HEADPHONES
to off-set the overall costs of the IFE programmes.” He adds: “The other classes of
seating will continue to offer the larger ANC and PNC headphones for aesthetic purposes as well as comfort and sound reproduction in the front part of the aircraft.’ In the larger headphone range, his
company has a new model ID-339 with large 40MM earpieces that offers comfort and wonderful sound reproduction, according to Mockler. Moving into the future, reducing onboard weight will continue to be key. Suppliers are working to create lighter-weight products with the same durability. And, that’s the key; airlines want durable products. Economic pressures will also turn the headset market increasingly into a revenue generator. With the current economy, everyone wants to save money and get a great deal. Simultaneously, passengers are demanding higher levels of comfort and entertainment, and discount carriers recognise they must compete on more than just price. Chalita White predicts, "In the
future, passengers will continue to have access to all of the top-of-the- line amenities – in the air and on the ground - but for an additional fee paid for an aisle seat or noise- cancellation headsets; for onboard food or airport lounges." Potentially headphones in First and Upper class cabins may not be the only method of delivering inflight audio entertainment. Thales Inflight Systems has a new directional sound system under development at its California laboratory. I had first hand experience of this and confirm it is quite extraordinary. Audio content
Left: Azusa headphones with, above, Linstol headphones
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WWW.ONBOARDHOSPITALITY.COM
is only audible to the person seated in the immersive seat. As the audio is focussed to a specific area – beyond this seat perimeter no sound is heard. Directional sound technology is also entering the consumer market, defined as ‘audio spotlight’ or ‘sound shower’ in the consumer market. Oslo Airport has operated a sound shower in its main concourse. Listeners are seated or stand underneath a single beam of sound which provides maximum isolation against other external sources of sound while the listener is singularly exposed to the audio entertainment. In the cabin environment however the challenge of this system is the infrastructure required, and its inherent cost. Other ideas mooted in IFE are full ‘3D sound’ as in ‘3D video’ where sound seems to emanate from below, above and either side of the listener. This is also classed as an immersive sound experience and is being explored in the US movie-
theatre/cinema environment. Of course these technologies still remain futuristic options.
For now the humble headphone has migrated into a sophisticated and refined piece of technology designed to be fully compatible with the installed IFE system onboard. Whether earclip, earbud or noise
"Headphones in First and Upper cabins may not be the only method of delivering inflight audio entertainment. Watch out for new directional sound systems"
DETECTING BREAKAGES Headphones can be a major maintenance issue for airlines as often they cause damage to the in-seat socket/jack. In order to check that the audio is available
at all seats on an IFE system, aircraft maintenance personnel currently have to put on a pair of headphones and walk through the cabin, plugging into each and every jack on the aircraft, making sure that there is correct audio available for the passenger. This is often not possible with the constraints of a short turn-around time. Inflight Peripherals (IFPL) in the UK has
come up with a solution. Its self-testing jack design means that, with no additional wiring, the maintenance team have a visual indication of a functioning jack as the LED is powered only by audio.
HIGH TECH MAINTENANCE A high-frequency audio tone is sent through the existing IFE system, then maintenance personnel can simply check at a glance. They walk through the cabin and check the LEDs on the jacks. Any LED not lit indicates a jack needing attention, possibly with a broken
cancelling, the headphone currently remains the only instrument capable of delivering audio quality for music, sound and audio programming within the confines of the cabin. For now at least, it’s future seems pretty well assured.
CONTACTS
actia.ws •
airchats.com.hk •
airlineheadphones.net •
avidairlineproducts.com •
buzzproducts.com •
gipusa.com •
globalsolution.de •
ifpl.com •
inflightdirect.com •
linstol.com •
longprosper.com •
otdsa.com •
skymax.eu •
szicinflight.com •
yes-hope.com •
http://wuxia01.en.china.cn/
plug pin or passenger damage. This unit fits into the standard single A1 pin cut out in the seat and is compatible with all A1 headphones. No wiring changes are necessary to retrofit. Damage to headphones and jacks often
occurs when the passenger stands up with the headset still attached, causing the plug to be ripped out from the jack; often leaving a broken plug tip behind. IFPL’s answer is the 'Breakaway' jack. There
are no moving parts to the jack or associated plug, offering extended life for headphones and reducing costs. The Breakaway jack range solves this passenger problem using a new headphone plug and jack design. The plug clips to the jack and will pop-off when pulled. The Breakaway plug has a wiping action, cleaning the contacts as it’s used, improving life, and has the same number of parts as existing A1 single pin headphone plugs. Fitted to the middle of the jack is IFPL’s
Longlife jack which has been tested to over 100,000 mating cycles allowing use of all headphones with conventional A1 single pin headphone plugs.
ifpl.com
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