ANR Headset...no more excuses

SkyHog

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Everything Offends Me
Ok - so I'm tired of talking about it - its time to buy an ANR headset. I have $500 tops to drop on one. I'd like one with cellphone adaption and possibly AUX in for an MP3 player. I'd also like it to be as quiet as possible.

Any suggestions?
 
SkyHog said:
Ok - so I'm tired of talking about it - its time to buy an ANR headset. I have $500 tops to drop on one. I'd like one with cellphone adaption and possibly AUX in for an MP3 player. I'd also like it to be as quiet as possible.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Here's an easy way to find the type of headset that suits you and your needs.

http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/headsets.cfm

Just in case you can't find one in your price range with the cell phone interface, here's something for you to consider:

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&Product_ID=7145&DID=19
 
SkyHog said:
hey - thanks for the link.

anyone have any experience with this one:

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=19&Product_ID=6686
Click to expand...


Lightspeeds are great... they seem to need more service than some other units, but you'll never hear anybody say anything but great things about the factory service. I've sent mine in twice in 5 years, and both times it came back immediately (VERY fast), totally factory refurbished, at NO COST to me other than the shipping I paid to send it to them.
 
Troy Whistman said:
Lightspeeds are great... they seem to need more service than some other units, but you'll never hear anybody say anything but great things about the factory service. I've sent mine in twice in 5 years, and both times it came back immediately (VERY fast), totally factory refurbished, at NO COST to me other than the shipping I paid to send it to them.
Click to expand...

Nick I have the 20XLs and love them. Troy was prettymuch on target except I disagree that they need more service than some other units. I have sent mine back once and most of my friends who have telex, Dave Clarks etc have all sent thiers back over the years for something or other. Headset preference is like the highwing lowwing debate. Really when it comes down to it besides ANR the MOST important questions is which head set feels best on your head. Its that simple IMHO.

I also recomend you shop around. Many places will beat their own advertised price. Gulf Coast Avionics will usually give you a better deal than their advertised price, FlyAirways.com which I think is now Joe Pilot.com has great prices. (Call after you see the internet price) Spend sometime on the internet and then call all the retailers. I guarantee you will get some varied prices
 
SkyHog said:
http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=19&Product_ID=6686
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I have that one, paid $275+$50 (to add the cell/music interface) for a refurbished one directly from Lightspeed. Don't think they do that anymore, but it was a good deal.

Since, I've also bought their 30-3G, and I find no real world differences in noise cancellation, and actually prefer the battery box on the cheaper headset. If I were to do it again, I would have bought a second 20XLc and pocketed the extra cash. I've had no problems with either headset.

I think the 20XLc is a great mid-priced ANR headset.
 
I concur with the recommendation to shop around.

Find a pilot shop in your area that has a selection you can try. If you were around here, I'd say an XC to Lancaster PA was the next trip to take... but in your area I have no idea where to go. :)

But try them out before you make a commitment - you'll thank yourself.
 
Greebo said:
Find a pilot shop in your area that has a selection you can try....But try them out before you make a commitment - you'll thank yourself.
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Amen. Don't buy a headset type you haven't worn at least for a few minutes, and very preferably for an hour or two in flight.
 
Bill Jennings said:
I have that one, paid $275+$50 (to add the cell/music interface) for a refurbished one directly from Lightspeed. Don't think they do that anymore, but it was a good deal.

Since, I've also bought their 30-3G, and I find no real world differences in noise cancellation, and actually prefer the battery box on the cheaper headset. If I were to do it again, I would have bought a second 20XLc and pocketed the extra cash. I've had no problems with either headset.

I think the 20XLc is a great mid-priced ANR headset.
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I've got four different Lightspeed headsets, one each: 20XL, 25XLC, Twenty 3G, and Thirty 3G. They did have problems with some of the plastic parts early on, but it seems that this is all in the past now. Two of my headsets have been back for cord replacement (the short part from the battery box to the plugs gets a lot of stress if you let the box hang from the plugs) and the Thirty 3G has been back twice for making loud noises in the left ear. That's fixed now but it seems that it's now making a different noise in the right ear so I'm not currently as impressed with LS as I usually am.

Of the bunch, I'd say the 25XLC was the best buy, but they don't offer that one anymore. I also believe that there's virtually no difference between the performance of the 20XLC and the Twenty 3G, so I recommend buying the Twenty 3G only if you really like the blue color. The 3G models have a 3 position tone control for the music input which I don't think is very useful.

The Thirty 3G is quieter than the others, but only by a little bit and at the cost of about half the battery life (25-30 vs 50 hrs per pair of AA's).

The cellphone/music interface on all of these works well although whatever feeds the headset must have a volume control as there is nothing on the headset itself that allows setting the relative volume of the aircraft audio vs cell/music input. All their headsets have the ability to mute the aux audio when something is received on the aircraft audio.

Bottom line is that as long as it fits your head, all of these headsets are pretty good.
 
SkyHog said:
hey - thanks for the link.

anyone have any experience with this one:

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=19&Product_ID=6686
Click to expand...


I am not sure if I will get in trouble for this or not, sure hope not. I recently have become a lightspeed dealer and trying to get my business off the ground. If you are interested PM or email me off chat I will try and beat any price you can find.


*Back ground on myself and business partner*
P.S. A little background on Dynamax Enterprises Incorporated, we are a Florida Corporation established in August. We are just now starting to get our feet wet with the upcoming holiday season. The corporation is run by my self and a friend. We are both highly motivated young adults. I am a 19 year old Flight Instructor, full time college student, and now a business manager. My business partner is a 20 year old full time computer science major at the Virginia Military Institute. We met back in High School in an Air Force JROTC program and both attained the top position of group commander. We hold very high standards when it comes to integrity and excellence; and this is the reason that I let you the customer know our history. I hope that you will remember our business when you need something in the future.

Thanks,
 
Troy Whistman said:
Lightspeeds are great... they seem to need more service than some other units, but you'll never hear anybody say anything but great things about the factory service. I've sent mine in twice in 5 years, and both times it came back immediately (VERY fast), totally factory refurbished, at NO COST to me other than the shipping I paid to send it to them.
Click to expand...
Count me among those who say great things about Lightspeed. I have two LS headsets and a Telex headset. I thought Telex service was the cat's meow until my experience with LS.
 
I bought a pair of 20xl's 2 years ago when I bought the Arrow. They have been great, no problems what so ever. I use Radio Shack rechargable batteries but always keep spare batteries in the headset bag. I have been thinking about upgrading to the 303G but maybe I'll try my friends set before I buy.
Ron
 
20XL2 / XLc... Cellphone, Music, Awesome ANR, decent price.

Probably the best 'all around' deal.
 
Nick..My suggestion..
If you can convince the 7 other owners to go in on 2 pairs of Bose..That would be around 300 bucks per person..keep them with the plane and everyone gets to enjoy them.
I sure do love mine.

Michael
 
Michael said:
Nick..My suggestion..
If you can convince the 7 other owners to go in on 2 pairs of Bose..That would be around 300 bucks per person..keep them with the plane and everyone gets to enjoy them.
I sure do love mine.

Michael
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with Bose X either. Every single person I know that has one thinks it's great.
 
lancefisher said:
There's nothing wrong with Bose X either. Every single person I know that has one thinks it's great.
Click to expand...

Here here, love mine. Nick I know I told you this in the chat room the other
night, but Bose does 0% financing for a year. I know they are expensive, but worth it IMHO.
Don
 
SkyHog said:
hey - thanks for the link.

anyone have any experience with this one:

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=19&Product_ID=6686
Click to expand...

Nick,

I was going to buy the 20XLc but on the advice of folks here I wanted to try things on first. Luckily, I had the opportunity to visit Sporty's in person and try on several headsets.

I did go with a Lighspeed, but I decided to blow the extra 40 bucks and get the Twenty 3G instead. It has somewhat larger earcups and I found it more comfortable because of that. I think it sticks out to the sides a hair less as well. The rest of the differences are quoted below.

I don't regret the purchase at all. I used them on my Gaston's/Texas trip this summer (MSN - 4.3 hours - 3M0 - 4.4 hours - EFD - 5.3 hours - SIK - 3.5 hours - MSN) and my head and ears still felt great. I've even used them for up to 8 hours at a time while driving, same deal.

To clarify the volume issue - The volume controls on the battery box control the aircraft volume ONLY, not the cell/music volume. So, you'll have to use the volume control on your iPod. ;) :rofl:

Lightspeed FAQ at http://www.anrheadsets.com/faq.asp said:
What’s the difference between the 3G series and the XLc series?
Other than the obvious change in the color scheme, there are a few different features on the 3G that are not on the XLc. The 3G-battery box has a more ergonomic tear drop shape. The XLc battery box has a rectangular design. The battery box on the 3G also has a side tone equalizer (i.e. a bass and/or treble boost) that allows people to choose what sounds best to them. Another difference is the ear seal. On the 3G we have changed the outer coating to a leather-like material and increased the size of the ear opening. The internal foam remains the same as the XL, for that well-known comfortable fit. In the XLc series, we use a separate speaker for voice and the active noise reduction. The 3G series has a single speaker, dual driver system. With this system there is a noticeable upgrade in audio fidelity and intelligibility.
Click to expand...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Nick,

I was going to buy the 20XLc but on the advice of folks here I wanted to try things on first. Luckily, I had the opportunity to visit Sporty's in person and try on several headsets.

I did go with a Lighspeed, but I decided to blow the extra 40 bucks and get the Twenty 3G instead. It has somewhat larger earcups and I found it more comfortable because of that. I think it sticks out to the sides a hair less as well. The rest of the differences are quoted below.

I don't regret the purchase at all. I used them on my Gaston's/Texas trip this summer (MSN - 4.3 hours - 3M0 - 4.4 hours - EFD - 5.3 hours - SIK - 3.5 hours - MSN) and my head and ears still felt great. I've even used them for up to 8 hours at a time while driving, same deal.

To clarify the volume issue - The volume controls on the battery box control the aircraft volume ONLY, not the cell/music volume. So, you'll have to use the volume control on your iPod. ;) :rofl:
Click to expand...

I agree the 3G series are a bit more comfortable on long trips, but I find the noise reduction to be a little less. Seems the 'tighter seal' keeps out a bit more noise.

I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get the 3G earcups to fit the 20xlc headset. IF you were worried about future comfort.
 
AirBaker said:
I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get the 3G earcups to fit the 20xlc headset. IF you were worried about future comfort.
Click to expand...

If I am not mistaken the earcups, by that I think you mean the softpadding, are just taped on. Or are you talking about the actual plastic pieces?

I have written this before, but as a former lightspeed owner, 20XL, QFR, 20-3G, I cannot recomend their product. As you have seen from thepost on here the quality stinks. The service is good but wouldn't you rather have a headset that works all of the time instead of having to send it for repair?

I went with David Clarks. I have two of the 13XL. I like them a lot and have had absolutly no issues with them. I cannot make that claim about the Lightspeed product. Everyone I owned had to be sent in at lease once for service.
 
I'll cast my vote for the Softcomm C-90. I have two of them, one in use for 5 years and the other for about 4 1/2 years. Absolutely no maintenance issues with them. Comfortable (for me) and they work great.
 
smigaldi said:
If I am not mistaken the earcups, by that I think you mean the softpadding, are just taped on. Or are you talking about the actual plastic pieces?

I have written this before, but as a former lightspeed owner, 20XL, QFR, 20-3G, I cannot recomend their product. As you have seen from thepost on here the quality stinks. The service is good but wouldn't you rather have a headset that works all of the time instead of having to send it for repair?
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree that I'd rather it work the first time. But any product is prone to errors. They've held up their end of the deal, so I can't bash Lightspeed one bit.

Between my Dad's plane and mine, we've owned 9 pairs of lightspeeds total. I've only had a problem with one of the headsets. And then they fedex-ed an advanced replacement to me overnight. Not bad odds as far as I'm concerned... :)

In regards to the earcups, I was refferring to unsticking the rubber seals, not the whole plastic part.
 
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