HEAD acoustics tests pilot headsets for the "Avionik Special" of aerokurier

20. July 2023

In the aircraft cockpit, adequate hearing protection and impeccable voice and audio quality are mandatory. But which models from the multitude of products on offer are recommendable? In its Avionics Special, the trade magazine aerokurier took a close look at eight headsets ranging from budget to premium. In addition to the aerokurier's practical test, our Engineering Service measured and analyzed all test samples for an objective assessment in the HEAD acoustics laboratory.

For this purpose, HEAD acoustics relies on a setup with eight loudspeakers and a subwoofer, driven by the fully automated background noise simulation 3PASS, the fullband artificial head HMS II.3 LN HEC and the modular hardware platform for speech and audio quality tests labCORE. The artificial head is equipped with a low-noise impedance simulator ITU-T type 4.4., pinnas with an anatomically correct ear canal and a full-band artificial mouth with a two-way loudspeaker. It allows binaural recordings to evaluate acoustic scenarios aurally accurately.

For the measurements of the active and passive attenuation of the headsets, HEAD acoustics relies on the loudness calculation according to ISO 532-1 in phon instead of the usual decibel specifications to achieve a rating appropriate for human hearing. In addition to the attenuation measurements (and the attenuation loss when wearing glasses), HEAD acoustics determined the level loss when the microphone setting was incorrect. In addition, the analysis evaluated speech quality at the tower and listening effort using the 3QUEST and ABLE perceptual-based test procedures.

All test details are published in the current aerokurier, which is available at newsstands or in the Motor Presse Stuttgart online store. (German)

Headset-Test 2023: Das geht ins Ohr | aerokurier