Headsets

[Flybyjim]

I am going to,order a new head set, either Bose or Zulu what are your thoughts. I flew with John this summer and his Bose were very very nice.

[cap01]

Zulus are light and comfortable and seem to work well . I just have a problem spending 1k for something made in china . I'm just going staying with my green ones for now and see how the new dc anr works out .

[SS7Flyer]

I upgraded my DC to ANR using the $169 kit from Headsets Inc http://www.headsetsinc.com/ANR_kits.html

It's no Bose or Zulu but I could fly a whole lotta hours on 1K worth of fuel.

[cap01]

I also have been flying with a dc that I've upgraded with the same anr kit . has been working pretty good . had a problem with one of the ear pieces and had to replace it . for the price it's certainly worth it . I opted to buy the power supply and made mine a panel power supply , don't have to worry about batteries giving up and scaring the crap out of you when all the noise starts.

[airlina]

Same deal here, Had a hard time spending 1000 bucks times 2 , then I found a nice headset at a great price from DRE. Not advertised alot but I got 2 ANR headsets for less than the price of one of the fancy ones. I was just on their website and they are $399 for the 6001b , or the 6001t . Mine have worked great for 10 years and the only concession I made was to connect them to ships power instead of batteries. Bruce N199CL

[Av8r_Sed]

I'm really enjoying my Zulu 2's. They're very comfortable and link nicely to my iPad via BlueTooth for music and aural runway warnings from Foreflight. I wasn't so impressed with their newest model since the controller dongle is pretty massive.

[Dick B in KY]

I have used David Clark's for over 30 years, works great. When service was needed, it has been top notch and tech support also.

Dick B

[Slyfox]

Yes you can get the anr for the kitfox. I have the bose in my rv. I have a dc in my kitfox. it doesn't bother me at all to use the dc in my kitfox, love it in that airplane. the dc in my rv, forget it, too noisy. go from there.

[N981MS]

Have Bose X in Kitfox now (preowned). Utilized Lightspeed Zulu and Lightspeed 30 3gs in the Fox also. All are good. I like the Zulus best. Comfortable. Use bluetooth to get a clearance on the ground occasionally. Service with Lightspeed has been excellent. They also usually have a "trade up" program.

http://www.lightspeedaviation.com/content/lightspeedaviation/CustomPages/tradeupprogram.htm

Maxwell

[SkyPirate]

Im thinking of going with the MGL when i get the MGL radio, mostly ive used david clarks though

[akarmy]

I have Zulu's and they are great! However after trying them, I'm now in love with the Halo in ear setup. It's cheaper, much lighter than any headset, passive with no batteries or plane power. I tried one back to back with my zulu's and they were remarkably close in terms of quiet and noise blocking along with stereo sound form both.

[Esser]

Couple years ago I tried Bose, Seinheiser, and Zulu. Seinheiser won hands down for me. Especially the foam pockets for sunglass wearing comfort. However, any customer support with Bose I have had is A1 which makes me lean there...

[N981MS]

Warning thread drift:
These clip on sun glasses work great. I keep the hat in the plane and no headset squeeze on the side of the noggin. Doesn't help with prescription glasses of course.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunglasses-Attaches-Baseball-UV400-Protection/dp/B00COTNA8Y

[Gawilkie]

I have the Zulu 2 and love it. I still have sennheiser passive and they are good but the Zulu is much more comfortable.Spruce has both Bose and Zulu refurbished models for about half of the new cost.

[Av8r3400]

I fly with a David Clark passive headset and am okay with it.

If I were to pony up the coin for an ANR headset, I wouldn't settle for anything less than the Bose. My plane came with a Zulu ANR headset. I traded it for a spare DC passive set. The Zulu was total plastic junk. Huge cups that were bulky and uncomfortable and the passive DCs were quieter to me.

I've tried the QC-15 with the U-FlyMike (http://uflymike.com/index.html). As a second choice (for half the price) that would be a good one, IMO.

[ackselle]

I have both...the Lightspeed Zulus, and the Bose A20. I really can't say which one is better. I prefer the Zulu's, and they are always my first choice. My son always chooses the Zulu's when he's flying the Kitfox, but usually chooses the A20s when he's flying the Cirrus.

They are both great headsets. We also have numerous sets of DC PNRs.... Good headsets, just kinda loud!

[SkySteve]

My buddy bought the Bose A20's and I was excited to try them. When I did, I found my old Lightspeed QFR-XCc's were quieter than the Bose. I haven't tried the Lightspeed Zulu yet but want to. What I found was it depends on your individual plane and your ears as to which works best for you. I think each person just has to try a headset in your plane for awhile to see how it works for you.

[DesertFox6]

I got a set of "Zulus" a couple years ago, courtesy of Uncle Sam, for my professional, day-job, flying. Having received them on a Friday, I looked forward to using them during the following week's "gummamint bidness" flight, but opted to try them out early with a little spin around the local desert in my Model IV Speedster come Saturday.

The next morning, after strapping in, I started up and then then donned the headset, which is my usual habit, so as to fully monitor engine start. After activating the ANR function, I went into an immediate panic mode: My engine quit!! :eek:

Ahh...wait a minute...the prop was still propping and the the gauges were still gauging, so...***? It then occurred to me to remove the headset and...WA-LAA! Alas klar! :o

I then turned the ANR off so I could properly monitor ALL engine and airframe inputs until I was safely airborne and out from under the needs of yacking with tower, re-engaged the ANR and spent the next hour in the quietest GA aircraft I'd ever flown! Just awesome!

"E.T."

[Flybyjim]

Thanks for the response from so many. I think either will work for me however I may wait till I can try both sets out at Oshkosh 2014. It is an investment and I want to be sure I make the right choice

[Av8r3400]

That's probably the best idea yet.

You'll be able to see what works for YOU.

[WWhunter]

Yes, that is the best advice there is. A few years ago I needed new headsets and went to Oshkosh with a semi load of cash with the intention of buying the BOSE. I figured before spending the money I would try out all the options. Glad I did! I was not as impressed with the BOSE as I was with the Lightspeed. Also, the LS was nearly half the price at that time. This was when the 20/3G (30/3G) were thier top of the line headset.
I walked out of there with the LS and have since upgraded to the Zulu. What I noticed with the BOSE was much more noise in a rag and tube plane verses a spam can. Try and use the one's you are interested in while flying whatever you normally fly.