I have become spoiled by these in-ear headsets -- not having ear muffs covering my ears, especially in the Oklahoma heat. Having a foam ear tip stuck in your ear for long periods can be annoying, but I prefer it over the ear muff.
A few years ago, I learned about the Quiet Technologies Halo headset, and wanted to try it out, but it seemed to be too popular. Every time I'd check their web site, the headsets were out of stock. So, I bought a Clarity Aloft headset and used it for several months. I liked the Clarity Aloft, especially once I figured out appropriate settings on my MGL V6 radio.
The Clarity headset was getting a bit worn out (it was used when I bought it), so I went looking for an alternative. I liked the idea of the sound tubes used by the Halo, since the Clarity Aloft speakers seemed to get a lot of abuse, being directly connected to the ear tip.
For some reason, I again did not purchase the Halo (possibly out of stock again), but purchased a very similar-looking headset that seemed to be new to the market and had some good reviews. I never was able to get that headset working properly with my MGL V6 radio, whether due to the headset design or the radio or something peculiar to my installation. I spent too much time trying to get things working properly; the most nagging problem was an awful feedback whenever I pressed the PTT button.
I assumed something was going awry with my radio, my antenna, or some part of my installation, even though my basic, passive headset seemed to work OK. I sent the radio back to MGL for testing and updates, in case the radio might be the culprit. I removed my antenna and improved the grounding, in case that was an issue. None of that had an effect, so I decided to try a different in-ear headset.
It turned out that the Halo was on sale, so I placed an order for it. After flying with the Halo for a few weeks, it works flawlessly, without the annoying feedback I'd been experiencing. It is as comfortable as the Clarity Aloft, and I definitely prefer the sound tubes over the speaker-on-wire design.
One slight negative is the length of the mic boom. It seems a little short. The resolution to this is to extend the opposite (adjustable) "ear wire" and reshape the rest of the headset to allow the mic to be closer to the mouth. After messing with that a bit, I have the microphone where I need it. It seems that providing a slightly longer mic boom would be desirable, to avoid having to reshape the headset so much. That was a minor inconvenience, and worked out fine.
All-in-all, I am quite pleased with the Halo, especially after the annoyances I experienced with the previous headset. I'm not associated with Quiet Technologies, but am happy with their product and even happier that they seem to be in stock now, unlike some previous times. The price is right as well, substantially less than the Clarity Aloft, and they have a sale going through July.
