Sennheiser showed up at AirVenture with a new headset, the great looking S1, that is designed to compete directly with the Bose A20 and the Lightspeed Zulu.2 in the premium headset market. The S1 is an active noise canceling headset with dual monitoring mics (to sense the outside noise) and a good deal of passive attenuation to boot. It has a number of electronic value-added features, including treble boost and dual-channel Bluetooth. The sound is classic Sennheiser with great quality both coming in and going out.
The headset costs $1,095, which means its forte is not in being a bargain. Instead, Sennheiser is looking for its prestige and audio reputation — it makes some of the best recording and live sound mics and studio headsets in the world — to carry the day. The S1 certainly is a thing of beauty. We tried one out on a long trip and liked its performance. To read our full report, including how the S1 stacks up against the competition, check out the October issue of Flying.
