I bought the A20 to replace one of the Bose X sets in my Husky. After several years ending up with sore ears after longer trips, I finally had had enough. It was a close call between the A20 and the Lightspeed Zulu, both have earcups that fit completely over the ear, unlike the X, and both have good passive and active noise reduction. Having flown both in noisy airplanes like Huskies and Super Cubs, my impression is that the A20's audio quality is clearer and crisper.
I used the A20's for the first time a couple of days ago, wearing the set for two two-hour legs. It was much more comfortable than the X, which would have just begun to hurt my ears at the two-hour mark. I tried the bluetooth connection with my iPhone, which worked well- excellent audio for the receive side, while the people I called said they couldn't hear any background noise. I also tried out an iPod using the cord Bose supplies. The sound was great, far better than playing an iPod through the Husky's intercom using the auxiliary music-in jack on the panel. In summary, the A20 is a big improvement over the X and i wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. I'm sorry I endured the sore ears for so long, should have bought an A20 earlier.
Great headset, this is my second A20. I upgraded to the newer A20 and passed my used one onto my son who is starting to fly. I use my A20 for work, it's quality and functionality is great.
In the past I've owned several DC's both passive and active and there is NO comparison, Bose wins hands down. Well worth the money!!!
I have now been flying for almost 400hours with it (on Falcon 900) and there is no way I will change. Sound is very clear (very important in the environment I am flying). The headset is comfortable even during 8 hours flights, the autonomy even better than advertised and the bluetooth just perfect.
All the people I fly with are either going to get one or whish they had one.
Vast positive difference in both noise cancellation and comfort. Bluetooth works perfectly with the iPhone. I wear hearing aids and they work fine with no feedback.
Not sure why they made it necessary to manually power it up each time.