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Anyone used a Zulu?

K

KirkGrovesRV8

Well Known Member
I have tortured myself and my wife long enough, I have a nice Bose that I love but when we both fly we take turns using a cheap old DC headset. So a new headset is due and I am just curious if there is anyone here using a Zulu and your impressions.
Thanks
 
Kirk,

FWIW, I have not used one, but spent 45 minutes at the air races (reno) this year looking at and listening to the Zulu. I think they are right, that the headset is at least as good as the Bose (I swapped out a couple times for comparison) and probably better. It also has more features, particularly the ability to bluetooth and direct listen to an ipod, if those are of interest to you. All that said, I have NOT used them in flight or worn for a relatively long time. I do have a couple of other Lightspeeds and find them very comfortable for me. I think it probably boils down to whether or not it fits you comfortably.

greg
 
I have 2 pair in my RV-6. They're awesome. I haven't done a back-to-back comparison with the Bose, but I did my transition training with Mike Seager last July and he had Bose's in his -7. I can't say the Zulu's are better than the Bose, but they certainly aren't any worse. Quality of construction is fantastic, especially compared to their 3-G series. Performance-wise, the Zulu also blows the 3-G series out of the water, which is what I was using until I got the Zulus. No comparison. I love 'em.

Heinrich Gerhardt
RV-6, 68 hours so far...
 
ZULUs are awesome

I just bought a pair of ZULUs- they are fantastic! IMHO they are better than Bose in terms of comfort and sound quality- I have flown with both in my RV-4. They also have more features- the Bluetooth works great with a cell phone. Overall, I am very impressed and really glad I forked over the cash. I also think the microphone/noise cancelling is better than Bose, since the tower has told me I sound more clear. Go with the ZULUs- you won't be sorry!:cool:
 
Can some of the users of the Zulu give an opinion on the Zulu's PASSIVE noise attenuation. There is an opinion that the more harmful to hearing frequencies are not well attenuated by the ANR and rely on the passive attenuation of a headset
John
 
ZULU passive attenuation

Passive attenuation IMHO is not as good as Bose. The other day I was taxiing out wearing my ZULUs and was talking to the tower- he was hard to understand and I couldn't figure out why.... then I realized I forgot to turn on the ANR- then it was really clear. So, I think the passive attenuation is not great, but with the ANR on the sound quality is fantastic!! Just don't let the battery run low in flight.........:rolleyes:
 
Passive Attenuation Worse than the Bose!?! Say It Ain't So!

AV8rDoc said:
Passive attenuation IMHO is not as good as Bose. The other day I was taxiing out wearing my ZULUs and was talking to the tower- he was hard to understand and I couldn't figure out why.... then I realized I forgot to turn on the ANR- then it was really clear. So, I think the passive attenuation is not great, but with the ANR on the sound quality is fantastic!! Just don't let the battery run low in flight.........:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Wow, that is a disappointing review! I think that crappy passive attenuation is the worse thing about the Bose. I hope you are wrong... Next time I am in Billings I'm going to borrow a pair from Aerotronics and try them back to back with the Bose...


Hans
 
Kitplanes Feb 08

If you get the latest Kitplanes mag, on page 26 there is a review of the Zulu headset.

In the article:

Compared to the Bose X, we noticed a significant reduction in cockpit noise in passive mode
Click to expand...

But, I don't think the Bose have all that good of passive noise reduction to begin with, so it wouldn't take much to be better. They also liked the sound quality better, especially for music. And the mic seemed to be more clear.
 
Zulu passive attenuation

Maybe my plane is just REALLY loud!!;) Neither the Bose nor the Zulu has great passive attenuation in my RV-4. My non-ANR DC's have better attenuation. When the ANR is on, the Zulu has better acoustics than the Bose, at least in my noisy RV-4 IMHO. Music sounds better with the Zulu (Zulu has a "front row center" feature which makes the music sound 'richer' to me) and the microphone is definitely better- I swapped between Bose and Zulu during the same flight- the tower can hear me more clearly with the Zulu and I also hear myself more clearly in the sidetone. Your milage may vary....
 
My two cents worth. The Zulus are comfortable, well built and have a lot of features. They have good noise cancelling performance , really noticeable when you turn on the ANR. I consider the ANR is better than my old original Bose Series 1. Everyone seems to like the Zulus, however I find to my ears at least, the old Bose just seem to be better in terms of producing acceptable noise attenuation on longer flights. I have mild tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and I find that the ringing is louder after flying with the Zulus than with the old Bose. YMMW.

Fin.
9A
Australia
 
I have a Zulu and love it. Very comfortable and very quiet. I think the passive attenuation is at least about as good as the cheap Lightspeed QFR models (I have two of those). The bluetooth wireless phone interface is awesome. The sound quality of music played thru them is also excellent... either with a portable music player plugged directly into the headset battery pod, or with the music player connected thru my PM-3000 stereo intercom system's music input.
 
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