Avcon April 2023

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Reprinted from April 2023 …

AVIONICS UPGRADES C H E C K L I S T

Audio Panel Demo: Both panels slide into existing


Garmin GMA 340 installations
without rewiring.

Garmin, PS Engineering They have good Bluetooth


functionality and crisp, clear
audio quality when the wiring
Get a thorough demo of their functions before buying the is correct.
latest audio panels. The slide-and-fly PMA450C gets the Why don’t more shops offer
nod for its advanced function display. thorough demos of both units?

W
ith Garmin’s popular GMA FEATURE RICH
340 reaching the end of its Both of these panels impress, and first- assuming the old panel was wired
service life (Garmin’s Service gen audio panels are archaic in com- correctly. Neither of these high-quality
Advisory 21115, rev. C spells it out), parison. From configurable Bluetooth panels will work well with substandard
there’s a brisk market for slide-in and music distribution, to how you wiring.
replacements. Garmin’s GMA 345 and spatially process various audio sources Before we begin, we’ll say that if you
PS Engineering’s PMA450C do just digitally positioned in the headset, the have the Garmin GTN 750 TXi naviga-
that, while stepping up the audio user experience is pleasing. For some tor, Garmin’s remote GMA 35C audio
control capability to a high level. who struggle with button pushing, panel (and panel-mounted 350C) with
there’s a learning curve. Telligence voice command and onscreen
LARRY ANGLISANO
Both the PMA450C and GMA 345 audio control is worth considering. The
For the customer who doesn’t know (they have six-place intercoms and remote version saves panel space and
better, we hear that many shops fall support multiple radios) are appropri- further automates the GTN TXi feature
short in not even offering customers the ate for replacing Garmin’s extinct GMA set. We’ll look at that interface in a sepa-
PS Engineering option, let alone a good 340 with minimum if any rework, rate article.
demo—which we think shortchanges
the buying decision. Since these units The value of an onboard display with softkey command is apparent when
perform so many functions, you need to
try them before you buy them.
you count the bezel controls on these modern audio systems. Garmin’s
That’s what we did, plugging into both GMA 345 (the box at the top) has 18 controls, many performing double
units side-by-side on our test bench. duty using alternate key functions. PS Engineering’s OLED display-
One takeaway is that a built-in function equipped menu-driven PMA450C (bottom) has 10 hard keys. Both panels
display helps tame the task of custom-
izing the settings. have a bezel-mounted USB-C charging port.
STUDIO-QUALITY SOUND
With modern audio panels costing north of $2000 (and
as much as $5000 installed), the quality of the audio—
particularly Bluetooth and wired radio inputs—is just
as important as user features. I want crisp, noise-free
and failsafe communications. Saddled up on my bench,
I found both PS Engineering’s PMA450C and Garmin’s
GMA 345 to be superstars. To help eliminate AC noise,
I plugged both demo boxes into my Furman power
strip—the same one I use in the recording studio with
my electric guitar rig. I sampled each panel with Bose
A20 and Lightspeed Delta Zulu noise-canceling head-
sets (and a passive Clarity Aloft in-ear model) set to
stereo mode. I piped Bluetooth audio in from my new
iPhone and wired entertainment audio from an MP3
player and newer iPad. Several pilots who plugged in
to the intercoms told me both audio panels produced
the best-sounding audio they ever heard. Cabin audio When it comes to music input quality, Garmin’s GMA
has come a long way. 345 has a music equalizer feature (activated by pressing
PS Engineering’s 450C uses the company’s IntelliVox the music Select and Pilot bezel keys) where classical,
automatic squelch control, sampling the ambient noise pop or rock EQ settings are available. There’s also the
captured by all six microphones on the intercom and Music Bass Boost feature (press music Select and Crew
blocking non-voice signals. IntelliVox impresses me as keys) for medium or high boost. Both the EQ and Boost
much today as it did when it appeared on PS Engineer- can be disabled. These are high-end features that might
ing’s vintage audio panels. be better served with a dedicated function display so
Garmin’s ASQ, for Avionics Squelch, works to reduce you know exactly what settings are selected, but with
background noise in the GMA 345, while intercom high-end headsets, they sure make the music over the
squelch triggering thresholds are set automatically. intercom sound good. —Larry Anglisano

Here we’ll concentrate on the GMA ment softkey, where an LED volume that the 450C’s OLED (Organic Light
340 direct replacements by running bar and numeric volume value show Emitting Diode) display shows a status
through a handful of functions you on the screen. message to indicate that playback is
might use the most, starting with con- On the Garmin, the left inner rotary in progress. The playback stops when
trolling the radios. knob controls the pilot’s intercom vol- there is more incoming audio from
ume and the right inner knob controls the selected comm radio. To cancel
BUTTONS, KNOBS, RECORD the copilot and passenger’s intercom the playback, press and hold the Com
For basic radio switching and transmit volume. Music volume for the pilot is receive button for two seconds. The
functions, we think most users can pow- controlled by the left outer knob and next time the button is pressed for
er up the PMA450C and GMA 345 and copilot and passenger music volume is one second, the next earlier message is
use them without reading the manual. on the right outer knob. retrieved.
•  Radio, ICS control: For these basic •  Split comm: This is where the pilot Garmin’s GMA 345 records up to
chores, both units have well-labeled can transmit on radio one and 60 seconds of the selected comm radio
hard keys that have a positive, high- copilot on radio two. On the 345, signal on separate memory blocks.
quality tactile feel. The 450C reserves simultaneously press Com1 and Pressing the Play key once plays the
six hard keys to radio receive/trans- Com2 mic keys. Do the same on the recorded memory block. Pressing the
mit functions. There’s C1, C2, N1 and 450 and if you want to talk with the MKR/Mute key during playback stops
N2 for selecting each, and Garmin copilot on the intercom, press the the recorded audio, and it will stop if
does the same. ICS button and select CRW, for crew there’s incoming radio chatter. Once
On the PMA450C, the small in- mode. You can’t talk with the pas- 60 seconds of recording time is up,
ner rotary knob adjusts the intercom sengers while in Split mode. the recorder begins recording over the
volume for the pilot and copilot and •  Digital recorder: The PMA450C has stored memory block, starting from
the larger outer knob adjusts the pas- an internal recorder that stores the the oldest block.
senger intercom volume. Green bars to last incoming audio from the radio
the left of the knobs will light up when you have selected for transmit. It BLUETOOTH, WIRED INPUTS
you turn the knobs, showing you the can store as many as eight incoming This is where both of these units shine,
relative volume of the intercom station messages, and up to 45 and one good reason for upgrading.
you’re adjusting. Music volume is con- seconds of audio. Both the pilot and PS Engineering was the first to bring
trolled through a dedicated Entertain- copilot hear the playback. We like Bluetooth to an audio panel and the
The stack work and wiring is easy
with the GMA 345 and PMA450C—
slide a GMA 340 out and the new one
in. Both panels are made well, with
sturdy bezel keys and knobs, plus good
lighting.

Simply answer the call (and hang up)


by pushing the top line-select key.
Everyone on the intercom hears the
telephone call when the intercom is in
All mode and only the pilot and copi-
lot are connected when the intercom is
in Crew mode. When the intercom is
in pilot isolate (ISO), only the pilot can
talk on (and be heard on) the phone.
The GMA 345 has a total of four
telephone/entertainment inputs. Turn
the music on and off with the dedicat-
ed Music key, and change sources with
the music select bezel key, which has
selections for entertainment input one,
input two and Bluetooth. There’s also
a dedicated Tel (telephone) key, which
serves double duty as a Bluetooth pair-
ing control.

AUDIO DISTRIBUTION
Perhaps what we like the most is that
since the 450C has dual Bluetooth
modules, BT1 can be connected to a
smartphone and the BT2 connected
to a tablet for app alerts. Moreover,
when in pilot isolation (ISO) mode,
the music for the pilot is automati-
cally disabled, but the pilot can still
select Bluetooth and either audio input
source (using the Entertainment line
select key on the display). This is a
good way to isolate passengers from
startling traffic and terrain alerts. We
think this is a major advantage.
The PMA450C’s Entertainment line
key has three choices: Mute mode,
Distribution mode and Music Volume
setting. This Entertainment menu is
where the 450C really shines. The pilot
can select from a variety of wireless
and wired input sources—BT1, BT2,
BT1 and BT2, Music1 (a wired input)
PMA450C takes Bluetooth to the icons and the battery status of a de- and BT1 and Music1 and just BT2. The
highest level yet. Remember, it’s not vice (smartphones only) are displayed copilot has the same flexible settings.
just Bluetooth music you’ll use. Audio in the upper right corner of the home The passengers can listen to Music1,
from ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot and display. The panel can be paired with Music 2, BT1 or BT2. That Music 1
FlyQ apps, to name just a few, have up to eight individual devices and might be a wired Garmin GDL 69A
wireless audio alerts that stream to will automatically reconnect with the SXM receiver, or even a music input
these panels and we like the way the first two it finds. When more than jack in the cabin, for example. The
PMA450C’s function display handles eight are paired, the PMA450C will pilot, copilot and passengers can select
the configuring. More in a minute. drop a device to allow the new device individual volume levels for whatever
First, the 450C has dual Bluetooth to be added. sources they are listening to.
modules (BT1 and BT2), and you’ll You can talk in full duplex mode The 450C has expanded source mut-
connect to either of them automati- with a connected smartphone, plus ing options when there are radio calls.
cally when pairing. We like that when the panel’s display shows the incom- For instance, the pilot probably wants
the Bluetooth is paired, Bluetooth ing caller when caller ID is available. everything to mute and maybe the co-
pilot doesn’t want anything to mute.
There are a total of 27 different source
and muting combinations.
The GMA 345 has four telephone/
entertainment inputs, and the mu-
sic Select key is how you choose the
music sources. It also has three aux
inputs, controlled with dedicated
Aux1 and Aux2 bezel keys. Traffic and
engine monitoring outputs are two
sources that can be wired in. These
keys also alternately function (by
pressing and holding) to mute passen-
gers and music on the intercom.
On the PMA450C, we like that
you use the display to custom name
the switched inputs as dedicated line
items, with a maximum of nine letters
per line. Numbers and even lowercase
letters are available. Again, the value
of a dedicated display is obvious.
You’ll need to bring along Gar-
min’s quick reference card to perform
many of the alternate key functions,
and some secret handshakes are ones
you wouldn’t expect, like playing
and pausing the Bluetooth media
by simultaneously pressing Nav2
and Music key. Or skip to the next telliAudio reverts to normal (straight That’s one the many music distribu-
song in your music track by pressing ahead) when one of the radios is quiet tion options on the PMA450C, top,
Nav2 and the Aux2 keys. In our view, for one second. The spatial separation and the GMA 345’s music and aux
controlling the Bluetooth media from will return as soon as both radios are input hard keys, bottom.
the original source might be easier active. The Monitor mode mutes the
for some. second radio’s audio when the prima-
ry radio breaks squelch so you don’t we can’t come close to covering every
DIMENSIONAL SOUND miss a call. For instance, maybe you’re feature in a single article.
To spatially hear multiple audio fetching ATIS on the second radio We strongly suggest plugging into
sources in stereo headsets, Garmin and you get a call on the primary one both of them for a thorough demo
calls it 3D Audio and PS Engineer- that’s also selected for transmitting. before making the decision. Gar-
ing calls it IntelliAudio. This creates Don’t expect dimensional sound to min’s GMA 345 is $2245 and the PS
the illusion that each audio source is work with mono headsets for either Engineering PMA450C with marker
coming from a unique seat position or of these audio panels, although you’ll beacon receiver is $2595. The version
cabin location. still hear all of the audio sources. without marker beacon is $2495.
In the PMA450C, when IntelliAu- With a single comm radio and 3D As we said, we think PS Engineer-
dio is turned on by selecting the lower Audio enabled, Garmin’s GMA 345 ing has the advantage with its func-
line select key (there are four modes— places the audio at the 12 o’ clock tion display because it allows more
On, Off, Auto and Monitor) radio position, and all other intercom audio distribution options that you
communications are digitally pro- positions are processed to sound like simply can’t effectively achieve with
cessed at the 10 o’clock position (for their relative seat location. And un- alternate key functionality.
the primary radio) and the 2 o’clock less the installer makes the change But that’s not to say that Garmin’s
position for the secondary radio. The in the configuration mode, the GMA GMA 345 doesn’t have a smart feature
intercom and other in-panel audio 345 assumes the pilot is sitting in the set and intuitive control logic—it’s just
aren’t spatially processed. The posi- left seat. different. But only you know what
tions are fixed (not configurable) but you’ll get along with better, based on
the flagship PMA450B enables you to TRY THEM YOURSELF how seamlessly you can work with
move the radio sources around via the This is just a small sample of some of the features that are most important
set’s Head Related Transfer function. the major functions built into these to you.
But IntelliAudio is still smart in the two feature-rich panels (and how the Visit www.garmin.com and
scaled-down 450C. In Auto mode, In- very different feature sets work), and www.ps-engineering.com.

Reprinted from Aviation Consumer® copyright 2023 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. Aviation Consumer® is published monthly (12 issues) by Belvoir Aviation Group, LLC,
an affiliate of Belvoir Media Group, LLC, PO Box 5656, Norwalk, CT 06856-1713. Subscriptions are $39 annually. 800-829-9081. www.aviationconsumer.com

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