Lightspeed Zulu vs Bose Headset X

[Rowdy]

Hey AQJ

I was bombing around in a beav/180 with the bose.. it SUCKED! Glad you're likin it in the 'ho!! I sure would like the music abilities.

Give me my DC's any day in the ol' radial machine. Might just switch up to the DC X11.

The king air sure seems quiet compared to what I'm used to

[Captain X]

I'll let you know what I think after another 100 hours, that should be by the 15th.

McPhoo

Well how does the Zulu hold up.

I am gonna get one in the spring. Trade my old 30G for the Zulu.

[McPhoo]

Heh, I was meaning the 15th of March! Well, since you asked.... I mentioned I had the beef with the stiff cord. One other issue was the control module that when cold would turn off the ANC. This of course got me rather annoyed but I just keep it inside my jacket when flying and everything works great. Now, before you all cry foul on Lightspeed, let me just say that they are in the process of getting me all fixed up with a new one. The cord suffered from wires of an alloy that made them stiff in the cold. Lighspeed has sourced a new supplier with a better cord that won't stiffen in the cold. That problem solved. The control module suffered from a circuitry design mistake that caused it to shut off as soon as the voltage dropped by the tiniest amount. So this would happen when the batteries get the least bit low and/or if the unit got cold. I have talked with LightSpeed and they were already aware of the problems and have rebuilt the headset in what might be called a version 2. Only changes that I know of are the cord and circuit fix. When I get back down south near the end of Feb they will swap me out with a new headset with said fixes at their expense. They were very helpful and were quite interested in the headsets performance in the far north. Safe to say, I might have the coldest set. Last nite hit -57C.... So for all that, I'll make another post when I get my new set and see if it is indeed better. I believe it will be and with these teething problems fixed it will place LightSpeed at or near the top of the pile for some time to come I think.

I should also mention that I perhaps made this problem bigger then it needed to be. LightSpeed had withheld distribution of the headset north of the border for the first couple months because they anticipated some problems with the new design and manufacturing. They didn't want to have cross border warranty issues to hassle with. In my eagerness to have one, I shopped across the border and now have created the very thing they were trying to prevent. So, the lesson here might be to just wait and get something when it is available, well, aside from black market movies.

Till next post...
McPhoo

[Mr. North]

Hey thanks for the pointer NOT. I went up today and pulled the plug on my Bose X and they are indeed quite loud when passive! I'm now leaning towards the Telex Stratus 50D. Anyone have any first hand experience as to what the music quality is like with these monsters?! I'd like to get this Telex 50D soon!

[adf]

Have been lurking around this thread for a while and though I do not have vast experience using ANR headsets I have tried a couple.
First was a trial of the old bose- looked like a black 20 XL. Quiet but not enough to convince me of the purchase.
Second trial was a DC- a number of years ago and do not remember the model. Nice and wuiet but had the customary comfort issues some of us find unacceptable.
Third was a Lightspeed 2XL. In a day that the new Bose was still 1500 clams, the 20 took it hands down for savings and noise reduction. Less than perfect esthetics and durability but the manufacturer stood behind it until it literally crumbled. That was after a 7 year lifespan and three owners totalling about 2000 hours in the arctic chill.
Fourth was a charm. I had compared the Bose with the Sennhieser and finally picked up a Telex 50D. Wow, this thing is all the manufacturer claims in terms of noise cancellation. Although ~6oz heavier than a Bose or Zulu the weight and bulk never bothered me a bit. The unit worked well for five years and I would recommend this highly to anyone in a relatively noisy A/C. The most notable difference in it's performance compared to others is when the digital portion of the ANR kicks in; about 4-6 seconds after it is powered up. It doesn't seem like much when you first try it but after using it for some time one just wonders why other manufacturers have not devised a way to eliminate the lower frequencies like the digital portion of the Telex circuitry. In my mind the Telex 50D is underpriced for it's performance level and I think it's a steal.
Fifth, is the Zulu. Employer was buying so why not try something new. I have only used it for forty or fifty hours but have enjoyed it thoroughly. All the comfort and lightness of the Bose but somewhat quieter especially with dead batteries. (changed batteries after 35 hrs cause they were frozen) The headband may need some torqeing to give some additional side pressure if your head is narrow, but I spoke with the Zulu tech at Lightspeed and he grabbed a unit and curled the headband into the circumference of a baseball and suggested I would be safe to "tweak" the headband a bit. He stated the stiff cord issue has been addressed and they are preparing to change the cord to something more acceptable to us northern boys- the change is at no cost, but we will have to mail the unit in to their service dept. So far this is my favorite headset for a comparatively quiet A/C. Great mic, audio, bluetooth, audio jack, battery life, bass and treble boosts, comfort, weight, customer support, esthetics, yadda yadda. Good for a King Air Pilatus or light twin, but for a Metro or C46 the Telex will take any of todays contenders.
Just an opinion of course.

'nough said.
ADF

[PCAS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRVdAlY7z2M

[JEG]

I'm in the market for a new headset, and have been looking at the Lightspeed Zulu and the Telex 50D. It's my understanding that the Telex has some lasting quality, but I was wondering how the Zulu has been holding out since last year's posts? In particular, north of 60, where I do 99% of my flying.

[Captain X]

Have been using my Zulu all winter without a prob... works great!

[Banjo]

...or maybe you could grow a pair and wear a set of D/C's like the rest of the big kids.

[Carrier]

After several years with two LightSpeed headsets I decided to make a change. They are not robust enough for daily use by professional pilots. The same would seem to apply to both the Zulu and the Bose X. Good after sales support is nice but I prefer a headset with long term reliability that does not have to be sent back to the makers, particularly when they are in another country. DC seems to make some sturdy non-ANC headsets but its ANC headsets seem to lag behind in performance.

After checking no end of threads on various forums and numerous printed reviews and talking to users I came to the conclusion that the best value for money in performance, comfort and long term reliability is the Telex Stratus 50 Digital http://www.telex.com/aircraft/Product.a ... oductID=10 Apart from its outstanding acoustic performance, out of the box it runs on either batteries or aircraft power, has adjustable clamping force, and has plug-ins for cell phones and iPods. I obtained one three months ago and am satisfied with it.

[Captain X]

...or maybe you could grow a pair and wear a set of D/C's like the rest of the big kids.

That's some Good Constructive Criticism

[swordfish]

Some excellent information in this thread, particularly mcPhoo and adf. Both sides of everything, and balanced; I have been looking at getting an anr headset, and you have all contributed really good stuff on them all.

This is the sort of stuff we need more of in AvCanada.

[JEG]

As Swordfish said, thanks for the help! The research I've done has also pointed me towards the Telex 50D, but I could not find much regarding the Zulu and it's longevity. I tried on the Bose X, and in a BE-99A it was a marked difference over my DC H10-13.4's, but it didn't do a very good job of blocking the lower end noise. It did, however, do a good job blocking the higher end noise. When I turned it off, it was pretty much useless, and that ruled it out as an option for me. Batteries can be hard to come by and cost a fortune when I'm home in The Wells, let alone in one of the communities.

[Lost Lake]

I had Lightspeed 30 3 G's. As I've posted earlier, good points: cell phone/music interface. Noise attenuation- very good, but you will get crackle on take off in a beaver!. Batteries are AA, I use rechargeable's. 30 hr on a battery charge. Comfortable. Great customer service.
The bad is, limited warning when the battery starts to die or dies. Unless you put the annoying blinking light in front of you. (Almost impossible in a Dehavilland). When the battery dies in flight, remove the headset and talk directly to the radio, because it will sound quieter. Lightspeed decide to redesign the plug ins. The don't work in some situations. (I had to turn my headset off in a couple of aircraft when I was a passenger, due to interference. Even blanked out the whole intercom system on 1 plane) Just plane don't work in other aircraft.

I tried the Bose. I thought they sucked. I got a head ache after 2 hr. I have a small head (don't need much cranium to be a pilot). Noise attenuation was not as good.

I fly noisy twin turbines with the new David Clark's. Comfortable after 17 sectors and 8.5 hr flying time. Work good with or without the noise cancel on. Work in ALL aircraft. The biggest set back is the bulky 9V battery pack (30 hr on a battery) and no external interface.

Bottom line is, if your going to buy a high end headset, try before you buy. Your expectations, environment etc may determine the best choice.

[no op]

I've been using the zulus now for a month in a metro and love em. This is my first noise cancelling headset. I was using the DC10-13.4 s but was tired of coming home at the end of the day with ringing ears. I plug in my ipod all the time and the sound quality is fantastic. My only real complaint so far is the power button, seems any minor touch while in transport will turn the headset on. Many times i've opened up my flight bag to find the power allready on. Come to think of it they don't feel as bomb proof as my old david clarks but the comfort level is sooo much better.

[swervin]

Can the Zulu's mic be used on the left side only or can you turn it around so the mic is on the right side?

[no op]

left side only

[fleetcanuck]

About ten years ago I got a couple of HeadsetsInc.com ANC modules to put into my rather old DC's for use in our Fleet Canuck. They work very well and are quite easy to install. Also added individual volume control to one headset at the same time. With the gel seals they are about US $189. I would recommend if you have your own airplane getting the power supply and installing it so you don't have a battery pack to deal with. Battery life seems to be about 20 hours, but most of my flying gets pretty spread out. I have found they work very well and after a long day in a noisy cockpit you are much less fatigued.

The fellow who recommended them to me had a C-206 with one Bose and one Headsets kitted DC. He said the performance difference was negligible. The price is certainly reasonable and the kit is not hard to install.

[Mr. North]

I bought the Telex 50D for this past float season and it served me well! On one occasion I was flying a well-to-do American who had a PPL and brought along his Bose X for the ride. We switched headsets and compared them throughout the flight. I was flying a Norseman, which I dare say is the loudest a/c on earth! Surprisingly the Bose exceeded my expectations (which I admit were fairly low)! Despite the assaulting noise of the radial, the Bose ANR held it's own. Unfortunately however, the Bose cannot keep your ears from bleeding when you lose power... and that's where the Telex really proves it's worth.

So while the Bose can get by in a radial, it simply cannot compete with the redundancy of the Telex.

[swordfish]

Mr. North noted:

I was flying a Norseman, which I dare say is the loudest a/c on earth!

Absolutely correct. Tho a DC3 at meto power is a strong contender...only you don't have to listen to it at that level for more than a minute or so...

Interesting side-by-side comparison of the 2 headsets though. Thanks.

[cgzro]

In noisy cockpits the Telex 50D is the best I've tried. I now have about 400 hours with my 50D in the Pitts and a few other planes. It is comfortable, reliable and very quiet even in a noisy aerobatic plane.

In one afternoon I flew 4 or 5 different ANR headsets in my plane when a friend brought me a bunch to test (because I was getting headaches/ringing). The Telex was just WAY better than the others and I ordered one within hours of the flight.

Its pretty comfortable too although if you let the gel cups freeze its like a DC clamp

A year ago I lent my 50D and also a headsets inc conversion to a fellow with an Eagle II to try. He already had some other ANR headset. He took off, did one circuit came back and was utterly amazed at the Telex 50D v.s. his and bought one within hours.

The passive attenuation is also excellent, so if the batteries die you won't end up deaf. I had that happen with the headsets inc set that uses a 9v battery. It went dead on me on a cross country and when I landed I had a REALLY bad migrane and ringing in my ears.

Mind you I have had complaints about the mic and my voice transmissions. Not sure if that is mic gain related to the SL_40 etc. but i've twiddled with it with little improvement. Now I just throttle back when having to talk to anybody at longer distances and it seems acceptable but its not perfect and that seems to be their weak spot. I know Hedley uses a different Mic on his 50D for that reason so he probably has the best of both worlds but in his 260HP 2 seat Pitts its even more of a problem than my 200HP single seater.

And at $700 its frankly an excellent deal compared to the others.

Peter