They were pleased with the Bose-X with the only remark that if you run the batteries flat, the passive noise reduction is virtually nonexistent
That may be true but (having switched mine off many times) they are then probably no worse than the £100-£200 crap headsets which cover the shelves in the pilot shops.
The only thing that put me off Bose was that primarily they are a marketing company rather than a manufacturer. Almost everything else they produce is over-hyped and over marketed (Sunday supplements anyone?).
I think there may be some truth in that. My girlfriend bought the much-advertised £300 Bose ANR headset designed for airline passenger usage. She didn't think it made any noticeable difference. I tried it, and agreed. It was crap - about the same as the ~ £70 ANR headsets (Sony, JVC, Sennheiser, etc, etc) you get on the high street electronics shops. We sent it back to Bose who took it back without a comment. We never found out whether it was a duff one... It was a far cry from the Bose aviation headset though.
I have been designing electronics stuff, including high quality audio gear, since the 1970s, and it amazes me the Bose X is still up there as #1. Either they have good patents, or nobody else has half decent engineers. But that's what we have.......
Bose the company are far from perfect. A few years ago they made thousands of Bose X headsets with duff mikes; about half the output signal which it should have. They offered a more or less indefinite free exchange scheme in the USA, but it was never supported via their UK dealers who obviously washed their hands of it after the initial warranty expired. I discovered this "design change" by accident after flying with somebody who had the new ones, and have recently upgraded 3 of my 4 headsets to the latest mike (£130 a time) and the difference is very noticeable. So, I would be a little careful buying a 2001-2005 (not sure of the time period) model on Ebay. Bose blamed this on some duff mikes (with specific serial number ranges) but the problem was actually widespread. However, most users would have never noiced because even with half the output signal the mike was still clearer than the mike on any other headset.
All we need now is for ATC to replace their ex WW2 carbon mikes
London Control managed it, now it's the turn of the rif-raf
