One AVweb Reader Talks About His New LightSPEED 20K Active Noise Reduction (ANR) Headset

Editorial Staff

Saturday, October 11, 1997 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The LightSPEED "20K" ANR headset is presented as a formidable rival to Bose ANR headsets, offering impressive performance.
It is described as lighter, more comfortable, and providing better low-frequency noise attenuation than the Bose Series I set.
Despite slightly lower stereo music fidelity compared to Bose, its significantly lower cost (over 1/3 less) makes it the best value ANR headset on the market.

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Date:	25-Jul-97 18:59:17
Subject:	Bose ANR Rival
From:	Rob Morgan (robmorg@bellatlantic.net)
To:	All

I just bought a new ANR headset that is the closest thing to the Bose that I have ever seen or heard. After reading the review of the LightSPEED “20K” ANR headset on AVweb, I ordered a pair. They arrived today, so I flew with them this evening.

I regularly fly with a Bose Series I set, so I was able to make a very good comparison between the two units. Everything Mike Busch said in the review is true, if not more so. They are lighter than the Bose and I think more comfortable, if that’s possible. You can hardly feel them on your head, yet they make a tight seal. Low frequency noise attenuation was better than the Bose – these sets have ANR systems that compare about equally from an electronic standpoint, but they make a better seal on your head, so they are even more quiet.

Stereo music from my CD system did not have quite the fidelity as it does on the Bose, but it was certainly acceptable, and far better than the Telex ANR or any other headset I have tried. If I hadn’t been used to listening to music with the Bose set, I would have thought the music reproduction on the LightSPEED to be extremely good. Voice reproduction is excellent.

At a little over 1/3 the cost of the Bose ANR headset, the LightSpeed 20K is the best value in ANR headsets available, in my opinion. Watch out Bose – you now have a formidable rival on the market at a “realistic” price.

– Rob Morgan (robmorg@bellatlantic.net)

P.S. This message may sound like I’m selling the things, but I have no motive here except that I was so impressed with them tonight, I wanted to tell others about this “find.”