I’m looking to purchase two new headsets adult and a child’s headset. I prefer light weight. The Bose Aviation X (for the adults) has come highly recommended. Any suggestions or comments?
Don’t know if this helps - but my two year old seems happy with the Bose adult headset already…chatty as can be while he listens to " Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street characters " singing along.
Bose all the way!
I bought mine over a year ago and love them. Had several other sets that were uncomfortable at best. My wife loves the Bose too and refuses to wear any other.
For those of you who bought Bose headsets a while back and have complained about battery life and the microphone, Bose now sells a retrofit kit for $165 (less $70 if you return the old parts) that fixes the battery life problem (now 40 hours on 2 AA), has auto shut off, allows the boom to be positioned anywhere, and gives it a more sensitive mike.
The retrofit kit is very easy to self-install (2 screws to remove the old mike boom harness and 2 screws to install the new mike boom harness) and you get $70 back when you send back the old parts.
kewl!
Mark
Scott: My suggestions, time permitting, is to try out whatever headsets you are considering for as long as possible. The easiest way to do this is at a show, such as Sun-N-Fun, Oshkosh, or the AOPA Expo. Often a first 30 second trial, is not sufficient. You can take other’s words on their preferences, but you have to make yourself and your kids happy.
I have two Bose Xs and really like them, but the earcups are a little small. After a long flight, my ears begin to feel pinched. (I have been told that I have a big mouth, but never big ears.) I still rate them a 9 out of 10, and their customer service is second to none! The Sennheisers, seem to have very similar quality and slightly bigger earcups. Others like the Lightspeed.
My kids, now in their late teens, hate the earcup style and would rather suffer a little additional noise as opposed to the clamping and the wieght. They prefer the small, very lightweight, noise cancelling headsets without earcups, the Sennheiser HMEC 25s, I think. The do a good job on the active noise cancelling, but do very little with passive NC. It is a trade-off.
I know that East Coast Avionics (Tampa?) has a very good selection, and if you go there, they may be very willing to help. I think David Clark make headsets that are made for children and are upgradable as the children grow.
Buy the Bose, you will never be sorry. If you buy through Sporty’s and use your AOPA Credit Card you will get the best deal. IMHO
Yes, I look forward to my 3 year old singing Cinderella.
I have 2 BOSE headsets and I love them. My wife especially enjoy’s listening to the Satelite XM radio while flying since the sound quality is excellent!
For the kids in the back I purchased the
The Lightspeed 20 3G headsets (480) for very SPECIFIC reasons. One is cost and Two is that come with a cellphone/personal sterio interface. That way the aspiring teenagers in the back can play all the @*(p in the world all flight long while the front seat riders enjoy music from the 70’s and beyond! My wife now is wondering: " what is that about that cell phone interface on those blue headsets?"
Rik
In reply to:
For those of you who bought Bose headsets a while back and have complained about battery life and the microphone, Bose now sells a retrofit kit for $165 (less $70 if you return the old parts) that fixes the battery life problem (now 40 hours on 2 AA), has auto shut off, allows the boom to be positioned anywhere, and gives it a more sensitive mike.
Mark:
Where did you see this offer? All I can find on the Bose website is $195 for the cord/battery unit alone (no mic) and no mention of a refund for returning old parts.
Thanks,
Tim
I did the swap at Osh at Bose’s booth. It took a little talking to get them to do it, since I swapped the old style portable for the new style panel power. Cirrus is sending me the install kits for all 4 places and I will have the Lemo connectors in place of the old Telex connector. I can then send in the old battery box-mike assembly for $70 each.
I did a lot of looking for headsets for the back seat. I think the best is the new Lightspeed panel powered unit. It is not out yet. They indicate a couple of months. It will essentially be a 3G headset with the Lemo connector, all black, with the SR22 logo on the side. It will be sold exclusively through Cirrus. See Barb for details. I am not sure the exact price, but I think it is somewhere around $575. It will have the cell phone/audio input. It may replace the Bose in the front seat, or it may be a close second.
Agreed, buy the BOSE. But I would buy direct from the company and do the 0% financing over 12 months. The pain is less (on a monthly basis). And if you use your AOPA CC I think you still get the 5%.
Buy the Bose, you will never be sorry. If you buy through Sporty’s and use your AOPA Credit Card you will get the best deal. IMHO
Actually - I suggest you buy through The Cirrus store. You’ll find that Barb has a very nice " unadvertised price " for Bose headsets.
Its a done deal, I tried the Bose and purchased one through Sporty’s today. I should have them tomorrow. After test period, I will decide on the second headset and the youth headset. Thanks for the help and guidance.
If you buy the Bose, make sure you get the new design volume controller. The old style is clumsy at best.
Oops…
I may have paid $195 for this deal (not $165 as posted) but I did get the $70 buy back offer for sending the old stuff back. I heard about this deal at Osh this year. They should be sending kits in 3 to 4 weeks.
I suspect if you call you can get the same deal with regards to the buy back. Sorry about the goof on the price.
Mark
Tim:
I found nothing on the Bose Web site either. However, when I called the 800 number for sales they were well aware of the offer, $195 with a $70 rebate if you return the old parts.
Jim
Give Bose a call. They offered it at Oshkosh. I recall seeing an ad on the offer before Oshkosh. I am still waiting on the install kits from CD for the Lemo connectors. I have the document from Bose for the return of the old (battery style) microphone and cord set.
In reply to:
If you buy the Bose, make sure you get the new design volume controller. The old style is clumsy at best.
That only applies to the battery-powered unit. The ship’s powered unit is fine and hasn’t changed.