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Bose A30 Aviation Headset
New Features, Comfort Focus
by Rich Pickett
One of the best ways to help reduce fatigue in the cock- pit, and protect your hear- ing simultaneously, is to
wear a quality headset. When I first started flying, there were few options, and we now have a wide variety, sat- isfying an equally varied pilot prefer- ence profile. The singular defining moment in headset technology was the release in 1989 of aviation’s first commercial acoustic noise cancellation (ANC) headset by Bose.
Building on that success, Bose continued to innovate, bringing the Bose X headset to market in 1998, fol- lowed by the Bose A20 in 2010. Over the product life of the A20, Bose con- tinued to improve the product, add- ing Bluetooth connectivity and other features in 2015 and later. Expanding into the super-lightweight market for lower noise environments, such as jets, with their 4.5 oz Bose ProFlight in 2018, followed by the ProFlight Series 2 in
4 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2023
2019, both of which I have reviewed in Twin & Turbine.
I’ve owned every model in Bose’s product line and flown over 10,000 hours with them in pistons, jets, and rotorcraft. Recently Bose offered Twin & Turbine the opportunity to evaluate a new product before its pub- lic release at SUN n’ FUN Aerospace Expo. That product is the Bose A30 Aviation Headset. Having flown with the A20 for 12 years and being very pleased with the performance, I won- dered how they could improve this successful product.
At first glance, the new model looks very similar to their previous f lagship, the A20. A closer look at the headset re- veals some physical differences, start- ing with a redesigned box and case. The weight of the A30 is the same as its predecessor (12 oz/340 g), with the same ear cushions. Beyond that, there are significant differences. The head- band is now aluminum and has a sleek
black design versus magnesium; the headband cushion is cloth/foam.
Building upon the slimmer (3.5mm) down cable on the ProFlight Series 2, at 4.0 mm, the A30’s cable is nearly 20% smaller than the A20’s. That may sound insignificant; however, I noticed a difference with the cable being easier to handle. Considering that this small cable houses 14 conductors, more than any of its predecessors, it is impressive! The Bose A30 needs this many wires
PHOTOS BY RICH PICKETT