DC One-X vs Lightspeed Zulu 3

[Shiftace]

Now that I am no longer a weekend warrior and have been instructing a little more diligently, I would like to upgrade from my old headset to something with ANR.

No stores locally that I can drive to and check out headsets.

Down to the David Clark One-X and the Lightspeed Zulu 3. Leaning towards the DC.

Anyone have used both of these and have any input? Will be instructing mostly in piston airplanes...

Thanks....

 

[ASpilot2be]

I actually love my One X. One big advantage is it is TSOd, so you can take it to the airlines if they require that for the headsets.

 

[Max Power]

I've had the Zulu since the original. I have 2's that I had upgraded to 3's by Lightspeed for $100. Great headphones, on par with the Bose in many ways. Not sure if the quality is quite Bose or DC, since I've had nearly every pair of Zulu's sent out for service. But they've been quick turnaround and they've still done well with the wear and tear of 121 flying and commuting. I figure mine have about 3000 hours on them, which if the average GA pilot is around 500 hours a year, that's like 6 years of wear.

They sit dormant now, they're overkill for the Airbus by a lot but worked well in the Dash 8 and 145 as well as piston singles.

 

[Roger Roger]

5 years of medevac flying and the only issue with my Zulu 3s is that the ear cups are pretty worn…not sure why the Zulus don’t get more recs around here

 

[ASpilot2be]

5 years of medevac flying and the only issue with my Zulu 3s is that the ear cups are pretty worn…not sure why the Zulus don’t get more recs around here

They aren't TSO approved, so they can't be used at some carriers. Not sure how many still have that requirement.

 

[guywhoflies]

They aren't TSO approved, so they can't be used at some carriers. Not sure how many still have that requirement.

United still requires TSO.

 

[killbilly]

United still requires TSO.

From my JS experiences, UA enforces that TSO requirement about as well as my carrier does, which is to say not at all. I could be wrong, my experience is both limited and anecdotal.

A Fed might get bent out of shape about it, but I've seriously never been asked about it.

 

[guywhoflies]

From my JS experiences, UA enforces that TSO requirement about as well as my carrier does, which is to say not at all. I could be wrong, my experience is both limited and anecdotal.

A Fed might get bent out of shape about it, but I've seriously never been asked about it.

You're right about the lack of enforcement. I've flown with some guys that had some, umm, "interesting" headsets. Who knew that you could go to RadioShack (RIP) and cobble together a headset that works in a transport category aircraft.

 

[N826AW]

I instruct full-time and use the DC One-X. I love them. Great sound quality, they feel sturdy and they are comfortable even on the longest days. This is anecdotal but whenever my students complain about something not being right with their headset I look over and they are almost always wearing LS Zulus. YMMV.