Bose Corporation of Framingham, MA, inventors ofnoise reduction headset technology that set the industry standard,today announced the introduction of a revolutionary new headsetwith holes. That’s right, holes. Called the Headset X, it incorporates”Tri Port Technology” which includes three holes ineach ear cup. These holes seem at first to be an illogical approachto designing headsets for maximum noise attenuation since we’vealways “known” that any outside noise is a direct resultof leaks in and around the ear cups.
But that is before the engineers at Bose discoveredthat high and low frequency sound waves react to the ear cup quitedifferently. High frequency waves, it was found, cannot enterthe ear cups through the ports they’ve designed into the ear cups;lower frequency waves can, but they are cancelled by the ANR technology.By porting the ear cups, therefore, they effectively enlarge theairspace behind the speaker at low frequencies. This allows Boseto install smaller ear cups in the new design, thus reducing weightto a mere 12 oz. The result: the headset is a lot more comfortable.In addition, the ear cups are cushioned with a new soft leathermaterial which eliminates the short service life and temperatureproblems encountered with earlier Bose gel seals.
The headband of the new design is also a departurefrom earlier thinking. This smart looking magnesium frame appearsmuch stronger, yet is surprisingly lightweight; it features aspring at the apex of the band which holds the headset on thehead with just enough pressure to create a good seal at the earcupswithout creating that familiar “hot spot” discomfortat the top of the head. Bose claims that the clamping pressureof the new design is half the Series II model. The headset iseasily adjusted for different sized heads by simply pulling orpushing the ratcheted arms of the earcup before placing the headseton the head.
The Bose Headset X will be offered in portable and”hard wired” versions; on the portable version, an inlinecompact control module is powered by a 9 volt battery good for20 hours. It contains an on/off switch, battery indicator witha test light, dual volume controls and a mono/stereo switch. Thepermanent version contains an interface which can be wired intoyour airplane, just like earlier models. Bose wisely made theprevious Series II interfaces compatible with the new model. Theboom mic and cable can easily be switched from left to right earcups.
For those who have worn previous versions of theBose ANR headset, this lighter, smaller design will be quite apleasant surprise. When we sampled the new design at EAA OshkoshAirVenture ’98, I was pleased to learn that the headband seemedto float above the AVweb ball cap that I was wearing. Theheadset seemed well supported and snug enough to stay on simplywith the clamping pressure of the headband spring; there is noneed for a large pad at the top of the headband like most conventionalheadsets, including my David Clark H10-40 headset.
Curiously, Bose does not publish any noise reductiondb numbers in either active or passive modes. However, the BoseHeadset X looked like a rugged, well thought-out package thatmerits a close look. We’ll do just that in a future AVweb report,once we get to spend some time with the headset in the real worldenvironment of our noisy cockpits.
