PIREP Bose A30

Ventucky Red

Ventucky Red

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I know with Bose; ever since the advent (see what I did there?) of the 901 speakers, you’re often paying at least partly for the name. But I have to ask: are the A30 aviation headsets really that good to justify the $1,300 price tag?

That said, for those who have them, would you buy them again? What do you like, what don’t you like, and do I really need Bluetooth connectivity?

I used to have a pair of Lightspeed Zulu 3s, but I literally had to keep the mic right up against my lips or ATC would let me know about it. I’ve since reverted to my old first-gen David Clark ANR set (the good old 9-volt brick), but with “’tis the season” coming up, I’m thinking about pulling the trigger on something new and letting passengers use the DC.

Thanks
 
No they’re not. I’ve got many hours wearing the A30’s. I don’t think anyone would be able to convince me that the ANR is better on the Bose than the Light Speed. In fact, the ANR with the Sierra’s, in my experience, is nearly identical as the Bose.
 
I flew with my A20s for many years, and decided to upgrade to A30 when I needed a 2nd headset. I'm still getting acclimated to the A30, but if I had to do it over again I'd probably look for another A20. The A30 is just so light and has so little clamping force, it doesn't seem to seal as well or easily as the A20. The only other ANR I have experience with is a converted DC headset, which is a different beast as it still has the passive noise reduction characteristics with the added ANR technology. That works way better in very loud warbirds. I nearly went deaf trying to use my A20 in the backseat of a P-51.
 
I've had (almost) all of them, the Lightspeeds, the Bose, lots of different models. I started with the very first Bose aviation headset out there, the Series I.

Bose remains the gold standard. I personally sort of prefer the A20 for pistons vs. the A30, but I like the A30 better in jets. Like midwestpa24, the clamping force is just light enough that it seems to affect the overall noise reduction in noisy airplanes.

I've had a couple of different uflymike setups with the QC15, QC25, etc. Loved those in jets, and have used them in a pinch in pistons - but not ideal for that.

I did not care for the Pro Flight 2s, I gave those away.

Lightspeed comfort/ANR is similar to what you'll experience with the Bose. But even today, the durability doesn't match the Bose over-ear products, in my opinion. I'm a very heavy duty user so this is a big deal to me, but if you only fly occasionally the Lightspeeds match up a little better. The braided cords are more durable than previous models. But they still use a rubber compound that oddly degrades/gets sticky over time, so I've really never been able to recommend Lightspeed over Bose, even though I've owned quite a few of their products.

To Lightspeed's credit, their customer service is great, so that's something.

I've always recommended Bose. Very few folks come away disappointed.
 
Ventucky Red said:
I know with Bose; ever since the advent (see what I did there?) of the 901 speakers, you’re often paying at least partly for the name. But I have to ask: are the A30 aviation headsets really that good to justify the $1,300 price tag?

That said, for those who have them, would you buy them again? What do you like, what don’t you like, and do I really need Bluetooth connectivity?

I used to have a pair of Lightspeed Zulu 3s, but I literally had to keep the mic right up against my lips or ATC would let me know about it. I’ve since reverted to my old first-gen David Clark ANR set (the good old 9-volt brick), but with “’tis the season” coming up, I’m thinking about pulling the trigger on something new and letting passengers use the DC.

Thanks
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I think the price of both the Lightspeed and Bose headsets for 30 year old ANR technology with Bluetooth integration is nuts. The price of ANR headsets has far outpaced inflation over the period. Unfortunately the other competitors produce a very low quality product.
 
Poor CFI/CFI here. I've had a pair of DC H10-13x for 18 years which I brought 2nd hand for 250 dollars. Still work but needs a new cable which is 200 dollars.

Brought a used close to new replacement headset for 150 dollars off eBay.

Maybe not the best ANR headset but I got 6000 hours out the first pair.

Should see my out till I fly west. Not sure you can say the same about Bose.
 
Bathman said:
Poor CFI/CFI here. I've had a pair of DC H10-13x for 18 years which I brought 2nd hand for 250 dollars. Still work but needs a new cable which is 200 dollars.

Brought a used close to new replacement headset for 150 dollars off eBay.

Maybe not the best ANR headset but I got 6000 hours out the first pair.

Should see my out till I fly west. Not sure you can say the same about Bose.
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Can't beat DC for the quality
 
I've owned DC One-X, Bose A20, A30 and Lightspeed DZ. I now have 3 DC One-X's and a A30. The A20 had great ANR and good ear seals but was a bit rough on my noggin after a few hour flight. The A30 was/is more comfortable on my head, but with less clamping force, I would get 'bleed through' of ambient noise when truning my head. The LS DZ was comfortable, had large ear pads but would have more 'bleed through' when turning my head during ground operations and I just couldn't get a warm and fuzzy feel for them.

I wear hearing aids when I fly and the Bose ear pads are the smallest of the headsets mentioned. I get some feedback at times while wearing the Bose; they are fine in flight with my hearing aids out. The LS DZ had plenty of room to accomodate the aids...so that was a plus in spite of my other dislikes. For my head/ears, the DC One-X has the least compromises and great ANR/comfort. If you can try before you buy, that would be best because headset preference is very personal.
 
Bluetooth is worth having for phone calls to Clearance (for the time being, anyway). As to the rest of the questions, no one else can tell you what's best for your head in your cockpit.

I've had ANR headsets almost since they arrived. They're great for preventing fatigue, but I'm not convinced they're as protective as the passives. ANR works primarily on low frequencies, which is where the fatigue comes from. But hearing damage comes from the high frequencies, where ANR doesn't do much. Passives reduce all frequencies. With that in mind, the most protective might be the DC H10-13X.
 
Have migrated to Clark One-X over the ear ANC headsets. Also have A20 and A30 headsets. Any are ok for one leg of 1-3 hours. Only the Clarks can I wear for a whole day. Bose has a little better ANC and/or the extra clamping force keeps out some of the rumble. But the difference is not worth it over a long day in terms of in-flight and post-flight comfort. YMMV.
 
I recently returned a brand new LightSpeed 3 since it was making crackling noises continuously, punctuated by very loud popping noises at random times. This was quite a dissapointment to me as all the reviews I read of this model were glowing. I then found out another trusted pilot I fly with had exactly the same experience with his new LightSpeed and had to have it repaired by LightSpeed. This is not a result I'd expect from new $900 headsets. So now I'm agonizing between choosing a Dave Clark ONE-X or a Bose A30 to replace the LightSpeed. The "PIREPS" related here are helpful, yet there does not seem to be unanimity on the issue of DC-ONE versus Bose. I'm tilting towards Dave Clark at the moment. One reason is that they seem to be longterm players in the aviation field with lots of experience and a good following, while Bose is really a consumer audio company that sort of entered this market recently.
 
OneCharlieTango said:
Bluetooth is worth having for phone calls to Clearance (for the time being, anyway). As to the rest of the questions, no one else can tell you what's best for your head in your cockpit.
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Unless you have BT in your audio panel. I rarely use the headset BT with a PS450.
 
The LEMO jacks on the Bose are great to get in flight power from the panel. I don’t have to worry about batteries anymore. Do others offer this?

Have tried other ones but always reverted back to Bose.
 
mandm said:
The LEMO jacks on the Bose are great to get in flight power from the panel. I don’t have to worry about batteries anymore. Do others offer this?

Have tried other ones but always reverted back to Bose.
Click to expand...
My Delta Zulu, and my maule, have lemo jacks. It's a shame more planes don't have them. I'm a total fanboy now.
 
I've owned a20's for years. Bought a30's and lasted exactly one 20 minute flight. Imperceptibly lighter. Slight more comfortable. However, that comfort meant less clamping force which means every time I talked, turned my head, or clenched my jaw the seal would break and anr would go out.

Bought the DZ's as I have a pair of old pfx's I liked but ATE batteries. After years of flying with the a20's I didn't realize how tight the earcups are. On a 6 hour xc I'd have to take them off and let my ears breathe. The DZ cups are much deeper and I no longer have that problem. Plus the co detector is nice having. I bought mine and it came with 2 rechargeable batteries and the AA battery pack. The hearing equity they have is like the difference between am/fm radio. I sent mine in when the Zulu 4 came out with a longer mic boom. Free of charge they gave me the longer boom, new headband, ear seals, software update, and extended the warranty 3 years. I had an issue with the squelch on the dz but that was a simple dip switch adjustment
 
I won a pair of A30’s in a raffle and they’re fine for the 747, if a bit bulky to carry around. I used a telex 850 and David Clark DC Pro-X for decades before the A30. In the Carbon Cub the A20’s slightly better passive noise cancelling (clamp) makes a noticeable difference. That plane came with a pair of A20’s and they are on the light side for a rag and tube airplane’s noise. Luckily one set of A20’s is built into a helmet which adds at least another 10 dB of passive noise cancelling.
 
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