I use the A20 and it's great. Very comfortable and no fatigue. My friend is on the A320 and has also bought one. He's also very impressed.:ok:

@EN48

I wonder if you can tell me how you got the iPhone to stream music over Bluetooth - I always thought the A20 only did calls over Bluetooth.

Sure. I use a PS Engineering PMA 8000BT audio panel with integrated BlueTooth capability. I chose this over BT in the A20 as it is considerably more capable. See: PS Engineering :audio select panels
This audio panel is superb in every respect, and not all that expensive to retrofit especially if you already have a Garmin 340 or other PSE 8000 series audio panel.

Bose A20 or Zulu.2 in the airbus
 

Did your friend in the A320 use a GA to Airbus XLR adapter?
I fly the A320 too and am considering either getting the Bose A20 or Lightspeed Zulu.2 with LEMO plug and using a LEMO to XLR adapter from Marv Golden. That makes it neater (1 cable instead of 2).

Anybody out there tried this yet?

Bose A20
 

Hello everyone, I have a question about the Bose A20.

I understand that the bluetooth version has a high impedance mic and the non-bluetooth has a low impedance mic. Therefore I'm under the impression that the non-bluetooth version would work in China. Does anyone know this for sure? Are the plugs different in China?

I think the plugs are the same but the sockets go sideways.

HA HA thats funny :)

depends on the aircraft, I fly in the UK but on H300 which has the US U174 plug ( aka Nato ) which has the high imp. some of the other aircraft that I work on, has the same plug but is low Imp. so its not country specific but aircraft specific. what are you flying in china ?

It's not me flying them but a friend so I'm looking into it for him.

AS332 is what he'll be flying. With potential for the EC155.

Has anyone specifically used the A20 non-bluetooth in these aircraft in China?

As pointed out, it is irrelevant where the a/c are located in the world. You need to determine what the specific a/c uses, high/low impedance, 6 pin/u174 plugs.

If it is a low impedance system then order the non-blue tooth headset, with either a 6pin or U174 plug.

If my memory serves me right. the EC155 is a low Imp system but will check it tomorrow on the headsets we have, the plug however is a standard U174 Helicopter plug. I dont know about the 332 ??

You can not say just because you have a 155 that is low impedance, that all 155s' are such. It depends on vendors/customers requirements/requests.

The only way to be sure you get the right impedance is to check the specific a/c you intend to use the headset in.

duly noted Outwest, I have however been intimate with quite a few EC155's and AS365's all over the world and I have yet to find one with a High Imp system in them.

but if you can show me otherwise I will be happy to be proven wrong, you live you learn you know :)

We have 2 365Ns' on this base, both are high impedance....

Thank you very much.

well I will be darned.. thanks for sharing this outwest, much appreciated :)

which N's are they ?

N3's

I should mention that this company was a low impedance company for many, many years. Whenever a new type came online regardless of what it came with from the factory, it was converted to low. This changed when the S76C+ was introduced. All 76 A, A+, A++'s low, C+, C++ high.

The company finally started to switch over to high impedance on most types (139 for example). However, this is not a hard and fast rule, as I'm told by a friend who is on a brand new 225 that it is low impedance. This caused a bit of a problem both logistically and financially as pilots who might fly 2 types needed to carry both mics for a Bose, or use a DC that had a conversion switch.
:ugh:

139's have their own weird plug dont they ??

a converter you say. where might one get his little shady hands on one of them ?

Yes, so we have drop cords installed with U174 plugs on the end.

Sorry, should have been more specific. There are David Clark headsets available that have a switch built in that allows you to select either high or low impedance.

There are converters around for both directions. A high impedance setup requires the panel to provide power to the mic, so the converter for using a low impedance mic (which doesn't need powering) in a high impedance aircraft will power itself from the panel, and generally works ok. Using a high impedance mic in a low impedance aircraft requires an extra source of power (since the panel isn't expecting to supply any), so these converters usually include a battery (generally a 9V PP9).

The better option seems to be a low impedance mic with a low->high converter, but different aircraft react differently. Converters can cause issues with VOX, for example (e.g. line held constantly open, etc).

There are plenty of suppliers around the 'net who stock this sort of thing; plug 'aircraft impedance converter' into your favourite search engine.

Is there any way to find out if your aircraft is high or low impendence?

I tried a normal A20 for airplane with a plug converter, and the mic did not work. Do I require high or low impendence?

Thanks

Impedance for C++ and 225
 

Hello

Does anybody know if the Bose A20 needs a high impedance lead for:-

- An S76 C++
- An EC225 (I think it uses low on the 225 but am not sure)

If I fly different types which use both high and low impedance respectively, will I be able to get both a high and low impedance lead for one headset, or will it mean having to buy two headsets?

We operate a few types and just want to make sure before I get a headset.

Thanks in advance

Hi
S76 C++: High Impedance
EC225: Low Impedance.
Cheers
FH

There is no need to buy another headset. It is only the microphone that has the impedence issue. Buy two (one high and one low) and then simply plug in the one you need at the time. Much cheaper ;)

Thank you FH and Epiphany. Much appreciated

Best Price for the A20
 

Does anyone know where online you can get the best deal for a Bose A20 Headset?

Either in the USA or UK preferably and from a reputable supplier.

Thanks

Anyone know if

A20® aviation headset with U174 helicopter plug and Bluetooth®

Will work in R44 and AW139 ? The 139 has the drop down leads with the NATO socket on the end of the cable.

I am guessing they are both high impedance, is this right ?

Cheers

A20 and thick templed eyeglasses
 

I have a set of the A20. I am about to get new corrective lenses and frames. The frames I am looking at though have a relatively thick tremple. the Bose site stipulates that thick temples may interfere with the noise cancelling properties of the headset.

Has anyone had any experience with wearing thick templed glasses with the A20?

Yes, it does affect the ANR a lot.

@Elias.K Thick temples affect noise reduction a lot. I went through a lot of sunglasses to find ones which affected it the least.

@SFIM A20 work in R44/22 directly for me, no idea about AW139 or Hi-Z Lo-Z

They work great in the 139. High Impedance...

@EternalRookie .. How did you test it with so many sunnies? did you take the headset to the store?

Just when i thought I found the glasses i like, I'm going to have to find something else. :(

I bought el-cheapos from various 7-11's and ebay till I found a style that did the job and fit my face. That way I was able to give them a decent try out. Then I ordered a decent pair that matched the cheapies.
I ended up settling on these Quantum Promo Store
The temple is thin enough not to break the seal against my head. Springy hinges seem to help too. Lucked out and got them for half price off ebay with the hard case.

Bose A20 ANR squeal
 

Scroll past the rave "review" at the top of
Bose A20 review. Another leap in ANR. | The Joy of Aviation
to the comments section: "Erin" and "Bob" found their A20s to squeal,
and "Fred" shows how to reproduce that:
I did appr. 10h helicopter training using A20s - hence not qualified to judge - but found that only seriously catching the cord somewhere makes the ANR go crazy, read fail.

Anyone else got that "A20 squeal" and grinding his/her teeth for having to live with that? :confused:

Can someone please repeat "Fred's test" with a Zulu2, preferrably side be side with some A20s? :E

I'm a little bit worried, as I was on the brink of shelling out a grand for an A20.. :suspect:

Never had a problem myself. I fly Robinson, Eurocopter and Bell - just back from a flight today and tried the 'Fred test' but couldn't reproduce the 'A20 squeal' either.. :confused:

I've had the squeal the last two times I've flown. The only difference was I changed batteries. I've gone from the Duracell to Energiser Lithium.

Might have to play around with that.

OK - my A20s have duracell back-up batteries, but are powered by the aircraft (if that should make any difference!)

TTB

Not sure if it helps but some lithium batteries last longer but have a slightly lower voltage, this may be the cause of ANR problems.

I have used my A20s for about 30 hours and they are great, but you do have to make sure the seal is good around your ears.

Have had no such problem with Bose of any model including A20, but a similar problem with Zulu. The ANR as I understand it does somewhat depend a suitable seal between the earcup and head to operate properly.

Had mine for two years now and no issue at all other than the cable problem which Bose replaced! Love them!! :ok: