RobertL18C wrote:
Used to use Bose A20 on a day job, but worried about durability.
I’ve had my Bose-X for 14 years now. One OH about 10 years or so ago (IIRC a mic issue, was done on a flat fee basis), still going strong.
My experience with the Bose-X and A20 is that they are excellent performance-wise and comfortable to wear (A20 more so) but that they are rather flimsy, in particular the plastics bit. You can accidentally sit on a David Clark, not on a Bose, so you learn to handle them very carefully. The other thing that is slightly annoying is that the ear cups need replacement relatively often. May have to do with the higher temps and exposure to sunlight over here though.
I have the Lightspeed Zulu 2 since 2014. I changed the earpads this year because they were worn out. Other than that, no problems for 7 years and 340 hours of flight.
I’ve had a pair of Zulu 2s since 2011, no problems in ~360 hours flying. I’ve changed a mic sock, that’s about it.
Lightspeed are a good company – if you phone them up you get someone in the US who knows the product inside out. I called them once with a query about setting the jumpers to deal with temporarily iffy intercom, and they couldn’t have been more helpful.
I don’t like Bose as a company – their refusal to publish specs and their insistence that their products are better in ways that cannot be measured. I’m sure they’re fine, I just don’t like the attitude. That and using call centres in low cost countries meaning its hard to get decent support. I tried to order a pair of A20s once, they charged my credit card (with their website declaring product in stock and available to ship same day) and it took two weeks before I could speak to anyone who could tell me when they might have some to send to me. Most Bose employees you can get on the phone don’t even know what an aviation headset is – I think it’s a tiny sideline for them. In the end they were so hard to deal with that I dropped them an email saying I was cancelling the order and instructed my credit card provider to dishonour the transaction.
Thinking of getting a pair of Zulu 3s soon, thus my girlfriend can have noise cancelling too.
Bose is an arrogant company; one of many…
I reckon the A20 is a lot stronger than the X which would break easily. I also think it outperforms every other headset. I now have four of them.
I’ve just dealt with Bose for a repair of my A20s and they were brilliant – I was given the direct details for the people who know what they are doing:
Aviation sales and service support department in The Netherlands:
Tel. : +31 299 390 777
E-mail : [email protected]
I have the personal email of the aviation lead rep who was excellent if anyone needs
I have an A20 for about 5 years now – it has given perfect service. I damaged the cable early on and they sent me a new one under warranty. Recently replaced the earcuffs.
I used to have a Zulu (not sure which mark). It developed a fault and I replaced it (exchange) with the unlamented high-end one they did for a couple of years until people stopped buying it. It ate batteries (life under 10 hours) and had a huge and heavy battery box. Disaster in a heli for both reasons (you can’t change batteries in flight). So I bought an A20, sold the Lightspeed on Ebay, and have been very happy since. Up til then LS’s service had been excellent, but they flat out refused to exchange back to a Zulu so I was done with them.
Dimme wrote:
I have the Lightspeed Zulu 2 since 2014. I changed the earpads this year because they were worn out. Other than that, no problems for 7 years and 340 hours of flight.
When the ear pads/muffs were worn out, did you notice any deterioration of the ANR functionality? My ear pads are really worn and I also believe that the ANR has gotten worse, especially after trying my friends Zulu 3 during a flight. It was really quiet!
martin-esmi wrote:
When the ear pads/muffs were worn out, did you notice any deterioration of the ANR functionality?
Yes. The ANR improved noticeably after I changed them about a couple of years ago. This would have been the third set over the lifespan – so far 14 years – of my Bose-X
As these things only cost a few bucks, I will prob90 change them more often in the future.
172driver wrote:
Yes. The ANR improved noticeably after I changed them about a couple of years ago. This would have been the third set over the lifespan – so far 14 years – of my Bose-XAs these things only cost a few bucks, I will prob90 change them more often in the future.
Where do you find them for “a few bucks”? :) Our local pilot shop here in Sweden wants 55euro for them (depends on what you consider a few bucks of course hehe)
“Lightspeed Replacement Ear Seals – Zulu PFX / Zulu.2 / Zulu / Sierra”
