Lightspeed 3G Headset Updates?

I'm not trying to stir the pot but I looked at several ANR headsets. I
was only able to try them at the demonstrator board at a pilot shop at
LNS, Lancaster, PA. Performance wise I'd have to say that in the pilot
shop they all worked well. As far as comfort, my mother was right - I
have an iron head. None of the headsets felt uncomfortable. None of
them really stood out as extremely comfortable. I ended up with a pair
of david clark 10-20xl's. They are without a doubt the most solidly
constructed. Even the spring loaded jacks that attach the cables to the
battery box are impressive. I was also concerned about all of returns
I've read about of the other brands. It's nice to hear that
manufacturers like lightspeed stand behind their products but the
failure rate seemed too high. You may spend more for david clarks but
the amount of time spent boxing up and returning broken headsets also
has value. One other nice feature with the 10-20xl's, you can use the
battery box, one 9volt with auto-shutoff, or have the panel kit
installed. Right now I'm using the battery box but I plan to add the
panel kit.
Dave
68 7ECA
Marco Leon wrote:
Well Google shows the most recent solicitation from the group for feedback
on the Lightspeed 3G headsets was back in early 2003. Jay Honeck gave a very
positive update in March of 2004 in response to another post but no mass
(relatively speaking) feedback on general experiences. Soooooo....if I may:

1) What model and how long have you had them?

2) What was your longest trip and were they still comfortable at the end?

3) How many times have they broken (if any) and what broke?

4) Is the customer service and/or turnaround on repairs still good?

I think Jay's bought two new Twenty 3G's since March so I'd be interested to
see if they've proved as good as the first pair. Also, if anyone's gone FROM
a Lightspeed headset to another with good results, that would be interesting
too (well, to me at least).

Thanks!

Marco "DC H20-10 owner whose wife thinks he does too much research" Leon
N36616 out of KFRG

"Marco Leon" mmleon(at)yahoo.com writes:

1) What model and how long have you had them?

3G since June. Like Jay, I traded in the old ones (25XLs).

2) What was your longest trip and were they still comfortable at the end?

Sacramento, California to Bellingham, Washington, 8 flying hours in a
single day. Headsets never a problem.

3) How many times have they broken (if any) and what broke?

Nothing broken so far. The previous headsets had broken 2-3 times
over a few years.

4) Is the customer service and/or turnaround on repairs still good?

Great as always.

Dave,

I ended up with a pair
of david clark 10-20xl's.


Yes, your mother WAS right ;-)

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 10:42:26 -0400, "Marco Leon" mmleon(at)yahoo.com
wrote:
1) What model and how long have you had them?

20 3G about hmm.. 18 months or so? Something like that.

2) What was your longest trip and were they still comfortable at the end?

Longest trip, maybe 2 hours one way. No problems.

3) How many times have they broken (if any) and what broke?

Nothing broken.

The problem I have with them (and this may just be my stupidity) is
that when the battery is low it cuts in and out on the ANR every
second. I tried pushing the button, but it did not make it stop. I
ended up opening the battery compartment and popping out the battery
to make it stop before I was able to extract a new pair from my flight
bag.

aw

Isn't "stirring the pot" what the Usenet is all about?

I have the DC H20-10 headset and I am pretty much happy with it. There is a
small "quirk" where the volume of my voice is low when I transmit but that's
not a big deal. It doesn't happen with other headsets so I am assuming it's
the David Clarks. When I looked at the price of the ENC H20-10's the price
of over $600 for less active noise cancelling than its competition made me
look at the alternatives. From the responses to this post, it seems that
Lightspeed has "fixed" its hardware quality issue. Whether it will last 10
years like some David Clarks remains to be seen but even if you take comfort
out of the picture, the increased performance, lower price, and same initial
quality of the lightspeeds make it worthy of my investment.

Thanks for your 2 cents!

Marco Leon

"dave" wrote in message
...
I'm not trying to stir the pot but I looked at several ANR headsets. I
was only able to try them at the demonstrator board at a pilot shop at
LNS, Lancaster, PA. Performance wise I'd have to say that in the pilot
shop they all worked well. As far as comfort, my mother was right - I
have an iron head. None of the headsets felt uncomfortable. None of
them really stood out as extremely comfortable. I ended up with a pair
of david clark 10-20xl's. They are without a doubt the most solidly
constructed. Even the spring loaded jacks that attach the cables to the
battery box are impressive. I was also concerned about all of returns
I've read about of the other brands. It's nice to hear that
manufacturers like lightspeed stand behind their products but the
failure rate seemed too high. You may spend more for david clarks but
the amount of time spent boxing up and returning broken headsets also
has value. One other nice feature with the 10-20xl's, you can use the
battery box, one 9volt with auto-shutoff, or have the panel kit
installed. Right now I'm using the battery box but I plan to add the
panel kit.
Dave
68 7ECA

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that Lightspeed has fixed their
quality problems. I just sent back my 20-3Gs that I purchased at Sun n Fun
this year for the second time. I have an intermittent problem with a loud
pop in the left ear followed by maximum volume static. The only way to get
rid of it is to turn off the ANR. It went back in May for the same problem.
Lightspeed has been great about support but I'd prefer not to have the
shipping costs and lost usage time. If it keeps up at this rate I would have
been able to buy the Bose headsets with the savings in FedEx charges.

"Marco Leon" mmleon(at)yahoo.com wrote in message
...
Isn't "stirring the pot" what the Usenet is all about?

I have the DC H20-10 headset and I am pretty much happy with it. There is
a
small "quirk" where the volume of my voice is low when I transmit but
that's
not a big deal. It doesn't happen with other headsets so I am assuming
it's
the David Clarks. When I looked at the price of the ENC H20-10's the price
of over $600 for less active noise cancelling than its competition made me
look at the alternatives. From the responses to this post, it seems that
Lightspeed has "fixed" its hardware quality issue. Whether it will last 10
years like some David Clarks remains to be seen but even if you take
comfort
out of the picture, the increased performance, lower price, and same
initial
quality of the lightspeeds make it worthy of my investment.

Thanks for your 2 cents!

Marco Leon

"dave" wrote in message
...
I'm not trying to stir the pot but I looked at several ANR headsets. I
was only able to try them at the demonstrator board at a pilot shop at
LNS, Lancaster, PA. Performance wise I'd have to say that in the pilot
shop they all worked well. As far as comfort, my mother was right - I
have an iron head. None of the headsets felt uncomfortable. None of
them really stood out as extremely comfortable. I ended up with a pair
of david clark 10-20xl's. They are without a doubt the most solidly
constructed. Even the spring loaded jacks that attach the cables to the
battery box are impressive. I was also concerned about all of returns
I've read about of the other brands. It's nice to hear that
manufacturers like lightspeed stand behind their products but the
failure rate seemed too high. You may spend more for david clarks but
the amount of time spent boxing up and returning broken headsets also
has value. One other nice feature with the 10-20xl's, you can use the
battery box, one 9volt with auto-shutoff, or have the panel kit
installed. Right now I'm using the battery box but I plan to add the
panel kit.
Dave
68 7ECA

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that Lightspeed has fixed their
quality problems. I just sent back my 20-3Gs that I purchased at Sun n Fun
this year for the second time. I have an intermittent problem with a loud
pop in the left ear followed by maximum volume static. The only way to get
rid of it is to turn off the ANR.

Just curious: Does this happen near the end of the battery life?

I've found that right before the batteries give up the ghost, we get all
kinds of fluctuations, pops, and ANR weirdness.

We just pop new batteries in at that point, and all is well again.

If it's still doing it, insist that they send you a new pair. Lightspeed
will also give you a UPS (Fed Ex?) shipping number (so that THEY pay
shipping) if you ask for it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I've noticed that too. In this case it's happening when the battery box is
indicating a good charge and it's a MUCH different popping and static.
Thanks for the heads up on the shipping numbers. I'll be sure to get that
the next time.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:jVw8d.124563$wV.8057@attbi_s54...
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that Lightspeed has fixed their
quality problems. I just sent back my 20-3Gs that I purchased at Sun n
Fun
this year for the second time. I have an intermittent problem with a
loud
pop in the left ear followed by maximum volume static. The only way to
get
rid of it is to turn off the ANR.

Just curious: Does this happen near the end of the battery life?

I've found that right before the batteries give up the ghost, we get all
kinds of fluctuations, pops, and ANR weirdness.

We just pop new batteries in at that point, and all is well again.

If it's still doing it, insist that they send you a new pair. Lightspeed
will also give you a UPS (Fed Ex?) shipping number (so that THEY pay
shipping) if you ask for it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"