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Headsets acoustic comparison: A20, DC10-13.4, QC35

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Headsets acoustic comparison: A20, DC10-13.4, QC35

Old 8th Aug 2020, 20:38
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Headsets acoustic comparison: A20, DC10-13.4, QC35

Hallo everybody,

I performed a quick test and comparison to measure the noise cancelling of the following headsets:

- Bose A20

- Bose QC35 (not an aviation headset but often used with boom mics)

- David Clark 10-13.4



The setup was the following: I played the recording of a Cessna C172 (found online) with professional loudspeakers (at their 0 dB). At the same time, I put a DPA microphone close to my ear as pictured in the photo .






I measured the sound of the C172 using the DPA with all headphones and these are the results:



No headset ------------> 0 dB
DC 10-13.4 ------------> -13 dB
QC35 no ANC ------------> -6 dB
QC35 ANC ------------> -24 dB
A20 no ANC ------------> -7 dB
A20 ANC ------------> -28 dB



So, the A20 is the winner but just by a little margin compared to the QC35. When ANC is turned off, DC is still a better performer.

I then analysed a bit the type of sound that passes after noise cancelling and as you can see from the picture below, with both Bose with ANC the low frequencies are smoothed a lot. The A20 has a different profile compared to the QC35, with more loss in the mid range. I wonder if this is by design to cope better with specific noise coming from airplanes (while QC35 has a more "general" profile).




As a personal remark, I felt much more comfortable (noise-wise) with the A20.

I can send you the audio recording if you want.
Hope it helps.



Carmine

Last edited by CarmineCella; 8th Aug 2020 at 20:53.
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Old 9th Aug 2020, 06:35
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Why no Lightspeed Zulu in the test?
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Old 9th Aug 2020, 07:14
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Originally Posted by CarmineCella
Hallo everybody,

I performed a quick test and comparison to measure the noise cancelling of the following headsets:
Great job. This is interesting, and I always enjoy a proper well-controlled experiment!

(I assume you are happy that the microphone's response profile is suitable for this purpose?)

I wonder if the overall difference between the QC35 and the A20 with ANC on is a reflection of the better passive noise blocking of the A20. It would not surprise me if they used exactly the same electronics for both, just packaged them better for the A20?
As a QC35 user, this reassures me that I saved a useful chunk of money and got a headset that does a very good job for domestic listening (and constant zoom calls) as well as for flying.
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Old 9th Aug 2020, 16:14
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Originally Posted by MrAverage
Why no Lightspeed Zulu in the test?

hi, I'd be glad to test the Lightspeed but unfortunately I don't have them. If someone in the Bay Area is willing to lend me other headsets, I'd be glad to do another comparison.

Originally Posted by double_barrel
Great job. This is interesting, and I always enjoy a proper well-controlled experiment!

(I assume you are happy that the microphone's response profile is suitable for this purpose?)

I wonder if the overall difference between the QC35 and the A20 with ANC on is a reflection of the better passive noise blocking of the A20. It would not surprise me if they used exactly the same electronics for both, just packaged them better for the A20?
As a QC35 user, this reassures me that I saved a useful chunk of money and got a headset that does a very good job for domestic listening (and constant zoom calls) as well as for flying.
Thanks.
Yes the microphone is a very good one, with pretty flat response. We use it in my lab for professional applications.
Regarding the Q35, I like them very much. As I mentioned, I think that the A20 are better but only marginally. If not for the physical construction, I think that the Q35 can serve as a good aviation headset.
I'm not sure if the electronics is the same in both A20 and Q35: maybe the overall technology is, but they may be regulated differently.

Hope it helps

C
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