FEBRUARY 2007 LOOP XTRA
9
TELEX STRATUS 30XT
TELEX STRATUS 30XT
‘It soon
PRICE: £349 APPROX
became
apparent that
comfort is a
big design
driver’
Comfortzone
Ultra sturdy mid-priced ANR headset
ELEX has been a leading
manufacturer of dependable, top-
T
of-the-line communication
equipment for 75 years. According to the
company, more than 70% of commercial
airline pilots use Telex headsets.
The Stratus 30XT is the latest offering
featuring ANR, a built-in battery
recharger, 50 hours of battery life, plus a
thick foam headband and newly
❚ Hard-wearing 30XT is built to last.
designed, more comfortable ear cushions.
There is an LED light that flashes once
when you turn the ANR on but it doesn’t
remain illuminated. This LED flashes
green several times when you turn it off –
I’d prefer to see a constant green when
the ANR is on.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
THERE’S no getting away from it,
the Telex Stratus 30XT is a
substantial headset – the
biggest of all the ones we’ve
tested.
It soon became apparent
that comfort is a big design
driver. The Stratus has
quarter-inch thick ear
cushions and a well padded
headband. The padding does
IN THE CIRRUS SR22
YOU can definitely feel the difference in
size compared to other headsets but the
Telex is also extremely comfortable.
After putting it on, cockpit noise
reduced considerably and my voice was
make it feel a lot lighter than its clear in the earcups. However, the first
weight of 520 grams.
The materials are all high
sentence I heard was pilot Russ joking
that I looked like Mickey Mouse.
quality and it looks like a rugged,
dependable headset that will
withstand years of use.
With the ANR turned on, the headset
performed even better. The only worry
was that because of its sideways size it
felt like I could knock the headset off
when turning my head left and right.
The headset carrycase is different
to other manufacturers – it isn’t a bag in
its own right; it’s simply for keeping
everything together so you can keep it in
your flight case or flying bag.
The headset cord is very long. The
battery box is unique as it has a built-in
recharger but it isn’t designed as well as
the headset itself – the battery cover is
awkward to remove and feels like it
might break if you’re too heavy-handed.
The two grey control buttons don’t sit
IN THE PA28
THE Stratus performed very well in the
PA28 too and the radio hiss wasn’t as
pronounced as in other headsets. It felt
like Telex had designed this headset with
the PA28 in mind.
The ANR worked extremely well to cut
out engine noise and this combined with
the comfort would make a long flight, say
very straight in the battery box which lets a day trip to France, less fatiguing.
it down slightly.
VERDICT
THE 360° LOOK
A RUGGED mid-priced ANR headset built
FEATURES
to last with lots of padding and comfort
with above-average audio quality.
The Telex performed well with and
without the ANR turned on and I reckon
this is the ANR headset you should go for
if you have a noisy cockpit and don’t want
to spend a fortune.
Weight 520g
Passive Not published
Active Not published
Total 30dB
Batteries 2 AA, built in
recharger
Battery life 50 hours
Auto shut-off Yes
Mic Noise-cancelling electret
Mobile phone jack Yes
Music interface Yes
Warranty 5 years
The build quality is superb and a
headset like this should last the course of
many years of use.
Expect some mickey taking because of
its size but if comfort is high on your list
and you like well-padded gear then go for
this.
FRONT
RIGHT
BACK
LEFT
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