J

jimbo

Well Known Member
Patron
Bose.....Zulu 2.....others? That is the question. For those who have tried both,
what features do you dislike and what features can you not live without?

Last day for the $100 off Zulu 2 deal is today.

Jim
RV9A Phase 1.....and its a loud cockpit
 
Zulu 2

I fly a King Air for a living. Fly RV's, Cessna 180, and an open cockpit biplane for fun. I have had very good satisfaction with Lightspeed products. I just upgraded from a Zulu to the Zulu 2. Before that I had earlier series Lightspeed ANR products. I can tell no difference in noise reduction or Bluetooth performance between Zulu 1 and 2. I mostly did it because my 3 year old Zulu 1 was getting pretty beat up, and I wanted to upgrade while they still had their $400 program in effect. If I had a Zulu 1 that was in good shape, I would not spend the money just to get a Zulu 2. If I had nothing at all, I'd get the Zulu 2 before the deal runs out.

I work and play with people who have had both brands. We all think Lightspeed is preferable to Bose.
 
Lightspeed's customer support is awesome.

I have two Zulu's up front and two Bose's in the rear. Almost to a man, the Zulu's win out.

Better yet, Lightspeed's service is to write home about. I had an intermittent wiring problem with my wife's incoming audio and sent the unit back to them. They repaired them with all new parts and replaced the earcups even though I didn't ask them to. The cost? ZERO! All considered under warranty although they're over two years old.

Best,
 
I have a hundred hours on my first Light Speed Zulu 2, and just bought a second set for my 7A. My friend has two Bose units for his Cessna 180, and we have mixed and matched both brands in both planes. I prefer the Zulu 2 for crispness of radio and intercom, the fact that the Lightspeed unit turns off automatically if you forget, and its ower price. I can't recall the exact model number of the Bose units, but they are older than my Zulu 2 set. With that said, both brands perform excellent, good battery life, comfortable, and quiet; ten times nicer than my 20 year old David Clarks.
 
I personally prefer the Zulus (and have 2) but want to provide a little insight I picked up when shopping for my wife's headset. Turns out that there's a slight difference in how the brands fit around the jaw area. For my wife, the Bose (X) fit better back there which means that there wasn't an air gap and therefore the ANR was much better.

I like them both and could probably go with either. She prefers the Bose without question. Now, all that said, Lightspeed will give you (at least at OSH) Zulu 2 ear cushions that go on the original Zulus and are supposed to have a better fit for more people. My wife has no interest in trying it because she's happy as is. I also don't have first hand experience with the newer Bose.

Bottom line: try each personally in a flight environment and see which you like.

Bob
 
SOLD!

OK, so I am convinced. I have a set of Zulu 2's sitting in my online shopping cart- ready to buy- as we speak.

Question of the day: you guys (and gals) like the straight cord or the coiled cord?

Thanks!
 
I'm a straight cord kind of guy.

txaviator said:
OK, so I am convinced. I have a set of Zulu 2's sitting in my online shopping cart- ready to buy- as we speak.

Question of the day: you guys (and gals) like the straight cord or the coiled cord?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. Ordered the straight cord. The $100 off is a pretty sweet deal!

**Radomir, I've used the Bose units in the past. A buddy has them in his MU-2. They are real nice, but I just wanted to try something different.
 
Gary,

You'll be VERY happy with the Zulu2's. My 2 Bose X's just sit around now....never used. For me, it is a comfort issue, and Zulu wins hands down.
 
FYI, for anyone else who comes along later looking for info... I've flown in RV's with both the Bose X and the Zulu, and can tell no difference between them. And i've done side-by-side comparisons of the Headsets Inc. upgrade to the Zulu, (Headsets Inc. in both a David Clark and an Alpha Helmet) and the Headsets Inc. performs at least as well as the Zulu (didn't have the Bose to try at the same time).

Also, according to other reviews/threads/etc. that i've read, the Zulu and Zulu2 don't seem to fit women that well, but Lightspeed offers a different pad for the over-the-head strap that apparently fixes the problem. Apparently women find the Sierra more comfortable, but I don't know anything about its noise performance.
 
bcondrey said:
I personally prefer the Zulus (and have 2) but want to provide a little insight I picked up when shopping for my wife's headset. Turns out that there's a slight difference in how the brands fit around the jaw area. For my wife, the Bose (X) fit better back there which means that there wasn't an air gap and therefore the ANR was much better.

I like them both and could probably go with either. She prefers the Bose without question. Now, all that said, Lightspeed will give you (at least at OSH) Zulu 2 ear cushions that go on the original Zulus and are supposed to have a better fit for more people. My wife has no interest in trying it because she's happy as is. I also don't have first hand experience with the newer Bose.

Bottom line: try each personally in a flight environment and see which you like.

Bob
Click to expand...

I agree with Bob. I experienced a similiar situation. I flew with both the previous version of Lightspeed and Bose. I spent a good several hours at OSH two years ago leaving my family split down the middle as to which headset they preferred.

I experienced the ear seal issue with the Zulu and I liked that I could swap the cord to either side of the headset for Bose. I now have two Bose and two Lightspeeds in my RV-10.

To be honest, I think they're so close in features and quality, it comes down to personal preferences.
 
I was attracted by ...

Bose (brand, audio history, etc.) so I did a check of it @ Oshkosh in ACS stand. Lightspeed won and theey are cheeper too.
Dead of a myth ;)
 
Snowflake said:
FYI, for anyone else who comes along later looking for info... I've flown in RV's with both the Bose X and the Zulu, and can tell no difference between them. And i've done side-by-side comparisons of the Headsets Inc. upgrade to the Zulu, (Headsets Inc. in both a David Clark and an Alpha Helmet) and the Headsets Inc. performs at least as well as the Zulu (didn't have the Bose to try at the same time).

Also, according to other reviews/threads/etc. that i've read, the Zulu and Zulu2 don't seem to fit women that well, but Lightspeed offers a different pad for the over-the-head strap that apparently fixes the problem. Apparently women find the Sierra more comfortable, but I don't know anything about its noise performance.
Click to expand...
I have an old DC headset with Headsets Inc. conversion in the back of my RV-4, I have tried it back to back with the Zulu and it’s the same, very good value if you have a decent old headset to convert, not a big fan of the 9v battery they use to power it but it’s ok.
 
Russ, I have two suggestions for you (and for anyone installing Headsets Inc. systems). One, is the Rugged Radios replacement cable. This cable integrates a 9V battery box into a stereo cable and works beautifully with the Headsets Inc setup. As a bonus, it automatically turns on/off when it detects your COM is on. I used this cable when I installed the HI kit in my Alpha helmet.

Two, is my next plan... I'm ditching battery boxes and going LEMO. There's no reason to use a battery for anything in the aircraft when you have ship's power there anyway. My Alpha will be getting a 12V-9V converter put into the cable along with a LEMO plug, and my Lightspeed will be getting the LEMO cable as well. No more batteries! :)
 
Snowflake said:
Russ, I have two suggestions for you (and for anyone installing Headsets Inc. systems). One, is the Rugged Radios replacement cable. This cable integrates a 9V battery box into a stereo cable and works beautifully with the Headsets Inc setup. As a bonus, it automatically turns on/off when it detects your COM is on. I used this cable when I installed the HI kit in my Alpha helmet.

Two, is my next plan... I'm ditching battery boxes and going LEMO. There's no reason to use a battery for anything in the aircraft when you have ship's power there anyway. My Alpha will be getting a 12V-9V converter put into the cable along with a LEMO plug, and my Lightspeed will be getting the LEMO cable as well. No more batteries! :)
Click to expand...
I used Headsets Inc. amp cable and auto shutoff box so it ends up being the exact same thing you?re suggesting, it works great, just the 9v battery doesn?t last as long as I would like. Ships power is the way to go!
 
I installed the Headset Inc module in my Peltor headset. I've been very happy with it, the headband is very thin, and I have a tall back, so my head is very near the canopy. A thin headband is a must for me.
So far it has lasted about 12 years, my wife has had about 3 other noise cancelling headsets, the first 2 just fell apart. The third (and best) is the DRE-6001T (Tan) sold by Headsets Inc. for about $400.
I did like the Bose unit Mike Seager has in the Vans RV-7 for his students.
I couldn't find fault in it but they are a lot more $.
(no financial interest etc.)
 
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Snowflake said:
Russ, I have two suggestions for you (and for anyone installing Headsets Inc. systems). One, is the Rugged Radios replacement cable. This cable integrates a 9V battery box into a stereo cable and works beautifully with the Headsets Inc setup. As a bonus, it automatically turns on/off when it detects your COM is on. I used this cable when I installed the HI kit in my Alpha helmet.

Two, is my next plan... I'm ditching battery boxes and going LEMO. There's no reason to use a battery for anything in the aircraft when you have ship's power there anyway. My Alpha will be getting a 12V-9V converter put into the cable along with a LEMO plug, and my Lightspeed will be getting the LEMO cable as well. No more batteries! :)
Click to expand...

Hi Rob.
You may want to use 10V regulated power rather than 9V. The Bose data sheet indicates that a minimum 10V is required, the Lightspeed may be similar. By putting the regulator well upstream of the LEMO jack. The current limiting regulator will then provide protection from any short circuits in your jack power wiring. The 10V is also compatible with the Headsets, Inc. requirements.

You may recall that in my HRII, I provided both conventional jacks, LEMO jacks and a 10 Volt power jack. Now you know where the 10V comes from.

Vern
 
vlittle said:
You may want to use 10V regulated power rather than 9V. The Bose data sheet indicates that a minimum 10V is required, the Lightspeed may be similar. By putting the regulator well upstream of the LEMO jack. The current limiting regulator will then provide protection from any short circuits in your jack power wiring. The 10V is also compatible with the Headsets, Inc. requirements.
Click to expand...
Oh, sorry, I wasn't very clear... My intent is to put the 12V-9V converter in the headset cord for the Headsets inc. units. That way the LEMO jacks work as expected by anyone else looking at them... Ship's power at 12V nominal. I suppose I could put a 12V regulator there to lock it at 12V, not sure how critical that is.

Russ, the main benefit to the rugged radios cable is that you don't have to cable-tie a second cable to your stock headset cable... The finish is cleaner. I agree the functionality is the same, and if you've already got it built there's no reason to change it.
 
Snowflake said:
Oh, sorry, I wasn't very clear... My intent is to put the 12V-9V converter in the headset cord for the Headsets inc. units. That way the LEMO jacks work as expected by anyone else looking at them... Ship's power at 12V nominal. I suppose I could put a 12V regulator there to lock it at 12V, not sure how critical that is.

Russ, the main benefit to the rugged radios cable is that you don't have to cable-tie a second cable to your stock headset cable... The finish is cleaner. I agree the functionality is the same, and if you've already got it built there's no reason to change it.
Click to expand...

No,,, using there AMP cable eliminates the stock cable, everything is done through one cable just like yours, yes very clean.
 
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