Bose A30
 

Couldn’t find an appropriate category for this post apologies.

I’m shortly joining an A320 operator and looking to update my old dual plug A20s

1. I’ll still be looking to do some private flying - would it be recommended to buy dual plug or XLR with appropriate adapter.

2. Any info on the issue with the XLR A30s and if this has been resolved

3. Any idea why the XLR Bluetooth has been sold out with Bose direct for so long and when they are expected to be back in.

Many thanks

I am not flying Airbus, but I have been using my A20 for so many years now and it is still great. Why would you want to change to the A30?

My A20 is 11 years old now and very warn out. Not one part of it is original.

The cable has now also started fraying all over and I’m having intermittent audio issues. I’ll get a quote to fix but will probably make more sense to just upgrade (tax deductible)

I see. Mine is of equal age, but in good shape. I only needed to replace those ear cushions with stuff from Amazon for little money. Luckily.

Well, then go for the A30.

They are too similar to each other to bother changing if you ask me.

Get your A20 refreshed by Bose. It's certainly a lot cheaper than buying a new A30.

I had an A20 and it let me down several times on the 320. I traded it in for the DC Pro X2 and am very happy.

Quick service and buy an adapter for the dual plug. Save yourself a grand.

If not one part is original, is it really 11 years old?

”My grandfather’s axe “

Pro flight?

QC25/35 with uFlyMike. Much much lighter, more comfortable, dual use and save yourself a fortune. And for the people who say "but it's not approved", there is no Airbus requirement for an "approved" headset since about 2006. Been there, fought the battle, won. Twice.

But do you have company requirements for an "approved" headset?

Luckily, no.

Have an 10 y old A20. Bought the A30 this summer. Used it 2 months. Refreshed my A20. Sold the A30

Its written into ours but quietly ignored by many.

I bought an A30 thinking it would be an upgrade to the A20. It most definitely is not. Slides off my head too easily and the cable looks like it might just see out the first year before it packs in. Built cheaply for something so expensive.

Isn’t a headset PPE and therefore required to be supplied by the employer at no cost to you?

Depends on the company and maybe the standard headset provided is cheap stuff that you do not to use if you want to keep your ears and your mind healthy.

If you are seriously considering a pair of consumer grade or other than aviation headphones, at least consider something from the serious manufacturers!

I am continuously miffed by the prevalence of bose headphones in aviation. In broadcast, event or audio-production you never ever see them. They break easily, they sound bad, they are not comfortable for long hours, and they are expensive for what you get.

at least do yourself the favour of checking out the alternatives if your employer aren’t forcing bose on you.

Do you have any good recommendations?

The new DC ONE-X headset is great replacement for BOSE. The speaker clarity is better than the A20, ANR is excellent and the passive NR is still more than fine, even in my line (helicopters.) 45-50hrs battery life if you don’t use the Bluetooth.

While I don't fly an Airbus, I do have 2 A20s - one a headset and the other in a helmet, and they've been fantastic. Don't know if the A30 is worth upgrading for, as others have said. If buying a new one that's what I'd likely get today though.

My comment is on the choice of plug if flying both airline and GA; consider one with a LEMO plug. The aviation headset LEMO jack is now a fairly standard powered, stereo headset connector found alongside the standard dual GA jack on some GA aircraft. The nice thing about a headset configured with LEMO is it provides: stereo audio, mic, power. The XLR plug is mono audio, mic, power. The dual GA plugs are stereo audio, mic. Of note, Bose sells an inexpensive STC'd LEMO jack that's a quick installation if you have your own GA aircraft you'd like to add a powered, stereo (depending on audio panel) headset jack to. On a GA aircraft without a LEMO jack, there are 14/28v accessory cigarette lighter adapter cables that plug into cigarette lighter and dual GA jacks and give you a LEMO jack for headset power.

The stereo matters only if you're flying something with a stereo audio panel and wiring, and the ability to get music into the audio panel.... point is, if you get the XLR plug, you will only ever be able to get mono audio into it. If you get the LEMO, you can use that with a LEMO jack, or with dual GA jacks (with the Bose adapter cable), or with an XLR jack, or whatever else, with the appropriate adapter cable. The headset variant with LEMO plug is the only one of the A20/A30 variants that accepts BOTH external power AND stereo.

You can also change out the cable on your existing A20 (or A30) for one with a different plug for a reasonable cost - I did that a few years ago with my older headset, and sold the old dual GA cable on eBay for close to what I paid for the new one. Both of my A20s have the LEMO plugs, and around three quarters of the planes I usually fly have a LEMO jack...the rest are dual GA.

The LEMO headset plug is now pretty standard - in addition to Bose A20 and A30, the DC ONE X and the Lightspeeds have these available, and I'm sure that others do as well.


Cheers,
Colin

Maybe better to refresh the A20

Looking for a replacement A20 cable (any connector) if anyone knows where to get one at a reasonable price. The prices on eBay are a tad high.

this is very confusing, how many poles on those jacks? XLR is an inherently more solid and wear-proof format, and thus preferred for professional applications, it can be had with any number of poles. The most used is XLR-3, but it can be much more. Depends on the aircraft-installation, but that would need to be modified anyway to have stereo music, or? Jacks is as old as telephone, tolerances aren’t super-tight , and there is for instance not any industry standard to on the small-> large jack plugs. A constant source of frustration. It is a weak construction compared to Canon-plugs(XLRs).

anyway, changing from one to the other by means of converting plugs is trivial.

how many poles are common? Whats the different aviation standards?

Any help?

https://www.flightstore.co.uk/pilot-...Gtury8bxEheA9K

No, they no longer stock A20 spares. But thanks.

Airbus XLR is 5 pin. The headset LEMO standard is 6 pin. Extra pin gives you the stereo channel (for aircraft so equipped). LEMO plugs are really excellent, and are used in all sorts of industrial, scientific, and aerospace applications.

Any good?

Headsets

Buy Cables and Adaptors - Mendelssohn Pilot Supplies

I got mine from AliExpress, they stock modules and everything, just changed mine to bluetooth audio now, I had the old calls-only module.

Whilst I’m sure you are all pleased that I still use my A20, I am somewhat perplexed as to what this thread has to do with Rumours and News.

Me

Read post #1

Thank you for that. Strangely enough, I did. I still have no idea why it is here. It is neither a rumour, nor of any interest as news. It is of personal interest and whilst a valid question not quite to the same level as the war in Ukraine or the MD11 crash, neither of which are on this thread.

Me

Looks like Bose stopped suppling spare parts (cable/mic assembly etc.) within one year of the A20 being replaced by the A30. That is not good support for people who bought A20s in the last few years in my opinion. I think for something this expensive they should provide all parts till the headset has been out of production for about 10 years (with 5 years being the absolute minimum).

Buyer beware with Bose!

CW247, mind elaborating how you fought and won this battle? There's a list from airbus (think it was/is an ISI article) with certified or approved (is there a difference?) headsets and boomsets...Problem is that only a handful are still in production...Thank you!

It’s the only way they can sell the poorly regarded A30. The response to the new headset was people buying the old one (A20). A large pilot group, when given the money to buy any headset, overwhelmingly chose anything other than the A30.

Agreed.

Just to add to the chat, depending where you are based you may be able to claim some income tax relief on the expenditure

Also, there is a sticky thread on headsets in private flying, you might find some info there.

Bose discount
 

Are there any discounts on Bose aviation? Seems like all the usual Bose discounts exclude aviation and the A30’s are the exact same price everywhere in the UK.

Typically no. They usually have some sort of promo running that'll get you a Bluetooth speaker, or other headphones, etc with the purchase of an aviation headset. If there isn't one at present, there should be soon. This is true for the North American market.

ISI 23.51.00003 Cockpit Audio equipments (Boomsets, Headsets and Microphones)



The purpose of this document is to provide the Operators with the list of Cockpit Audio equipment Part Number certified on Airbus Aircraft. The Cockpit Audio equipment presented are Boomset, Headset and Hand-microphones.

Worth checking with your Fleet what’s acceptable. There can be complications with background noise depending on power supply (pin vs battery) etc.

Very much an airline issue, and the list is updated by Airbus. Last one I saw was dated 2020 a while ago.