Bose A20 Recommendation?

[ClearedForOption]

Even though my company provides 'ANR' shared headsets on my next plane, I'm about 95% sure that I'll be getting my own headset. My first week on the line a company headset boom mic windscreen touched my lip accidentally and -WHAM- I got a huge cold sore in the same spot soon thereafter... thanks a-lot to the diseased FO whose wild & crazy lifestyle gave me the lip herpes. (TMI?)

Anyhoo... I'm moving over to the E190. (Noisy compared to the 320) I'm thinking that the Bose A20 is a good choice - can anyone (or everyone) please tell me your experiences with it... the good, bad, and ugly. I'm pretty sure that the A20 is the 'Cadillac' of headsets, but I just want to crowd-source my idea just in case there is something I'm not thinking of.

I did have a Bose X in the CRJ years ago and thought the noise cancellation was great and it only clamped my head on the really, really long days. I got rid of it when I was on the DC-9. (it really did a amazing job making that plane quiet, but we didn't even have an intercom and the folks I flew with were low-talkers and all wore earplugs.)

When I get the new headset, I'll be selling my Telex Ascend. It has been great... all the benefits of the Bose U-Fly-Mic rig without the whole TSO'd problem. (It's basically a Telex 850 with modules to convert it to a regular set of headphones for deadheads) If/When I go back to the Bus, I'll just get one of those converter cables, I guess. Everyone takes off the head-clamps at FL180 anyway.

 

[jtrain609]

I wear a telex 850 on the jungle bus and find it to be quite adequate. The A20 won't just be overkill, it'll likely be useless; ANR is good at reducing low frequency noises, like the kind that come from propellers. ANR headsets aren't designed to reduce the high frequency noise that you get in a jet.

The only reason the A20 will end up sounding quieter to you is because it provides more passive attenuation than an on the ear headset does.

 

[89-LX]

I use the A20 in the CRJ, and I absolutely love it. It cuts down on the wind and engine noise significantly. Clamping force doesn't bother me on a day of 7-8 hours of flying.

 

[xdashdriver]

I use a Bose X on the EJET and it reduces a lot more than just low frequency noise. I can't stand having the ANR off, so it is definitely not useless!

 

[jtrain609]

I use a Bose X on the EJET and it reduces a lot more than just low frequency noise. I can't stand having the ANR off, so it is definitely not useless!

This is basic ANR stuff. ANR headsets do the majority of their work on low frequency noises. Why do you think Telex only claims something like a 10 db reduction with the likes of a Telex 850? It's because that's what you're getting on the high end. Headset companies list the total noise reduction of a headset, but that's not the best way to look at it. You have to look at the specific frequncies that an ANR headset will reduce in order to see how effective it is. Wind noise, the stuff you hear up front in a jet, is mostly high frequency. Do you hear frequencies get cut out? Sure, but not at the level that low frequencies are reduced.

http://www.avweb.com/news/avionics/183223-1.html?redirected=1

 

[jtrain609]

Here's another good one on what frequencies ANR headsets are able to reduce.

http://www.lightspeedaviation.com/c...MAXIMUM-quiet/Section-2-Passive-vs-Active.htm

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Ain't that loud up front, even hats off.

And the Train is right. The reason it's "damned quiet" and not merely "quiet" up there with my Lightspeed on is because of the passive capability of the headset in conjunction with the active reduction of the LF noise.

 

[ctab5060X]

@ClearedForOption

I'm right there with you on using company provided headsets...

Therefore, I use my Telex 850 on the 190 and it is more than adequate for the noise and for being able to wear it all day if necessary.

 

[SuperCubRick]

I flew with the A20's on the E-145 for about 2.5 yrs and they were much quieter than the DC's or Telex 850's. There's a considerable difference between ANR on and off with the A20.

I found them to be very comfortable for those days of 8 hrs block - never had the feeling that they were clamping my head or creating a sore spot on top.

 

[ClearedForOption]

Thanks everyone for replying! After having read all the info about how noise reduction is measured, from my experiences with the X, and from reading everyone's responses I think I'm going to buy the A20. I was very, very happy with the X in the CRJ and If I'm going to wear the headset a lot I much prefer the over the ear cups compared to the on the ear cups of the Telex I have now.

Anyone want to buy an Ascend? I'll probably post it on the trade board in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again.