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Awesome new headset! CQ1 from Card Machine Works

Wow, sounds great ... I have the Clarity Aloft headset and it's very good, but is not adjustable and doesn't fit well around my head. I need to use velcro to stick it to the back of my cap which is a bit annoying.

Brian, We know your plight well. Maybe Clarity should ship with velcro instead of the little rubber band thingy that few people use. Tanya used a "hair clip" with a clarity for a lot of years to keep it from flopping around. Guess how we figured out that wasn't ideal. Must have three points of contact at least. We have a pile of pink hair clips that we can ship to you that Tanya hasn't needed for a long time. :p

I wear a CQ1 up off of my ears around my cap with full contact and stability. That leaves my ears to own the sunglasses temples that I don't leave home without.

I don't know about discounts, but I do know that I've done quality control on some freshly baked cookies that have been shipped with headsets. Tanya really does answer the telephone and most email.
 
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I flew with the CQ1 headset today for the first time. This fight in a Cirrus. Cabin noise is not a real problem in the cirrus compared to my rocket but this product is much clearer then my Halo set. I have been flying the halo sets in my rocket since the halos were introduced. The were the best option for me but products either evolve or someone else will make a better mousetrap. These are a step up, my cockpit conversations were greatly improved today!
 
I flew with the CQ1 headset today for the first time. This fight in a Cirrus. Cabin noise is not a real problem in the cirrus compared to my rocket but this product is much clearer then my Halo set. I have been flying the halo sets in my rocket since the halos were introduced. The were the best option for me but products either evolve or someone else will make a better mousetrap. These are a step up, my cockpit conversations were greatly improved today!

Tom,
Thanks so much for the positive comments. It is a pleasure to share what we've accomplished. I too was wishing, asking, pleading for something better for over a decade.
Don't hesitate to reach out if we can do anything for you.
 
I too have tried almost everything out there and I'm always looking for something better. I still fly with an old Telex noise cancelling but it uses two batteries in a big case so sometimes I use my old Air Force Gentex helmet with nose cancelling, but when I'm just put-putting around I still use a LightSpeed Mach-1 as my in-ear headsets. I guess they were built right to last this long.

Might look into these CQ-1 for me and give my Mach-1 to my girlfriend to use. :)
 
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I pulled the trigger on a set recently and just flew with them today. This is my first experience with an "in ear" configuration, and the first step away from my beloved Zulu. Obviously extremely lightweight, these initially failed to impress with the noise attenuation. But by the time I was ready to taxi, the foam had expanded into all the voids in my ear and things got nice and quiet. The radio was crystal clear if a little "tinny", but not objectionable at all. The mic had no discernable side tone, so that was a bit different than I'm used to, but again, not a problem. During the short flight the noise attenuation improved and I got more used to the different feel on my head. One small gripe is the comm cord rubs my cheek, but I'm sure I can figure out how to get that out of my way. Didn't do any hard acro, but I did periodically shake my head to try get it to unseat. It didn't.

After the shakedown in the relatively loud -8, I also flew a bit in the T-craft with it's mighty 65 Lyc popping away and found the performance equally good.

There is much more flying to be done, but initial impressions are great. Not convinced these are a direct replacement for the full set of features I expect from my Zulus, but they are certainly going to be the "go to" for formation and acro work. These appear to be the no nonsense, high performance headsets everyone claims.

I'm happy I bought them.
 
I'm really glad I happened across this thread. I am in desperate need or a new headset. My old DRE6000 worked well for a long time, but it was heavy. Finally the cable has completely failed and they don't make replacements anymore (it's 15 years old, I can't complain too much).

The two things I want with my new headset are good noise reduction (the DRE had great ANR), and much less weight (the DREs are 17oz). I have been considering the in-ear sets for some time, but have never had a chance to try them. I enjoy wearing earplugs in the shop, and if they can drown out a chattering lathe from 2ft away, I think they can handle the O-360.

The failure of the DREs and completion of my RV (today!), puts me in a potion where I have to make a choice. I had been considering the Zulus, but the price tag is more than I wanted to spend. The CQs are only slightly more than the cist of a direct replacement for the DREs, so I think it is worth a try. And supporting a local small business is a bonus as well.
 
I'm really glad I happened across this thread. I am in desperate need or a new headset. My old DRE6000 worked well for a long time, but it was heavy. Finally the cable has completely failed and they don't make replacements anymore (it's 15 years old, I can't complain too much).

The two things I want with my new headset are good noise reduction (the DRE had great ANR), and much less weight (the DREs are 17oz). I have been considering the in-ear sets for some time, but have never had a chance to try them. I enjoy wearing earplugs in the shop, and if they can drown out a chattering lathe from 2ft away, I think they can handle the O-360.

The failure of the DREs and completion of my RV (today!), puts me in a potion where I have to make a choice. I had been considering the Zulus, but the price tag is more than I wanted to spend. The CQs are only slightly more than the cist of a direct replacement for the DREs, so I think it is worth a try. And supporting a local small business is a bonus as well.


I am 10 hours into phase one with my rv7a and I normally wear lightspeed Zulu headset. but I recently discovered the old lightspeed cross country headset work better in an RV because it has a lot of passive noise reduction in addition to active noise reduction. so I think you might look for a headset with a lot of passive noise reduction they tend to be less expensive and work great for an RV.
 
Microphone quality

While I have not flown with this new headset, I appreciate the attention the Card's paid to microphone quality. I have been trying for two years to assist a customer with poor coms in a quite noisy aircraft. The OV-10 is not common, but is used by this customer extensively.
The contract pilots have been using Lightspeed headsets. Dispatch has been reporting difficulty understanding them. Particularly on takeoff with high power settings.
I attempted to do research on what microphone element was incorporated in the Zulu line. The company was not forthcoming with data. My physical inspection seemed to indicate a low cost powered electret device common in electronics today.
While much has been done to quiet what we pilots hear, not much has advanced on what the controller hears. In busy airspace like SOCAL, where I fly, it is imperative to have the best possible.
So, I applaud the Card's for their efforts to improve the mic along with the ergonomics of what we clamp on our heads. Well done!
I learned to fly while shouting into a hand held mic. And nodding my head as the instructor shouted at me. To save face, I often nodded up and down.... though I had no clue what he just said. I am so fortunate to have lived through a number of avionic revolutions.
Cheers.
 
Follow up

Just to follow up the CQ performance in busy environments it functions very well. I have now flown it during a formation clinic coaching newbies with my head on a swivel, a 3 day airshow, and a hard flight of acro and then back into a busy approach for an IMC RNAV approach and pattern work with lots of students comm jamming the freq. The thing is that the headset works very well both in the talking and listening side of some busy equations and you are not having to adjust it audio or physically wise. I thing Guy in his post hit the target when he talked about proper use of in the ear headsets. That candidly is the only vulnerability of these type of headsets and like most things when they don't work it comes down to some type of "PILOT ERROR". The only thing I can not speak to at this point in the operational world with this headset is high negative G's and that is not in the plans! Not to sound like an ad, but if you take some time up front to really understand and set up the headset you will not be disappointed.
 
I have a set of Etymotic Research earphones that deliver wonderful quality sound. They have interchangeable earplugs of the foam type as well as silicone inserts. I wonder if the Etymotic plugs can be used with the CQ1? They can be purchased on Amazon for a reasonable cost. They have a variety of different plug types to fit most people?s preferences. I?d love to try the CQ1 and be able to use the ER plugs.
 
I wonder if the Etymotic plugs can be used with the CQ1?

Dave,
If you have an ear tip that you love, it is my pleasure to help you with integration. We have various fittings that work with just about any "100" size ear tip. If you're referring to Etymotic's ER38 series of tips, I have worked with all of them and can absolutely ship the right stuff on request.
 
Dave,
If you have an ear tip that you love, it is my pleasure to help you with integration. We have various fittings that work with just about any "100" size ear tip. If you're referring to Etymotic's ER38 series of tips, I have worked with all of them and can absolutely ship the right stuff on request.

Scott,
Yes, the ER38s are the ones that fit my earbuds. Do they fit the CQ headset directly or need adapters?
 
Scott,
Yes, the ER38s are the ones that fit my earbuds. Do they fit the CQ headset directly or need adapters?

That is a completely normal configuration. Every ear tip type uses a fitting of one kind or another to connect to the sound tubes.

Shoot us an email and we'll be happy to send you a picture if you like. [email protected]
 
Scott, I am intrigued by this design. Would love to take a look at the headset before purchasing. Will you be at Oshkosh next month?
 
Dan,
We're certainly planning on being at OSH in HBC as usual the first half of the week. There won't be a booth or any hard sales, but we'll be happy to hang out and talk headsets in the cool grass almost any time. Of course we'll have some product on hand.

Scott, I am intrigued by this design. Would love to take a look at the headset before purchasing. Will you be at Oshkosh next month?
 
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