Ever since the Lightspeed Tango Wireless Headset was introduced in 2016, I’ve wanted to try it. The idea of no longer being tethered by cables to an aircraft is appealing, yet few headset manufacturers offer such a solution. So last month when I had a long ferry flight to move a Cirrus SR22 from Miami to Palo Alto, CA, I asked Lightspeed to lend me a Tango for use on the trip. They sent me one, and you can hear a full description of that trip, and the weather we encountered, in episode 131 of my Aviation News Talk podcast.
I’ve owned Lightspeed headsets for close to twenty years, and I currently own a Lightspeed Zulu 3 Aviation Headset and a Lightspeed Zulu PFX ANR Headset. I love Lightspeed’s Trade Up Program, which I’ve used many times over the years. It lets me preserve the value in my current headset by giving me credit when I trade it in for a newer Lightspeed headset model.
Let’s talk about the Tango Wireless Headset. First, there are two pieces to the headset. There is the headset itself, which looks much like any other headset, except that it doesn’t have any cables or wires hanging off of it. And there is a separate dongle which plugs into the headset jacks of the aircraft.
There are two versions of the dongle. One has the standard pair of GA headset plugs used in most GA aircraft. The other version has a single LEMO connector, and that’s the version I tried. The benefit of the LEMO connector is it takes up less space than the two standard jacks for traditional headset plugs. And, the connector receives power from the aircraft, so it can be used to power any of the common noise reduction headsets you might buy from Lightspeed or Bose. And the benefit of that is that you'll never have to buy batteries again for your ANR headset, as it receives power from the plane. Many modern new aircraft, like the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, ship with LEMO connectors, and if you have an older plane, you can have your mechanic or avionics shop add the LEMO jacks to your plane.
Getting back to the Tango headset, it needs power for both the headset and for the dongle. The headset battery is a small rechargeable battery that last up to 12 hours in flight. The dongle uses the same battery. So after a flight, you need to recharge both batteries. But here’s the beauty of the LEMO connection version of the Tango headset. Its dongle gets power through the LEMO connector, so it doesn’t need a battery. But it does hold a battery, which it keeps fully charged throughout your flight. Then, if the battery in your headset dies, you just swap the dead battery in the headset with the fully charged battery in the dongle, and you’re back in business. This makes the LEMO setup up ideal, as you can leave your headset in the plane, and you never have to charge any batteries after the flight. But if you have the GA plug version, you’ll need to recharge both batteries after a long flight, or after several shorter flights.
The Lightspeed Tango also has a great backup system. If your headset battery were to fail and you didn’t have the LEMO version that keeps the spare battery fully charged, there’s a wire in the dongle you can attach to the headset. After you connect the wire, the Tango essentially works like a conventional wired headset, though the ANR noise reduction no longer works, as that requires battery power. The LEMO connector version has the same backup wire, though I didn’t try this feature, and it’s unlikely you would ever need it on the LEMO version, since you always have a spare battery being charged in the dongle.
I used the headset for about five hours straight on one of our legs home, and I really liked it. It fit my ears and head comfortably, and it was particularly handy at one point when I had to climb into the back seat. The lights in our baggage compartment had come on, and they were bright enough that I thought they might make our night landing more difficult, so I climbed into the back seat and taped some paper over the two lights so they wouldn’t be as bright. The entire time, I had the Tango headset on, and it was a real joy to not have to worry about getting caught in any cables—because it’s a wireless headset and there aren’t any cables—while I climbed between the front seats to get into the back.
I didn’t try this, but I also think the Tango would be awesome when I preflight a plane and there’s another noisy aircraft running its engine nearby. Often in those situations, I’ll wear my headset when I’m outside the plane preflighting. And with the Tango, I’d be able to do that without having to stuff all of the cables in my pocket, which is what I currently do. Also, it seems like the Tango would be the perfect headset to bring along when flying as a passenger on the airlines, since you wouldn’t have any cables hanging from it.
Here are some other things I like about the Tango. First, the stereo/mono switch is very large and can be easily moved with your finger. And you may need to set that switch, especially if you’re flying in a newer aircraft set up for stereo headsets. If, when you jump into a newer plane, you can only hear in one ear, you need to change the stereo/mono switch. On some other headsets, the switch is so small you need the end of a paperclip or maybe a pen to change it. By contrast, the switch on the Tango is large and easy to move with your finger. I also love how the cables coming out of the dongle can be easily wound up inside the dongle, with just enough cable extending from the dongle to reach the headset connector in your airplane.
By the way, Bluetooth pairing is already taken care of at the factory. However, if you have multiple Tangos and worry about mixing up the headsets and dongles, Lightspeed provide some tiny colored plastic clips that you can put on your dongles and headsets, so you can easily identify which dongle goes with which headset.
Before I flew with the Tango, I read a review that said that the audio quality using the Tango is not as good as using a wired headset. And when I used it, I did notice the Tango’s audio sounded more tinny than other headsets. But frankly, after wearing it for a minute, I totally forgot about the audio difference, and didn’t think about it again while wearing it for the next five hours. So yes, if you’re an audiophile, you might not like the Tango’s audio quality. But to my old pilot ears, the difference didn’t really matter. I liked the freedom of not having any wires connecting me to the airplane.
The Lightspeed Tango Wireless headset is $800, and I really liked it. And just so you know, I received no compensation from Lightspeed for writing this, though I could earn a small fee from Amazon if you purchase a Tango using this link, and you’ll pay the same price any way.
Max Trescott is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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