How Do Aircraft Headsets Talk to Each Other?

For those of us who have been in aviation for a long time, we can forget what it is like to be a new guy. For this reason, I will occassionally post answers to questions that I get at AviationLogs.com.

QUESTION:
I am new to airplanes an I need a headset. I am looking at the asa airclassics hs-1 headset and would consider ordering two. Do they hook in to each other or do you need some other external device to communicate back and forth with?

ANSWER:
To communicate with each other, the headsets must connect to the aircraft intercom system. If the aircraft does not have an intercom system as part of the radio stack, a portable one can be purchased for as low as $115.95:

$199.95 Portable Intercom
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=AC2EX

$115.95 Portable Intercom
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=PA%2D200T

For the money, the ASA HS-1 is the best headset you can buy:
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=ASAHS1

The folks at ASA are great about servicing them under warranty. I recently had a customer send one back with a problem and ASA sent back a brand new set almost immediately.