DC ONE-X (43102G-01)

Man, no love for DC's. I have both a Bose A30 and DC OneX, and the DC has better sound, and is more comfortable for 2+ hour trips.

DC One-X for sure. My head is small enough to where I can’t wear Bose. The DCs are great.

Don't count out the DC ONE X, it's cheaper than Bose, fits better than Bose if you have a big head like me, and it's TSO'd. Plus the ANC is really nice to have on longer flights. I wore mine for almost 12 hours in one day of flying this past summer in a 182RG and had no comfort issues. They're a different beast compared to the classic DC's.

That's the one I have. I love it.

I've always taken advantage of PPE to include hearing protection. 3 years as a line guy and I wore foam earplugs, or even the ear muffs if it was something really loud. Marshaling, sitting under an APU doing lav services, fueling, etc. Flying Army helicopters with the doors off (and a .50 cal muzzle next to me) I used the extra insulation in my ear cups. I usually tried to double up with foamies under my ear cups if I knew we were going to be a doing a lot of shooting. I flew at the regionals using a David Clark H10-13.4 in turboprops and jets. It worked but wasn't comfortable. I upgraded to a set of ANR David Clarks when I got to the 737 and love them. Jets are pretty quiet though relative to the other aircraft I've flown. 99.9% of the time I have them on for the whole flight while sitting in my seat. I've ALWAYS worn at least foam ear protection on the flight line. I wear them as soon as I go out for my walk-arounds whether we have the APU running or not. There's enough noise out there from hydraulic pumps, jetway AC units, and other aircraft that I just rock them. My hearing is still very good!

My oldest has a big head and the dc one x fit him fine from 18 months on.  My youngest has a smaller head and I’m sure it’ll work with a towel on the headband, and probably without. He won’t wear anything on his head right now though so it’s hard to say. 

Tiny, pin-head haver here. DC One-X is where it’s at. ANR is equal to or better than a20s.  The only downside is that connecting to Bluetooth doesn’t happen automatically like with the Bose/Apple combo. 

I had the Zulu 2 for 8 years or so for instructing and 2 airlines. Never was bothered by anyone. Also, the airlines I flew at have headsets in the cockpit that are presumably TSO approved. So if someone said something I’d have said I’ll use the cockpit headset if there is an issue or they prefer that. But nobody will because the airplane headsets are terrible.  Also, the Lightspeed was good until getting to the majors, it isn’t as comfortable on longer flights. The Bose has a similar problem, I’ve tried many headsets. Both have smaller head bands which cause hot spots and discomfort on longer flights, and by day 3 they get really uncomfortable for me. Additionally, they both have a “modern” microphone jack that doesn’t work in all airplanes, particularly some older models.  So, I got a David Clark. I know you say you don’t want one, but it’s been the best and most comfortable headset for me. No problem on longer flights and the microphone jack is the old style and works on all airplanes I’ve tried it with. Has a bigger head band cushion which prevents hot spots by distributing the pressure wider. And the ear seals are deeper and thinner so adapt to my head better without having to readjust much to make it seal. 

A20s are good, A30s suck though, obviously not as robustly built. I ended up getting the David Clark One-X and love it way more than the A30.

Check out the David Clark One-X. I have both and the A30 is honestly kind of cheap and flimsy feeling. I was pretty surprised and disappointed in the drop in quality from the 20 to the 30. The mic locking tab on my original A30 even broke after only a few weeks of use. The DC, on the other hand, feels much more substantial (without being heavy), is built like a tank, packs down significantly smaller, has a much better carrying case, and just as good sound quality and ANR as the Bose. Excellent warranty and US-based manufacturing and support are also pluses.