Top of the line Aviation Headset in ANR performance designed for the quality conscious consumer. The PA-1779T takes full advantage of closer tolerance military components providing an additional 18-22dB of active noise cancellation at 100 Hz. The headset is the only self-contained ANR in the industry with a rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery and standard 110V wall charger (220v European wall charger available by request)It is also the only headset to be worn in both USA (International Space Station- panel mounted version) and Russian (MIR-rechargeable battery version) space programs. No other ANR manufacturer can say that! For added comfort, the headset is fitted with a sheepskin fleece head pad and Pilot USA's proprietary silicone gel ear seals (30% less weight than normal gel ear seals). A padded protective case is included. The PA-1779T Aviation Headset comes equipped with our new Auto On/Auto Shut-Off proprietary circuitry. The ANR will shut-off automatically when the unit is unplugged from the aircraft or the avionics master switch is turned off. This will conserve your battery charge life, enabling longer use between charges. The headset will automatically turn on when it is plugged in and the radio is turned on. The headset is cell/satellite phone capable, and has a “true stereo” input jack so that the user can listen to music from a CD player, IPOD®, MP3® or external radio. The cell phone system is designed to work with either newer “Smartphones” that use a 3.5mm (4 conductor) input or older phone that use a 2.5mm input. |
Starting with the out of box experience, this is one darn ugly headset, and the POH is rather thin. Getting past the ugly factor, the design philosophy of this headset is to make it field repairable. The cord is detachable and easily replaced, the power switch is a standard plunger on the earcup, the microphone boom has a replaceable cord on the earcup, the charger jack doubles as the boom input and the auxiliary input is also a standard 1/8  jack on the earcup. All of this gives you a handful of jacks and cables on the earcup which looks pretty ugly, but remember, cables are the weak spot on every headset. Even if you take good care of your headset vibration will likely take its toll, so I believe the replaceable cables are a good solution, despite the ug factor. After charging up the headset it was time to give it a test drive. The headset is comfortable, although a little taller. So tall that I was scrapping the headband on the ceiling and had to lower my seat. Even without using ANR the headset is very quiet, and with the ANR running the headset made for a very different flying experience. This is, indeed, one very quiet headset. One reason for the noise reduction is that this headset also limits the frequency response of the microphone, so everyone on the intercom will appreciate hearing less prop wash, but the downside is that voice sounds a little muddier. The music input frequency response is not limited, but keep in mind that this headset is not designed for the recording studio. So it’s ugly, and voice is a little muddy sounding, but the headset is comfortable and very quiet.