Lightspeed ZULU Premium ANR Aviation Headset (Battery Power, Straight cord, Standard Dual GA Plugs) Reviews
Lightspeed ZULU Premium ANR Aviation Headset (Battery Power, Straight cord, Standard Dual GA Plugs)
- ANR: Active cancellation over a deep, broad range of low frequency noise.
- Comfort and Durability: Weighing in at 13 ounces, extended wear is a pleasure.
- A thin, low-profile, stainless steel headband helps with cabin clearance and adds durability.
- Designed for comfort with plush ear seals, the magnesium ear cups extended range performance profile is superior at blocking
- Bluetooth Connectivity: Full A2DP compatibility allows wireless connection from Bluetooth phones or other devices.
- An integrated control box input allows you to connect a cell phone, music player or iPod for a range of communication options.
A distinctive look and unparalleled comfort makes Zulu the ultimate blend of technology and high performance.
Plush ear seals combined with magnesium ear cups and supported by a stainless steel headband deliver durability at 13 ounces. Use Zulu’s innovative Bluetooth connectivity to facilitate communications and get on your way to enhancing the freedom of flying.
Lightspeed engineers researched how pilots perceive noise at various frequencies in the cockpit, and then de
Price: $ 850.00
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Tags: Aviation, Battery, cord, Dual, Headset, Light/Speed, Plugs, Power, Premium, Reviews, Standard, Straight, ZULU
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Comments (3)
Better than the Bose X!,
I owned a Bose X headset for about half a year. When I began flying regularly with other people, I picked up a Lightspeed Zulu headset. I found that the only advantage the Bose has over the Lightspeed is that the clamping force is MARGINALLY lower with the Bose. This has not created a problem for me or my passengers, at all.
I have now sold my Bose X, and picked up another Lightspeed for my passengers to use. It is by far the superior headset, for MANY reasons. Let’s review!
- NOISE ATTENUATION: Bose X is just not as good as Lightspeed Zulu at this. If you are flying behind a high-revving engine such as a Rotax 912ULS, you will find that the Zulu is just as good at 5500 as it is at 2000 – which is to say, quite good, and better than Bose. This is quite a big deal by itself, and more than enough to get my attention and my future business, but Lightspeed didn’t stop there.
- MUSIC: For $850 (formerly $1000), you would assume that Bose could afford to spend ten bucks (or less) integrating a simple 1/8″ jack into the control box so that you could pipe in some music. For some strange reason, Bose elected not to do this. Not only has Lightspeed given you a 1/8″ jack for music, but they have also put a really nice DSP into the control box that lets you turn a sort of surround sound mode called Front Row Center on and off. It also has a mode where it will cut out the music if someone calls you up on the radio, although I have not been able to get that to work particularly well, so I leave that feature turned off. The sound quality is very good for an aviation headset. If your airplane is already wired for music, or you don’t mind wearing earbuds (which I tried with the Bose and found painful, as the Bose pressed them into my ear canal), this may not be a big deal to you. If you are a student pilot and have enough to worry about without music, this may not be a big deal to you RIGHT NOW, but once you’ve got a hundred or two hundred hours and you have enough free attention to enjoy some tunes, it WILL matter to you. The 1/8″ jack supports normal stereo input as well as two-way cell phone plugs.
- BLUETOOTH: You may not care about this, but isn’t it telling that Lightspeed – for $850, at a time when Bose X still cost fully $1,000 – was able to integrate a Bluetooth transciever? This is useful for picking up an IFR clearance on the ground, closing a flight plan, letting your SO know you’re taking off or on the ground without having to shut down the airplane first, etc.
- SERVICE: You’ll be paying well north of a hundred dollars to get your Bose X fixed out-of-warranty. Lightspeed routinely goodwills repairs outside of the warranty period. I have sent two different headsets (an OEM verison of their XC, as well as my older Zulus) in for service. The XCs were YEARS out of warranty, and I had lost my receipt for the Zulus. Both were repaired, FREE OF CHARGE, and shipped back to me. The only thing I had to pay for on either of these was the shipping costs to get the headsets to them – Lightspeed covered the shipping back to me. Now, which is better – paying $150 + shipping, or paying $0 + shipping? I’ll let you do the math on that one.
Bose just does not have it together on the X. It doesn’t do as good a job at attenuating noise as the Lightspeed Zulu. It doesn’t have an audio in port, which is ridiculous on a headset of this price range. It doesn’t have Bluetooth, which you may or may not care about, but which is nice to have. And – the final nail in the coffin – the service is nowhere as good.
Lightspeed, you have done a fantastic job on this headset, and because of it, you have earned a repeat customer. Keep up the good work!
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|Wins over Bose X For following reasons:,
As a flight instructor, I had the opportunity to steal my rich students’ headsets and try them all out for free. Eventually I decided on the lightspeed zulu for following reasons:
Pros:
- Comfortable up to about 5-6hrs
- Noise reduction in my opinion is at least equal to Bose X
- Bluetooth link up to cell phone is very useful
- Input for music is THE BEST feature, I love this.
- New case redesign addresses the issue of not having a carry handle – now it does!
- Battery lasts at least 20hrs at a time with noise reduction and music on
- 5 year warranty, which I am using right now to have the cable replaced after it became frayed. LS were very easy to deal with, one phone call and they gave me a maintenance number and I mailed it in. I have no worries about this headset for the next 4 years – that is worth the cost.
Cons:
- Heavier than the Bose X
- Less comfortable for very long flights – I begin to notice it after 5-6hrs but luckily most flights are not this long
I’ve owned mine for 1yr and 1 month and as it is in for service now, I am using my old headset (generic brand) and miss my lightspeed so much. I hope eventually LS will come out with a new lighter version but aside from that, this is an awesome piece of equipment. Good job LS.
Remember, the customer service and warranty is part of the price and they are good people to deal with which in today’s world is getting harder and harder to find. For what it’s worth I recommend this headset over Bose and David Clark.
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|I love these headsets!,
I’ve been flying in airplanes since a very young boy (my dad was a pilot)and I can’t even remember the first time I wore headsets it was so long ago… but I can tell you in the 1980s I bought my first set of headsets (before the days of ANR) and for years, my head felt like it had been placed in a vice and squeezed after even short flights.
BACKGROUND (maybe skip this info, but interesting story…)
My “old” headsets (Lightspeed 3) were purchased in 2005 and served me well, but I had an issue with them thinking I needed to send them off for repair. I called Lightspeed, and was floored that they were willing to repair them without charge even though they were out of warranty. (Long story made short, I inadvertently switched a setting inside the battery compartment that gave me audio in one ear only… the “fix” came after talking for a few moments to the Lightspeed technical department… problem solved and I suddenly became “branded” with Lightspeed because of their willingness to repair my headsets at no cost.
My favorable impression of LightSpeed motivated me to purchase the Zulu headsets for a very long adventure in a loud modified airplane from Texas to the Pacific Northwest. I can tell you in one day (during my two weeks of flying in this adventure) I spent 10 hours flying and NEVER did I feel that my head was in a vice as I have previously experienced with my “brand-X” headsets (all brand-X headsets owned since the 80s.
What blew me away about the Zulu…
#1. Oh-so quiet, even with the ANR turned off. When they are turned on, it was hard to believe my Lycoming engine was running during taxi.
#2. The Bluetooth is amazing! I was able to make in-flight phone calls to FBOs, motels, tour-guides, my wife WHILE FLYING and only on one occasion did someone not understand me and I suspect because I was losing a cell phone tower.
#3. I used the Bluetooth to couple with my iPhone and listened to a couple of songs while in flight… AMAZING… but I only did this once during my two-week adventure.
#4. Probably nobody mentions this in any reviews, but I love the clam-shell case the Zulu headsets come in. They seem durable, and are light-weight. The headsets easily go into and come out of the case without any trouble.
#5. In my two-week long adventure, I replaced the batteries only once. It seems the Zulu headsets will run a long time on a fr4esh set of batteries. Not once did I have any “failure” with the Zulu in regard to battery issues.
The bottom line is the LightSpeed company themselves. NO OTHER AVIATION HEADSET MAKER IS AS DEVOTED TO THEIR PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMERS as LightSpeed is.
Although I’m probably going to be hanging up the flying scarf in a year or two, I’d be devoted to this company for decades because of their willingness to bend-over backwards for their customers…
*Knot-2-Shabby Airport, 5TA6 San Antonio Sectional
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