Lightspeed -- Was:Oshkosh 2003 Redux

Everything was trimmed!! (-;

Counterpoint to the Lightspeed QA 'issue':

I have a 20XL and a 30XL. Both have performed flawlessly from the day
I got them. Maybe I'm just lucky, but that never happens! To be fair,
I don't listen to music in the air so I am unqualified to comment on
the audio fidelity.

Last week, in a weak moment, I decided to trade-in the 20XL for the
new G-series, move the 30XL to the co-pilot spot and use the new
headset myself. I called Lightspeed and asked about a refurb of my
20XL vs. the cost of the upgrade. The very helpful lady at Lightspeed,
I forget her name (darn it) asked what the 20XL had going on that
needed a refurb. I explained that the earpiece cover was delaminating.
She suggested that I hold off on the upgrade and she would send me
replacement earpieces. She also said that the trade-up program will be
around for a long time; if I am still considering an upgrade after
installing the new earpieces I should just give her a call. When I
asked about the cost for the new earpieces she seemed surprised - it
was free and they pay the shipping. Hard to beat that kind of service!

The replacement parts arrived yesterday. Installed them and applied
appropriate amounts of Fantastic to the rest of the headset (where
does all of that crud come from?!). It looks and works like new.

My only issue now is that I need to find another 'excuse' to upgrade!

My experience is that Lightspeed is 100% customer-oriented. Of course,
your mileage may vary.

Jack

Jack McAdams wrote:

Counterpoint to the Lightspeed QA 'issue':

Jack, with all respect, I don't think it's a counterpoint. You
had one of a handful of known problems with the 20XL -- earpieces
delaminating. People have 20 yr old DC's where the earpieces are
like new.

I have a 20XL and a 30XL. Both have performed flawlessly from the day
I got them. Maybe I'm just lucky, but that never happens!

Always a first time...but what's a 30XL? I never heard of it.
Do you mean a 25XL?

When I
asked about the cost for the new earpieces she seemed surprised - it
was free and they pay the shipping. Hard to beat that kind of service!
...
My experience is that Lightspeed is 100% customer-oriented. Of course,
your mileage may vary.

I don't think anyone has any complaints about Lightspeed's customer
service. They have fixed out-of-warranty headsets for us at NC etc.
They have paid the shipping to us, however, if we have to return
a product to them multiple times our shipping to them does start to
add up.

The real issue is *how often some people need* their excellent customer
support.

As someone said "practice makes perfect".

I would prefer a company like Maytag alleges itself to be, where the
product is so reliable that one never gets the chance to experience
the customer service.

You would be a counterpoint, IMO, if you'd had 2 Lightspeed headsets
for 5 years and had absolutely no idea whatsoever what their customer
support is like.

YMMV,
Sydney

I ditched my old Lightspeed 20s for Peltors. Not quite as posh on the
softness, but very light and IMHO superior sound with my Sirius Satellite
Radio on the Garmin 340, and the PNR/ANR was quite impressive. Plus their
design appears far more rugged, and I have used Peltor products for shooting
for years with great PNR performance.

I got $75 rebate at OSH by taking my receipt from the Pacific Coast Avionics
booth and showing to the guys at the Peltor booth...

I ended up paying MUCH less than I would have for 30Gs...

YMMV

Mark
Tiger N1533R


"Peter R." wrote in message
ds.com...
Jack McAdams ) wrote:

The very helpful lady at Lightspeed,
I forget her name (darn it) asked what the 20XL had going on that
needed a refurb. I explained that the earpiece cover was delaminating.
She suggested that I hold off on the upgrade and she would send me
replacement earpieces.

As an owner of both a 25XL and a Thirty 3G, I must say that therein lies
the issue. I have had to perform two home repairs to my 25XL (broken
headband and internal screw holding mike boom came off) and I have had to
exchange three different *new* Thirty 3Gs (two for intensely loud
squealing
and one for loud static when the ANR was active). I have about 350 hours
with the 25XLs and about 2 hours with the Thirty 3Gs.

Naturally, all of the above problems first surfaced as I was flying, which
made for an uncomfortable moment while I resorted to a backup pair. The
amount of time I spent talking to their award-winning customer service (no
sarcasm here), packaging up and shipping back headsets, and performing the
repairs myself is now being measured in hours.

Due to this accumulated aggravation, I am very close to selling them both
on eBay and purchasing a new Bose headset.

--
Peter














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Has anybody had problems with the older Lightspeeds? If not, it might be
a case of them sacrificing reliability to satisfy demand.

Both of my Lightspeed 15s have required service multiple times. Purchased
at OSH '99 and OSH '00.
--
Jay Honeck
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My 5 year old Flightcom ANR's take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

The current version is the.... Classic ANR.
http://www.flightcom.net/site/headsets/index.php
Screw the Lightspeeds.

YMMV.


Barnyard BOb --

I guess I'm a genuine counterp... hmm... nope... not gonna jinx myself. I'm
not going to say it. I've got a pair of 20XL's that are a year old with
about 200 hours on them and so far they have been grea... nope, not gonna
do it. Let's just say the problems haven't surfaced.
--
Jim Burns III

Remove "nospam" to reply


"Sydney Hoeltzli" wrote in message
...
Jon Grimm wrote:
I've had my set of Lightspeeed 20XL since 1998 and have no idea what
Lightspeed customer service is like. I've never had a problem with the
headset. Love them.

Good for you Jon! You're a genuine counterpoint!

Cheers,
Sydney

in article MTUXa.73321$YN5.55396@sccrnsc01, Jay Honeck at
wrote on 8/5/03 1:58 PM:

Has anybody had problems with the older Lightspeeds? If not, it might be
a case of them sacrificing reliability to satisfy demand.

Both of my Lightspeed 15s have required service multiple times. Purchased
at OSH '99 and OSH '00.

Jay,

I started out with the 15s, upgraded to the 20s, then the 25XL and then
my wife bought me the 30-3G upgrade for my birthday. Had one problem with
the mic on the 20's. It was fixed for free and returned to me within 7
days.

The 30-3G I like better than my friends Bose by far.

YMMV.

--
Ric Lee
Berkut #049 (N540RS) reserved
Sandy, Utah

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people
who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.
- Mark Twain

Jon Grimm wrote:

I've had my set of Lightspeeed 20XL since 1998 and have no idea what
Lightspeed customer service is like. I've never had a problem with the
headset. Love them.

Same with me. No problems.

Margy

Peter R. wrote in message eds.com...
Jack McAdams ) wrote:


Due to this accumulated aggravation, I am very close to selling them both
on eBay and purchasing a new Bose headset.

Someone in our office is about to return his Bose for a repair because
of low battery life. It seems like nothing is perfect.

My 20 3G has been in twice.

Now, I have a 30 3G with a new battery box and the new design seems
far more secure (2 days - stay tuned). It will be some time before I
can say it resolves my issues but I'm optimistic. After the 1K Bose,
the Lightspeed are the next most comfortable. I was supposed to have
some Sennheiser's to try out but haven't seen them and it's been so
long, I doubt I will. Of the headsets we sell with new aircraft Flight
Com Denali's are the hottest with Flight Com ANR Classics next. We
have recommended not ordering the Lightspeeds until mine work But,
it's all over the place for our own use. One person uses Peltor non
ANR's, one uses DC 13.4's, I use ANR Classics or the Lightspeed
(preferring lightspeed when they are in town) and the other person
uses Bose X and Denali's (with a high preference to the BOse).

The only good advice you'll get is go to a store with many brands, try
them on, verify the return policy and go fly them.

Mike

Mike Long ) wrote:


The only good advice you'll get is go to a store with many brands, try
them on, verify the return policy and go fly them.

Unfortunately it's the "verify the return policy," as in having to call
customer service for a repair and verifying the return policy does work,
that gets me.


--
Peter