Premium ANR Headset Evaluation – One Year Later

David Clark DC ONE-X vs. LightSpeed Zulu 3

Just as impressive as they were on day one!

As those familiar with our ongoing equipment evaluations might recall, our ‘Best of the Best’ ANR Headset evaluation in late 2019 compared the LightSpeed Zulu 3 against the David Clark DC ONE-X in multiple performance categories. The detailed comparison results based on the experiences of seven passengers & crew (both veteran airmen & novices) over eleven legs & 30+ flight hours in IFR and VFR weather conditions ranging from hot, sunny Texas to cold, rainy Seattle are reprinted, below. Note, these are actual flights – not 5-minute, in-store ‘egg’ tests!

The testers – particularly the veteran aircrew - were simply amazed with the incredible comfort and performance these premium ANR headsets provided, summarizing our collective experiences as follows:

Both the DC ONE-X and Zulu 3 are so good, you’ll end up throwing rocks at your current headsets. The performance of the Zulu 3 and DC ONE-X is so very exceptional that selecting between the two comes down to personal preference rather than performance.

Since our initial testing, David Clark made minor but noticeable upgrades to their DC ONE-X, incorporating Hybrid Electronic Noise Cancellation w/ advanced feed-forward/feed-back technology, DSP to ensure high-fidelity audio for superior communications and music listening & a low-profile, Outlast® vented, head pad to absorb excess heat and eliminate 'hot spots'

With over 80 hours use during the last year (despite COVID-19 testing delays), our opinion has not changed a bit – the LightSpeed Zulu 3 and the David Clark DC ONE-X are the two best ANR headsets available and should be on the wish list of every pilot and co-pilot. The noise cancelling, audio sound quality, reliability/durability & extended battery life of each are just as good now as on the first flight. Our ‘typical’ flight legs are 4-5 hours and the comfort of these two headsets cannot be overstated. Simply remarkable! They just seem to ‘disappear’.

Don’t take our word for it, try them for yourselves … but be forewarned – you’ll be hooked!