Solid Peformance
- By A Customer from Tucson, AZ on Sunday, August 14, 2016
- Pros: No battery box--Good passive and active ANR- Clear audio
- Cons: Slightly heavier - No bluetooth
- Review:
I've been flying with this headset for over 10 yrs in a older and noisy turbo normalized Mooney and I'd be hard pressed to find a better performing headset without spending double the price. As the batteries are in the headset, yes it's a bit heavier than some other ANR's, but you don't have a battery box dangling from the cords and you can detach the cable and use them as hearing protection during preflight. The rechargeable batteries last around 10hrs on a charge.
The headset and mic audio is crisp and intelligible. Comfort hasn't been an issue for me, even on longer XC's. I've flown with a few bargain ANR's and both the older and newer Lightspeeds and Bose models. The bargain ANR's were clearly inferior. The ANR performance of the late model LS's and Bose may be marginally better, but if you lose the ANR on those sets their passive attenuation is so poor you'll have very little hearing protection. If your looking for a moderately priced ANR headset with above average performance I'd seriously consider the PA-1779. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 17 Other people found this review helpful.
Amazing product and customer service
- By Pat from SLO from San Luis Obispo, CA on Tuesday, December 20, 2016
- Pros: quality; price; customer service & backing of their product; longevity of model
- Cons: none
- Review: Bought a Pilot PA 17-79 as my very first headset, back in 1999 (I think they had just come out, one of the first ANR headsets out there). I still use it today. About 10 years after buying it, I sent it back to replace the battery, and the guy who answered the phone (no machine!) talked me into 'overhauling' the headset for essentially the same price as the new battery. I got brand new gel ear cups (a really nice upgrade) along with the battery, and a headset that looked brand new when it came back. I don't see why you'd ever want to buy anything else. Love that headset. I'm not sure, but I think they are even made in the US, and priced competitvely. Go figure.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 8 Other people found this review helpful.
Great ANR headset value
- By Comanche Cruiser from North of Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
- Pros: Value, comfort, noise reduction effectiveness, voice clarity
- Cons: Limited audible range for listening to music
- Review:
I've flown about 1500 hrs with this headset over 11 years. It is very effective at reducing noise and improving communication clarity. Passive NR is good, ANR is very good. The unit is comfortable and reasonably light.
After 11 reliable years, I sent it back for a refurbishment. The manufacturer is great to deal with and reasonably priced. I can't wait to get it back. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 8 Other people found this review helpful.
Verified Purchase
I would buy this headset again.
- By Gale from Staples MN USA on Thursday, December 5, 2019
- Pros: Battery is rechargeable and is in the headser. NO MORE DANGLING BATTERY BOX!
- Cons: None
- Review:
Headset is comfortable, noise cancelling is very good and the voice
clarity is excellent both receiving and transmitting! - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 6 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
- By Robert Ward from Minnesota on Wednesday, April 28, 2021
- Pros: Functionality and price.
- Cons: haven't found any problems yet.
- Review: Works well, lasts a long time. Comfortable easy to use and durable. I read a review before I purchased these headphones, where the reviewer described them as the ugliest things they have ever seen, but to me they embody perfect function over form.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 4 Other people found this review helpful.
Great product. I would buy again
- By Herbert from Fairfield CA USA on Thursday, February 21, 2008
- Pros: Great in every way except as noted below
- Cons: I would move the 'power on' LED from the ear cup to the volume control in order to better verify that the headset has power.
- Review: After twenty years away from the cockpit, I resumed flying. I wear hearing aids and even with a headset (cheap one) I was missing radio calls. Since I fly in Northern CA. Around the SF Bay area, good radio communications are a must. Since I began using the PA 17-79T ANR Headset I have no problems hearing and talking with ATC. These are a great product and would recommend them to everyone.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 4 Other people found this review helpful.
- Verified Purchase
Comfortable to wear, excellent noise reduction.
- By Claudius from Kassel, Germany on Saturday, August 23, 2008
- Pros: Turns into an standard headset without power, comfortable, excellent noise reduction
- Cons: A more illustrated user's manual would be great
- Review: I just started flying and I have tested some different models of headsets. This headset had convinced me in every way. It is comfortable to wear, the mic boom can be adjusted precisely. First I used it without the ANR enabled (due to not having charged the batteries) and even then it has an excellent noise reduction. And then, with charged batteries it seems like actually switching off the enginge. Remarks: Pilot USA should really be able to provide a better user's manual. No pics at all. In times of cheap switching power supplies, a wall charger with a wide input voltage range would be convenient.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
Best I have tried so far...
- By Be1900 and Q400 Pilot from Seattle, WA on Monday, January 9, 2012
- Pros: Comfortable, quite, still good with dead batteries.
- Cons: Not the best ANR you can buy, but still great.
- Review: I used this headset for 2 years of commercial flying in regional turboprops so far. I have also had Lightspeeds, David Clarks, and Bose, and I like these best. One good thing about them is that if the battery dies, you still have a great headset that you can use just fine, unlike the Lightspeeds, that turn into a complete pile of junk with dead batteries. They are super comfy, provide great noise reduction. Perhaps not the best active noise reduction, but they are within 95% of the others, and still being useful after the battery dies, that makes them the best choice that I have used so far.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 11 Other people found this review helpful.
Really Quiet and Really Ugly
- By Chip from DuPage, IL on Wednesday, January 29, 2014
- Pros: Very quiet and comfortable
- Cons: Rather ugly and muddy voice
- Review:
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 and cozy 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 its ugly, and voice is a little muddy sounding, but the headset is comfortable and very quiet. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 8 Other people found this review helpful.
Verified Purchase
Comfortable, useful
Not what I expected
- By A Customer from Daytona Beach, FL on Monday, February 22, 2010
- Pros: Comfortable, good passive noise reduction
- Cons: Active noise reduction is nowhere near what the manufacturer advertises
- Review: I have had this headset for about six months and other than being comfortable, it doesn't have much else going for it. The Pilot USA website shows graphs comparing the ANR of leading headsets like Bose X and Lightspeed, each showing that this headset has more decibels of ANR than the leading competitors. I have used both Bose and Lightspeed headsets and they have exponentially better noise reduction than the 17-79. I have also had to send it to Pilot USA because of a defective mic. I would not recommend this to others and I will be purchasing a different brand in the near future
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 7 Other people found this review helpful.
Not so good
- By A Customer on Friday, July 26, 2013
- Pros: Good hearing protection when batteries go flat
- Cons: Squealing issues, even after they had been sent back for repair. Side bands slip when adjusted, have to keep readjusting
- Review: There are some good qualities about this headset, but it is a heavy heatset compared to some that are coming out. Clamping was a bit tight still after adjusting out. Ears ache after an hour. Band adjustment for your head side keeps slipping to maximum. It squeals with noise cancelling on after an hour or so. I have seen others with the same issue on other forums. Main wire going into head broke easy, one ear piece only working now. Buy a Bose A20, if you are worried about your Bose battery going flat, take a spare with you when flying.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 5 Other people found this review helpful.
Disappointment
- By MHG from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on Monday, July 13, 2009
- Pros: Good price. Good customer support from manufacturer
- Cons: Passive noise reduction is inferior to my ol' PNR David Clark headset
- Review: Would not fit my (large) head without substitute cushioning obtained directly from the manufacturer. They were friendly and helpful. The passive noise reduction was clearly inferior to my good ol' David Clark H10-13.4, so even with the ANR turned on I wasn't blown away with the total noise reduction. Everything was plastic and I'd be concerned about its longevity. Has a good warranty. Unfortunately, I think that you'd likely need a warranty repair in that period.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
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