Greetings from St. Louis,
Recently purchased a Bose A20 and an AKG AV100 for a direct comparison in my RV-4 (not the quietest cockpit). I have an older Dave Clark that was modified by Headsets Inc. many years ago and although working flawlessly I made the costly mistake of borrowing a buddy's Lightspeed Zulu so I found myself relishing the quiet that the Zulu provided.
Since I had flown with the Zulu I decided to try the other two top of the line headsets and yes I considered the QT and Clarity but don't want to mess with sticking something in my ear. I also do a bit of cross country and enjoy listening to music.
So how do they compare: Overall the sound quality is pretty much a wash for airplane communication but a definite edge to the AV100s when listening to music. Unlike the A20s, the AV100 comes with a standard Lemo plug PLUS a GA Y cord (extra $ for the Bose). The AV100 allows you to use Bluetooth for both music and phone calls as well. Coupled with the music equalizer in the Garmin GTR 200 (latest software update) I use, it truly is an incredible music sound in the headset. As good as any music headsets on the market. After using the AV100 I tried my DCs again and let's just say they are now relegated to the back seat.
As far as comfort goes, the Bose A20 was pretty comfortable at first then I had to keep fidgeting with it because it started clamping and giving me some hot spots. The AV100s feel like you don't even have a headset on at all. They come in a Carbon Fiber finish and one really cool feature is built in LED lights on the front of each earcup. I flew an EARLY morning (read DARK) formation with KC Flight for the KC Chiefs "Red Friday" and was glad I had the lights. Lit up the cockpit pre start pretty nicely.
So the Bose A20s got sent back and I'm now happily enjoying the AV100s. If you want a great headset look no farther, this is the one you want. They are not cheap but at the price point of the Bose A20 they are a superior headset with more features, see the link below. To answer your next question, no I do not work for them!
http://www.akg.com/AV100-1704.html?pid=2068
Oly
Recently purchased a Bose A20 and an AKG AV100 for a direct comparison in my RV-4 (not the quietest cockpit). I have an older Dave Clark that was modified by Headsets Inc. many years ago and although working flawlessly I made the costly mistake of borrowing a buddy's Lightspeed Zulu so I found myself relishing the quiet that the Zulu provided.
Since I had flown with the Zulu I decided to try the other two top of the line headsets and yes I considered the QT and Clarity but don't want to mess with sticking something in my ear. I also do a bit of cross country and enjoy listening to music.
So how do they compare: Overall the sound quality is pretty much a wash for airplane communication but a definite edge to the AV100s when listening to music. Unlike the A20s, the AV100 comes with a standard Lemo plug PLUS a GA Y cord (extra $ for the Bose). The AV100 allows you to use Bluetooth for both music and phone calls as well. Coupled with the music equalizer in the Garmin GTR 200 (latest software update) I use, it truly is an incredible music sound in the headset. As good as any music headsets on the market. After using the AV100 I tried my DCs again and let's just say they are now relegated to the back seat.
As far as comfort goes, the Bose A20 was pretty comfortable at first then I had to keep fidgeting with it because it started clamping and giving me some hot spots. The AV100s feel like you don't even have a headset on at all. They come in a Carbon Fiber finish and one really cool feature is built in LED lights on the front of each earcup. I flew an EARLY morning (read DARK) formation with KC Flight for the KC Chiefs "Red Friday" and was glad I had the lights. Lit up the cockpit pre start pretty nicely.
So the Bose A20s got sent back and I'm now happily enjoying the AV100s. If you want a great headset look no farther, this is the one you want. They are not cheap but at the price point of the Bose A20 they are a superior headset with more features, see the link below. To answer your next question, no I do not work for them!
http://www.akg.com/AV100-1704.html?pid=2068
Oly
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