The Lightspeed Zulu vs The Bose X

JA Yawd Bwoy

JA Yawd Bwoy

Well-Known Member
I figured its been a good 4-5 monthes since the Zulu came out and I am really considering buying one of these headset but I kinda have pro/cons for both like

Bose:

Pros - Been around a while (trusted)
- Lots of people recommend it
- So called best headset ever
- Has a monthly 82 dollar plan for a year iinterest free

Cons -Heard that lately they have been having problems
- Not exactly rich (in America atleast:)) 1000$ is not exactly pocket change.


Zulu:

Pros - 200$ cheaper than the Bose X
-Has music/bluetooth
-almost the exact weight of the bose
- Lots of people are hyping it

Cons - Just came out, could have problems
- Kind of the underdog compared to Bose




Open to all suggestions, even other headsets, but please try to stay close to these two, and please vote.:)
 
My Bose has already been returned once, not really Bose's fault cause I was reaching for my bag and pulled the cord apart. I am thinking of returning it again to fix this annoying thing that causes the headset to shock my ears every once and a while. Its sort of scary to be flying along and suddenly your headset zaps you in one ear.

The noise canceling is extremely nice but I've noticed in the DC6 its extremely sensitive to pressure changes, for example if the engineer or cargo forgets to close a wing hatch its almost impossible to communicate without turning the noise canceling off.
 
I love my Zulu, though I never got to compare it to the Bose as I have never tried it. It claims to be the world's quietest ANR headset, which is nice; but it works well enough with the ANR turned off and when you turn it on the difference is night and day. It is so much easier to concentrate and I don't feel nearly as tired after a long flight as I used to when using crappy loaner headsets from the school. I keep on forgetting to take my Iprod with me when I go flying so have not been able to test that functionality in the air.

If I were you I would get the Zulu (I did) based on the fact that it is cheaper, better, has more functionality, sturdier, and is backed up by an excellent warranty/repair service. Downside, it is not TSA'd so you are technically not supposed to use it in a 121 cockpit, but I am sure there are plenty of pilots flying turboprops for the regionals using non-TSA'd headsets.
 
Hubbs said:
Downside, it is not TSA'd so you are technically not supposed to use it in a 121 cockpit, but I am sure there are plenty of pilots flying turboprops for the regionals using non-TSA'd headsets.
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Hubbs, TSO is the TLA you're lookin for ;). TSO stands for Technical Standards Order. From what I've gathered few companies require their pilots to use TSO'd headsets. (SWA QC2/UFM debate anyone?)

Back on topic...I tried both the Bose X and Zulus, and I thought the Zulus were WAY more comfortable than the Bose. It just fit my head much better. ANR is ridiculously quiet. I see it as the Bose killer, haha.
 
FlyOrDie said:
My Bose has already been returned once, not really Bose's fault cause I was reaching for my bag and pulled the cord apart. I am thinking of returning it again to fix this annoying thing that causes the headset to shock my ears every once and a while. Its sort of scary to be flying along and suddenly your headset zaps you in one ear.

The noise canceling is extremely nice but I've noticed in the DC6 its extremely sensitive to pressure changes, for example if the engineer or cargo forgets to close a wing hatch its almost impossible to communicate without turning the noise canceling off.
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I'd already had to return my Bose 4 times in my first two years at Colgan for buzzing in the right ear that would only stop everytime when I touched something metal on a comm panel or nav radio. I gave up and bought a Lightspeed Mach1 which I have used religiously ever since excpt for once when I snapped the post off the ear piece and had to send it back. It was back to the bose for a few days, I didn't mis it at all.

Anyways, the last couple of times I wore the Bose I could have sworn I had gotten a small shock in my ear. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but now reading your post I guess I wasn't. Let me know how that works out for you, I'm not going to start using the headset again but I may send it for repairs if they get yours fixed.
 
I have the Pilot 1779 and I love that pair. My father was looking for a headset when he rides with me and we tried the Lightspeed Zulu and it has to be by far one of the most comfortable and coolest headsets on the market. It worked extremely well and seemed to be a quality unit.

The bose on the other hand is a piece of crap and I would never pay $1000 for that. The only people I see buying bose are the ones that haven't had real world experience or don't try out headsets before they by them.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
hand is a piece of crap and I would never pay $1000 for that. The only people I see buying bose are the ones that haven't had real world experience or don't try out headsets before they by them.
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Uh.. I've used SoftComm, DC, Telex, Lightspeed and Bose. I like my Bose the best. Honestly, its a great headset and the warranty is fantastic too.
 
Rocketman99 said:
I'd already had to return my Bose 4 times in my first two years at Colgan for buzzing in the right ear that would only stop everytime when I touched something metal on a comm panel or nav radio. I gave up and bought a Lightspeed Mach1 which I have used religiously ever since excpt for once when I snapped the post off the ear piece and had to send it back. It was back to the bose for a few days, I didn't mis it at all.

Anyways, the last couple of times I wore the Bose I could have sworn I had gotten a small shock in my ear. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but now reading your post I guess I wasn't. Let me know how that works out for you, I'm not going to start using the headset again but I may send it for repairs if they get yours fixed.
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The Bose is fragile, I believe that's the main problem with it. I like the sound quality and the noise canceling but you can't just throw it around and count on it to work like a David Clark. My prior headset was a DC H20XL or something like that, the more modern looking noise canceling model. I had that thing through high school and college and it never missed a beat. Completely bomb proof but not as good at cutting down the noise in the Six.

Another thing with the Bose is that after I got it back if I rapidly turn my head the right ear piece makes this clicking noise, like maybe the microphone for the noise canceling is loose or something like that cause it doesn't happen with the noise canceling off. It hasn't shocked me within the last month of flying, and it really isn't painful more like a nip on the ear so I'm not going to spend $30 bucks on UPS to get it fixed until its bad.
 
The fact that Bose are TSO'd gives it the lead. Why would I drop $800 on the Zulus when I cant legally wear them when I go to an airline?

I own the Bose X and love them. If the Zulu HAD been TSO'd, I would have been pissed that I hadnt heard about them before I dropped the money.

-Rob
 
v1valarob said:
The fact that Bose are TSO'd gives it the lead. Why would I drop $800 on the Zulus when I cant legally wear them when I go to an airline?

I own the Bose X and love them. If the Zulu HAD been TSO'd, I would have been pissed that I hadnt heard about them before I dropped the money.

-Rob
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They probably will be TSO'd in the future. btw why are they not TSO'd?
 
v1valarob said:
The fact that Bose are TSO'd gives it the lead. Why would I drop $800 on the Zulus when I cant legally wear them when I go to an airline?

I own the Bose X and love them. If the Zulu HAD been TSO'd, I would have been pissed that I hadnt heard about them before I dropped the money.

-Rob
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Again, just to reiterate, being TSOed means nothing as far as using a headset with an airline unless the particular airline you work for (just a handful at present) requires it. It is not, I repeat, IS NOT an FAA requirement. As a matter of fact, I emailed the FAA folks about it a while back and their response, to paraphrase, was that TSO requirements for headsets are just suggested guidelines and if individual airlines choose to require that then it is solely up to them. There is no FAA enforcement either way!!
 
juxtapilot said:
Uh.. I've used SoftComm, DC, Telex, Lightspeed and Bose. I like my Bose the best. Honestly, its a great headset and the warranty is fantastic too.
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I have used many of those as well and for the money I would easily put it towards the Zulus. The worst part about the Bose is when those batteries dies it is just as bad as going with out a headset almost.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
I have used many of those as well and for the money I would easily put it towards the Zulus. The worst part about the Bose is when those batteries dies it is just as bad as going with out a headset almost.
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the zulu isn't much better, but it is better. the telex is great w/o canceling and even better with. on the plus it is 150 cheaper than the Zulu and just as comfortable w/ better cancelation. it does feel heavier on your head and uses more batteries but that is a price i am willing to pay for superior noise cancellation
 
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