n5lp
fugio ergo sum
These are my impressions of my new X11s. I haven't used that many different headsets and I haven't done A/B comparisons, so this is very subjective.
I have used different LS models in friend's airplanes and have never been tempted to purchase a pair. One reason is that they don't seem reliable. Everyone says Light Speed has good service, but they need it. I also found that they seemed kind of flimsy; for instance I have had trouble keeping the mike boom where I want it.
In the past I have used some Bose NR headsets and thought they were OK, but too expensive and complicated with the plug in power and all. Recently I took a two day trip in an RV that had some Bose headsets with a battery box with auto turn-off. I don't know what model they were. They were nice and helped make the trip real pleasant. At no time did they do anything annoying, they just reduced the noise and didn't get uncomfortable, even on 4 hour legs.
This made me think that maybe I'm ready for noise reduction headsets. Trouble is, I'm not much of a Bose guy. Things about the marketing and pricing, compared to the competition, just rub me the wrong way. But hey! I have always loved my David Clarks, that I have been using for more than 20 years, with no problems. And David Clark has a great reputation for reliability, and they just came out with a new NR model that has some nice features.
So I sprang for the X11, on the basis of not much but David Clark's reputation. I couldn't find much in the way of reports. Here we go!
They seem well built. I did read one report about difficulty keeping the mike boom in position. I have had no problems like that. I'm not crazy about the folding feature. It makes it possible to put them in a smaller space, but they want to fold all the time, even when I'm just trying to put them on the hanger in my airplane.
They are light and have light clamping force. I think one of the nice features is the assymetrical ear cups that are larger toward the lower back, where your skull recedes. Makes sense.
In the pictures the top looks thinner. I liked that because I have to get up high to see in my 6 and I bump my head a lot in turbulence. In practice, though, these seem to hit just as soon and with less cushioning.
The interface/battery box is kind of clunky and large but the interface part works well. Audio through the box/headset combination is not close to hifi, but it works. The cell phone interface is one of the big reasons I wanted these headsets and it works well also. I have called my own answering machine in flight and you can't tell the call is from an airplane, but there is sort of a strange interrupted or fluttery type quality to it. There is an auto-turnoff feature to spare the two AA batteries.
The noise reduction is not near as pleasant as the Bose model I recently experienced. There are many artifacts. When you are taxiing you get a motor boating throbbing kind of sound and this also occurs often in flight, like every time you hit a bump. I guess it is better than nothing, but this is the one thing that makes me wonder if it was a wise purchase. In a way it is more annoying than the constant passive reduction of my old DCs. I would like to be able to do an A/B comparison with the Bose, but I can't.
Overall B+, NR C-.
I have used different LS models in friend's airplanes and have never been tempted to purchase a pair. One reason is that they don't seem reliable. Everyone says Light Speed has good service, but they need it. I also found that they seemed kind of flimsy; for instance I have had trouble keeping the mike boom where I want it.
In the past I have used some Bose NR headsets and thought they were OK, but too expensive and complicated with the plug in power and all. Recently I took a two day trip in an RV that had some Bose headsets with a battery box with auto turn-off. I don't know what model they were. They were nice and helped make the trip real pleasant. At no time did they do anything annoying, they just reduced the noise and didn't get uncomfortable, even on 4 hour legs.
This made me think that maybe I'm ready for noise reduction headsets. Trouble is, I'm not much of a Bose guy. Things about the marketing and pricing, compared to the competition, just rub me the wrong way. But hey! I have always loved my David Clarks, that I have been using for more than 20 years, with no problems. And David Clark has a great reputation for reliability, and they just came out with a new NR model that has some nice features.
So I sprang for the X11, on the basis of not much but David Clark's reputation. I couldn't find much in the way of reports. Here we go!
They seem well built. I did read one report about difficulty keeping the mike boom in position. I have had no problems like that. I'm not crazy about the folding feature. It makes it possible to put them in a smaller space, but they want to fold all the time, even when I'm just trying to put them on the hanger in my airplane.
They are light and have light clamping force. I think one of the nice features is the assymetrical ear cups that are larger toward the lower back, where your skull recedes. Makes sense.
In the pictures the top looks thinner. I liked that because I have to get up high to see in my 6 and I bump my head a lot in turbulence. In practice, though, these seem to hit just as soon and with less cushioning.
The interface/battery box is kind of clunky and large but the interface part works well. Audio through the box/headset combination is not close to hifi, but it works. The cell phone interface is one of the big reasons I wanted these headsets and it works well also. I have called my own answering machine in flight and you can't tell the call is from an airplane, but there is sort of a strange interrupted or fluttery type quality to it. There is an auto-turnoff feature to spare the two AA batteries.
The noise reduction is not near as pleasant as the Bose model I recently experienced. There are many artifacts. When you are taxiing you get a motor boating throbbing kind of sound and this also occurs often in flight, like every time you hit a bump. I guess it is better than nothing, but this is the one thing that makes me wonder if it was a wise purchase. In a way it is more annoying than the constant passive reduction of my old DCs. I would like to be able to do an A/B comparison with the Bose, but I can't.
Overall B+, NR C-.
). I'm glad to see that someone's finally bought them and tried them out.
