Could it be that the Bose A20 is too good? Is that possible? Guess I should explain my hypothesis.

So I'm a Lightspeed guy. Zulu's and PFX's. All but one of them Lemo plugs. With the recent purchase of the 185 I found myself one headset short as the 185 doesn't have Lemo plugs- not yet anyway. And my electrical genius has been working up on the Slope so I needed another traditional two jack headset.

You'd think it would be obvious that I'd buy another Lightspeed. But I've had some people with smaller heads (which is like 99% of the rest of the world) tell me the Lightspeeds aren't tight enough on their ears while wearing sunglasses. So as a courteous host I decided to buy a Bose A20.

Comfortable enough but on my first flight with them after an hour they suddenly had loud continuous static that matched the rpm of the engine. Could have been ignition or alternator static I suppose.

A call to Aircraft Spruce (where I purchased them) led to a call to Bose, who told me to call Spruce and tell them to replace them with a new set. A month later I had a new set. Took em up in the SQ2 to ensure they worked then put them in the 185.

Well yesterday I took them on a two hour flight in the 185. When I came back and landed and added power to taxi up the runway I could just barely make out the noise from the engine and propellor, and this is a 550 with an 88" three blade. Yea I've got this constant air leak going on in my head, and yea I have a hard time understanding what women with high voices are saying (not the volume but the words), but I've never had a problem hearing the engine and propellor on any plane.

So that begs the question, could the Bose A20 be too good?

Excellent product to be sure. And I've had to send Lightspeed's back to the factory as well so no foul there. Hopefully the Lemos will be in the 185 later this week so I won't become too attached to the Bose. And now I'll have a headset for those that fly with me who have smaller heads and bigger sunglasses then I do.

I had a warranty issue with my A20 early on and they covered the overnight shipping to and from. The headset has been perfect since.

I've got a lot of a couple thousand hours on mine in 207s, 737s, and now my Sedan. For me, I can't imagine a better headset. Everybody has a different definition of comfort but mine fits like the proverbial glove and silenced even the orneriest of 207s.

For those of us with big ears, Bose headsets are worse than waterboarding. Their ear ups are just a wee bit smaller than anyone else’s.

I can stand about 45 minutes of that.....but no more.

Lightspeed headsets fit me fine.

MTV

Same for me as what MTV said. Bose are horrible for me, Lightspeeds are great. Lightspeeds are horrible for my wife and Bose are wonderful for her, go figure. My take on ANR headsets is performance is dependent on the shape of your head in the ear area and how well the seal is. Kinda like a skate, shoe or ski boot. some fits some and some fits others.

Kurt

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Call me crazy, but in little airplanes, I despise ANR headsets. I really like to be able to hear the wind noise and engine noise. Just gives me a better feel for the airplane.

I just got some lemo powered a20’s. Put the plug in the cub during rebuild. Nothing worse than the battery’s going dead while flying. What made me get the bose is the fact now you can Bluetooth music, and you can put batteries in, and with a 60 dollar adapter, use them in standard headset jacks. I’ve got close to a thousand hours on Zulu 2’s and so far like the bose better. They are way lighter and fit me better.

RKTX wrote:Call me crazy, but in little airplanes, I despise ANR headsets. I really like to be able to hear the wind noise and engine noise. Just gives me a better feel for the airplane.

I picked up a weird low frequency resonance a couple times I tried a Bose in my Cub. It sounded like the bass turned all the way up and constantly humming, absolutely miserable. Earplugs are my preference, but a PNR headset isn’t bad.

The only other time I’ve used a Bose was in a buddy’s Cardinal and it was similar to Phil’s experience. It’s a little unsettling for the engine to be so quiet on takeoff, maybe you get used to it and it’s not a big deal.

You know I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I actually prefer the very slightly noisier Lightspeed, I like hearing what the engine is doing, especially when working slow. Of course I could just turn off the ANR, still pretty quiet.

I have a set of Zulu PFX’s, and my wife has a set of Bose A20.... I find myself wearing he A20s when I fly alone. I like them better for some reason. If someone wants to buy my Zulu PFXs send me a PM I think I’ll replace them with another set of A20s.

G44 wrote:Same for me as what MTV said. Bose are horrible for me, Lightspeeds are great. Lightspeeds are horrible for my wife and Bose are wonderful for her, go figure. My take on ANR headsets is performance is dependent on the shape of your head in the ear area and how well the seal is. Kinda like a skate, shoe or ski boot. some fits some and some fits others.

Kurt

Kurt nailed it. Wear different headsets for a flight or two, and find the one that FITS you best.......that is 90% of the functionality equation, frankly.

I’ve lost waaaay too much hearing to not take advantage of ANR devices. Recently I asked my doctor of audiology if I should wear my hearing aids in the plane with headsats, and he said absolutely. Then I asked his opinion of ANR technology....his response was that it’s the best thing to come along in ages for protecting ones hearing.

Lightspeed’s work for me. They were the first to provide Bluetooth....Bose took a few years to jump on that wagon. Lemo plugs? Criminal, my Lightspeeds run for almost thirty hours on two AA batteries. And I can move them to any airplane.

Find what works for you, but from one who has lost a lot of hearing, don’t cheap out on hearing protection.

MTV

After flying with A20's for about a year in my 180, CFI lessons in 172's, and towing gliders in super cub and pawnee, I can hear the wind noise and engine noise cues just as I could before. I think it just takes a little re-learning what they sound like through ANR since their much more subtle. Can still hear the difference between 700rpm and 1000rpm idle in the pawnee. And they make towing for 6 hours a day at full throttle much nicer.

I liked the Zulu's fine overall but they did not fit me - felt like my head was being wedged into them. I'm not old enough to have big ears yet so that was no factor. A couple BCP users let me try out their A20's and Zulu's before I purchased so luckily I had the comparison. Thanks Matt and Alex...

The Lightspeeds fit me better, so I have several. I'm glad, because they are a little cheaper and have a slightly longer warranty. But I've flown dozens of hours with A20's and think they are great also. I'd be happy wearing either for the rest of my life.

What I hadn't tried, until yesterday, are the DC Pro-X ANR. Wow. That was just a disaster. I can't really find anything good to say about them. Fit (for me!) was terrible. Noise reduction wasn't nearly as good as Bose/Lightspeed. Didn't like the control module.

I'm partially deaf in one ear (my wife says I can't hear out of the other either) and have done everything to protect my remaining hearing since a child. ANR technology is a game changer for me and being able to enjoy flying. I've flown without a headset, flown with a non-ANR headset and all that happened was I got to the end of the flight with a splitting headache. Lightspeed was affordable ANR when I started flying and they were comfortable so I bought 'em. My CFI thought they were a gimmick until he tried them and I had to fight him to get him to take back his DC passive headset. For me, the engine in flight is just a painful cacophony of noise without ANR. With ANR to tame the drone and air movement hissing I can hear the drone still (at lower volume) but I can hear other non-continuous noises (seat belt banging on the fuselage, odd movement squeaks, time varying pitch changes etc.). I recently traded it my old LS 30XL headset for a new Zulu 3 set. Only have a few flights, but happy as a pig in a mud puddle with 'em. I wouldn't fly until my new headset came from LS. Just isn't pleasant.

Barnstormer wrote:So that begs the question, could the Bose A20 be too good?

Barnstormer, when I saw this original post, I was going to quip something to the effect that maybe you can't hear the engine even with your headsets off.

Barnstormer wrote:Of course I could just turn off the ANR, still pretty quiet.

But now....I seriously question your hearing.

Squash wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:So that begs the question, could the Bose A20 be too good?

Barnstormer, when I saw this original post, I was going to quip something to the effect that maybe you can't hear the engine even with your headsets off.

Barnstormer wrote:Of course I could just turn off the ANR, still pretty quiet.

But now....I seriously question your hearing.

Okay, Greg, I wasn’t going to go there, but what the hey, let’s pile on.....ya know, it could be the processor, not the hearing.


MTV

mtv wrote:

Squash wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:So that begs the question, could the Bose A20 be too good?

Barnstormer, when I saw this original post, I was going to quip something to the effect that maybe you can't hear the engine even with your headsets off.

Barnstormer wrote:Of course I could just turn off the ANR, still pretty quiet.

But now....I seriously question your hearing.

Okay, Greg, I wasn’t going to go there, but what the hey, let’s pile on.....ya know, it could be the processor, not the hearing.


MTV

HUH? WHAT? CAN YOU GUYS SPEAK UP, PLEASE DON'T MUMBLE

I have noticed that the Bose ear cups are too small (or my ears too big) for me as well. While turning my head back and forth they unseal from my ears just a tiny bit. Be glad when the Lemos are installed so I can go back to Lightspeed's.