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I had to buy a brace of four headsets, so I decided to get four different
kinds, a Lightspeed 20XL, a Lightspeed QFR passive, a SoftComm C-100
Centurion, and a Telex Echelon 150. They range in price from $140 (the QFR
passive) to $400 (the C-100). I used all four in a Piper Archer, and here
are the results. (I have no connection to any headset company).

First, the main result is, they all worked OK.

The differences in the amount of noise reduction were subtle. The C-100 was
a bit louder than average, and the 20XL may by a bit quieter, but they were
all decent.

They are all reasonably comfortable, with the C-100 and 20XL both being a
bit more comfortable than the other two.

Leaving an ANR headset turned on and running down the batteries is an issue.
(I did this a lot with my old Peltors.) The four headsets deal with the
batter problem in four completely different ways, and all four ways are
adequate. The 20XL has an automatic shutoff. The Telex has an external
battery pack that is obtrusive enough that it is difficult to forget when
putting the headset into a flightbag, but is easily tucked into a map pocket
during flight. The QFR is passive, so it has no batteries. The C-100 is
powered by the airplane intercom circuit, and so has no batteries.

The QFR and the Echelon both fold up for compact storage, while the C100 and
the 20XL do not.

Each headset has unique advantages and disadvantages.

The Lightspeed XL is marginally the most comfortable and the quietest, but
is by far the largest of the four. Compared to the Echelon, the 20XL takes
up literally twice as much room in the flightbag.

The QFR is by far the cheapest (<$150) is just as quiest as the active
units, and is compact and adequately comfortable. However, its sound
quality is inferior to the active units.

The C100 gives you active ANR without batteries, and has the lowest head
clamping pressure. On the downside, it was a bit noisier than the others,
even with it adjustable noise reduction turned up as high as possible, and
was the most expensive of the four, at about $400.

The Echelon 150 does everything moderately well, and is somewhat cheaper
than the 20XL and the C-100. It folds up compactly (a big issue for me.)
It will be my personal headset, but not by a huge margin.

Overall, between these four, choose by price and by the intensity of your
personal feelings on size, sound quality, and on having to buy batteries.

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