I have two older 20xls and a set of Zulus. I pulled all three out today getting ready for a flight tommorow and they are basically junk. They are sticky and not just the earmuf covering which i made the mistake of trying on and turned my face black the hole damn headset.Even the switch box is sticky. You can scratch impressions in it with your finger nail , its like goo.They were stored in their own bag inside my home on a shelf.anyone else experiance this.I thought at least the zulu was supposed to be decent but these are crap. as i right this my shirt and shorts are black now and my hands feel like they where rubbed down in glue.
lightspeed headset??
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disrgard i found a thread with quite a few others having the same issue. I can try and clean the coating off but still cant wear them becuase of the head band and cheak pads. I'll try and clean up a 20xl for tommorow , the earmuffs on those dont have the rubber or fake leather coating May ahve been a blessing i kept the older ones.
Doesn’t surprise me a bit, you have to replace the ear cups every so often.
20xl, what's that like 30 years old. Lightspeed discontinued them decades ago but still were pretty good for giving me free parts.
ha be nice if it was just the cups, its all teh rubber coated plastic.
yep, but guess what outlasted my zulu. The 20's have rubber coqted cups, i alkyied them up , they are a bit tacky but not as bad as the plastic parts on the zulus. these been sitting although in a climate controlled space not like in a hot hanger.
Yup, I feel your pain, the Sierra’s are the same way. Luckily a cloth with some rubbing alcohol does the trick!
It might be worth your time to call lightspeed and see what they can do for you as far as parts or trade-in. From the experience I had with them they're pretty good about that stuff- I got my Zulu 2 with issues upgraded to a Zulu3 for $400 IIRC.
I ordered a refresher kit for the Zulus hopefully i can get the goo off all the plastic parts. Has anyone found any source for replacement ear pads for the 20's? I know they are obsolete but for backups they still are worth more for spares than the 100 trade in, if i can find a set of pads. The Zulu only has a $200 trade up, not worth it to me for a originally $1000 headset in my opinion, I'll wire wheel the goo off if i have to. Honestly, I'd have a hard time spending another $1000 on a new set of Lightspeeds after looking at these.
I realize my Zulus are older but haven't been used much. Maybe that's the issue, they sit closed up in the headset bag.I mainly use a clarity aloft set due to head room issues with the main plane I fly, but flying a different one today and thought they would work better than having the earbuds keep falling out.
Never had these issue when i got my license back in the 80's with only a loud speaker and handheld mic.I may have Tinitus today but at least my hands and face stayed clean.
I realize my Zulus are older but haven't been used much. Maybe that's the issue, they sit closed up in the headset bag.I mainly use a clarity aloft set due to head room issues with the main plane I fly, but flying a different one today and thought they would work better than having the earbuds keep falling out.
Never had these issue when i got my license back in the 80's with only a loud speaker and handheld mic.I may have Tinitus today but at least my hands and face stayed clean.
SixPapaCharlie
May the force be with you
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Sixer
What's the cause of the sticky goo?
My Sierras were all sticky as well. Sent them for repair and basically got back a brand new headset. But I thought the goo was from something I spilled on them. Could not get it off.
My Sierras were all sticky as well. Sent them for repair and basically got back a brand new headset. But I thought the goo was from something I spilled on them. Could not get it off.
Well thinking about it, I did have the same thing happen to the steering wheel air bag on my Z06 and my airbag on my towncar a few years ago. I have never put any protective coatings on my head sets however. I really think its from being closed up, both my vette and lincoln sit closed up and covered.Maybe they just need to breath.??
Low Level Flyer
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The sticky on the plastic parts is due to a coating on them that sometimes breaks down in hot environments. Lightspeed is aware of this. None of current line of headsets have this issue. There are home remedies like some have mentioned above and that would be your best bet for the 20XL. As far as the Zulus, you could try the same home fix, or if still available from Lightspeed, they could upgrade them to the current lightspeeds. I had my wife's upgraded from Zulu 2 to Zulu 3 when hers started to get sticky. I also sent some older Sierras in that had the issue and were upgraded to the newer versions without the issue.
Are the new zulu deltas worth the extra compared to the Zulu3's ? the three outright are 899 compared to $1199 for the deltas. I dont think I need their C0 monitoring. How long does the monitoring sensors last?
FastEddieB
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Fast Eddie B
Ditto with my 15XL’s. Eventually upgraded to Sierras for the longest time, and not too long ago splurged on Zulu 3’s. For me, their customer service has been exemplary, and their periodic trade-in offers really bring the price down.
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SoonerAviator
Still rocking a 15XL myself, lol.
Clip4
Final Approach
They may give a discount on a new set, but there are no parts or an official trade credit program for those headsets.
When the controls on our Sierras got sticky I called Lightspeed. They offered to replace the control units at no cost, or do an overhaul ( all new pads, fix anything that's bad or breaking). I don't remember the cost of the overhaul, in the $150 range?. I had them overhaul one Sierra and traded the other in for a Zulu 3.
The Zulu might be a bit more comfortable and I like the cord better. I like the full motion swivel of the mic on the Sierra - can use on either the right of left side - the Zulu is limited to the left side.
My old ears can't hear a difference between them. The audio equalization feature in the Delta might be worth it, but I'm not quite that deaf yet.
The Zulu might be a bit more comfortable and I like the cord better. I like the full motion swivel of the mic on the Sierra - can use on either the right of left side - the Zulu is limited to the left side.
My old ears can't hear a difference between them. The audio equalization feature in the Delta might be worth it, but I'm not quite that deaf yet.
182driver
Pre-Flight
I have 4 of the Zulu3 headsets and the 2 of them that I bought in 2020 and have used less and kept in their cases at home, which apparently was a mistake, have gooey plastic. The problem with the plastic deteriorating is NOT fixed in the Zulu3 line either. I would have followed Lightspeed's advice, had they given any. Removing the soft covering on the control box with rubbing alcohol did work on the other headsets, but my sticky Zulu3s have the problem where the band adjustment is and also on the plastic around the ear cups right next to the part that gets replaced with the refresher kit. Lightspeed knows about this problem but hasn't change their design and doesn't list the issue in theri FAQs. Not all plastics have this problem, and pretty much any materials engineer could fix the design.
Also, the headset I use most sometimes has a banging sound. This problem happened twice before with a different headsets and Lightspeed said the problem was "weak ANR" which isn't exactly root cause; it seems the ANR circuitry just goes out with use.
At this point, I've had four 20XLs, two Zulus, and four Zulu3 headsets. I've been a Lightspeed customer for decades, but the next time I need to buy a headset, I'm going to give one of the other brands a try and hope for better quality. I really can't think of anything worse to say about a company than to say that they drive very long-time customers away, but that's how it is.
Also, the headset I use most sometimes has a banging sound. This problem happened twice before with a different headsets and Lightspeed said the problem was "weak ANR" which isn't exactly root cause; it seems the ANR circuitry just goes out with use.
At this point, I've had four 20XLs, two Zulus, and four Zulu3 headsets. I've been a Lightspeed customer for decades, but the next time I need to buy a headset, I'm going to give one of the other brands a try and hope for better quality. I really can't think of anything worse to say about a company than to say that they drive very long-time customers away, but that's how it is.
JOhnH
Touchdown! Greaser!
Wiping all that goopy rubber stuff off the battery case with alcohol was much easier than I thought so that problem is resolved.
I'm still disappointed that I have to replace ear muffs and head muff so often. But I found a way to reduce that.
I sweat a lot in the airplane. (God I wish I had A/C). I used to leave the wet sweaty headset in the hot, humid plane and had to replace the muffs every year.
Since I started taking the headset home with me and storing them in my nice air conditioned house, I don't need to replace the muffs near as much.
I'm still disappointed that I have to replace ear muffs and head muff so often. But I found a way to reduce that.
I sweat a lot in the airplane. (God I wish I had A/C). I used to leave the wet sweaty headset in the hot, humid plane and had to replace the muffs every year.
Since I started taking the headset home with me and storing them in my nice air conditioned house, I don't need to replace the muffs near as much.