu. And I have reached out to them to see if they’ll provide us a discount code for you guys, but haven’t heard back on that, but this is going to be my choice right now. Just from what I’ve heard, it this was a really hard one to decide on. I think they’re all good options, but just with the kind of design of these and the comfort on the ear along with , the quality of the product and the noise cancelling, I just think that was my choice from what I what I gathered. And I do know that these were the kind the brand that those military pilots I talked about that would bring their own. , there was two of them and they both brought , light-speed or yeah lightspeed zulus there, so take that for what it is.

All right. Next up we have best for student pilots. So two of two of them here. KORE aviation KA-1. So that’s a different version of the KORE aviation ones we talked about before. And then those David Clark H10-13.4. So this category what is best for student pilots? What does that mean? Well, it can be considered a combination of the best deal because student pilots, you know, all a lot of student pilots are poor. I was a poor student pilot, right? , so, we want to have a good deal, but we might not necessarily want to do the absolute cheapest thing on there because we also want it to be reliable, right? We want it to work and we want it to be easy to use. Not too many crazy, you know, technological features or something that, you know, because it’s just one more thing that student pilots have to worry about if they’re fiddling with, you know, I don’t know, different features. I know there’s like carbon monoxide, sensors and things like that. So, I like in this category for student pilots, you know, they’re a good deal. They work, they’re reliable, and they’re simple. you know, just one less thing a student pilot has to worry about up in the air while flying.

So, let’s talk about KORE Aviation KA1. These are $220, so very, very affordable price. They’re more durable than the P1’s and more comfortable than the P1’s with above-average, again, that passive noise reduction of 24 DBs. Cool thing about here is a 5-year manufacturer warranty for peace of mind. And I from personal experience know that KORE Aviation is a really cool company to kind of reach out to with customer support. And how do I know that? Well, cuz I’ve had a pair of KA1s for 10 years and they still work fantastically. So, I’ve never had to use that manufacturer’s warranty, but I have talked to them like I said when I asked for the coupon code. So, take that for what it is. But I’ve never had a problem with my KA1s for 10 years and they’re only $220. Again, great, simple, reliable thing for student pilots to get started with. Then we have the David Clark H10-13.4. We already talked about these. Again, 35400. Again, durable with that PNR and a great reliability record of David Clark. If you ask around and do some research in the pilot forums. All right, so my choice is going to be the KA1s. Again, we have a 15% off Part Time Pilot discount from KORE Aviation. So, just use coupon code Part Time Pilot and you get 15% off there. This one was a good a tough choice, too. I gave the nod to the KORE aviation ones because they are cheaper and I’ve had mine for 10 years. So, yeah, that I’m going to recommend that, but you make your own choice there.

Then, best comfort on long flights. So, wearing something on top of your ear for long periods of time, especially if they press kind of hard like this, if you’re looking at me here in the in the video, for a long time, they can make your ears really, really sore. They can make them sweaty, hot, and sore if it’s for multiple hours. So, for those more advanced pilots taking, you know, whether you’re IFR or commercial and you’re starting to take longer, longer cross-country flights, it can be really beneficial to have a comfortable pair of headsets.

So, what are the best comfortable ones? Well, you have the Bose A30s, the David Clark One-X, and then I wanted to throw in the KORE Aviation K1 for those on a budget in this category, because again, we mentioned they were only $220 and I’ve had them for 10 years and they’re really comfortable. So, we have the Bose A30, their 1300, Bose’s latest and greatest ANR, like we talked about before. Again, some pilots like the cheaper A20s, but the A30s are more comfortable. The A20 is kind of pressed a little too hard here, so it’s a little less force on your ears, and they’re made of good quality material and they are comfortable. Okay, I also have a Bose a pair of Bose A30s just for the record and they are comfortable. So, the David Clark One-X is the next one. We’ve already talked about these $1,000 if you remember and these are also really, really comfortable, again over the ear kind of like what I’m wearing here now. , but again, I’ve also seen these I just want to mention. ,, I’ve also seen these in used by a lot of military pilots. And if you read the forums, a lot of professional pilots use these as well. All right. And then, like I said, I wanted to throw in KORE Aviation KA1 because I also have a pair of these. And you can see that they just look really kind of squishy here. And they are they’re very comfortable and like I said, they’re durable. They’ve lasted a long time. So, I wanted to throw in a very affordable option. And again, you have that coupon code for Part Time Pilot to get 15% off additionally there. So my choice for best comfort is going to be the David Clark One-X. If you kind of read around the pilots that are taking the longest flights and wearing these for the longest, these are typically it’s going to be these are the bows that they’re wearing the most. So, that’s going to be my choice here. I’ve worn David Clark’s. I haven’t worn the OneX’s, but I’ve worn David Clark’s and most of them are pretty comfortable.

All right, next up is best wireless and Bluetooth. Now, why would you want Bluetooth capability on your headsets? The Bluetooth is actually to connect to a phone or other device and not to your aircraft. We still want to physically connect your headsets to the aircraft because that’s more reliable for audio and talking to ATC and other aircraft. But the Bluetooth can be connected to your like I said your device to get phone calls or listen to music or maybe the GPS on your device or something like that. , now some pilots when you read about this, you know, there’s a debate on whether or not it’s safe. It’s certainly for part 91 pilots, it’s legal. There’s nothing illegal about it as long as you can hear ATC and it and with these headsets, it’ll cut out if you get any transmission from ATC or other pilots, it’s going to cut out whatever it is that you’re listening to and make that the priority. ,, and you could certainly argue that on longer cross-country flights or, you know, other flights that listening to some easy listening music or something could actually be relaxing and enjoyable and helpful. So, it’s up to you on that. For student pilots, I don’t highly recommend it. You know, keep it simple. ,, what is it? K-I-S-S, KISS, keep it simple, stupid. ,, that goes with kind of the tech you get. You know, wait to reward yourself with the high-tech stuff once you get your certificate. Keep it simple during your student pilot training. But we still will talk about this category here, Bose A30. Again, the $1,300 ones are latest and greatest ANRs. And then some pilots like the cheaper A20s that I mentioned, but both of them have the Bluetooth capabilities to connect to your device. Lightspeed Delta Zulus. We talked about these before, the $1,200. These also have Bluetooth and I’ve recommended them for another thing before in this video. So, another good choice for Bluetooth. And then also Lightspeed Zulu 3, another version, a little bit cheaper with ANR, just not their latest and greatest, also has Bluetooth and is comfortable as well for long flights. ,, again, according to kind of pilots when you do the research. All right. So, I’m going to choose the Lightspeed Delta Zulu or Zulu 3Es for the Bluetooth technology. Again, my I have my Bose. Not that it doesn’t work, but I feel like it it’s just too much to think about. So, I went ahead and went with the Lightspeed Delta Zulus because you have the different options and it’s a little bit cheaper there. And as I said, I’ve talked to some military pilots who really, really like these.

Okay, best reliability and longevity. So, we have another super important feature of good headsets and maybe the most important, right? ,, is that they work. ,, you know, we don’t want to lose comms and really get stressed out losing comms. It’s very important to be able to communicate up in the air. So, your headsets have to work. And we all love those products in our life that aren’t that we aren’t having to replace every year because they aren’t they just keep chugging along. You know, I think of I have my AirPods, Apple AirPods. I have had those for four or five years. I use them every single day. I think that’s crazy. , they did a really good job. I think something just the AirPod division of them makes like a trillion dollars or something ridiculous. It makes sense because they’re a really good product and they’re reliable. I think of like a Maytag washer or dryer or Maytag fridge. Like you have that for like your entire life, right? Those type of products is what we’re looking for here as pilots, right? You just you never have to think about it or worry about it. So we got KORE Aviation KA1. Again, a personal choice here based off personal experience, and I and also reviews as well. There’s a lot of people that like the KORE Aviation KA1s as well. So, it’s not just my personal opinion. It’s also matched elsewhere. And then David Clark H10-13.4 and TX Airman 850s. So, KA1’s again, $220. Really, really, affordable and again, I’ve had mine for 10 years without any issues. So, that definitely fits the bill of reliable and longevity. And then we have the David Clark H10-13.4, you read around , talk to some pilots on online forums and you’ll see you know they’ll have my 10 years you know not to say my KORE aviation can’t last 10 years but you’ll have some pilots saying that they’ve had theirs for 20 years or even more so and you can see they’re just simple design they look durable and , that’s really smart to do especially in aviation so we got the David Clarks and then the Telex Airman 850s I had to throw in one of these one ear ones cuz maybe someone prefers I certainly like the over ear because I feel like you can kind position it so it’s not pressing down on your ear the entire time. But these are very light, I’ve heard. And I wanted to throw in an option there. They’re $500 and they’re used a lot commercially, actually. And again, just like the David Clarks, they’re just simple and robustly built. So that leads to longevity and reliability.

All right, so my choice is going to be , either the KORE Ka1s. That’s my personal choice here. And then, but because of what I’ve read on the David Clarks, you just read through the forums and these babies are very, very reliable. So my personal choice here based off my personal experience and then everyone else, not everyone else, but a lot of people saying the David Clarks.  So again, KORE Aviation, 15% off with Part Time Pilot coupon code. And that is it. So, go ahead and go back, see which one works for you, what’s in your budget, what features you want the most, and make a decision that is best for you. Hopefully you found this buying!