A30 Aviation Headset

A30 user here, I originally wore Lightspeed Sierras back in the cessna days. But eventually I had to buy A30s when I started flying the diamond as a CFI, for some reason my Sierras would cause a nasty echo anytime I transmitted on the radio in that plane. I have since kept using the A30s in the EJet and they've been great, they're super lightweight which is amazing on the longer duty days. Also no one at my airline goes 'topless' in cruise so no issues with having to have one earphone on and the other dangling off. I also really like the feature that lets you change the level of noise canceling. I like to keep it on medium while on the ground, then flip it to high after takeoff.

No you can get multiple options for the cable. Opt for the xlr since it’s powered by the plane not batteries. Everything is better. The a30 is alot more money, less comfortable, has worse sound quality, and worse noise cancellation. The “features” like being able to reduce anr and tapping the earcup to hear through, are useless, borderline annoying features. I bought the a30 as an upgrade to my 12 year old a20 and immediately realized it was a downgrade and returned them. I then got proflights. They werent comfortable on me at all and the anr sucked compared to the a20 but i was willing to take some hits if they were alot smaller in my bag. But the ear tips were super hard to keep in my ears. I got ear molds and they actually made the anr and overall sound quality worse by so much that i just sold the headset and threw the ear molds out. I bought a DC pro x2 as a backup headset which i do really like, but its a little fatiguing to wear for 4 hour flights, so i refurbished my a20 and use them most of the time. If you can find an a20 new or slightly used you will get at least a decade out of it, and then maybe more after a cheap repair if its still supported by then.

Ditto to a T.

I have the Zulu 3s and the A30s, and have used A20s extensively. For my airline flying, I use the A30s. The cable swap to the right side is a plus, and they’re TSO’d in case anyone digs. They’re on the smaller side in the case so fits better in my kit. For GA flying, the light speeds are more comfortable, and the braided cable is awesome. The ANR and quality on both is comparable. Bose might edge LS a little bit. My head is on the big side though. I don’t have any issues with fit on the A30s.

There are scenarios where the ANC is the absolute priority though like aviation. I don't think anything comes close to the Bose A30s if you're going to be in a prop plane or helicopter.

FYSA, the zipper broke on my A30's travel case after about a year of use (I'm not rough with them I promise), and getting Bose to replace/fix the case was very difficult, I had to argue with them and wait on hold for nearly an hour even though it was under warranty. My understanding of the other headset brands is their customer service is far better.