The new Bose Soundcomm B40 intercom headsets feature active noise cancelling to help camera operators and other production team members hear and understand directions when working in loud production environments. The Soundcomm B40 is available in single and dual ear models. Single ear models may be ordered as right-ear or left-ear preference.
If you have ever used an intercom system in a live production environment, you know how valuable they are. If you have ever used one in a concert-type setting, you know how hard it is for the camera operators that are closest to the band to hear the director. In my church, this is a constant struggle.
Most camera ops can’t use dual ear cup headsets because their other ear is a point of contact on the camera when it’s on their shoulder. As a result, they are typically trying to listen to half a headset. Bose has come to the rescue with the new Soundcomm B40, which is an active noise cancelling intercom headset.
Active noise cancelling
For those unfamiliar with how active noise cancelling works, it’s actually surprisingly simple. Sound travels in waves, small microphones on the outside of the ear cups interpret those waves, and then processors create an inverse wave, thus cancelling out the sound. If you have ever experienced noise-cancelling ear buds or earphones on an airplane, you know how they can turn a noisy environment into a remarkably quiet experience.
Bose is a pioneer in the noise cancelling technology, and even adapted it for the automotive market when they made a car with a wave cancelling suspension system.
From my experience, the results tend to be best suited for constant low-frequency sounds, for example, jet engines--sounds that aren’t changing much in frequency or intensity. Constant low frequencies are easier for the mic and processor to create inverse waves. On the other hand, in situations where the sound is continually changing, such as in music, active noise cancelling tends to have a harder time keeping up.
Bose makes a wide range of noise-cancelling products, including consumer headphones using what they call Acoustic Noise Cancelling, aviation headsets using what they call Active Noise Reduction, and the new Soundcomm B40 intercom headset for production environments which feature what they call Dynamic Noise Cancellation. We’ll be curious to hear how much noise reduction is possible when we receive our Soundcomm B40 intercomm in a few weeks.
The Soundcomm B40 was designed with NFL sidelines in mind.
No active noise-cancelling headset that I’m aware of removes all noise, but the best ones reduce it noticeably and that should certainly help camera operators and other production team members working in louder environments. And if anyone is going to noise cancel well, it’s likely to be Bose. The company is a pioneer in noise cancelling technology, and even adapted it for the automotive market, where they made a car with a wave-cancelling suspension system. That’s right, a car with no body roll in turns, no front-end dive under hard braking, and a silky smooth ride when driving over bumps using the same technology as their noise-cancelling headsets. While the automotive experiment was a technical success, the process was considered too heavy and too expensive to be practical. Instead they adapted it to make aftermarket seats for truckers.
Specs
In the audio industry, Bose is a premium brand, and the Soundcomm B40 was designed with NFL sidelines in mind, so it has been tested and designed to be resistant to rain, snow, heat, and cold. I am not sure how many other manufacturers put their intercom headsets through such rigorous testing.
The Soundcom B40 is based on the technologies Bose uses in its military and aviation headsets, which, let’s face it, have high standards--mission-critical high standards. And at $749, a hefty price for a production intercom headset, the unit needs to deliver in reliability, durability, and sound quality.
The Soundcomm B40 is available in standard 4-pin female and 5-pin male XLR pinouts. It weighs in at 10 ounces for the single ear and 12.7 for the dual-ear cup model. On the microphone side, it features a 150-ohm Dynamic Noise Cancelling boom microphone. In its documentation, Bose says the “greatest benefit” for the user will be with the dual-ear model. Still, users of the single ear cup “will notice improvements over other commercially available headsets in the market.”
The Bose Soundcom B40 is available in single and dual cup versions. Thankfully, on the dual cup version, the microphone can be swapped from left to right side by loosening some retaining screws and moving it. Not so with the single-ear versions; it’s left ear or right ear only.
In conclusion
Premium audio products certainly have a place in the church production market. Why should a premium intercom headset be any different? Active noise cancelling has been something that Bose has hung their hat on for a long time, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they are a leader in this technology. If they came from any other manufacturer, I would have some doubts about the quality and benefit, but if Bose is going to put its name on it, there is a good chance the Soundcom B40 Intercom Headset is excellent. We’ll let you know what we think after we get our review unit in a few weeks.
