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Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Sat Jan 12, 2019 7:31 am
by seanxair
Have seen these on offer at an attractive price for a brand new ANR headset with bluetooth and was wondering if anyone was using them? Or know much about the company? I emailed a couple of questions late on Friday eveing to them and had an immediate and friendly response which is good.

https://www.smoothaviation.com/product/sa-400bt/

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Mon Jan 14, 2019 7:34 pm
by mikehallam
I looked them up Sean,

But didn't do a company check Seanxair

Assume they're re-branded FE imports. Nothing against that but actually their non blue-tooth equivalent is a really good price. Be nice to have access to comparative sound performance curves.

mike hallam - with ageing Sennheissers

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:53 am
by Sooty25
I've got a set of SA-400AC equivalents bought and imported direct from the factory in FE. Only ground tested at the moment as the aeroplane they are for isn't airworthy yet. Audio quality seems good but no background noise.

Build quality is pretty good although the ANR battery box could be a bit nicer. I'll know better about performance when I fly with them, but that won't be for a couple of months.

If they perform as expected they will be good value, especially at the price paid, but each importer probably covers the warranties.

Same as the SEHT variants.

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:46 am
by seanxair
There are also these on Afors which seem too cheap possibly?

https://afors.com/aircraftView/45305

Considering some over ears again to use intermittently with the in-ears which I like but are a faff. Been in touch with ANR man but his prices for converted sets are not much different to new and I would like bluetooth if possible and light weight hence wavering towards carbon fibre which the ones above aren't...

Incidentally where or what is FE??

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:44 am
by Sooty25
FE = Far East, China in reality.

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:47 am
by seanxair
Sooty25 wrote:FE = Far East, China in reality.


Thank you

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:08 am
by Sooty25
mikehallam wrote: Be nice to have access to comparative sound performance curves.



like this?
Image

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:27 am
by seanxair
https://www.seht.co.uk/product/sh40-80-carbon-fibre-anr-bluetooth-headset - these state a Noise Reduction Rating of 48dB and retail at £499.95

https://www.smoothaviation.com/product/sa-400bt/ - these a NRR of 30dB on a an offer at £349.99

https://afors.com/_r/images/user/originals/7323_210_ANR%20HEADSET.jpg - these a NRR of 29dB. These are not bluetooth or carbon though on sale at £240 but were offering the first buyer a set at £125.00

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:47 am
by mikehallam
Depending how the dB'averages' are compiled 18 dB difference is rather a lot.
Considering, as far as I recall, dB is on a logarithmic scale that means the cheaper set lets a lot more noise through, whether passive or electronic protection is the main factor.
With my once expensive Sennheissers, passive alone is excellent and are normally active which reduces the low er frequency engine noise inside a noisy 912 powered & rattly old Rans. However I understand they no longer support or sell the a/c products, whilst the other 'big two' in this market are even more expensive.
Any newcomer is worth studying.

mike hallam.

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:29 pm
by ak7274
I have a pair of the Smooth headsets. They work well and the bluetooth is good too.
A mate has the equivalent Sent and I have used them too. Both seem very similar, almost to the point of being badge differences only.
Not being a technophile that's all I can help with.

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:29 pm
by seanxair
ak7274 wrote:I have a pair of the Smooth headsets. They work well and the bluetooth is good too.
A mate has the equivalent Sent and I have used them too. Both seem very similar, almost to the point of being badge differences only.
Not being a technophile that's all I can help with.


Thanks for that @ak7274

What are the head clamping forces like and have you used the cabled auxiliary input at all?

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:16 am
by ak7274
Clamping force is the same for both too and not too restrictive. Haven't used the aux yet.
The carbon fibre are certainly light and make a big difference over the standard ones. Very comfortable during longer trips.

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:05 pm
by seanxair
Rather misleadingly Smooth Aviation list their prices non Vat. Not obvious until checkout. So what looked a good offer price in reality is much the same as others....

Re: Smooth Aviation Headsets - anyone using them?

PostPosted:Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:59 pm
by 360Radar
I'm still learning to fly but brought forward my decision to buy a headset when my instructor forgot his thus meaning that most of the lesson was completed through a combination of shouting and hand signals ...

I'm a bit of a tech lover so went for the carbon / bluetooth SA-400BT model.

I've only done one flight with (around 90 minutes) but I'm very impressed. They are very light and carbon fibre looks appealing. The headset itself weighs 300 grammes and has a nicely padded headband and soft ear cups. I sometimes wear glasses and find that on cheaper headsets / headphones the padding presses too tightly against the arms of my glasses. These don't.

The quality of both the radio comms and the intercom was fine and the background noise was much reduced although not so much that I couldn't still hear the engine.

The cable between the headset and the electronic gubbins is just under a metre long and has a handy velcro cable tie on it to tidy up unnecessary length. The electronic box is quite heavy and allows you to adjust the left and right volume and to priortise the mixing of the external signal (music (!?) / PilotAware etc) with the ATC. The ANR seems to be on or off with no sensitivity adjustment. I'd have liked to have had a USB charging port so that it could use rechargable batteries or run off of a USB battery pack.

My main gripe is that the twin cables that feed the ANR unit are a little short. I fly a C42 and the radio/comms sockets are between the seats above the little hatch that allows you to visually confirm the fuel level. Due to the length of the cables the ANR box gets in the way of lifting this and it's also exactly where my right elbow is. In an ideal world I'd like to see the cables slightly longer although I'm sure that there's an extension cable that I could get.

The only other issue is that it didn't come with a bag to store them in so I ended up buying a £15 one from Pooleys.

The Smooth Aviation website has some issues with pricing - sometimes they do show the prices including VAT other times they don't. Suffice to say that they cost me £423 including next day delivery (ordered at 3 pm and arrive at 9 am the following morning) and it came with the Duracell batteries for the noise cancelling system.