Lightspeed: Upgrade 25XL w/Cell Adaptor or Upgrade to 30 3G

I have one of each. The cell phone interface is nice, particularly for
calling flight service for clearances in podunk airports. The sound
attenuation is marginally superior in the 303g, and stereo sound from the
satellite radio is superb.

However, you are also correct in that the battery life of the 30-3g is
shorter than in the 25xl. Comfort wise they are similar in weight and feel.

I'm thinking about buying another 30-3g for my wife, and having my son use
the 25xl on his fat head so he can watch DVD's in the back.

Viperdoc wrote:

I have one of each.

Perfect!

The cell phone interface is nice, particularly for
calling flight service for clearances in podunk airports.

Yes, that's why I'm interested.

The sound
attenuation is marginally superior in the 303g, and stereo sound from the
satellite radio is superb.

However, you are also correct in that the battery life of the 30-3g is
shorter than in the 25xl. Comfort wise they are similar in weight and
feel.


Is the sound improvement worth the battery life decrease? How much of a
decrease have you experienced?

I'm thinking about buying another 30-3g for my wife, and having my son use
the 25xl on his fat head so he can watch DVD's in the back.

Confusion So the XL upgrade also includes the ability to listen to music?
I didn't realize that. It includes that "soft mute" feature, right, where
traffic on the radio or intercom mutes the music?

- Andrew

I don't use the music input on the 30-3g since I have stereo inputs built
into the plane. It does sound great (satellite radio or DVD) through the
headsets, and with very little background noise.

Listening to unicom/approach/awos and the cell phone at the same time can be
a little confusing. I find myself pushing the mike button when answering
people on the cell phone over the headsets! The cell phone does not mute
with radio traffic, but as I recall, the stereo input does mute.

I can't quantify how much less the battery life is with the 30-3g's, but it
seems like the claim of 50 hours is a bit optimistic. It seemed noticeable,
although compared side by side the active sound attenuation in the 30-3g is
superior (also hard to quantify).

Put together, I would buy a new 30-3g over a refurbished 25XL, even with the
cellphone adapter. The improved sound attenuation alone was worth it, and
customer service has been great. True, they aren't built like tanks like a
Dave Clark, but they aren't as heavy and don't clamp your head either. I
compared them to Bose's latest, and I thought the ANR from the Lightspeeds
was superior. I simply couldn't justify the added cost (nearly double) for
the Bose.

Good luck.