Good Kit

What’s the big deal about Bose?

Bose Corporation was founded in 1964, one of the earliest task was not to create sound systems, but to develop power-regulating systems for U.S. military jets.

The company says it started development of noise-cancellation after Dr. Amar Bose went on a 1978 flight to Europe and whilst using a set of headphones supplied by the airline complained about an inability to enjoy in the inflight entertainment due to the loud background noise.
In 1986, Bose applied their noise-cancellation technology to develop headphones to protect the hearing of pilots participating in the first un-refueled non-stop around-the-world flight in Burt Rutan’s “Voyager”.

Interestingly the development of ANR, or active noise reduction technology, was a two horse race between Bose and Sennheiser with Sennheiser bowing out of the pilot headset market in 2016.

The Bose A20 headset is popular for the simple reason it strikes the right balance between comfort, clarity and usability. It’s comfortable enough to wear all day and it’s quiet enough for almost any type of aircraft, let’s face it, if it’s good enough to wear flying nonstop around the world, it’s probably OK for the rest of us! It’s not the cheapest headset on the market, however the price is commensurate with the quality of the standard of manufacture and the day to day experience.

We tested the A20 in a Cessna 182Q on one of our “rusty pilot” flights from Maitland in NSW to the Sunshine Coast and back again, total flight time 14.7 hours. Both pilots wore an A20 headset. For the pilot writing this article the experience was flawless. At no point during the flight were the effects of clamping apparent, no requirement to change the batteries, the ability to turn down the intercom to tune out the instructing pilots war stories was useful too.

The only issue we found was after stopping off for a pit stop or a coffee en-route was forgetting the to the ANR back on. Fortunately the headset was also very effective without the ANR, which is good to know if the batteries do happen to expire mid flight.

What makes Bose unique?

Bose are the ANR (Active Noise Reduction) pioneers. Bose was the first company to introduce active noise reduction headsets in aviation and they continue to innovate. The A20 offers 30% greater noise reduction than conventional aviation headsets.

A focus on comfort. A quiet headset isn’t enough these days – it has to be comfortable too. The A20 has numerous features that make it the most comfortable headset we’ve worn, including sheepskin cushions and the unique torsion spring that reduces clamping force.

Famous Bose audio. Pilots rave about the Bose’s Active EQ, which delivers crystal clear audio and rich sound when listening to music and air traffic controllers.

Bluetooth phone interface. It’s easy to cancel SAR or update family members with a wireless Bluetooth connection.

Bluetooth audio interface. Wirelessly connect your Bluetooth-enabled device to the Bose A20 to listen to music, and notifications from apps. Also available is the option to plug in your device with an aux input cord.

Smart audio muting. An ergonomic switch on the A20 control box allows you to choose what auxiliary audio you hear, including automatic muting of aux audio when the intercom is active.

Lightweight design. Weighing in at 340g you’ll hardly know the A20 is on your head. The magnesium headband also distributes the headset’s weight evenly, ensuring all-day comfort.

High performance microphone: The microphone can also be swapped from the left or right hand side of the headset

Great service and support. If your Bose headset ever needs service, you can expect fast and friendly service, even years after your purchase. Includes a 5-year transferable warranty.

Warranty: covered for five years and transferable if you decide to sell your headset

Excellent battery life. Bose’s smart shutoff helps provide at least 45 hours of use from just two AA alkaline batteries.