Bose vs Lightspeed headset product support

[Canadian_JOY]

I'll post a different perspective...

Why not just buy the David Clark product and not have to worry about product support? DC's just work, year after year after year. And you can get parts from them for headsets that are decades old, unlike the very expensive Bose X that's been dead-ended for support.

My experience with Bose has been poor, to say the least. I won't be buying any Bose products in the future. I haven't been able to convince myself to buy a Lightspeed product as everybody that I've spoken to around the airport talks about how theirs broke and had to be fixed by Lightspeed. I'd rather not have to have my headset fixed at all.

My next headset purchase will be a David Clark One-X to replace my dead-ended Bose X that's being held together by safety wire and J-B Weld. Both Bose and Lightspeed use plastic in places where metal is required.

[dtw_rv6]

Lightspeed earseals are horrible.

[rocketman1988]

...and I have had nothing but great experiences with Bose. Have been flying Bose headsets since one of the very first models. Have tried softcomm, lightspeed, sigtronics, sennheiser, and the dreaded head vise David Clark?s over the years. I keep coming back to the Bose product...

The trick is to watch the sales...I bought my A20s for 1095 then got a $450 trade in on the discontinued model AND a 125 rebate from Bose for being an instructor...

[bret]

I spent all my money building an airplane ...my 31 year old DC still work fine, if and maybe when they break I'll upgrade?

[Kyle Boatright]

Somehow I damaged the cord on my 8 year old Lightspeeds. I sent the headsets and $100 to Lightspeed and they replaced the cable and battery box/control pack. I thought that was fair.

Saturday, I unboxed them because I was going flying on Sunday morning. They looked brand new. They even had new batteries in the battery box.

Sunday morning, I caught the cord in the seat rail on an RV-10 and cut the cord. I didn't even get an engine start on the new cord. Rrrr.

So I sent Lightspeed a note asking if they have a discount repair program for stupid customers. Their response was "Just send 'em back, we'll take care of it no charge."

[Toobuilder]

My experience with Lightspeed is stellar. They warrantied a 14 year old set of Zulus that had batteries leak and destroy the box. Repaired at no charge! I'm a fan.

[Brdog42]

Pleased with Lightspeed. No experience with Bose. Most people I work with either have Bose or Clarity Aloft sets. Mostly a preference on what fits best and what experience one has with the manufacturer. I don’t hear much complaining with any brand. We all fly 700+ hours/year.

Seven years ago I bought used Lightspeed Zulus with 20 hours on them. Quickly, one speaker went out. Lightspeed transferred the warranty to me over a phone call. I paid shipping to them. They fixed and sent them back without a charge. The mic foam and ear cups were replaced even though I didn’t ask for it. I put 750+ hours / year on the sets and don’t treat them well. After five years, Lightspeed had an upgrade program. (So 3,750+ hours and no problems) For a small fee, they upgraded to new ZULU specs and replaced ear cups, headband, cord, etc. They even gave full credit on some POS / broken Sennheiser ANR sets which I traded for a second set of Zulus. I was upfront with what I was trading.

So, maybe I’ve just been lucky?

Tim

[cwilkins]

I?ve been back and forth over the last few weeks trying to decide between the A20 or the Zulu 3. No real clear winner in my mind, so pretty much a coin toss. I ordered the A20 today. Hopefully I won?t need to experience Bose customer service anytime in the near future, but when the time comes I?ll get back to this post with an opinion.

[N661DJ]

I recently purchased a Lightspeed Tango headset. The wireless technology was appealing, no wires to deal with, after using them for a short time, I am back to my Bose and wires. The Tangos do perform adequately, however, FWIW the size and weight of them is excessive, like having a brick on your head.
Dick J.

[RV10Man]

Originally Posted by N661DJ

I recently purchased a Lightspeed Tango headset. The wireless technology was appealing, no wires to deal with, after using them for a short time, I am back to my Bose and wires. The Tangos do perform adequately, however, FWIW the size and weight of them is excessive, like having a brick on your head.
Dick J.

I have the Tango headset. I really do like it, I don't notice the weight. I also have 2 sets of Zulu 3's and 1 Zulu 2. I think Lightspeed is a pretty good bang for the buck.