I am a bit of a cheap skate and I still think ANR is worth it. You should let ANR if you fly pistons. Sets with decent ANR start at about $250. You need to preserve your hearing for one thing, and the extra quiet is nice over long hours. Piston pilots should all have ANR in my opinion, it's just not that much extra cash. ANR is a proven, effective, mature technology for headsets. Only beginners should attempt to do without it, mostly because they are not sure if they are going to stick with flying. After deciding to go for an IR I would vote to buy a set with ANR.