KA-1 General Aviation Headset with Mono and Stereo Compatibility - Passive Noise Reduction, Noise-Canceling Microphone, Gel Ear Seals, Adjustable Headband & Headset Bag

A review of any product begins with context: I'm a pilot (mostly Skyhawks), typically fly twice a month for no more than 3 hours per hop. I've owned/used the Kore for going on five years now.Initially I bought the core as it was less than $200 back in 2018. Going in as a student I didn't want to spend too much money on a headset as I was just learning, well, everything. Noise cancelling isn't an option in this heads, know this going in as well. But as a student I wanted to be sure to learn the noise of the engine, hear the different pitches with applied throttle. Overall the headphones still cancel out a good amount of noise due to quality of the ear muffs but there's still some noise not surprisingly. Fortunately this does not have any effect upon mic volume/sound.The sound across the radio is clear. I'm not an audiophile but I can clearly hear others in the plane/pattern/ATC and they can clearly hear me. Can't speak for other headsets but I'm the most clear speaking with the mic slightly touching my lips. As long as my headphones are snug on my head, the mic is well positioned I can very clearly communicate with everyone. It's was very reassuring when someone said something over the radio and my CFI would ask "what did they say?" and I could repeat what they said perfectly. I love the individual volume control nobs on the headset, an absolute must for comfort and clarity as when you're flying with someone else (CFI, fellow pilot, passenger, whomever) they might want to turn the overall volume knob up or down rather than fine-tuning their headsets. Had a CFI who would turn down the volume for radio traffic so he could talk but would forget to turn it back up. I would simply turn up the volume in my headset so I could hear what's going on in the background. Safety first, listen to traffic and make your calls airmen!Comfort is good. There's a break-in period not surprisingly but once you get the headset adjusted for your noggin's shape it's no problem wearing the headset continuously for a few hours. In the summer it can be a bit warm, that's perhaps the only time it is slightly uncomfortable but even then it's very trivial. I'm sure there are more comfortable headsets out there but you're also paying a premium for them.If you're looking for a headset for your passengers, a backup headset for yourself, or even a somewhat frequently used headset, this is your best bet. At the price point I can guarantee that you will not find a better one.

I'm a student pilot with just around 10 flight hours under my belt, so I am absolutely no expert when it comes to distinguishing from good and bad headsets. However, I will say this: for a headset under $200, it works like a charm. In order to allocate as much of my funds towards training as possible, my decision to buy this product was simple: highly reviewed, and inexpensive. The build is nice and sturdy, the gel pads block out sound very nicely, and I've experienced no trouble at all with the clarity of the speakers or microphone. The knobs used to lock the adjustment of the headphones is a fantastic feature as well. I couldn't think of a more economical, quality headset at my side, as I crank out the hours. I certainly have no intention of replacing them anytime soon.Update: I’m now we’ll over 100 hours into my training, and working on my instrument rating. I made the big leap to the Bose A20s and before I say anything further, the Kore headset, for me, is still a 5 star headset. That being said, the difference is huge, as expected from a $1000 headset. I won’t spend time comparing the two because there’s no point. One is $1000, and you get a level of quality of equal measure. Another is under $200 and you get a level of quality that far exceeds the value. I only say this because now that I have used the A20s and love it, they also made me appreciate the Kore headset even more than before. I used the Kore headset through and through, and loved every moment of it. It served to block out sound nicely in the noisy Cessna 172 that I was training in, and later on in a Diamond DA20. It now serves as my backup headset, and is also occasionally used when I take passengers. It’s sturdy as a rock, delivers on sound clarity, noise reduction, microphone quality, and comfortability. Thanks for this amazing product Kore!

This headset has provided me excellent noise reduction, audio clarity, and microphone pickup for a great price. I bought it based on a friend's recommendation, as I work towards my PPL. I considered the Bose A20 and Lightspeed offerings as well. I chose this due to reading that passive noise reduction (PNR) may be superior to active noise reduction (ANR) for some applications, in my case it's training on a LSA with Rotax engine (4 cylinder boxer engine).Advantages:- The top ANR headsets (Bose, Lightspeed) have very little shielding (PNR) built-in, so if your battery runs out, you're wearing a useless headset. While training, I did NOT want to worry about batteries on top of everything else and here I don't have to.- ANR algorithms may not work as well for some noises, for me I heard most ANR is not optimized for the noise out of piston rotax engines, more optimized for turbofans and turboprops. This PNR headset will shield you no matter the source of noise.Disadvantages:- PNR needs good seals, which is why aviator sunglasses have such narrow arms. My aviators fit just fine and the thick gel ear pads seal around them nicely. I probably couldn't rock big-eye Gucci sunglasses though.- Weight of the sound shielding. I was worried about the weight of this headset but it seems to be lighter than stated on specs, and doesn't seem to bother me at all.For the microphone, it's a high quality electret type noise cancelling mic. I added a MicMuff and my voice is clearer than my CFI's Bose A20 now. Otherwise with all electret mic's you have to make sure you don't blow the air vent right on it otherwise it'll mess up the noise cancelling.Overall a superb headset and I'll keep using it.