Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It was time to replace my 20+ year old David Clark's, and I was torn between going with the DC ONE X or the Bose A20. I've been a loyal DC customer for a long time, and their products never let me down, plus the DC's are roughly 25% less expensive. But I've also flown with Bose, and they've always impressed me with the amazing Bose noise suppression. In the end, since I needed a pair of headsets, I ended up buying one of each - and so far, I have no regrets about either purchase. If you're in this position too, I thought I'd offer a comparison of these two terrific products...to me, there's no clear hands down winner here - each headset is good at different things. Indeed, both are amazing in their own right, and the good news is that this means you can't go wrong with either one, especially if you're like me and are upgrading from older technology. In terms of overall construction quality, I'd give a slight edge to DC. Both are very good and should hold up a long time, but the Bose feel like high-end consumer products, while the DC's feel "professional". Although the Bose are slightly lighter, the DC's are quite a bit more compact with a smaller control pod. The Bose case is larger, but more protective. Both products pair easily with Bluetooth phones/tablets, and I've had no connectivity issues with my iPhone or iPad. I don't like that both products make it difficult to access the optional features like auto-off and stereo/mono. Granted these tend to be "set and forget" options, but in both products, you need to pop open the battery compartment and remove the batteries to change these settings. Speaking of batteries, I use lithium batteries in my headsets, and both seem to provide better battery life than you might think - at least 50 hours. In terms of comfort, there's no clear winner. To me, the DC's feel smaller but less secure on my head - in turbulence and with thicker sunglasses on, they sometimes slide around on my head, no matter how I adjust them. The Bose have larger ear cups that tend to feel more secure, although they also tend to make me feel a little sweaty in warm weather. In smooth air, the DC's are more comfortable to me, but I don't like the sense that they might shift on my head if I move too quickly. As for overall sound quality, both are good, but to my ears, the DC's are slightly clearer with voice communications. I think the better noise suppression in the Bose does interfere slightly with audio legibility, and sometimes I find myself struggling with ATC communications that seem to come through more clearly on the DC. I find the microphones to be a tie - I've never had less than a "loud and clear" response on any com check, and they work equally well with my phone or with the airplane. Of course, the reason you spend big bucks on a headset like this is for the noise suppression, and here is where the Bose headsets excel. Although the DC's are quite good, the Bose are simply better. Sometimes I'll switch from one or the other in flight, and the difference is immediately obvious. On the other hand, if you didn't have them side by side, you'd probably find either one to be more than good enough - but if you fly in a really loud environment and want the best possible noise suppression, then the Bose is the winner in this regard. I'm happy to say that both are made in the USA, and both companies have good customer service. DC especially has really impressed me over the years...I once had a ten year old headset repaired (I crushed the cord), and they came back with new ear seals, headband pads and so on - all at zero charge to me. Bottom line is that I'm happy with the Bose A20's and if you're looking for the best aviation headset that will have maximum noise suppression in a noisy cockpit, then you can't go wrong with the Bose - although in my opinion, they aren't the only game in town.