DC PRO-X2

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.

My first headset was a cheap set of David Clarks. They got the job done, but after I saved some money I got a pair of light speed Zulus. I had to sell them and have used Bose A20s for the last 8 years. David Clark’s will get you through training. I hands down love my A20s. They had an issue a few years ago. I think I was out of warranty but Bose still refurbished them to good as new for free. The noise cancellation on the A20s was better than the Zulus, and they both were way more comfortable than the Clarks. They nicknamed them David Clamps for a reason. My colleague has the David Clark Pro X2 noise cancelling headset. Every time we seat swap and move headsets he has his volume turned way up on the audio panel. Which shows to me the noise canceling isn’t that great. Get a used pair of A20s off eBay, replace the ear cups and get a new mic muff.

Jets. First time I used A20s, the cirrus I instructed in had them. The David Clark Pro X2 is used in a challenger 3500. Either he is deaf or they suck. Every time we swap seats, I have to turn the volume down by a lot when I use my A20s. Sportys.com David Clark H10s. I got mine for $250 about 16 years ago. Won’t last your career but will get you through training/CFI.

Headsets are a lot like shoes- everyone is a little different on what fits best for them. Personally, I have the Bose ProFlight 2's with custom ear molds. Love them, but not everyone likes in ear tips. I've tried DC Pro-X2, Bose A20 and 30's, and Lightspeed Zulu 2's. They all have their good and bad points. ProFlight 2's- Good- Great sound. Light weight. Compact size. Bad- Cords not as robust as other headsets. Some folks don't like earbuds. Bose A20/30- Good- Low clamping pressure compared to DC. Pretty good sound quality. Bad- Cord issues. Not as compact. Still can get hotspots depending on noggin shape. DC Pro-X2- Good- Compact size. More robust cords. Bad- Sits on ears sometimes causing hotspots on ear ridges. Active noise reduction is good, but passive noise is almost nonexistent, so may not be best in piston airplanes. Lightspeed Zulu- Good- Least hotspots of traditional over ear headset. Decent sound. Least jarring BT muting when listening to music. Great smartphone app. Most robust cord in a headset I've seen. Bad- Huge, like Mickey Mouse ears huge. Bulky. No TSO in case your next job requires that in a headset. You best bet is to try and borrow a pair from someone who has a set you're think of buying. Barring that, Spoty's has a great 60 day fly and try return policy for refunds or trade in. Edit: I've never tried the DC One-X. It's their over the ear version of the Pro-X. Might be worth considering, too. Just never tried them.

I love my DC Pro X over ears as well. Comfortable the whole time. Been using them 3 years. Old style plug should work on all airplanes if switching etc. 

I have David Clark but the first time I used their customer service, I left extremely disappointed. They ended up destroying my perfectly good headset ( DC Pro X but cosmetically damaged) and offered me a marginal discount on a new one. My next headset will not be a DC. I have used both Bose and Lightspeed in the past and both were good. The Lightspeed (20XL) wasn’t very durable but the noise cancelling was awesome