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Headsets A20, Zulu 3 or PFX?

Old 5th Mar 2017, 07:32
  #21 (permalink)  
 
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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?
Ixixly is offline  
Old 5th Mar 2017, 08:28
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Thanks ixixly.
How would you compare the quality of the radio transmissions ?
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Old 5th Mar 2017, 09:52
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Left 270, extremely clear as you'd expect. I actually got so caught up in my first flight with it in on that I didn't realise it hadn't turned on by itself and wasn't till part way through the flight when I was trying to figure out why calls were difficult to understand that I realised! After that no problems.

Of course if you're an Apple person then you can also use the Flight Link App which records all comms and allows you to play them back as well!
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Old 26th Jan 2020, 08:32
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batteries + discontinuation of lightspeed zulu PFX

has anyone tried nicad/nimh batteries or lithium batteries? for a high drain these should last longer.

Also i just noticed they discontinued the headset...why? anyone know? was a good one. I'm still using it.
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Old 26th Jan 2020, 09:13
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I'm a long time user of the Lightspeed, for the life of me I couldn't understand the point of the PFX.
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Old 27th Jan 2020, 14:33
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Originally Posted by Ixixly
Of course if you're an Apple person then you can also use the Flight Link App which records all comms and allows you to play them back as well!
That's very good to know, thanks Ixixly! I'm an A20 kid (and can't complain, using rechargeable batteries, works well) but unless Bose comes up with something similar, that'll be a serious argument to purchase a Lightspeed headset next.
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Old 27th Jan 2020, 23:14
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Eh driva,
me wanna humbug a lift to Palm, what time da 4 o'clock flight leaving???

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Old 28th Jan 2020, 01:55
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I have noticed one of the online pilot shops in Aus is talking up the last days of their Bose sale, with an impending *large* in their words price increase. Anyone heard anything credible about a pending Bose price increase or is this just sales spin? In the market for a second one to place an old passive headset I have.
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Old 28th Jan 2020, 02:23
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Well due to ongoing pressures on the Foreign Exchange front it’s hard to see how they can’t increase prices.

Similar behavior seen in the local retail market also, the likes of Kmart and BIGW quietly raising prices lately.
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Old 31st Jan 2020, 23:51
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Originally Posted by gchriste
I have noticed one of the online pilot shops in Aus is talking up the last days of their Bose sale, with an impending *large* in their words price increase. Anyone heard anything credible about a pending Bose price increase or is this just sales spin? In the market for a second one to place an old passive headset I have.
The downunder pilotshop in NZ did somethign similar last year.
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Old 2nd Feb 2020, 23:24
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Well they weren't joking. Bose A20 with Bluetooth now $1795. Lightspeed Zulu 3 $1350. To the original post, which is better, you have to think unless Lightspeed also increase their prices, at the moment it is slightly irrelevant, there is no way there is a $445 difference in value between the two.

I grabbed one off the Qantas Store on Thursday night as they started a 25% off Bose sale before the price increase, so 2,000 points and $1078. But as of Friday morning Qantas took them off their store, so no longer an option to pick them up cheap there. Seems even Qantas decided they were too expensive. Now if only they offered Lightspeed.
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Old 28th Apr 2020, 14:39
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Pfx

I bought a pair of PFX headsets in 2014, unfortunately shortly after I started getting a strong bass noise in the headset that wouldn’t go away. I threw them in my closet and forgot about them until today.

I cannot say how good their customer support is. I called them and told them the situation. The lady told me unfortunately your headset is out of the 5 year warranty. She said I will come you a free repair of the headset.

I don’t know many companies that would do the same in today’s age. My short experience with the PFX was great very good headset esp if you like to listen to music. I do remember they’re horrid if you break the seal on the ear but the quality of the sound, customer service and the ANR far surpasses anything else on the market in my opinion.
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Old 28th Apr 2020, 23:07
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Anyone tried the Lightspeed Tango wireless headset?
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 09:29
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Originally Posted by TCAS v2
Anyone tried the Lightspeed Tango wireless headset?
No, not I.

What if I had?
Stickshift3000 is offline  
Old 7th May 2020, 09:59
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Tango’s or Zulu 3’s?

Just bringing this thread back to the top. Anyone using tango’s? They look awesome.
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Old 8th May 2020, 05:20
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Originally Posted by WhoFlungDung
Just bringing this thread back to the top. Anyone using tango’s? They look awesome.
Not first hand experience, but from a friend that got them, it was essentially a Zulu with worse battery life. So, I guess it depends on how much you hate the cords. Also, remember that, if your battery runs flat, you're NORDO until you get the replacement in (instead of just losing the ANR with the Zulu)
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Old 8th May 2020, 08:40
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Originally Posted by AlphaVictorFoxtrot
Also, remember that, if your battery runs flat, you're NORDO until you get the replacement in (instead of just losing the ANR with the Zulu)
Not quite. Like you, I have a friend who flies quite regularly with the Tango’s. I asked him about them, looked at them and (briefly) considered a pair myself -but went with the Zulu 3.

Far from going NORDO, If the battery runs flat, there is a cable on-board the headset that connects to the control box, allowing full (if passive only) functionality. It’d be quite odd for a headset manufacturer to design/supply a device that doesn’t have a fail-safe option, don’t you think?
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Old 8th May 2020, 09:01
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I mean, you'd still be NORDO until you fished out the cable and plugged it in. Either way, unlike the corded version, there would be a gap where you're not receiving/transmitting. (I mean, I assumed it had a cable. Not having a backup seems like it'd be silly)

Now, if you're diligent with charging the batteries, and you're not doing the kind of days that push the batteries to the limit, you shouldn't have any issues with them. In fact, I'd say if you're flying recreationally, this is probably the best combination of features in a Lightspeed.
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Old 8th May 2020, 12:45
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You will never be NORDO if you operate these headsets correctly. There is a twelve hour battery life and warning tones and flashing lights start when there are three hours remaining. Sensible, timely, recharging is required.
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Old 1st Mar 2021, 17:58
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Are your zulu pfx still for sale, I'm interested in buying. Just let me know. Thanks

Originally Posted by Ixixly
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?
I'm interested in buying your zulu pfx if it's still for sale. Just let me know.
Anthony Adeyemi is offline  

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