Delta Zulu Mic Gain adjustment

[Hang 4]

I bought a Lightspeed Delta Zulu at Sun n Fun this year. Main reason was for the adjustable profile for your hearing and the CO detector. Both of those work great. The one thing that vexes me is the mic gain adjustment. When I first got them, I was hard to get the sidetone to break through, even with the mic touching my lips. I turned the gain up a bit and that improved it. I didn't use them for most of the summer as it's darn hot in FL, so I used my Clarity Aloft. I had a long flight where I decided to move back to the DZ. I kept getting a "we can't understand you" from ATC. Switched headsets and all was good with ATC.

Lightspeed's explanation of mic gain is as follows "mic gain adjustment, which adjusts the sensitivity of the microphone to help balance loud and soft voices you hear in a multi-headset environment" This is as clear as mud to me. I'm trying to come up with the best way to adjust the gain to get it to work well. Other than when it breaks sidetone, I can't tell any difference in voice quality from changing the gain setting. I would imagine that too much gain causes voice to be garbled, but surprised that it's not reflected in the sidetone, which is clear at all settings.

Short of flying with a screwdriver and finding a very quiet sector with bored controllers, any suggestions on how to test adjusting the gain?

 

[Kent Wien]

Their customer service is one of the best I’ve come across. Give them a call and see if they have any ideas. My Delta Zulus have never had a complaint from controllers.

 

[robin ardoin]

I had the gain turned to max and still had to have the mic uncomfortably rubbing on my lips to break the VOX On the DZ’s. I sold them by the end of the month of purchase. For what it’s worth I also find Bose A20 and A30’s have similar issues for me. It must be something in the tone of my voice. My One X’s are flawless. I thought it could be my intercom/audio panel but my CFI uses my plane periodically and his A30’s are fine for him. Go figure. Anyone want to trade an A20 for a One X?

 

[FPK1]

I had to increase the volume one click on a Zulu 3 but I've never had any problems with the Delta Zulu. I don't know if I'd carry a screwdriver with me, but you might just dial it up two clicks and test it on your next flight and if it's still low, dial it up another two clicks...

Telex Status 50 was my favorite headset, but discontinued years ago. Zulu 3 has served me well but the Delta Zulu is even better, IMO.

 

[Jim_CAK]

I would give tech support a try. It is hit and miss on the experience level of the support person that answers the phone at any company. Hopefully you will get someone that is helpful. Lightspeed has a good reputation for support. I have had Z3s for a long time.

I just bought a new set of Delta Zulus. I love the headset but could not get the headset mic to work over Bluetooth with my iPhone when making a phone call.
The first tech support guy had me look at a few settings on the phone and eventually suggested I call Apple for support. I tried to explain to him I had multiple blue tooth headsets that the mics worked fine with the phone.
I emailed the Lightspeed sales manager that did the headset demo and asked him to get someone in tech support to help. In the mean time - I looked up the dip switch settings and found one called Mic Bias. I changed the dip switch setting and the mic now works with the phone. I few days later a new tech support guy did get back to me with a better explanation of the dip switch settings.

As an FYI - I wear hearing aids and the hearing profile adjustments in these headsets is fantastic. You run through the hearing test with the headset and the app to establish a profile. It will amplify the the frequency ranges where the hearing loss occurs.
I can also leave my hearing aids in with this headset and it does not cause interference with the hearing aids. I have other headsets that cause static in the hearing aids.