David Clark DC ONE-X ENC Headset

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.

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.

Like many buyers I was debating between these DC One-X's and Bose A20's. I've never owned the A20's, but had used them in various GA aircraft. I did not have the opportunity to Demo the DC's. After much debate, my curiosity, and my previous devotion to David Clark won out and I purchased these from Amazon. Absolutely no regrets. Over the past few years, I've used them for GA, in various Embraer Aircraft, and now with an adapter in an Airbus 320. They are light, very comfortable, bullet proof build, and sound quality (ANR, even with it off, and Bluetooth are amazing). The A320 is a super quite cockpit by the way, and these are definitely overkill in there, but still a joy to wear. I have had zero issues, I stuff them in my overpacked bag and they are always ready to go next flight, battery life is good (I have rechargeable lithium AA batteries and they last me about 30 hours of ANR/Bluetooth use. Also, Bluetooth connectivity has been flawless, I synced them once 3 years ago and not one time has it hesitated or disconnected, I have even used them to listen to music randomly while sitting around in the terminal waiting for my flights to start (like a dork) because they are a joy to wear. It's surprising that over the years I have not come across another person in the cockpit wearing one of these. Yes, admittedly they don't look as cool as the A20's, but I can recall at leapt 10 instances where someone has said they had to send their A20's back to Bose to get fixed and they stare at me and say my old David Clarks never failed me. I highly recommend them.