PFX = Personal Flying Experience Technology Adaptable To The Individual

By Tom Woodward

Lightspeed is about to introduce the Zulu PFX headset, which the company says is the quietest headset on the market. I say "about to" because the new Zulu PFX won't be available until the end of September, but if President and founder of Lightspeed, Alan Schrader delivers on the innovation promised, headsets will take a quantum leap. And why shouldn't we believe that Lightspeed will deliver as promised, they have been doing so since first arriving at AirVenture in 1996 and have hit more home runs than Lance Armstrong on steroids.

PFX stands for Personal Flying Experience which according to VP of Sale and Marketing, Theresa De Mers, "incorporates a host of technological advances that promise to deliver new levels of quiet by adapting ANR and audio responses to the user's ears, environment, and personal preferences."

PFX refers to a trio of proprietary innovations that allow the headset to adapt to its user and the cockpit environment, creating customized ANR responses and a personalized audio profile:

• Acoustic response mapping using sound waves and advanced signal processing to measure the user's ear size and shape, adapting the audio response to each pilots auditory landscape.
• Streaming Quiet dynamic ANR uses external ambient microphones to continuously sample cockpit noise before it penetrates the ear cup. A powerful digital processor analyzes microphone inputs one million times a second, instantly creating a customized ANR response.
• A variety of audio and other pilot preferences can be personalized using enhanced capabilities in FlightLink, the free, proprietary app developed by Lightspeed for the iPad and the iPhone. For example you can customize treble and bass for both your music and ATC inputs and you can do that for three different users!

New cables are built around a Kevlar core which improves upon the strength and flexibility of previous cables. The controller is not just a holder for the batteries but the CPU brains of the headset thus making it slightly larger than the Zulu.2 but Lightspeed addressed that as well. The wires to the CPU emanate from the same end so when inserting the CPU into the pocket it slides in with minimal effort. Also aiding in the "pocket cram" is the new tapered-end look of the CPU module but if you fly airplanes without a decent side pocket a hanging bracket is provided as well. The headset can be powered by the ships power and this will reduce the size of the CPU because the battery holder is eliminated. Future improvements to the software can be upgraded through computers running Apple or Windows operating systems. The PFX also enhances many of the features that make it's Zulu.2 headset so popular, including Auto Shutoff, ComPriority and full streaming Bluetooth connectivity.

We often expect incremental improvements in the products we buy because the manufacturers are always increasing their prices but we never expect such large improvements for virtually the same price. Proposed retail price is targeted at $1100 and Lightspeed is taking orders now.

With such a quantum leap in innovation and as an avid Lightspeed user myself, it has me asking, "What has Bose been doing lately"? My answer is Who Care? i have the best headset already.

FMI: www.lightspeedaviation.com