Lightspeed 30-3G

Pros: Good passive noise reduction to go along with excellend noise canceling. Easy, self contained patch for music or cell phone (not that anyone would ever do that)

Cons: Need to replace ear pads after 2 years (400 hours....perhaps that is normal wear) No problems as yet.

I don't like the Bose because of a lack of passive sound protection... Telex seems like a good choice too. R

I have a lot of time between the pads of David Clarks, Lightspeeds and Bose.

The middle model (that rhymes ) Bose are great. Heavy, but they do a good job. The newest Bose don't cover my (admittedly oversize) ears, and I've heard the same complaint from a number of others. As a consequence they don't seal, and the ANR then wows. Sucko.

The Lightspeeds are okay for the money, but their passive qualities are not that great. I'm a believer that you should start with a headset that is very good passively, and then add ANR, not just build an ANR device. The Lightspeeds are the latter.

Now, I have heard NUMEROUS reports, but have no first hand information that the Telex 50 ANR is now the super hot ticket, headset-wise. They are heavy, which I can deal with IF they do their job, which is block noise. I'm told by a number of reliable types that they are the best on the market right now.

MTV

Telex 50D's are the most quiet on the market right now. They are heavier than the Bose but are very comfortable. This is because they have squishy oversized earpads that seal well even over sunglasses. The headband has a nice pad and has adjustabe clamping tention that is useful (I use the loose setting, my wife uses the middle setting). The pads also don't get hot. The construction is well done; I have 300hrs on mine and they look like new other than the mic foam is getting a little worn. But that is because I store the headsets under the seat and the foam gets rubbed.

I think the best testimonial I can give is my family flew down to Tampa for spring break in the Musketeer. It was 12hr down and 13.5 back because of headwinds. We did both trips in one day using the Telex 50D's. Because of these headsets I felt no more fatigued than spending the day in a car.

My personal opinion is people with a lot of money and spend only 2 hours in a plane per day buy Bose X headsets.

People that spend all day in a plane buy Telex 50D's. I think they have become the new David Clarks.

-Todd Giencke
A&P IA Avionics

The only ANR headsets I've ever used are Lightspeeds, so I can't comment on how they compare to Bose, Clarks, or Telex. I own 4 pair of Lightspeeds--3 15XLs and 1 20XL I like the Lightspeed 15 XLs with the soft ear cups for comfort on long flights. They're pretty light, and very easy on the top of the head.

Three of us flew 4.5 nonstop from Missoula to Ashland last Saturday at 12,500' (35 knot headwinds, with not much relief lower--ARGH!). The soft ear cups seal nicely around the ear pieces of my flying glasses and the oxygen tubes for the cannulas without creating painful pressure points. For short flights, I could go with a tighter fit and stiffer ear cups, but for long flights I want something that won't torture my head.

CAVU

I have some DC 13.4's. Had them 10 years, they're good ones. Not ANR. If things is too loud then I can wear earplugs also. On a long trip, I take off the headset if it gets wearisome and just wear earplugs. Or else turn off the engine and coast along for a while.
I'm pretty low tech in case you haven't noticed.

Eric

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:The stock headband cushion is a piece of poo! .

A piece of poo? Easy now, this is a family place!
I can't believe you said that, Chris- this is coming from a guy who got chewed out for dropping an f-bomb ? What is this website coming to?

Eric

I have the lightspeed 20-3g, and while they are OK, I don't highly recommend them. Passive nc is marginal, though the active works well. Comfort is middle of the road. The music/phone interface is very good.

My wife just bought the Telex digital 50's, and they are a much quieter and more comfortable headset. They were also nearly twice as much as the Lightspeed. Music sounds good through them, and they are much more substantial in construction and weight. What I don't like is the cord, which I'm sure came from a 1960's kitchen appliance, and the bulky, clumsy battery box stuck midway along said cord.

The Bose never entered the picture, as there is no music interface. A thousand bucks for a headset and you can't plug in a Ipod?

Back when I had an older, noisier truck, I would wear my Lightspeed 20-3G's while driving and use them as a cellphone headset. I got some weird looks, but it was quiet and I didn't have to hold the phone up to my face.

My dad works for Chief, and he says a lot of guys call looking for "Pilot Avionics" brand headsets. Not sure what the deal with them is, but they're gaining popularity.

I have two Lightspeed 15XLcs. I was looking for the most comfortable ANR headset I could find under $500, and I bought them after trying on nearly every manufacturer's headset at Oshkosh three years ago. I've been happy with them as far as the comfort goes, but I'm a little suspicious of the quality. I've had to return both headsets (one more than once) to Lightspeed because of electrical problems. On the positive side, their customer service department was great. They didn't ask any questions (other than what's wrong), and had it back to me in a few days. In general, I like them but I think there are better ones out there now.

I recently talked to a guy who raved about his Clarity Aloft headset. He bought them on Steve Wolf’s (the aerobatic aircraft Guru) recommendation. The biggest advantage as he saw it was the superior passive noise reduction.

Well, I've used the same David Clarks for 17 years, been dependabel the whole time. I suppose I've taken them for granted, because I don't remember which model they are, and I just used them this weekend.

Let's see? First thing to go is the memory, and I don't remember the others. Guess that explains it.

Bub

In a former life I worked as an engineer for a hearing aid manufacturer, and learned just how important it is to protect your ears. Whether you fly for fun, or for work, I believe you should use the best equipment you can afford.

I've used Litespeed for several years, I have a 15XL and a 25XL, each has well over 1000 hours on them, the 25XL is probably closer to 1500. They've both had their problems, but I've never had a problem with getting them fixed. The Litespeed customer service is probably the best in the business. I ran over my 15s with a Pawnee a couple years ago, and crushed the ear cup and headband, and they fixed it up for free.

I sent in my 25XLs this spring for an overhaul, and had the new battery box added so I could use my Ipod (best $75 headset investment ever - how did I get by without music before??) and they also replaced all the ear seals and headbands with a new material that is supposed to last a little longer.

I tried on a pair of the David Clark X11s a few weeks ago, and thought they were fantastic. The passive noise canceling was great, and while not in an airplane, I thought the active noise canceling was very good too. It also has a cell phone/ipod interface on the battery box. The battery box is gigantic, which might be my only complaint. It reminded me of a trolling lure for deep sea fishing. At $800 or so, I think that's out of my range. I checked the sofa cushions and under the seat in the truck, but I won't be getting one any time soon.

Eric, I often use earplugs under my headset too.

John

Over the years we've tested many headsets including DC passive and active (too much white noise), Flightcom, Pilot passive and active (very good but noise leakage when head turning, Lightspeed passive and active(poor mic reproduction), Telex passive and active, and DRE active, and Bose (early type too top heavy and unbalanced and the latest style nice and light but cannot handle high noise), and Sennheiser active.
Many of these were tested in the Pawnee towing gliders with a measured 120db , and in various other craft from Tiger moth, Beaver, Cessna, Piper but mostly Maule piston and turbine.
The headsets that stood out for me were DRE6000 active (in fact Av consumer placed it above the Bose because it only cost $295 at that time versus $995 for Bose) and the top of the line Telex, though slightly heavy, it is the most comfortable with best db reduction.
Jeremy

I bought a Lightspeed QFR active noise reduction headset [their bottom of the line ANR] used on EBay for less than $200 including shipping. Send it to the factory for a free overhaul. I will never go back to passive only headsets.
Also, I bought a used Lowrance 1000 [black and white large screen portable] GPS on EBay for less than $300. Im really happy with that too.
Im sort of a bottom feeder in the aviation hierarchy.

zane wrote: ....... I would wear my Lightspeed 20-3G's while driving and use them as a cellphone headset. I got some weird looks ......

You're one cool dude, Zane. You don't also have a construction hardhat or better yet a batting helmet that you also wear out on the road,do you?

Try www.headsetsinc.com ,their conversion for helmets is outstanding and they can make your old favorite DC's ANR too, I think. They make their own headset that starts with a very good passive headset and then they add the ANR. Been using both their helmet conversion and their headset for a couple of years now with good luck. Bose are for the people with leather flight jackets, Ray Ban sunglasses and fly Bonanzas.

For the money Pilot headsets are pretty hard to beat.

You may want to give them a try before giving up the big bucks.

http://www.pilot-usa.com/?gclid=CIH-kfz ... ggodc14R6g

DC H10-60, so I can change the plugs between Nato and Fixed wing. (the 185 is wired for Nato Plugs)
While we're on the topic of headsets... I'm about to buy a childs headset. Any suggestions? I was going to go for something like the Softcomm Child Prince C45-10, light, relatively cheap, replaceable components. The small person is two years old.

Thanks to someone asking about cell phone hook ups for head sets, I thought I’d give a plug to one of the greatest companies I’ve ever dealt with.

I’ve been in the retail farm machinery business for 30 years and have dealt with many different companies. Never have I done business with a nicer company as far as customer service, than Light Speed head set company.

I’ve used their head sets for over 2000 hours. During that time, I’ve stepped on one, broke one some other way, and had them go under water when my plane sank. Every time, Light Speed either repaired them or replaced them with new ones. Always my fault, but most of the time they were at no cost.

I’ve ask for new ear pads several times, next day or two, I have them at my house. Same with music adaptor wires, etc. Always cheerful and quick service, that’s Light Speed.

I think lightspeed has a new one out now that's supposed to be the cat's meow. Made out of magnesium and is bluetooth also, I think.

The new Lightspeed sure was oggled over at Oshkosh. Everytime I stopped at their booth to try them out there was a waiting line. I never did get to try them.
On a side note....my son just returned from an ROTC commitment at the Air Training Command and got to go for an incentive ride on a T-37 (lucky kid!). He has been flying with me since right after being born and got his license a few weeks ago. Anyway...he was discussing headsets with the Air Force flight instructor that he flew with and he didn't have much good to say about the Air Force issued Bose. He stated they are cheaply made and many of them have been broken. They finally requested and got different types. Can't remember which brand but I would guess DC>