I'm looking to finally upgrade my headset from the hand-me-down DC H10-40's my dad used to wear... 30 years ago hah! I'm only flying GA right now, but I've signed a letter of conditional employment with a 121 carrier. With that in mind, I'm looking for some insight. Budget is around $1k, but I may be able to stretch that if there's something super cool I don't know about.

Bose A20
Lightspeed PFX
DC One X

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

I use the the DC X in the 121 jet I fly, they work really well for me, very light and the ANR is great. Not sure how they would standup in GA, I use my Lightspeed Zulus in GA.

Lightspeed PFX is not TSOd so technically not usable in the 121 world. You do see guys wearing Lightspeed products on the line but I know of 2 people at my airline who were busted by an overzealous POI for wearing Zulus.

I can’t speak directly about the Bose other than to say they are very popular on the line, they were too expensive when I was shopping for a 121 friendly headset.

You’ll be blocking 80 hours a month flying the line, needless to say comfort is paramount when trying out headsets.

I see that you didn't mention the DC ProX, the on-the-ear design. It's very popular with people flying quieter jets, but I tried my instructor's set (he flies citations) and it wasn't enough ANR for me in my 180 after using A20's. He switched from A20's to the ProX for his jet job for comfort but uses A20's for instructing GA.

I tried Lightspeed and Bose when deciding on my first ANR headset and greatly preferred Bose and spent the money for bluetooth A20's. Have never regretted it. You'll get opinions from both sides.

-asa

After doing some reading on Reddit, I'm seeing the same trend; DC's don't provide quite enough ANR for louder GA ops. I do quite a bit of flying in an older 172, so I'm leaning towards the A20's. Price is high, but I haven't found anyone that owns them that wishes they didn't.

IncipientSpin wrote:After doing some reading on Reddit, I'm seeing the same trend; DC's don't provide quite enough ANR for louder GA ops. I do quite a bit of flying in an older 172, so I'm leaning towards the A20's. Price is high, but I haven't found anyone that owns them that wishes they didn't.

If you decide on A20's, and decide to look for used ones, a couple points:
1. You probably won't save more than $100-150 buying used unless you wait for the perfect deal and act fast. It's crazy how high the prices for used are.
2. Make sure you get the newest cord unit. Original A20's didn't allow music over bluetooth, only phone calls over bluetooth and music over aux input. They updated the cord/brain/power module so now everything can play over bluetooth, and it's also my understanding that they updated the hardware as well as it's more power efficient. Buying new you will always get this, used you never know.

Also, Bose runs a special (through all retailers) about 2-3 times a year where a new set of A20's comes with a Bose house speaker (like $200 value). While not a huge savings... it's something to make you feel better about spending possibly $1100 on a headset.

-asa

asa wrote:I see that you didn't mention the DC ProX, the on-the-ear design. It's very popular with people flying quieter jets, but I tried my instructor's set (he flies citations) and it wasn't enough ANR for me in my 180 after using A20's. He switched from A20's to the ProX for his jet job for comfort but uses A20's for instructing GA.

I tried Lightspeed and Bose when deciding on my first ANR headset and greatly preferred Bose and spent the money for bluetooth A20's. Have never regretted it. You'll get opinions from both sides.

-asa

To be clear I was talking about the DC Pro-X, I forgot there was such a thing as the One-X, and ASA is correct, the on ear is great for a jet but not really good for a Cessna.

I say go for the A20s. And as stated above, it’s best to buy new rather than risk getting a dated and worn set for only $100 less. I got the deal with the house speaker and it did in fact make me feel better about spending $1,100. Regardless, I am very happy with the A20s. Light, comfy, and quiet. Flying a Cessna 120 and a 172 most of the time. I have tried lightspeeds in the 120 and they were also nice, but you run into the issue about 121 approval down the road. Spend the money on the Bose and save in the long run. You won’t regret it.

Just buy some A20s or Zulus or xyz brand from Sportys and try them out. If u don’t like em, return em. It’s simple.
I have a set of A20s, Zulus, Sierras, and Clarity Alofts. They’re all great but it’s a VERY personal choice...kinda like shoes.
Do a search here. Lots of threads.

I've had a set of the Bose A20's for over a year now. They work fantastic. Just be sure to bring a spare set of batteries or two with you. As Asa said, Bose will run the special a few times a year for the free bluetooth speaker. I bought mine just before the special came out and missed getting my free speaker.

I use an A20 in my 185. Wife and kids have Lightspeeds. Very personal preference. A20s are quieter, but not by a ton.

At work I use a DC Pro-X. I absolutely love it, but there are lots of people who can't wear them for more than 45 min before their ears hurt. I can get about 6 hours in before my ears start to bug me. They are passable for short flights in a GA plane, but just barely. Nowhere near the noise attenuation you'd want for any GA airplane over the long term. Bose is WAY better for GA.

The Pro-X is better than the Bose for 121 ops in one area - it's very easy to pull one side slightly off your ear so you can talk to the other guy if he's not wearing a headset. The Bose is so quiet that you need to pull it completely off your ear to hear someone of they're not using the intercom, and it's very awkward to wear it that way. At my airline, it's 50/50 if guys have headsets, so the DC makes more sense for me.

As stated above, the Lighspeeds are a non-starter because they're not TSOd.

I have a set of the Bose A20s and a set of Lightspeed Zulu 3s that I usually give passengers.
I personally like to use the Bose QC15 with a U Fly Mike adapter.
The clamping force and weight of the A20 and Zulu feels like double what the QC15 is.
I will wear my Zulus if I want bluetooth capability or if my wife is flying with me.

My wife actually doesn't like to go flying unless I let her use the QC15 setup...
It makes a big difference on long flights and I routinely do 3+ hr flights.

The UFlyMike setup is able to be TSOd if you send them your Bose headset first and I've heard they are popular in the 121 world.

It works out to be around $500 for a complete setup.

I also use the A20's in my 185 and they are the best in my opinion.
One thing to think about. When I bought mine I was still flying for the airline and they, Bose, gave a discount to airline pilots. It was several years back but worth a phone call to them.

Tom

I guess I'm the odd ball, but boss headsets don't fit me well at all. I much prefer the lightspeed. I really like the lightspeed tango. Slightly heavier then the zulu, but no cords to deal with. Not sure if they are TSOd though.

Sounds like the A20's are the way to go! Thanks guys, always nice to have some confirmation bias.

Make sure you buy them from a dealer that will let you return them if they end up not fitting you well. I think Sportys and Aircraft Spruce will allow full returns within 30 days. You might find out you don't have a Bose-shaped head.

I have a couple pairs of the lightspeed Zulu 1's and a newer nose A20. I think the lighstpeeds are more comfortable and sound better (personal preference) but the ear cups pop out all the time (on both sets) and it enrages me. For that reason alone I go with Bose now, the Bose are obviously top quality as well, but for some reason they just don't sit as comfortable on my head as the lightspeeds.

I sent in both my Zulu's and lightspeed refurbished them at no cost, still doesn't fix the ear cups popping out, that's a fundamental design flaw.

You can pick up a set of the Bose noise canceling headphones and a uflymike to turn them into an aviation headset, they have amazing reviews and then you also have a nice noise canceling set of headphones as well.

Good info here. I did not know about the uflymike but it appears on their website they are having stocking issues with the manufacturer. Currently 12 weeks from order. However there is a note that says that some orders that were supposed to ship still have not and he is looking for a new manufacturer. Just a FYI.....

Flying Dave wrote:Good info here. I did not know about the uflymike but it appears on their website they are having stocking issues with the manufacturer. Currently 12 weeks from order. However there is a note that says that some orders that were supposed to ship still have not and he is looking for a new manufacturer. Just a FYI.....

If you look around on the Uflymike website a little you'll find where they are still supporting and certifying (TSO) their original (first generation) headset adapter. It's the A100T and a hot item on eBay whenever people post them. There are almost always some posted for sale there.

from the UFlyMike website:

"UFM MODELS:
We are no longer selling new UFM A100T microphones. However, we can still retroactively certify all UFMs made after October 8, 2008. To check if your microphone is eligible, look at the label on the back of the microphone. If the model starts with A100T, then your adapter can be certified as is. If the model is A100, then the adapter can be certified, but will require a circuit board replacement. Pro, Pro2 and Duo models cannot be certified. If you are uncertain which model you have, please call us and we can check our records.

In order to TSO certify a UFM, you must have the following components:

UFM model A100T or A100
UM-1 Earbud (available new)
Authentic Bose QuietComfort 2 or 15 headphone."

I'm not pushing sales for them at all Ha ha, I'm just really satisfied with their product.

Newbizor, that's interesting. I have two of the Zulu 3's as well as a Sierra that I won in a raffle, and the ear cups are fantastic. I upgraded from a Bose X when they couldn't seal out the noise any longer (plus the battery life was abysmal). I know Lightspeed isn't in the running here due to TSO considerations, but for anyone else I am very happy with the decision. I tried out the top end DC, Bose and Lightspeed while at Airventure and there was no clear winner, so it's really about the fit and features. They all cancel noise as long as they seal around the ear. I had to send the Sierra in for warranty work on the plugs, but they turned it around in a week with no issues there.

For my plugs I chose LEMO knowing I wanted panel power, as I'm good and tired of having ANR batteries die at the most annoying times. I don't have panel power wired in just yet though, and currently fly various other airplanes where LEMO isn't available. For these trying times I built a power cord using an off the shelf LEMO to GA plug and a dual 9V holder, and saved some money over the commercially available options. My only real complaint with the LEMO version is that the box won't take a battery inside for these situations, despite it being the same shell otherwise.

I use the D.C. pro-X flying the Airbus. It is amazing, and I highly recommend it.

If you're going to continue flying GA and 121, don't get this headset to use for both. It doesn't work that well for GA.

My 2¢.