Headset & Helmet Comparisons for Use in RV?s

Over the past 2 ½ years that I’ve had a flying RV, I’ve experimented with a variety of headgear options in search of the ideal combination of comfort, noise reduction and communication quality. I recently did a side by side comparison of the Bose X vs. the Lightspeed Zulu, so I thought I’d write up my findings for the benefit of others. I saw a magazine review a while back but the comparison was done in a much quieter airplane than the RV, where the differences in performance are probably not as easy to measure. Before the Bose vs. Zulu however, I’ll go back to the beginning with other headsets I’ve tried:

Telex Echelon: this is a decent passive headset that is very well made, it’s rugged and comfortable and worked well for my flight training in a Piper Warrior (with muffler and upholstered cabin). In the RV however, I found that the pounding on my ears became intolerable after about an hour. The communication clarity was decent but typical of any passive headset, you have to turn the radio/intercom up higher due to the greater background noise level. So I sold it on eBay.

HGU-55 Fighter-style Helmet: got a good deal on the helmet while building the RV, figured I’d use it for flight test and then sell it. It had the standard-issue passive earcups when I got it and I wore it all the way from Iowa to the LOE (New Mexico) fly-in while riding backseat in a friend’s RV-8. Like the Echelon it was ok for an hour and then the pounding of the engine/prop gave me a headache. By the time I got home I thought I had hearing damage. No way I was going to fly off the 40 hour test phase this way so I got the Headsets Inc ANR upgrades and put them in the earcups along with an Oregon Aero headliner and earseals. Absolutely transformed the helmet experience. It’s very comfortable and the ANR / audio quality is top notch, on par with the Bose X or Zulu. One of the things I particularly love about the helmet is that I don’t have to wear sunglasses due to having the tinted visor. Sunglasses worn under any headset increase noise levels and create a pressure point on the sides of my head & nose that eventually bothers me. Wearing the helmet eliminates the need for glasses and hat, and since the weight is distributed evenly over the whole head, it doesn’t feel heavy to me even after a 4-hour flight. Added benefits are the extra head protection in case of an accident or bird strike. I like the helmet so much I’ve worn it exclusively for 250 hrs now (except when testing headsets for my passenger to use). Only downside to the helmet is on a hot summer day it gets warm on the ground pretty fast. I deal with this by putting it on just before engine start, after the fan is turning it’s not too bad and at altitude it’s fine.

Telex ANR-150: I decided to try this entry-level ANR headset for my passenger to use. It has pretty good passive reduction but the ANR left something to be desired. The reduction level was nowhere near as good as the Headsets Inc upgrades in my helmet and I wanted something better for my passenger, so I sold it on eBay.

Telex Stratus 50 Digital: Decided to try a high-end headset. Since I was happy with the solid construction and comfort of the previous Telex units, I bought the 50 Digital which is touted as having the highest ANR db reduction level on the market. However I was disappointed in the ANR performance on this one too….it didn’t seem all that much better than the ANR-150 and still wasn’t as good as the Headsets Inc. unit in my helmet. Furthermore, the Stratus is a very bulky, heavy headset (18 oz) and it moved around a lot when I turned my head, often resulting in ANR feedback. My other complaint was that it went through AA batteries two or three times faster than any other ANR headset I’ve tried before or since. Off to a new owner on eBay…

Bose X: Ok, I should have just spend the really big bucks in the first place and only cried once, right? So I bought the Bose and was immediately disappointed. Although it was lightweight, confortable and the ANR noise reduction was pretty good, I found that at takeoff power settings it would frequently give me some ANR feedback. And the high frequency wind noise was noticeably worse than any other headset I had worn. This makes sense since the Bose has virtually no passive reduction. Wonder what that does to your ears after many hours of flight? When I put it on my 6 year old son in the back seat, I discovered a couple of new problems. The mike boom is longer than other headsets we had tried, so I had to bend it down in a loop below his chin to get the mic in front of his mouth. Sometimes when he would turn his head, the mic boom would touch his shoulder and move it out of place. But the worst problem by far was lack of sufficient volume in the Bose. My helmet doesn’t have volume control, so I use the radio and intercom volume settings to my liking. With other headsets including Telex and Lightspeed this has never been an issue, as they all had individual volume adjustments that were adequate. But with the Bose volume turned all the way up, the passenger could not hear me or the radio clearly. I had to turn up the intercom/radio volume so loud it was blowing my ears out to enable the passenger to hear. I thought perhaps the Bose was defective so I sent it in for warranty service. After substantial hassle (a whole ‘nuther story) I got it back, tried it out again with no improvement. About this time the Zulu had just come on the market so I thought before selling the Bose I’d take Lightspeed up on their 30-day free trial period and perform a side-by-side comparison….

Lightspeed Zulu: Got the Zulu in the mail and was impressed by the carrying case (nicer than the Bose). The unit itself is very high quality (no cheap plastic parts like many of Lightspeed’s previous products). It’s really comfortable and lightweight. I put it on over my sunglasses and blasted off. No feedback problems at full power. ANR quality is excellent, at least as good as the Bose, but overall it sounds noticeably quieter due to reduced high frequency wind noise. It simply has much better passive reduction than the Bose. Also a factor in its favor is the slightly thicker earseals which seal better around the ear and over sunglasses. After flying with each of them for about half an hour there was no doubt the Zulu is a better unit in every respect I could measure. One unexpected benefit is the Zulu is not as hot under a bright sun…the silver earcups reflect heat better than the black Bose units. But the real litmus test was for my passengers to try it out. First observation was that it fit my son very well, with the mic boom being perfect for him. Second observation was crystal clear communications quality through the intercom, the best I’ve heard yet. And no problems with the volume level like the Bose had. My wife and a couple other passengers have also worn the Zulu on trips over 4 hours with no complaints. The aux audio input for MP3 / CD player works great. I’ve not tried the Bluetooth interface. Final icing on the cake was that one of Lightspeed’s tech reps sent me a free headpad that is a bit thicker than the one that comes with the headset, enabling the headset to be worn by very young children. Didn’t need it for my 6 year old son but it’s perfect for my 4 year old daughter.

So, the Bose went on eBay and has a new owner, hopefully happier than I was with it. After all this I’m finally satisfied. Your mileage may vary but I think the Zulu is the best headset on the market, especially when compared with the more expensive and less-featured Bose X.

--Mark Navratil
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
RV-8A N2D with 250 + hrs of pure joy

Halleluja

Wow....great report.

I have a lightspeed 30 3G. I am quite happy with it. I compared with Bose and I found that Bose has better Audio, but less ANR. I also fly a Quiettech helo, This is great when I fly alone, but if I have to combine it with other headsets on the intercom, I have problems with the squelch. The Quiet tech headset should be combined with another in ear headphone (prefferably the same brand), but as far as noise reduction, I find this the quietest. Putting the ear plugs in can be a nuisance.....you can't don it quickly........soooo I think I will give the Zulu a try....maybe on sale at OSH? I am going there anyway....

Thanks for the write-up Mark. I'm also flying with an HGU-55. I had originally used solid earcups and Oregon Aero hush kit whcih worked well in my Boredom Fighter, but then went with the Headsets Inc upgrade for use in the RV. I'm really happy with the combination but you're right, it does get a bit warm on a sunny day, but having the visor and the extra protection is a plus, especially up here in the Northwest where we have some really big birds that like to share the same altitudes. I am in the market for a Bose or Zulu for the passenger and made that decision process a goal for OSH next week.

In regards to the Telex Stratus 50 Digital's, I'd describe mine as excellent. That pounding of "passive" sets in an RV is completely eliminated. Wouldn't know about battery usuage because I run them through the aircraft's power.
No ANR problem with movement either. I ended up with Telex again, because I liked my previous ANR set so well.

However, I did have a problem with the first set's battery pack, and Sporty's sent a new set by air, immediately.

L.Adamson -- RV6A

I tried out the Zulu at OSH and I was really impressed with the Bluetooth ability for cell phones. When you geet in and out of your plane you are automatically connected to your cell phone through the head set. A really cool feature that according to Bose, it not in the forseeable future.

Can't wait to use them in the plane, but that will wait until the return trip home.

During the course of the summer, I bought a pair of the Bose X headsets at OSH through a dealer for the usual price. I tried both the Bose and the Zulus at the kiosks, and while both had great sound quality, I gave Bose the edge for comfort as the Lightspeed headsets had a higher clamping pressure. The intended purpose was to use these for my passengers or on solo cross-countries.

By chance, I had a chance to do a real-world side-by-side comparison of three headsets yesterday in my own RV. I had promised Dave "Theromos" Setser a ride in my RV when he was out here in Seattle for business. Well, he finally had a trip out here and the weather was playing nicely. The plan was to depart Auburn after work and head down to Chahalis for some cheap(er) fuel. I offered to let Dave use my Bose X headsets, but he wanted to try his new ones he brought along, to my surprise he had a set of Zulu's. Well that's cool. Good opportunity for a test.

I've been using an HGU-55 with hardshell earcups, $189 Headsets Inc. ANR conversions with Oregon Aero ear seals and mic muff. The combination has worked absolutley great with no problems. It's a fitted helmet, so it's very comfortable with no pressure points, and does have a visor. Overall, I really like the helmet both from a comfort and functional perspective. Upsides: it's comfortable, gives nice passive noise cancellation, and provides a level of eye protection and safety for the noggin. Downside: if it's hot outside, it will make your head sweat a little and I need to sit down in the seat about an inch more than with headsets to give me some head room.

I tried the Bose on a seperate flight and found that although the sound quality was good, the ear cups didn't do a lot for passive attenuation in that really loud environment. I don't have firewall sound deadening or side panels so it's a little loud. I noticed I needed to turn up the intercom volume to get a good volume on the headsets. Without ANR, it's really hard to hear anything and they basically do nothing for you on the passive side. Upside: They are really comfortable with good sound quality. Downside: the lack of good passive deadening lets enough sound through that the headsets are disappointing.

While returning from the gas stop, I got to try the Zulu's and Dave tried the Bose at the same time. We had no trouble hearing each other or the radio. The Zulu's also had great sound quality, but there was a noticable reduction in the passive noise levels. I can't quantify this but it was noticable. The only issue was a slightly higher clamping pressure on my head. It's not anywhere near a DC headset (and your noggin will vary), but still comfortable. Upside: Great sound quality, comfortable, and higher passive attenuation. Downside was a slightly higher head clamp.

So, I intend to swap out the Bose for the Zulu, primarily for passenger use or when I'm flying solo and I might even pick up a second set sometime in the future. My trusty brain bucket does a great job, but for something lighter, the Lightspeed is a really nice set. Dave might pipe in here, but he said his decision to buy the Zulus was certainly vindicated.