Gonna buy a new headset

sschlesinger

New Member
Hiya all need to get some input on what head set to buy and wanted peoples opinions. Bose is out of the question cause they are out of my price range.

My options are DC 11X, Pilot Usa PA-1779, and last lightspeed zulu's.

I want a good headset with a good warranty and good customer service god forbid they break.
 
the Bose and the LS Zulu are very close in price....? If you are gonna spend that kind of money get the zulu...I have a LS 20XLc ANR and love it. Can plug in my ipod and cruise....:buck:
 
The Zulu is a really, really nice headset. If I was in the market for one, I'd buy it. You said the Bose is too much, but the Zulu is only $140 or so cheaper.

However, I presently fly with a Pilot USA PA-1779 and it's a very, very good headset. It's got some nice features - battery pack in the headset itself, long life, comfortable. Also, EXCELLENT customer service. I really like it and would recommend it to anyone. For the price, it's bloody outstanding.

If you find a used one, they will do a full-refurb on it for a nominal fee which includes all kinds of stuff. Check with them.
 
I've had the zulu's for about two months, and if I could go back and make the decision again, I would have spent the extra $140 and gone with the bose...

I'm really not happy with these headsets...

I've already had to return them to the factory and have them refurbished because the ANR completely died within 2 weeks of use...

They are nice in the King Air and Caravan, but I also flight instruct in a grumman tiger, and they are have terrible seals (at least on my head). Any outside wind causes a terrible vibration between the ANR inside the ear pieces.

Lastly, I don't like the control unit. For one, its very big and cumbersome compared to the bose unit. Volume control is very sensitive and easy to screw up, and the power on off switch is a touch on/off opposed to a rocker switch. Very easy to accidently turn them on when you are putting them away, only to find dead batterys next time...

I think lightspeed is a great company, but i'm very unhappy with these headsets, and again, if I could do it again, i'd spend the extra money and get the bose. Take it for what its worth...
 
^^ I'm totally the opposite. I've had both the bose and zulu and I think zulu wins hands down. The bose just didn't seem that comfortable, pinched my head and the noise cancellation just couldn't keep up in the Citbrea I was flying in. Also the aux input alone is worth it sometimes. I do wish though that the zulu came in a better case and the power button would really turn off after it got done with it.

=Jason-
 
Just bought a Lightspeed cross country online the other day. Now i am waiting for it to arrive. The price ($289...new!) could not be beat IMO for an ANR headset.

Slightly unrelated
: anyone ever use their ANR headset when in a commercial jet as a passenger, just to listen to an ipod or something? I would assume that strange looks would ensue, but there are these nifty converters all over the web for sale to allow use of aviation headsets for the computer etc.
 
I have no experience with the Zulu's or the Pilot USA headsets, but I have been flying with the DC X11's for the last year.

The X11 headset is the most comfortable on my head, even more so than the Bose X. Six hour cross country flights have no discomfort from the headset. The noise canceling is great, and it seems to be very durable for being mostly plastic.

I do have two complaints about the DC however. First, at my current job (instructing) I am in and out of 3-6 different planes per day, flying usually 5-7 hours daily, and the batteries don't seem to ever last more than 3 days, no more than 20 hours of use.

And Second, the X11 is a quiet headset. Not only in noise canceling, but in volume. I always have the volume all of the way up on the headset, and have to warn my students to turn theres down so i can turn up the volume on the radios. This is a problem i have spoken to other X11 owners about, and seems fairly common, (and no I am not losing my hearing).

Have your considered the Bose QC2/Uflymike combo? That is the direction I am currently heading...
 
I have no experience with the Zulu's or the Pilot USA headsets, but I have been flying with the DC X11's for the last year.

The X11 headset is the most comfortable on my head, even more so than the Bose X. Six hour cross country flights have no discomfort from the headset. The noise canceling is great, and it seems to be very durable for being mostly plastic.

I do have two complaints about the DC however. First, at my current job (instructing) I am in and out of 3-6 different planes per day, flying usually 5-7 hours daily, and the batteries don't seem to ever last more than 3 days, no more than 20 hours of use.

And Second, the X11 is a quiet headset. Not only in noise canceling, but in volume. I always have the volume all of the way up on the headset, and have to warn my students to turn theres down so i can turn up the volume on the radios. This is a problem i have spoken to other X11 owners about, and seems fairly common, (and no I am not losing my hearing).

Have your considered the Bose QC2/Uflymike combo? That is the direction I am currently heading...

I have the X-11's I cannot say they are the best out there, but they are good! I did have some issues with them and I had to send them back. The first time they came back refurbed and looked like new. However the battery life was terrible 5-6 hours. So I sent them back again...the second time I recieved a package in the mail about 4-5 days after i sent them off and DC had sent me a BRAND NEW set! Not to many places have that kind of customer service (they were over a year old at the time). David Clark made me a fan real fast!
 
UPDATE


Hello all well decided on Pilot USA PA-1779. I would suggest this head set to anyone thats looking for a good headset at a really nice price. I spoke to a fellow there (Pilot USA) named Abram (owners son) and I must say by far one of the most knowledgeable people I have spoken to in along time about electronics and not just headsets. If you all have any questions about any headsets I would call him. I spoke to him for over an hour and not once did he try to hard sell me I called back a week later to order and he still remembered me. Customer service goes a long way for me. BTW he'll do free shipping if you call and your nice.

http://www.pilot-usa.com/
 
I bought a zulu and returned it. I didn't like the popping noise it made during engine run up. Plus it not even TSO approved. Which sucks because most airline companies require TSO approved headsets.
 
There is a reason the Bose X is the most expensive headset, beacuse it's the best. I love my Bose, it provides great noise cancelling and is very comfortable.
 
There is a reason the Bose X is the most expensive headset, beacuse it's the best. I love my Bose, it provides great noise cancelling and is very comfortable.
my telex works better, the zulu works just as well as the bose in the cancellation department, but if you lose your noise canceling you might as well take off your bose!
 
UPDATE


Hello all well decided on Pilot USA PA-1779. I would suggest this head set to anyone thats looking for a good headset at a really nice price. I spoke to a fellow there (Pilot USA) named Abram (owners son) and I must say by far one of the most knowledgeable people I have spoken to in along time about electronics and not just headsets. If you all have any questions about any headsets I would call him. I spoke to him for over an hour and not once did he try to hard sell me I called back a week later to order and he still remembered me. Customer service goes a long way for me. BTW he'll do free shipping if you call and your nice.

http://www.pilot-usa.com/

Good call. I'm probably going to have them refurb mine and put the cell phone adapter into it, too.

It's a bit funny-looking compared to a lot of the headsets out there, and I was worried about all the plastic, but by and large it's been a great headset for me.
 
How could I have forgotten to add the green blinking light of death on the zulu's! I really hate these things....
 
Is that the same green blinking light of death on the Twenty 3G's? I always liked knowing when the headset was gonna die on me, personally.
 
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