Bose X Vs Zulu Lightspeed.

cardiffrob · Post by **cardiffrob** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:03 pm

Has anyone had a chance to compare these 2 headets? I've decided to blow some cash on some decent noise removal and wanted to see if there are any known problems with these 2 models. I fly 757s regularly but also some light-piston flying is in the pipeline.
Do they work? Are there any compatability problems? Do the warranties stand up?

Cheers

Rob

Post by **John Dean** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:16 pm

I can't speak for the Bose but I bought the Lightspeed Thirty 3G about three years ago and have been very happy with it. The headset is light and comfortable to wear and the ANR works well.

I had a problem a couple of months ago and had to return it. The repairs were done very promptly and at no cost under the guarantee.

john brompton · Post by **john brompton** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:38 pm

I have tried both headsets in different environments and plumbed for a Lightspeed Zulu. The comfort and usage is 2nd to none which makes flying behind a VW engine a pleasure.
The Zulu has larger ear covers thus covering the ears totally, this might not suit the office of a 757.

Adrian Hatton · Post by **Adrian Hatton** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:01 pm

Rob,
Just sold my Bose in favour of Zulus mainly because of inbuilt bluetooth and aux input facilites.

In my experience both units offer excellent ANR and although I cannot speak for 757 suitability, I do find the Zulus more comfortable and if anything, a tad quieter in the Twister.

HM did me an OK deal on them but other suppliers are probabaly equally as good.

Hope this helps
Adrian

Simon Clifton · Post by **Simon Clifton** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:04 pm

We have a pair of Zulus in our SportCruiser.

They are wonders of engineering. Our strip very often has very noisy drag racing on the main runway (we use the grass alongside). With the ANR on, we simply can't hear the V8's with no exhausts only a few hundred metres away. Amazing.

We only got chance to compare the heasets in the shop, so can't say how good the Bose are in real use. We chose the Zulus on looks, price and comfort only (all you can do in a shop) and have not been disappointed.

I also dislike Bose because of their domestic product advertising for some reason,, but don't let that change anything.

Simon C
~~~~~~

Brian Hope · Post by **Brian Hope** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:33 am

I have no experience of Bose but have had a Lightspeed for several years (at least 5) and it is by far the most comfortable headset I have ever had. When last year I broke one of the earcup yokes, I emailed the factory to ask if I could pick up a replacement at Sun n Fun. No problem, two yokes were provided free of charge.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:10 am

I picked up a Zulu headset whilst on business in the states. Very impressed with the build quality and functionality. Sound quality when plugged into my IPod is something else… Voice clarity whilst flying is at least as good as Bose X I’ve tried.

Managed to get a discount, even although Lightspeed have fixed pricing policy (same as Bose), paid £480.

Now that Zulu’s are becoming more numerous, they sometimes appear on EBay even cheaper.

There are many comparison reports, Bose vs Zulu in Google.
Jon.

cardiffrob · Post by **cardiffrob** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:59 pm

For those who have never had to suffer the flightdeck of a 757, it is a bit like sitting inside a vacuum cleaner. Not very pleasant compared to a 767 which has better aircon pipework.

I think that I have yet to see a bad comparison of the Zulu against the Bose but many of the comparisns on the internet could have been fabricated by Lightspeed, hence the request for info on here.

So, the next thing is to find out where to get the cheapest ones. Any suggestions?

cardiffrob · Post by **cardiffrob** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:09 pm

Cheapest I have found is £609 against the £450 previously mentioned.

John Ferguson · Post by **John Ferguson** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:25 am

I would not change my Bose headset for anything, I have had them for 3 years now and they have never let me down.
They are so comfortable that you forget you have them on ...just brilliant!

I tried the Zulu but personally was not that impressed.

John

Rod1 · Post by **Rod1** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:49 pm

I agree with John. I have had a Bose for 5 years. I tried all the alternatives when I was deciding on a second pair a year ago and the Bose was still the best.

Rod1

Frank Parker · Post by **Frank Parker** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 4:15 pm

I bought a Luton Minor for less than the reported cost of these ANR headsets, but that was a long time ago!

I recently had to replace a headset that went tango uniform, and bought an inexpensive ANR set from Marv Golden, around $240 US. I have no experience of other ANR sets so cannot make a comparison, other than to say that they do reduce cockpit noise.

Frank Parker

PiersShedden · Post by **PiersShedden** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:27 pm

I have a pair of Zulus and my instructor had recently bought the Bose X, so we tried swapping over. I can't remember what the intercom system is in that PA28, but it's a fairly standard setup.

Both sets were excellent in terms of noise cancelling. Sound quality was excellent on both, but the Bose set sounded 'tinny' compared to the Zulus.

I found the clamping force on the Bose was less than the Zulu and hence was more comfortable. Both of us found that the Zulu earcups were better.

I recall that my instructor preferred my Zulus, I prefer the Bose for comfort, my Zulus for sound and for features (nice to be able to let passengers listen to their ipod on their headset without me having to share their music!).

P

Ian Melville · Post by **Ian Melville** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:09 am

Thanks Piers, that must be the first true back-to-back comparision I have seen.

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