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Bose Headsets

J

jlisler

Well Known Member
Is there any vendor that is offering a special on the Bose Aviation X headsets? Not long ago they were offering a cheap handheld GPS as a token but I have not been able to find that now. Does anyone discount these? Is Bose going to come out with the next great leap forward in headphone technology as soon as I purchase?


Jerry Isler
RV4 N455J
Donalsonville, GA
 
For the money find another headset.

I'm not happy with Bose X.

The "specials" are only during major air shows, I think.
 
Last edited:
Sun-N-Fun

Look for a new "special" around Sun-N-Fun time frame if you can wait that long.

Has anyone tried the new Zulu?
 
A vote in the other direction...

I have had my Bose X headset for about 8 years or so. Never had an issue with them. Great ANR. As comfortable as any I have ever worn.

I did recently buy a Clarity Aloft in-ear headset. Super comfortable but unfortunately without the ANR and full ear cover, the in cockpit noise is much higher.

I am always amazed how some companies get away with fixing their prices so effectively (Garmin and Bose to name two). It seems the price is completely locked in and you never see a sale. I work for Microsoft which gets accused of price fixing on a regular basis -- I guess we are just not as good at it as some companies.
 
I really like my Bose X's, too. Great performance for almost 4 years now. I have the panel powered ones that only have one cable and no batteries. Very comfy. I've worn these all day with no headaches. I hated my David Clark 10.40s. The best deal I could get was 4 years ago when I bought the two for $950. each when I bought all my radios with them.

Seems good products don't go on sale often. I have noticed that my KMD-150 GPS sells for more now than what I paid back in 2003. Another item I really like a lot.

Roberta
 
Silly question! Of course there will a new super-duper-whiz-bang set as soon as you purchase your new headset. That is a miserable fact of life.
 
MSFT-1 said:
SNIP

I am always amazed how some companies get away with fixing their prices so effectively (Garmin and Bose to name two). It seems the price is completely locked in and you never see a sale. I work for Microsoft which gets accused of price fixing on a regular basis -- I guess we are just not as good at it as some companies.
Click to expand...

Bose and Garmin make products that are relatively difficult for competitors to one up or make obsolete. They seem to have some smart technical people running their companies, who know how to deliver products that make sense. While this sounds easy, it clearly is not. The Bose X have been out for quite some time, and while they did a small update a few years ago, it is still the price leader. Used X's go for more than most new competitors' top of the line headsets. While it is just fine that some don't like them, the majority seem to.

Garmin hit a home run clean out of the park when they decided to get into panel avionics (and their 396/496 products are unbelievable also). They simply design stuff that is tough to compete with from the users' points of view. The only barrier to competing with them is finding enough talent to put together a team to do it. And that is expensive to do.

You might follow Ebay, there are several used sets there right now.
 
Call Bose. They usually have a special gift offer if you ask them. I've done it twice. The first time I got the Gecko GPS and the second time I got a cheap MP3 player.

Ric
 
take a look at the Bose QC2 with a uflymike. Same technology for half the price and more user friendly. The QC2 also provides great protection while riviting.
 
Bose Factory Stores

Google 'Bose Factory Store' and call one nearby. They sometimes have blems and refurbs at a discount. Don't know about the X headsets but have bought other stuff there at a discount..

Bose IS very good at keeping their pricing structure intact, though. Must be nice.
 
woxofswa said:
take a look at the Bose QC2 with a uflymike. Same technology for half the price and more user friendly. The QC2 also provides great protection while riviting.
Click to expand...

Has anyone compared, in their airplane, between Bose X and their QC2 or 3? I will do so next time I fly, but my impression is that the noise canceling of the X is much, much better. I'll report back results of my QC2's...
 
Bose vs UflyMike

I have both, and I would not call it a huge difference. My main complaint with the Bose is lack of passive/high frequency attenuation. They are still better than all the others for me comfort-wise. I now wear my Shure earphones under them, and this rocks; super-quiet, very clear sound. All the passive low frequency attenuation that a halo or quiet comfort would not give you, and the high frequency attenuation that is missing from the Bose.

Hans
 
nucleus said:
I have both, and I would not call it a huge difference. My main complaint with the Bose is lack of passive/high frequency attenuation. They are still better than all the others for me comfort-wise. I now wear my Shure earphones under them, and this rocks; super-quiet, very clear sound. All the passive low frequency attenuation that a halo or quiet comfort would not give you, and the high frequency attenuation that is missing from the Bose.

Hans
Click to expand...

Which Bose are you referring to?
 
Bose comments

I find that the Bose headset earcups crush my ears after several hours (I don't think I have big ears :eek:) plus should you lose power, their passive noise reduction is just slightly better than nothing.

For the money, I'm going with a David Clark ANR set when I get to the headset buying stage.

I also have a Lightspeed ANR headset that a student gave me. Very economical (even if you buy it); works great but unfortunately it's not 'cool looking' for an RV with the big earcups. OK, so I'm honest... :rolleyes:
 
Try the Zulu

A couple of months ago I took up a set of Bose X and the new Lightspeed Zulu's for a back-to-back comparision in my RV-3B. Though the difference wasn't huge, I preferred the Zulu's both in terms of sonic performance and the featureset. In particular the Bluetooth cell phone interface is attractive to me... no wires to clutter my small cockpit.

IMHO Lightspeed really has a winner here, and of course it's $150 less than the Bose. As more and more people get a chance to try them I predict they will be very successful with this product. Check them out.
 
Bose QC2 vs X comparison

As promised a while ago, I finally did some in-flight comparisons between the Bose X and the Bose QC2 (over the ear models). While the QC2's were respectable, the X's were definitely better at noise attenuation, particularly in the high frequency range (passive area). The low frequency throbbing of the engine was nicely reduced by the QC2's. Overall, I was impressed. I know some are already doing it, but I think it would be reasonable to add a mike to the QC2's and make an aircraft headset from one. Especially in a quieter airplane than an RV.
 
UFlyMike

AlexPeterson said:
As promised a while ago, I finally did some in-flight comparisons between the Bose X and the Bose QC2 (over the ear models). While the QC2's were respectable, the X's were definitely better at noise attenuation, particularly in the high frequency range (passive area). The low frequency throbbing of the engine was nicely reduced by the QC2's. Overall, I was impressed. I know some are already doing it, but I think it would be reasonable to add a mike to the QC2's and make an aircraft headset from one. Especially in a quieter airplane than an RV.
Click to expand...

Google UFlyMike for a very nice unit that turns your QC2's into an aviation headset. This is now my eight year old son's favorite headset, very comfortable.

Hans
 
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