Lightspeed Zulu
Like I imagine many (most?) pilots have done, I have progressed through a number of headsets in my "career" looking for comfort and quality. I started with inexpensive passive sets because...well, they were what I could afford. Later I moved up to active noise reduction units as inexpensive units became available.
The first ANR set I bought, a SoftComm C-90, is still in use as a passenger set, but it's on its last legs. This set was interesting in that it did not have a battery box. Rather, it got its power from the mic jack. As time went on though, I discovered it wasn't compatible with all intercom systems so I upgraded to a new set.
The next set was a Pilot USA PA-1776. This set is still in use as a preferred passenger set. It has a built-in rechargeable battery in one of the earcups and gets, oh, probably a solid 20 hours or so on a full charge. This set continues to serve me well and the ANR is fine, but it is very plastic and, since the ANR is activated by a hard switch, I've left the ANR engaged more times than I'd like to admit. The passive attenuation is OK, but once you've used ANR for any significant time, I'm not sure any mere passive set will suffice.
I finally got frustrated enough with that "feature" to buy a new set. After researching options, talking to other pilots and test-flying a couple different sets, I decided on the Lightspeed 30-3G. This set is good and I appear to have joined the Lightspeed family after they changed their design to address construction complaints as my set has shown no signs of breakage. The 30-3G has an electonic switch to engage the ANR which means they can implement an auto-shutoff feature to save the batteries. I've availed myself of that feature several times and was grateful each one for the decision to buy the set.
I guess I should mention that over the course of these headset upgrades my flying "mission" changed from mostly local pleasure flights to much more destination flights lasting 2-4 hours per leg. Oh, I still get the bug to just get in the air from time to time, but the majority of my flying time is now comprised of longer legs and at least as much utility as pleasure flying. As such, I tend to wear the headset for much longer evolutions than when I got my first set which means comfort is much more a factor now. In this area, the 30-3G is just fine. I like the "grip" without any clamping and, as many pilots I know, I wear a hat so the split headband cushion (allowing room for the ballcap's inevitable button) is a welcome feature.
A feature of the 30-3G I've come to enjoy is the music input. Contrary to my early opinion on the topic, I've found having a collection of music in the plane helps fill in those long breaks in ATC comms that are not at all uncommon during IFR cruise flight away from terminal areas. We have an intercom with a music input that automatically mutes the music when a voice comes up, but I tend to avoid using it since the music is heard on the videos I record and I'd rather have just the radio traffic. The headset's music input feature works at least as well as the intercom's, has stereo vice the intercom's mono, and the muting feature of the headset can be disengaged so a passenger, for instance, won't be as distracted by radio traffic.
This is all good. Except I only have one of them and I'd like to provide my main passenger (my wife) a nice set to use rather than the old PA-1776 she usually gets (if it hasn't been left turned on). For her to listen to music, she has to use the intercom's music input with me on pilot isolation (so the music isn't routinely muted). That led to my decision to purchase another headset.
OK, so I also got a bit of gadget envy.
After more research and reading pilot reports, I decided on the Lightspeed Zulu.
The set comes with a "firm case" (not soft, but not hard, either), a shoulder strap, and the cables needed to connect the unit to a cell phone and audio device. Anybody familiar with the set knows it has a Bluetooth transceiver and I quickly paired it with my Motorola Q phone. Quite coincidentally, while I was testing it after pairing it, I received a phone call so I answered it while wearing the Zulu. Phone audio quality was quite good. The only disconcerting part is the lack of sidetone, but I'm not sure that is a significant detraction.
So I went flying yesterday to take the plane to its annual inspection and got my first opportunity to fly with the new set. The first issue cropped up as soon as I engaged the unit. It was in stereo mode and my intercom is mono. No problem. Pop off the battery cover, remove the first battery, flip the DIP switch from "S" to "M", re-insert the battery, replace the cover, and all was well again.
The ANR seems at least as good as the 30-3G. Passive attenuation appears to be comparable or maybe slightly worse than the 30-3G, but I didn't have both sets in the plane to switch back and forth. I'll defer to the folks with the equipment to verify such things, but my opinion is passive performance is not a reason to decide against the set - especially considering its primary competitor in the market is the Bose X which seems to have comparable performance.
The profile of the Zulu is substantially less than the 30-3G so I found myself rubbing against various protrusions in the plane far less often with the Zulu than I do with the 30-3G. It's also very light. I never really had a problem with wearing the 30-3G for 4-hour legs, but I'm anxious to give the Zulu a similar run to see if I notice a difference. Frankly, I doubt I will. Both sets are quite comfortable to wear. Oh yeah, the Zulu also has a split headband pad so the ballcap button won't tend to be drilled into the top of my head.
The music feature worked as advertised and I must admit it was cool to have a wireless audio input (although I did wonder what Bluetooth use will do to my battery life). A pleasant surprise for me was the music remained in stereo mode even though I put the headset in mono mode (to support the intercom). The Bluetooth volume control has a wide operating range and can provide enough volume to make me wonder how long the batteries can support the energy output. It can also easily drown out all plane noises, so I'd recommend turning it down a bit so you can listen to the plane, too.
Another note on this is the battery box is very much different from the 30-3G's. One annoyance I've had with the 30-3G is the metal clip on the back of the battery box holster came undone and easily disengages. Futher, the bulk of the box itself makes clipping it onto the map pocket in my C182 a risky proposition as I would constantly bump it with my leg and either disengage the ANR or change the volume or change the treble/bass boost. I got in the habit of foregoing the holster altogether and simply placing the box in the map pocket, but that only offered some relief as I have found bumping it with my leg still happens more often than I'd like - and losing ANR is annoying.
The Zulu box is quite a different design and is such that it is near impossible to accidentally disengage the power/ANR or change the volume. It is slimmer (but longer) and fits quite well in my map pocket. The slimmer design means more leg room for me and it sits in the pocket such that even pressing it with my leg will not change any settings. Nice.
The mic input was clear and had a good quality to it - at least in the sidetone. Radio comms were likewise crisp and clear.
All in all, I'm pleased with my purchase so far (even though I've only put about an hour on the unit) and I'm looking forward to being able to have separate audio sources for me and my wife without having to go into isolation mode on the intercom.