Best headset?

[Hankal]

Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is the
pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.

How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
What is the best model for the best cost?
How do you rate the reliability?
Where is cheapest place to get one?

Hank 172 driver

[Kyle Boatright]

"Hankal" > wrote in message
...
> Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
> I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is
the
> pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.
>
> How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
> What is the best model for the best cost?
> How do you rate the reliability?
> Where is cheapest place to get one?
>
> Hank 172 driver

My Lightspeed 25XL's are very comfortable, with very little clamping
pressure. As far as reliability goes, Lightspeed has good customer service,
but it has to be used more often than I like with expensive (yet fairly
simple) gadgets. Mine have gone back at least 2 times in 4 years. They fix
'em at no charge, but still...

Cheapest place to get one: Oshkosh in about a week or so. Sometimes places
like Chief Aircraft and Aircraft Spruce will offer their "Oshkosh" pricing
to call-in or internet purchasers during the period of the show.

Best current model? I dunno.

KB

[Zack Sten]

Hankal wrote:

>Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
>I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is the
>pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.
>
>How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
>What is the best model for the best cost?
>How do you rate the reliability?
>Where is cheapest place to get one?
>
>Hank 172 driver
>
>
I've owned a Twenty 3G for about a year. In that time I've used it about
75 hours and have found it extremely comfortable. The noise reduction is
wonderful; Much less fatigue. I cannot speak about customer service:
I've not had one bit of trouble with that set.

[Jeremy Lew]

I've got a Twenty-3G and a QFR-Solo. The 3G is my main set, and I they've
been great for the past 15 months that I've owned them. A few weekends ago,
I logged about 8 hours of flying, and I can't remember once being conscious
of my headset after hitting the ANR button, which I think is a good thing.
The one knock against them is that the ANR interferes with the squelch on my
ICOM handheld (backup which I've never yet had to use), rendering it
useless. Their tech support eventually confirmed the problem but couldn't
fix it, and offered me a refund; I decided to stick with them and either off
the ANR or change to the Solos should I ever need to use it.

The Solo's needed to be repaired once (intermittent audio in one ear), and
the service was speedy.


"Hankal" > wrote in message
...
> Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
> I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is
the
> pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.
>
> How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
> What is the best model for the best cost?
> How do you rate the reliability?
> Where is cheapest place to get one?
>
> Hank 172 driver

[Jay Honeck]

> > How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
> > What is the best model for the best cost?
> > How do you rate the reliability?

I've owned five sets of Lightspeeds now, from early 15s up through the new
Twenty 3G models -- so I know a bit about the breed.

Early models performed well, but were alarmingly fragile. All of our early
sets were sent back to the factory on multiple occasions, much to my dismay.

This continued until the 3G series. The 3Gs incorporate all the design
modifications Lightspeed learned from too many years of having to provide
free customer service to thousands of mildly disgruntled customers.

Since getting my 3Gs, one year and ~180 hours ago, I've not experienced a
single problem. They appear to be bulletproof, and are just as comfortable
as the earlier models.

I highly recommend them.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[OtisWinslow]

I have a LS and like it. I did have a problem with the cord
and they sent me a new one right away. Great service.


"Hankal" > wrote in message
...
> Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
> I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is
the
> pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.
>
> How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
> What is the best model for the best cost?
> How do you rate the reliability?
> Where is cheapest place to get one?
>
> Hank 172 driver

[nooneimportant]

I love my 20XL2. Got them when i was a PPL student, now an instrument
student. Fly with them for at least 5 hours a week. Got abotu six months
out of my first set of batteries(not bad if you ask me!). They are fairly
comfortable, just took some adjusting to get them "Right" need to feel like
they are slightly pulling UP on your ears, and then they are quite
comfortable once you get used to them. The only downside is that mine
regularly bump out of the ANR mode, the button is farily sensitive, and
anytime it bumps against the inside of the airplane it can cut out. Never
happened when i was flying C-172 or Citabria7ECA, but i'm flying a PA21-181
Archer now, and the way the cabin is laid out the ANR module is either up
agasint the armrest, or down between my knee and the sidepanel, so ti gets
bumped about once a flight.


Ordered mine from Avionics West, at the time they were about 20bux cheaper
than most other places.



"Hankal" > wrote in message
...
> Question to all who use Lightspeed headsets.
> I have been using Avcom headsets for the last 4 years. Only complaint is
the
> pressure on the ears, even with GEL cups.
>
> How do you like Lightspeed? Pro and Con.
> What is the best model for the best cost?
> How do you rate the reliability?
> Where is cheapest place to get one?
>
> Hank 172 driver

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "nooneimportant" <no.spam@me> said:
>anytime it bumps against the inside of the airplane it can cut out. Never
>happened when i was flying C-172 or Citabria7ECA, but i'm flying a PA21-181
>Archer now, and the way the cabin is laid out the ANR module is either up
>agasint the armrest, or down between my knee and the sidepanel, so ti gets
>bumped about once a flight.

Don't you have a side pocket down there? That's where I put my ANR
module. If not, might I suggest you get a dot of stick-on velcro and put
it on the ANR module. If it doesn't stick onto the fabric as is, you
might have to stick on a corresponding velcro dot on the vinyl - even in a
rental, nobody will complain about a small dot there.


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Sept 25th: Discovered lots of things about Dynamic HTML.
Notably that almost every site attempting to use it is crap.
-- Alan Cox's diary

[nooneimportant]

Nah, no side pocket on the left side of the airplane... and if i put a
velcro dot in this airplane... i got to put a velcro dot in the other 30
archers at the school (I got my PPL at a part 61 FBO... getting everything
else at one of the "Academies"). Think I may put an email off to lightspeed
and see if they have made any improvements in the design i can upgrade to, I
remember the 15XL i borrowed form my old instructor to try out ANR had a
much stronger pushbutton on top that is hard to acidentally bump.


"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message
...
> In a previous article, "nooneimportant" <no.spam@me> said:
> >anytime it bumps against the inside of the airplane it can cut out.
Never
> >happened when i was flying C-172 or Citabria7ECA, but i'm flying a
PA21-181
> >Archer now, and the way the cabin is laid out the ANR module is either up
> >agasint the armrest, or down between my knee and the sidepanel, so ti
gets
> >bumped about once a flight.
>
> Don't you have a side pocket down there? That's where I put my ANR
> module. If not, might I suggest you get a dot of stick-on velcro and put
> it on the ANR module. If it doesn't stick onto the fabric as is, you
> might have to stick on a corresponding velcro dot on the vinyl - even in a
> rental, nobody will complain about a small dot there.
>
>
> --
> Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
> Sept 25th: Discovered lots of things about Dynamic HTML.
> Notably that almost every site attempting to use it is crap.
> -- Alan Cox's diary

[hlongworth]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<Lz%Kc.101582$WX.73160@attbi_s51>...
> Since getting my 3Gs, one year and ~180 hours ago, I've not experienced a
> single problem. They appear to be bulletproof, and are just as comfortable
> as the earlier models.
>
> I highly recommend them.

We finally took a chance on the Lighspeed Twenty 3Gs and ordered
it from ipilot.com earlier this month. The order somehow got lost in
cyberspace for almost 2 weeks. However, ipilot customer service
responded to my inquiry and shipped it to us within 2 days. Rick and
I each had flown only one hour with the new headset. We both like it
for the seemingly lightweight, comfortable feeling (no more ear
pressure as with our DRE 6000 and Peltor headsets) and very good noise
reduction. The only remaining question is its reliability. Just hope
that the new generation LS headsets is much more robust than previous
ones. We will wait for a while before ordering a second one. BTW,
we are using the same cautious approach in purchasing folding bikes.
Bought a 7-gear Giant Halfway last week to try out for a while before
getting the second one. It's a beautiful, well-designed bike, fold up
very easily and ride very comfortably.

[Jay Honeck]

> ones. We will wait for a while before ordering a second one. BTW,
> we are using the same cautious approach in purchasing folding bikes.
> Bought a 7-gear Giant Halfway last week to try out for a while before
> getting the second one. It's a beautiful, well-designed bike, fold up
> very easily and ride very comfortably.

Cool! Folding bikes are on my "check 'em out at OSH" list this year.

How much were they? (And what brand is "Giant Halfway"?)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[hlongworth]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<brgLc.129592$JR4.26897@attbi_s54>...
> Cool! Folding bikes are on my "check 'em out at OSH" list this year.
>
> How much were they? (And what brand is "Giant Halfway"?)

Cost: $550.
Mfg: Giant - check under specialty bike
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/page.asp
Model: Halfway (halfway between a street and dirt bike). 20", 7
speed
Reviews:
http://www.pestridge.go-plus.net/transport/giant.html
http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/shopping

It's a bit more heavy than the 8-speed Dahon Helios P8 which was
also under consideration (28lbs vs. 23lbs). The several months backlog
on Dahon bikes and some of the bad reports on this brand reliability
and mfg support were the reasons for the Giant Halfway purchase.

[Jay Honeck]

> > How much were they? (And what brand is "Giant Halfway"?)
>
> Cost: $550.
> Mfg: Giant - check under specialty bike
> http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/page.asp
> Model: Halfway (halfway between a street and dirt bike). 20", 7
> speed
> Reviews:
> http://www.pestridge.go-plus.net/transport/giant.html
> http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/shopping

Thanks for the info.

Ya just gotta wonder why those stupid folding bikes are SO expensive. It's
buy one in a heartbeat at the $150 level -- but $550?

I suppose it's product liability rearing its ugly head again. One kid
pinches a finger off while folding it, and WHAM -- they're in court.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"