LAKELAND, Florida—Bose kicked off Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo at a media event March 28 with the introduction of its latest headset, called the A30.
The headset will replace its Bose A20 predecessor and is a new product designed for comfort, noise cancellation and audio clarity, officials say.
The A30, designed for all aircraft from piston powered to commercial airliners, features a 20% reduction in clamping force for head comfort and a new digital active noise reduction system that allows three modes of user selectable noise cancellation for use in various flight environments.
The A30 retains the center pivot spring design in the headband but engineers shifted the headset’s center of gravity to ensure stability to reduce hot spots and improve fit. Pilots also are able to transfer the boom mic and down cable to either side of the headset without tools.
“When we asked pilots what improvement was most important to them, their overwhelming response was comfort,” says Matt Ruwe, a pilot and senior product manager for Bose. “We took that seriously and developed a balance in the A30 with noticeably more comfort while maintaining and enhancing headset performance .... The comfort is really amazing.”
The headset improves on Bose’s A20—something that was “no small feat,” says Hratch Astarjian, Bose manager of global aviation and military sales and service. “Pilots will find everything they love about the A20 and more in the new A30.”
Bose’s A30 passed more than 145 separate tests to ensure the headset will endure the harshest cockpit environments, officials say. Testing included extreme heat, electricity, explosive atmosphere testing, extended wear and more.
“Honestly, we didn’t always pass the first test, and we had to go back to the drawing board and make it better,” Ruwe said.
The headset is FAA TSO and EASA E/TSO-C139a certified and retails at $1,249.
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