DC One-X vs Bose A-20
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Arbiter419
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Unfortunately it comes down to comfort, which you can't figure unless you try them on and wear them for a flight or two. I fly a bit more than 500 hours a year for work. Pre COVID, we had Bose A20s in most of the work airplanes that I would just deal with. Excellent sound quality and noise cancelling, but they just don't fit my fat head well. After about 45 mins the top of my head where the hinge on the headset sits is just a hotspot. Very sore and flat out uncomfortable after a long day of flying.
I ended up buying a set of the DC one X, there's nothing that could make it any better for me unless DC started shipping it with a few hundred dollar bills taped inside the box. They give you a soft but durable storage bag, so when you get up front and go to plug your headset in, you can stuff the bag just about anywhere unlike the bulky (but sturdy) A20 case. It's a bit cheaper than the Bose, the Bluetooth works perfectly (I've Bluetoothed to devices and aircraft audio panels, no issues) and I can fly all day with zero comfort issues. Same thing with my old DC passive noise cancelling headset, 3000 flight hours on the things and they never hurt my head. Suffice to say, I'm a DC fan. I am very much the minority though. For nine out of ten people, the A20 is the answer to all of life's problems. Good luck!
I ended up buying a set of the DC one X, there's nothing that could make it any better for me unless DC started shipping it with a few hundred dollar bills taped inside the box. They give you a soft but durable storage bag, so when you get up front and go to plug your headset in, you can stuff the bag just about anywhere unlike the bulky (but sturdy) A20 case. It's a bit cheaper than the Bose, the Bluetooth works perfectly (I've Bluetoothed to devices and aircraft audio panels, no issues) and I can fly all day with zero comfort issues. Same thing with my old DC passive noise cancelling headset, 3000 flight hours on the things and they never hurt my head. Suffice to say, I'm a DC fan. I am very much the minority though. For nine out of ten people, the A20 is the answer to all of life's problems. Good luck!
OneCharlieTango
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OneCharlieTango
Sportys and Marv Golden have very generous return policies. Buy the cheaper DC. If you love it, you’re set. If you don’t, send it back and buy the Bose. Or buy both at the same time and return one within 60 days.
Does the DC have good music speakers ? I sent my DC 13’s in to a place in Kansas and he upgraded them to ANR and stereo. The ANR works fair.. and the music is about like jamming out in your car to the iphone speakers. Pretty lame. A solid waste of money. Everyone has different expectations about music quality. I know Bose has been playing that market way longer than DC. So that does have me a little hesitant. Thanks all!!!
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Kayoh@190
I have the Pro-X (I'd imagine the One-X drivers are the same, if not better) and music through bluetooth sounds fine. It's not like sitting in a quiet room with a pair of thousand dollar reference headphones, but given a cockpit environment isn't exactly suitable for discerning listening anyway, I think you'll find it to be plenty good enough. Head to a pilot shop and try it out - pairing to your phone is easy!
I have a pair of Bose quiet comfort 15’s I mow with. Think it’s as good as that? Thanks for the input.
ktup-flyer
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Go Bose and don't look back
Sierra_Hotel
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Sierra_Hotel
Love my One-X. I've only ever worn A20's on a couple of occasions and while they were obviously a great headset, I didn't see any reason to upgrade from the One-X.
texasclouds
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DC 1-X 4 the win!
Kristin
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Kristin (The Aviatrix)
I love my One-X. I have worn Bose and Lightspeed. The One-X has good sound, great ANR, and are comfortable.
Eric Brunelle
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DC = great customer service
I've got one of each. I don't remember how they did regarding music, but I don't believe any of them use aptX over Bluetooth. If by "100% essential" you mean that you've got golden ears then you're going to want a wired connection of some sort since Bluetooth audio quality will be a disappointment. The A20 has that but the One-X does not. However, if you've got wired AUX-in via your plane's panel then that's sort of a moot point.
I don't believe any of the major headsets have multiple Bluetooth radios, so device connection will have to be one-at-a-time.
The One-X has button operated volume control while the A20 has dials. I like that A20 dials are faster, but I like that One-X buttons are harder to bump.
The One-X uses memory foam ear seals. I seem to notice that there's a bit of warmup time with those before they feel comfortable on my head. I mention that here in this thread:
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...s-sierra-vs-bosex-vs-qfr-on-the-scale.129055/
The One-X control box is a tiny bit smaller and has some clever engineering when it comes to changing the batteries (the lid acts as an extractor if you swing it open correctly). The A20 box feels a bit better ergonomically.
Unless I’m flying something very loud I use QC35s + a uflymike. If I’m flying something very loud its A20s with earplugs underneath.
I would say I hope that they are the same
Music quality as a Quiet Comfort headset. The ones I mow with are incredible to me.