Bose Continues Quest for Comfort, Clarity, and Quiet

Two and a half years after its launch, Bose’s A30 aviation headset continues to earn praise for its comfort, clarity, and intelligent noise management. “The biggest question we [still] get is, ‘What’s the difference between the A20 and the A30,’” Chris Wuerfl, airline business development manager at Bose, told AIN. “The A30 has a design refresh—it looks different, it’s lighter, and it has 20% less clamping force.”

That lighter fit allows pilots to wear the headset comfortably over extended flights. Bose continues to focus on what Wuerfl described as the company’s three core principles: “comfort, clarity of audio, and active noise reduction.” He added that while overall noise attenuation is slightly improved from the A20, “comfort is definitely noticeable.”

The A30 also features three selectable noise-cancellation modes—high, medium, and low—to suit different aircraft environments. Pilots can double-tap an earcup to temporarily lower noise cancellation in one ear, a function Wuerfl said replaces “that rather uncomfortable habit of lifting one earcup.”

Beyond comfort, Wuerfl emphasized the A30’s contribution to flight safety. “Because they’re so comfortable, you’ll wear them for virtually the entire flight,” he said. “Your situational awareness is enhanced—you hear everything you need to hear, whether it’s ATC, your copilot, or Bluetooth alerts from ForeFlight.”

While there’s no new model on the horizon, Wuerfl said Bose remains driven by its philosophy of “better product through research,” continually refining the A30.