Hey All,
Sorry for the late review, been a bloody busy couple of days but have used the new Zulu3s for about 30hrs now and felt it would be time to put up a short review as promised!!
I'll start with the build Quality, much like the Zulu2s the headsets themselves are sturdy, the mic boom seems to be greatly improved over the PFXs which I had trouble getting into a good position, this one is a bit stiffer and easy to place where you want it.
The Ear Cups are excellent, even with the slightly thicker than usual arms on my glasses they're fairly comfortable after even a 6hrs flight, one of the first things you'll probably notice is the slight curve of them now to hug your face a bit better and it definitely seems to be an improvement. In days gone by when having an inflight snack the chewing motion would often cause small gaps and thusly have the noise cancelling not working that great but I haven't seem to have had that problem now with the new ones! Very comfortable as well and even with my above average sized ears they fit magnificently, for those of you graced with normal sized ears you shan't have a problem. I'll probably send away for a set of the taller head pads which they offer for free as they're just a tad big for me as they currently are, they include instructions in the manual of whom to email to get a set sent to you at no cost.
Next thing you'll obviously notice is the new braided cable, just like the PFX model cable, comes across as very sturdy and will now stand up to me accidentally getting it caught in various aircraft doors over its lifetime!
The control box is identical to the Zulu2s except for now being in Hard Plastic which will prevent the unfortunate sticky end that the Zulu2s were becoming known for. Still just the 2 batteries required, I used a set for approximately 30hrs with Bluetooth most of the time which I feel is good life for them. These were rechargeable batteries from Aldi as well, I expect my Eneloops to do slightly better. Usual bluetooth connnection but also includes the ability to use their "Flight Link" app in conjunction if you happen to be an Apple user, which I'm not so I can't really comment on that aspect.
Bluetooth sound quality is pretty good, might just be me but I've noticed it's a little echoey, if you're an audiophile it'll probably bug you a little but I found after tweaking the EQ on my phone it works excellently. Used them as headphones on a commercial flight and you won't hear a damned thing from the outside world when you've got them on, not even on a Fokker 100 down the back! The Aux Input though provides very clear quality as well if you're so inclined to deal with the extra tangle of cords.
They also have a 7 year Warranty if you hadn't heard and with the dealings I've had in the past their repairs are fast and done well with very little hassle.
In terms of Noise Cancelling they're probably somewhere between the Zulu2s and the PFX in Favourite Mode. I would definitely choose them over the PFX though which has an unfortunate habit of losing noise cancelling a fair bit when turning your head, chewing or any other slight movement!! As mentioned I used them on both a 737 and a F100 whilst heading to work and you can't hear a damned thing from the outside world, have used them at work in a "Heavy" Cessna Twin and they provide excellent noise cancelling there and even after 7hrs of flying are still perfectly comfortable to wear.
In Summary, are they worth the $1200? If you've got Zulu2s you'll find these to be an incremental step up to be honest, a bit better noise cancelling, a bit better seals and a bit better quality with the braided cable and such, so if your Zulu2s are getting a bit old and you were looking for a new set then I'd highly recommend them. The trade up program is, as before, not yet available for trading in your Zulu2s for 3s but this is usually just for the first few months I've noticed and they don't offer an option to trade in the PFX models unfortunately. They also offer trade in for any Bose X or A20.
Honestly, pop into your local store, ask to try on a set and you'll probably walk out $1200 lighter like I did!!
On a completely unrelated note...anyone looking to buy a pair of Lightspeed PFXs in excellent condition?
