Bose A30 vs A20

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Brad schneider

Filing Flight Plan
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Dec 16, 2018
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Brad
I’m in the market for a headset for my wife. Started reading some reviews on the new A30. Surprisingly there was a fair amount of less than stellar reviews. I currently have a set of A20’s and haven’t had any problems or concerns with them. Wondering if I should upgrade to the A30 and pass down the A20 or just get a 2nd set of A20’s. Have any of you tried out the A30 and what’s your opinion of them?
 
Brad schneider said:
I’m in the market for a headset for my wife. Started reading some reviews on the new A30. Surprisingly there was a fair amount of less than stellar reviews. I currently have a set of A20’s and haven’t had any problems or concerns with them. Wondering if I should upgrade to the A30 and pass down the A20 or just get a 2nd set of A20’s. Have any of you tried out the A30 and what’s your opinion of them?
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Buy one and pass down the A20. Bose offers a 30-day flight trial. If you don't like it, return the A30 and pass the A20 back up.
 
I have both. Less clamping force on the 30 makes it more comfortable on my head. Sound quality and noise attenuation is splitting hairs. I actually prefer my DC One-X over either Bose. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
 
I wear ANR headsets nearly every day.

I have several copies of the Bose A20 and one pair of the Bose A30. Plus a Zulu 3. Also have a couple of QC headsets. I tried out the Bose Pro Flight 2 for a few flights and gave them away. Of course my application (bizav + GA) isn't pure GA.

I prefer the A20 for GA. Yes, it's more clamping force, but not significantly more, and I can only tell the difference after about 8 hours on the flight deck - and that isn't going to be a factor in piston airplanes. The "science" may disagree but I perceive greater noise reduction with the A20s in my little Twin Comanche and typical single engine pistons (172, Archer, etc.)

The A30 is quite nice on the flight deck of an ultra long-range business jet due primarily to the excellent ANR, great bluetooth audio, less clamping force, and the ability to swap the mic left to right pretty easily. I am very pleased. However, for GA flying I certainly wouldn't make the investment if I already owned a pair of A20s. I'd keep using the A20s and upgrade only when necessary.

After many years of Bose knocking it out of the park, I would say that the original Pro Flight was a true stumble and the Pro Flight 2 was a quick fix which made a reasonable number of people happy, but not me. The A30 is such an incremental upgrade to a powerhouse product that there's no reason to bother with it unless your A20 is dying or you don't own a high quality ANR headset in the first place. It will be interesting to see if Bose's competitors pounce on the miscues over the next couple of years.
 
Can't help with A20 vs A30, but I always thought it's cool that the Zulus have a built-in CO monitor.
 
I had a problem with the a-30. With the less clamping force, if I turned my head, talked, or clenched my teeth it would break the seal and would hear a bassy noise for that split second. I tried to adjust but nothing helped. Maybe I've just got a wonky misshapen head. I didn't have this problem on any of the 4 a-20s I've tried however. The levels of noise cancellation is also completely useless. I'm not sure why one would want less noise cancellation in any environment, but especially GA with how crappy the bose are when you forget to turn em on.
 
Racerx said:
I had a problem with the a-30. With the less clamping force, if I turned my head, talked, or clenched my teeth it would break the seal and would hear a bassy noise for that split second. I tried to adjust but nothing helped. Maybe I've just got a wonky misshapen head. I didn't have this problem on any of the 4 a-20s I've tried however. The levels of noise cancellation is also completely useless. I'm not sure why one would want less noise cancellation in any environment, but especially GA with how crappy the bose are when you forget to turn em on.
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Your head is not the issue unless we have the same deformity. ;) I have the same issue with the A30. Also, the VOX ‘cut in’ sensitivity requires a higher vocal volume to activate the mic than my One X leading to clipping of the beginning of my transmission. They are relegated to passenger use now.
 
Thanks for the responses. The last 2 responses are some of the concerns I’ve read about.
 
After trying the A30 tracked down a NOS A20 as a second headset and happy to have done so. Yes, after 8-10 hours the A20s are clampy, but those days are not that common and the music fidelity is better than the Lightspeed Zulu III also used. On really long flights will sometimes switch to the Zulus as they are almost as good, but less clamping force. YMMV.

@BoseX user - the A20 is vastly better in noise cancellation. I made the jump about ten years ago and never looked back.
 
infrequentFlyer said:
Can't help with A20 vs A30, but I always thought it's cool that the Zulus have a built-in CO monitor.
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I think it’s only the new Delta Zulu from Lightspeed that has the CO monitor? None of the Zulu models had one.

Definitely a nice differentiating factor though between the Bose and the Delta Zulu. The DZ also has the equalizer, which is not available from Bose.
 
I didn't find the equalization function to be overly useful but I do wear hearing aids tuned for my frequency losses so that may have been a factor. As far as the CO monitor, it is life limited and will have to have the sensor replaced every 5 years or so. I use a $70 unit adhered to my panel that would be less trouble to replace when the time comes. I think these two points are gimmicky on the DZ's. Pluses are that they are very comfortable on my head and the cord is very flexible and made of a durable material. I sold them after a month and bought a set of A-30's....which sit in the back seat and my One-X's are my go to.....:rolleyes:. Go figure. I think headsets are a very personal thing....what I find works best for me may not work at all for another. I strongly suggest trying before you buy. Some retailers allow a grace period to return a headset if it is not to your liking. In my opinion, there is merit to buying from such an outlet even it it may cost a little more.
 
Racerx said:
I had a problem with the a-30. With the less clamping force, if I turned my head, talked, or clenched my teeth it would break the seal and would hear a bassy noise for that split second. I tried to adjust but nothing helped. Maybe I've just got a wonky misshapen head. I didn't have this problem on any of the 4 a-20s I've tried however. The levels of noise cancellation is also completely useless. I'm not sure why one would want less noise cancellation in any environment, but especially GA with how crappy the bose are when you forget to turn em on.
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Bose announced the A30 a couple months after I bought the Delta Zulu. I tried the A30 on at OSH, and this was the overall impression I came away with as well.
 
Kind of glad to see this thread. I've been searching for a new ANR headset for the significant other. I have a 12 year A20 that I use regularly for, but would like to add another.
 
I'm happy with my A20's. No issues and I have an XXL size head.
 
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