Bose customer service sucks - am I being unreasonable

[🦈💜]

I think they're a joke in aviation to. Always behind the curve with technology, features and always more expensive. In audio it's a dead give away you have no idea what you're doing - own bose.

Well geeze, where do we go from here? I happen to find them the most comfortable headset with the best ANR that I've tried, and they're worth the price to me.

Guess I have no idea what I'm doing. That's not unfair, I guess, since I'm just a babyator who hasn't even finished my CFI... but shrug. :|

By the way, I own a small project studio.

~Fox

 

[z987k]

Well geeze, where do we go from here? I happen to find them the most comfortable headset with the best ANR that I've tried, and they're worth the price to me.

Guess I have no idea what I'm doing. That's not unfair, I guess, since I'm just a babyator who hasn't even finished my CFI... but shrug. :|

By the way, I own a small project studio.

~Fox

And I'd imagine you have nothing from bose in it.

 

[🦈💜]

And I'd imagine you have nothing from bose in it.

Oogh, that would be awful. No.

I'm a little dense ... I'm afraid I don't really understand your point. Can you connect the dots for this dumbfox?

~Fox

 

[rd757]

I think they're a joke in aviation to. Always behind the curve with technology, features and always more expensive. In audio it's a dead give away you have no idea what you're doing - own bose.

Or you're just on the "I hate Bose because it's Bose" bandwagon. Same folks who say "you have no idea what you're doing with a computer if you own an Apple product." I'm pretty sure Bose revolutionized the ANR headsets and somehow that's "behind the curve". Unless you wanted to wear the upside-down triangle-shaped cones (they should've come with a wide load sticker) Lightspeed a la:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your other option was Bose which was comfortable, cancelled noise wonderfully and didn't smash your head on the window every time you looked for traffic.

I know a little about audio, my father ran a mastering business out of a studio in the house. My A20 sounds great. However, everyone's head it shaped differently, everyone hears things differently and one should choose their headset based on their own specific set of criteria. I won't bash the Zulu.2 because I don't own one and while I'm sure it's a great product, it didn't work for me and my circumstances.

 

[killbilly]

If y'all want to consider an alternative...

There is a company called Pilot USA out of Irvine, CA who make good ANR headsets. I bought a secondhand beater when I started flying a few years ago and it held up for my training. I called them the other day, and they quoted me $125 to completely refurbish it - new everything, basically. The ANR on this headset is really good. I've not used the Bose or the LS products, but I have used the DCs and these were better. It's the PA-1779T model.

I have also spoken to the owner of Pilot USA before - he's a very nice guy. He's got a small operation, and he's very concerned with service and quality. If you like his product, he's worth supporting. http://www.pilot-usa.com

I may still buy a higher-end ANR set, but I'm having this refurb done as a backup and/or pax headset.

 

[BajtheJino]

I've had my X for 7 years and have had it rebuilt for free 4 times. They even overnight FDX it back to me. I overnight it on Monday and have a brand new X back by Friday. I love these people!

 

[fholbert]

For those that have upgraded from the X to the A20. Are they worth it?

Yes, I got A20's after 6 years wearing the X model. I only upgraded for the Bluetooth to pick up my clearances from SoCal at my home base which was uncontrolled. Six weeks later my hangar flooded and I moved to a controlled airport.

First 5 or 6 flights I forgot I was wearing the A20's, when I went full power (300hp) it was a pleasant surprise. Big improvement over the X model and I thought the X model was outstanding.

Since March 2005 (1000 hours +/- ) I've used only Bose headsets in my plane front and back seats. When my friends show up with their cheaper headsets I make them wear my older Bose X's because I get tired of over driving the volume so they can hear. I've never had the need to use customer service, I think that says a lot.

 

[pilot4500]

The company that I work just upgraded from the Bose X to the A20s. Wow what a difference! I fly a Cirrus and I was blown away by the near silence when I pushed the noise canceling button. I had to look at the guages to see if the engine was still running. Throughout my early career I flew with Telex and David Clark headsets. Bose was my first experience with ANR and I was quite impressed with it.

 

[fholbert]

I think they're a joke in aviation to. Always behind the curve with technology, features and always more expensive. In audio it's a dead give away you have no idea what you're doing - own bose.

You must be new to aviation. Bose was a front runner in ANR headsets for aviation and operated for a couple of years without any real competitors.

Lightspeed, like China, saw what was selling in the market and copied a good idea. I'm sure Lightspeed makes a good product but just looking at them they are too big.

 

[jskibo]

Sigh, I'm going to have to try one of these new fangled headsets some day.

I still use my Telex Stratus D50 ANR's.

The good part is when the battery dies, I still have a lot of noise reduction. Bad part is when I turn my head for traffic I knock the right seater out cold!

 

[Hammertime]

I had a similar experience. I sent my Headset X in twice under warranty for a loose wire in the earpiece. The first time they replaced the straight cord, and the second they found and fixed the problem. Both times were free, and they were very fast. Then, after the warranty period ended, I snagged the cord in the cockpit, and the ensuing yank made them quit working altogether. I called Bose and found out about the $175 fee. I had the same frustration you do, and debated gettting a new headset instead, but finally came to the conclusion that $175 is pretty cheap compared to buying a new headset of any quality... I sent it in, and they essentially refurbished the thing. New ear cushions, new head cushion, and a new cord to fix the problem, all for the $175 flat fee (A new cord is $200). End result, I am a very happy Bose customer.

On a related note, having tried out most of the ANR headsets out there, I've come to the conclusion that the Lightspeed Zulus and the Bose are way out in front of everyone else, and the only two worth having. I tried the Lightspeed "Mickey Mouse ear" monsters (too big), DC X11s (crap), and the Sennheiser model the came out before the S1 (HMEC 460 or something - really terrible).

 

[CirrusMonkey]

I am kindof shocked to hear this. Bose has always covered the cost of all repairs, even out of warranty, and even covered the shipping. I sold them to someone on here but have always wondered if they received the same courtesy?

 

[z987k]

You must be new to aviation. Bose was a front runner in ANR headsets for aviation and operated for a couple of years without any real competitors.

Lightspeed, like China, saw what was selling in the market and copied a good idea. I'm sure Lightspeed makes a good product but just looking at them they are too big.

Lightspeeds and Telex were the first I saw. Big and clunky, massive really. Then bose came along... the first bose I know of or heard of were the 10's. Also it took them years to implement bluetooth, aux in, audio cutout etc.

 

[skypilot6]

I love my clarity aloft headset. While I agree not everyone will like them, as far as customer service goes in the one time I used it, They were not able to fix my headset so they REPLACED it. cant complain about that.

 

[drunkenbeagle]

Which model you got? I been playing a D28 and love it.

DX1. Action is great, sound is just like the pricier models.

 

[trafficinsight]

Last year at NBAA. We got to talking to the owner of lightspeed and I asked him why they didn't extend the upgrade program for the zulu2 to zulu1 owners, he told me that the zulu2 is better but, in his opinion, not enough better to get rid of your zulu1, so to discourage zulu1 owners from, in his words, "wasting their money" he decided not to do the upgrade program. "wait for the next one" he said. You don't get honesty like that from a lot of places.

He did say that if I sent my zulu1 in for repair or refurbishment I'd end up with a lot of zulu2 parts anyway.

After 5 years of ownership I finally need to send mine in, they still work fine but the cord is fraying in one spot.


Sent from 1865 by telegraph....

 

[rd757]

Lightspeeds and Telex were the first I saw. Big and clunky, massive really. Then bose came along... the first bose I know of or heard of were the 10's. Also it took them years to implement bluetooth, aux in, audio cutout etc.

Looks like something Optimus Prime would wear, doesn't it? This is the first Bose ANR set that came out in 1995... I don't think they've ever been "behind" the curve, in fact, I believe they were actually "ahead" of the curve at that point. If you didn't know, Bose actually entered the headphone market, via their aviation headsets. The first "Quiet Comfort" headphone model came out over 11 years after their first aviation headset. Lightspeed came along to fill a price point below what the Bose product line hoping to steal market shane, which worked for them with their offshore produced products. There is also Telex, which has always been making decent headsets, definitely functional, but not attractive or necessarily practical in the around-the-ear market (look up the Stratus D50... talk about smashing your head on the windows), but their 750/850 line are worn by thousands and thousands of crews around the world.

I know I sound like I'm parading Bose around like I'm some sort of Apple-warrior type fanboy, but it's a shame that people bash companies/products over the stigma of their name, rather than coming to their own conclusions. Your obvious hatred of Bose, for whatever reason, but you can't deny that they make a great headset, as evidenced by the numerous positive reviews in this thread, the other "Zulu vs. A20" thread and the countless reviews on the various pilot supply retail websites. While Bose may have been slow to adapt to the cool little functions that LightSpeed was able to quickly incorporate, that is no reason to discount it is a inferior product without testing or owning one yourself.

 

[907]

Now if only Klipsch would start making aviation headsets. I've always liked their products; very high quality equipment. They're also very well respected among the audiophile community.

 

[derg]

Now if only Klipsch would start making aviation headsets. I've always liked their products; very high quality equipment. They're also very well respected among the audiophile community.

So I can hear the nerd do the Sean Connery impression during a busy period at ORD in pure stereolicious fidelity.


Sent from my TRS-80

 

[scooter2525]

Trade up program at Lightspeed too...