Placed an order for the Lightspeed Zulu headset on Thursday from a US based pilot store pilotmall.com for under $1000AUD including Express postage. I am always pretty cautious about ordering items of this value overseas, however I have been extremely impressed by their level of communications and service.
I have been researching ANR headsets for several months now, reading as many reviews, forums and magazines as possible comparing the available headsets including the DC X-11, Bose X, Telex 30 and Telex 50D. I had narrowed it down to the Telex 50D up until two weeks ago because of their very good ANR specs and a very good price ($750AUD with a $50USD rebate). Then I heard about the LS Zulu and both the specs, features and price make it a very impressive headset. A reviews is also available on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRVdAlY7z2M
Obviously comfort comparison is something that cannot be decided by reading other people's reviews, however there was a majority of the reviews indicating that the Zulu was more comfortable than the Telex 50D and nearly equal to the Bose X comfort level. So yes, I was making a risk not being able to try on either the LS Zulu or Telex 50D (as I had tried on my instructor's Bose X).
I emailed Dave from airportpilotshop.com who did the review of the LS Zulu online about both the Telex 50D vs Lightspeed Zulu and his response was very helpful:
Comparison of the Zulu and 50D:
In average aircraft such as a Cessna 172, the Zulu and the 50D have comparable ANR performance. The 50D is a little quieter in very loud aircraft like a 1960s Mooney or an old Aztec but not by that large of a margin. And the 50D is a much bulkier and heavier headset than the Zulu. The Zulu is very light, and very comfortable. Both headsets have music and cell phone interface although the Zulu has the Bluetooth interface which eliminates the need for a cable to connect your phone to the headset. The audio on the Zulu also have the front row center feature that enhances the quality of the music. It also has Comm Priority so you can choose whether or not you want Air Traffic Control to mute the music.
My customer's have been very impressed by the design and performance of the Zulu and our sales have reflected that. In addition I have not had one complaint about the Zulu yet and I have been shipping them since October.
This also seemed to agree with the view on other forums that the Telex 50D is ideal for noisier aircraft like DHC Beaver, etc or for regular aerobatics pilots. Personally I am flying training a/c (for the moment
) so the combination of the Zulu's comfort and features grabbed my attention. I couldn't really justify another $500AUD for the Bose X for slightly better comfort and less features (even with the free Garmin GPS). I will admit however the level of Bose X service in Australia appears to be exceptional, with an Australian Call centre with warranty/returns tracking as one of the phone menu selection options. The same however cannot be said for either Telex or Lightspeed, none having Australian support or sales phone numbers listed. Obviously that is a risk that I take, however taking into the account the cost difference between the Lightspeed Zulu and Bose X, even if I do have to pay for postage back to the US for warranty on the Zulu, I am still ahead with cost savings.
I should be receiving the Lightspeed Zulu this week or next week (depending upon Customs), so it will be interesting to personally compare my LS Zulu with my instructors Bose X in terms of build quality, comfort, features, speaker and mic quality, etc.
Cheers
Tim