Lightspeed 30-3G or...

[flyersfan31]

...How To Buy A Headset

So, under the assumption that what my wife doesn't know about my flying won't hurt her, I invested in a Bose headset recently. Man, it is worth it.

Well, anyway, this weekend I flew the fam up to New Haven on Friday, so they could stay with her brother and family, and I could drive to the expo on Sat. This was after commuting to the expo by air via KBDL on Friday.

My wife inherited my 30-3Gs. Just before takeoff, I remembered to show her how to turn the ANC power on. She said, "Oh, that's better. Why do I have this headset?" I told her, oh, I upgraded headsets, and asked how she liked hers. She said, "This is much better, I really like it."

Done deal. What's nice about our relationship is that she earns all the money, and I spend it. Very symbiotic.

 

[AdamZ]

Andrew did you consider the Dave Clark X-11. Its as light as the Bose, thin, and has a cell phone inteface and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Other than that I still hate you but admire your symbiotic relationship.

 

[gprellwitz]

Andrew did you consider the Dave Clark X-11. Its as light as the Bose, thin, and has a cell phone inteface and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Other than that I still hate you but admire your symbiotic relationship.

Adam,
I tried the X-11 at OSH, and found it to be pretty poor. I literally asked the sales guy how to turn it on and he said it already was on. The Zulu, OTOH, really impressed me. I purchased a Thirty-3G with the express intent of upgrading to a Zulu when they came out. Heck, it's a BLUETOOTH Cell Phone interface! I've flown with the Bose X before, and wasn't really impressed with them. The Zulu is less expensive, but only by about $150.

 

[RotaryWingBob]

You got off lucky... My wife demanded her own Bose!

 

[Spectre]

Adam,
The Zulu, OTOH, really impressed me. I purchased a Thirty-3G with the express intent of upgrading to a Zulu when they came out. Heck, it's a BLUETOOTH Cell Phone interface! I've flown with the Bose X before, and wasn't really impressed with them. The Zulu is less expensive, but only by about $150.

Any thoughts on how the Zulu compares to the Bose noise cancelling-wise? I'm also considering the upgrade as I'm not pleased with what the 30-3G can do near the ground when the ear cups aren't perfectly sealed.

 

[gprellwitz]

Any thoughts on how the Zulu compares to the Bose noise cancelling-wise? I'm also considering the upgrade as I'm not pleased with what the 30-3G can do near the ground when the ear cups aren't perfectly sealed.

I didn't have the Bose available for a side-by-side comparison, sorry. The Zulu was better than the Thirty-3G and much better than the DC X-11.

 

[HPNPilot1200]

I've worn the Bose X and my LightSpeed 20-3G's in numerous aircraft (172s, Bonanza, King Air, Citation). Personally, I find my LightSpeed 20-3G (and 30-3G, same physical item) to be more comfortable than the Bose X. The Bose X felt as if it "clamped" my head too tightly after wearing it for more than 20 minutes or so and was constantly readjusting it. YMMV.

I tried the new LightSpeed Zulu at AOPA Expo and the ANR was just as good if not better than the Bose X. The comfort was excellent (better than the -3G series) as was advised by the salesperson to look for upgrade packages for 20-3G and 30-3G owners in the spring. The bluetooth cell phone integration feature is a great idea, though they haven't yet found a way to bump you to the top of the queue when calling flight service.

Best thing to do is to try them a few times in the airplane.

 

[ScottM]

These look interesting. All I would say is that based on past reliability of LS product I would not want to buy the first ones that they ship. Wait a year and let them work the bugs out.

As for the X11. I tried that one and was underwhelmed. I am still sticking with my DC 10-13XLs. I may take a closer look at the Zulus in the future.

 

[Spectre]

I didn't have the Bose available for a side-by-side comparison, sorry. The Zulu was better than the Thirty-3G and much better than the DC X-11.

Well, as long as the Zulu does better than the Thirty-3G, that's probably all that matters. The Thirty-3G just doesn't serve me well near the ground and the upgrade route seems like the most cost-effective way to get a better headset.

Thanks for the insights.

 

[Ghery]

You got off lucky... My wife demanded her own Bose!

I knew mine would, too, when I bought my QC2 for travel, so I bought 2. Otherwise I wouldn't have a pair when we travel together. I know, the QC2 isn't exacty an X, but an X would look funny in coach on UA.

Softcomm C-90 for both of us when flying properly.

 

[flyersfan31]

Zulu wasn't out yet. Now that I've spent the coin, I have no interest in finding out if the Zulu is better (no need for any buyers remorse.) The X11, word is, is a POS. Did you read the recent Av Consumer -- apparently Gulf Coast Avionics, or whatever shop provided the headsets for their review, didn't speak highly of the X11. Lots of returns by customers, etc. They were promptly dropped by DC as a distributor. I looked at the X11 but thought it was kind of flimsy.

Jason, I'm surprised that you found the clamping force on the Bose worse than the Lightspeed. I've found just the opposite. I've worn the Bose for 8hrs without any discomfort. After 2hrs or so on the LS I'm ready for a break. Just goes to show -- there are a lot of different melons out there.

 

[gismo]

Jason, I'm surprised that you found the clamping force on the Bose worse than the Lightspeed. I've found just the opposite. I've worn the Bose for 8hrs without any discomfort. After 2hrs or so on the LS I'm ready for a break. Just goes to show -- there are a lot of different melons out there.

No big surprise. IIRC the Bose clamping force is relatively constant over a wide range of "melon" sizes. The LS original and 3g series clamping force increases pretty dramatically on a large "melon".