![]() Meantime, I started hearing rumors that both Bose and LightSPEED would be introducing new models at EAA AirVenture 1998. (Keep in mind, however, that comfort is a highly subjective matter – you really owe it to yourself to try as many different makes and models as you can before you make a choice.) I tried some of these, but I was hard pressed to find anything that felt as comfortable on my head as the LightSPEED. Most of these new entrants offered credible noise-reduction specifications in the 20-ish decibel range, and some included novel features (like Pilot’s relocation of the batteries into the headset itself). This included firms who were already selling higher-priced ANRs (e.g., Telex and David Clark) and others who were entering the ANR arena for the first time (e.g., Pilot Avionics and FlightCom). The following year, spurred by LightSPEED’s obvious success with the 20K, a number of other headset makers entered the fray by introducing new low-cost ANR headsets in the $400 range. On my next flight, the “gravelly” sound was gone … and I was irretrievably hooked on ANR! I disassembled the nosewheel, used solvent to remove all the grease from the wheel bearings, and discovered a frozen roller in one of the two Timken roller bearings! I bought a new bearing, regreased both bearings, and reassembled the nosewheel. Soon, I realized that the noise stopped when I lifted the nosewheel on takeoff, and reappeared when I lowered the nosewheel after landing. Not long after I switched from David Clark H10-80 (DC’s quietest passive) to LightSPEED 20K (ANR), I started hearing a funny “gravelly” sound that I couldn’t identify, mostly during taxi, takeoff, and rollout. I quickly found out that I could actually hear these sounds a lot better than before with the low-frequency prop and exhaust noise actively cancelled out. Like most first-time ANR users, I was worried whether the active cancellation would keep me from hearing sounds that I really needed to hear – gear, stall and autopilot-disconnect warnings, clattering valve lifters, that sort of thing. Since then, I’ve become totally addicted to my 20Ks. But LightSPEED ultimately ramped up production to meet the demand, and the 20K has been the industry’s best-selling ANR headset ever since. LightSPEED was taken by surprised by the demand, and for awhile pilots who wanted a 20K found themselves waiting a month or more for delivery. ![]() ![]() Soon, pilots started ordering 20Ks in droves. A few months later, a similarly effusive review appeared in The Aviation Consumer, and word spread through online aviation forums and newsgroups. In July 1997, I wrote a glowing review of the 20K for AVweb. I was hooked, bought a second 20K for the copilot position of my Cessna 310, and have been flying with the LightSPEED 20K almost exclusively for the past two years. In fact, I actually found the LightSPEED to be more comfortable than the Bose, and very nearly as quiet. A test flight proved to me conclusively that the 20K lived up to its promises. The LightSPEED 20K promised similar quiet and comfort for a shade over $400, which was well under half the price of a Bose and only about $100 more than DC’s top-of-the-line H10-80 passive that I’d been using for years. Sorry, folks, that was simply too much – waaay too much – for me to plunk down for any headset! I’d flown a few trips with a borrowed Bose active noise reduction (ANR) headset and it certainly was impressive, but as a matter of principle I was defiantly unwilling to spend the $1,000 that Bose was asking. After decades of flying with green headcrushers from David Clark, I was definitely looking for something that offered more quiet and comfort. I was really excited when I first discovered the LightSPEED 20K headset in June, 1997. Also see Mike Busch’s revi ew of LightSPEED’s lower-priced ANR headsets, the 15K and 20K.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |