Review on Ancable Aviation Headset Replacement AVCOMM by Jim Bethea

UPDATE: I have upgraded this review to 5 stars as the seller is by far one of the best I have come across. They took my feedback, contacted me immediately and replaced the original cables with updated versions even though the order was months old. As the seller clarifies, these are pure mono cables. Despite the presence of a stereo headphone plug (larger, with a tip, ring and base), this "ring" is not connected. More importantly, the newer (newer) cables I received are wired exactly like the ones I originally received. An important difference is the microphone connection. On all my headsets, the microphone connector (ring and base) connects independently of the cable's ground shield; These are direct connections (red and white wires) to the impedance matcher in the headset. The cable's ground shield is hardwired to the base of the audio jack (larger). Like the originals, these cables from Ancable have the base of the microphone plug firmly bonded to the cable's shield and to the blue wire. It might not matter if your forks are in a metal plate, so both fork bases are connected by a bracket. However, if your headset has separate wires to an impedance matching transformer that requires a floating ground, it can make a difference. If your headset has a separate talk/mic button (like some NASCAR headsets and military versions) this might be an option for you. The cables are of good quality. The seller is top. Just know what you get through the wiring. FIRST RATING: At first glance, the cables seem to be well made. However, appearances are a little deceptive. let me explain. Aviation headsets come in two basic types (mono and stereo), with or without active noise cancellation. These cables appear to be intended for passive noise-cancelling, STEREO headsets, as the larger audio jack is a 3-wire 1/4-inch stereo jack. Checking all of my three stereo headsets, all from different manufacturers, the plugs were plugged in: Mic tip (push-to-talk) - no connection (yellow wire/cut) Mic ring (mic audio) - red wire to mic boom "+ "plug base ring mic cable - white wire to mic arm" - "mic cable shield (the covers on my cable fell apart so I could check) - connected to both audio shields audio plug base ring - connected/shorted to shield and connected to headset ground of speakers ( on both sides) Audio jack tip (left audio) - main volume potentiometer from the wave side, then to the left / wave side speaker "+" Audio ring (right audio) - to the volume potentiometer switch / mono -stereo, right headphone, then to the right speaker +" So how do these replacement parts connect Microphone tip - yellow wire cut through Microphone ring - red it wire mic plug-base ring - shorted shield (silver strand) and blue wire audio tip - white wire audio ring - no connection (even to a wire coming out of the actual connector. I checked) The base ring of the audio jack is green NOTE, then.1) You cannot play stereo sound because the audio ring is not connected. 2) Colors don't match existing cables (no wonder) so you need to confirm which cable goes where. 3) Most importantly, the mic ground is related to the ground/shield, not the audio jack ground which is a separate wire. It probably doesn't matter much if both plugs are in a metal plate that grounds both base rings. However, if your microphone does not work after installing this cable, make sure your installation does not require separating the microphone ground from the display/panel ground. And check which wire goes where BEFORE you start; Don't just adjust the colors as that probably won't work. I used one of the four I bought to fix my only mono headset and took one apart to fix my stereo with the original connectors and re-solder the cable. The other two must be given away/sold as the return limit has already been exceeded. I hope this helps others to use them with stereo headphones. This makes them monophonic.