![]() Low would be used only when on the ground and communicating with crewmembers not wearing a headset, perhaps for an airline pilot when parked at the gate. It cancels enough noise to keep ATC communications clear, but without masking important audio cues. Most GA pilots will use high for all their flying-we tried medium in the Cirrus and didn’t last long-but for pilots flying business jets or airliners, the medium setting is a great option. For extra customization, the A30 offers three different ANR modes: high, medium, and low. While some headsets seem tuned for a specific noise environment, this one will take whatever you throw at it. In fact, the A30 did a great job canceling noise in every airplane we flew, from Cessna 172 to Cirrus to Pilatus to Citation. The A30 took it in stride: our test pilots reported a quiet enough flight that they could actually turn down the radio volume. Many ANR headsets struggle with this noise level, especially coming from two props on either side of the pilot, and we’ve experienced painful feedback or annoying buzzing in the past. For example, Sporty’s famous Piper Aztec is a very loud airplane, pegging the noise meter at over 115 db on takeoff. While the A30 didn’t blow us away with radically better noise reduction, it did work quite well and in a wider range of airplanes. So once again, we took it flying to see how it works in the real world. Noise reduction is a personal thing that has much more to do with how you perceive it than how a lab measures it (in fact, there really are no recognized standards for measuring ANR performance). This doesn’t fundamentally change how ANR works-it still uses microphones to listen to the noise and speakers to create a sound wave that cancels that noise-but it operates in a slightly different way. The A30 offers something entirely new, though: digital ANR. This seemed really insignificant when we read about it, but once you wear the headset it’s a nice improvement.īose pioneered active noise reduction (ANR) over 30 years ago, and since then they have produced some of the quietest headsets in aviation. That also means less pull on the earcup and thus less perceived weight. It’s noticeably thinner and lighter, which makes it less prone to tangling or twisting. One other small change has an impact on comfort: the cable. The headset feels more balanced overall, and the new headband pads seem to spread out the weight more evenly. ![]() The difference seems to be in how the weight is distributed. The Bose A30 also feels lighter, even if the specs show it’s almost the exact same weight at the A20. The new aluminum alloy headband and center spring mechanism, combined with really soft ear seals, work great. But with the A30, we basically forgot we were wearing a headset. On 3+ hour trips, even the A20 could start to feel a little uncomfortable, with hot spots on the side of your head or a dull headache. We believe it, especially after some long test flights. The A30 has noticeably less side pressure than the A20 (which was already our favorite in this category)-20% less squeeze by Bose’s measurements. The first thing we noticed on our test flights was the improved comfort. The A20 was a winner and Bose has doubled down on that, improving key features but without sacrificing performance. While that might disappoint a few gadget geeks, we predict it will satisfy the vast majority of pilots. It’s not wireless, it’s not made out of carbon fiber, and there are no VR goggles. This is a traditional, around-the-ear ANR headset with soft ear seals and a familiar-looking control box. Let’s be clear from the start: the A30 is not a radical departure for Bose. Here’s what we found after flying it in five different airplanes, ranging from a single engine piston to a twin engine jet. Could the A30 match its predecessor’s performance? The only way to answer that question is to fly it in a variety of airplanes, because test benches really don’t tell you much about how a headset feels. That reliability has always been a major strength for Bose, whose A20 headset has set the standard in aviation for over a decade. Sure, it has to be quiet and comfortable, but it also has to be incredibly reliable: we expect to turn it on and leave it on, without having to make adjustments or worry about it failing. A headset is one of the few products that gets used on every single flight, so our standards for evaluating them are sky high. When Bose told us about the A30, the legendary audio company’s first new around-ear headset in over a decade, we knew we had a lot of testing to do.
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