The International Cessna^® 170 Association

I bought the Lightspeed 20XL at Sun n fun and I am very happy. They are very comfortable and stereo music though the intercom sounds great with them. I have forgot a couple of time to turn them off, so I was happy they have the auto shut off feature. I notice a static or crackling sound in the right ear. I called them they give me an RA number. I sent them off on Monday, two day shipping, and received them back on Thursday. Now this great service!
I will buy another pair when I get some fun money.
Curtis

I managed to remember to track down the boys with the busted lightspeed headbands I mentioned in my earlier post. Cold weather appears to be a factor. Don't try to spread the headband too far when it is cold.

One of the guys just fixed it himself. A screw in the area where the sliding part meets the stationary part of the headband pulled out of the plastic it was screwed into. Rather than be without the headset he just drilled thru it and changed to small bolt and nut. He also mentioned he has seen later versions of the headset which have this area improved.

The other feller sent his back to Lightspeed. He said the folks at the factory fixed it for free and were very friendly.

Both of these guys said the Lightspeed's are great headsets despite the problems they had. One flies a birddog and the other uses his in a Comanche and a PA 22/20.

Thanks to all who shared their opinions & experiences regarding the headsets, especially regarding the Lightspeed 20 XL. I decided to bite the dust and ordered a set of 20 XL yesterday. Best price I found was at Tropic Aero ($395 + shipping) Hope to have them Wed or Thursday and have a chance to try them out several times. After we return from Las Vegas I will do an update to let you know what my experience has been with them.
Frank N6888A[/b]

are the bose headsets
worth all that money?
dave

iowa wrote:are the bose headsets
worth all that money?
dave

Borrow a set from someone who has them and you be the judge. I think it is the best money you will spend. It really makes a big difference in fatigue factor for me on cross-countries. If I had to choose between my GPS or the ANR headsets, I' d take the headsets.

boy, the price just won't budge downward!!
dave

For less than the Bose, I use David Clark H10-56 HXL/XP ENC headsets that will deliver a NRR - 27 dB passive noise reduction rating plus 17 dB to 22 dB when the ENC is turned on. What that means is they still work very well even when the power is off. Anyone who has ever turned off the Bose in flight will know what that means. These headsets are made for helicopter flying but work equally well in any noisey airplane. They weigh 22oz but are comfortable to wear all day with the gel ear seals and headpad. Like all DC products, they are tough and will last for years.

iowa wrote:are the bose headsets
worth all that money?
dave

I'd have to say that it depends on how much money you have .
I installed ANR kits in my David Clark's about 7 years ago and they are working great. http://anr-headsets.com/Html_folder/ANRKits.html It's a good project if you like to tinker. If I was starting from scratch I'd buy the Lightspeeds.

you guys have really got me going...
GPSs and head sets.
my current headsets are David Clarks
that came with the plane.
i'll have to look and see what kind they are.
dave

In the past I have converted David Clarks to ANR with the kits and they worked great. The only problem with the kits is I lost a lot of passive noise reduction when the unit is switched off which will also happen when the battery dies. Other than that, for about $200 you get good ANR headsets, assuming you already had the David Clarks.
Richard

Love my old 20K Lightspeeds. I did change out the ear cushions to the later leather ones tho'. (And auto-shut off or non-battery pwrd new ones would be nice when my ship comes in.) I use rechargeable batteries with no problems in my old set, and they've been very dependable. Great noise reductions.
I'm reluctant to spend the money on Bose after using Lightspeeds, although I've tried Bose and was impressed, I didn't consider the price difference worthwhile.

could you tell me more about these lightspeeds?
or direct me to an ad so i can read about them.
i am profoundly ignorant about them.
dave

George, eloborate on the leather ear pieces on the Lightspeed. I have either the 15 or 20 (can't remember which) and they have the soft foam earpieces (also the pad on top). Noise reduction is really nice & I imagine the best Lightspeed model is even better. I have had to replace the ear pad's once (Lightspeed did for free) as the thin covering began to deteriorate after about 2 yrs. Is the leather as comfortable as the foam? I want to borrow a set of Bose sometime to see how their comfort level is after 2-3 hours. Lightspeeds are OK, but do get uncomfortable in 3r hour.

received my
'sporty's pilot shop'
today,
and i did look up the Lighspeed headsets!
i'd never seen them before,
guess cuzz i already had a set of headphones.
the price is:
call for price!!
dave

This is a 20XLC from Lightspeed site
http://www.pilotshopper.com/index.asp?P ... &ProdID=37