BusinessNewsNigeriaMatt Ruwe says Bose’s new product, the A30 aviation headset is designed for maximum comfort

Bose, the Massachusetts-based company, is renowned for its home audio systems and speakers, noise-cancelling headphones, professional audio products and automobile sound systems.

Bose’s products have been adjudged to be the best, and for good reasons: they are designed for comfort, improved clarity and noise cancellation.

On March 28, the company unveiled the latest generation of Bose headset for pilots: the A30 aviation headset.

Matt Ruwe, Senior Product Manager at Bose during a chat with Ezinwanne Onwuka of WAP, discussed the latest innovation: its features and how it can make a difference in the aviation industry.

MR: Bose is world renowned for its premium audio solutions for the home, on the go, in the cockpit and the car. Since its founding in 1964 by Dr Amar Bose, an electrical engineer, sound engineer and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, the company has been dedicated to delivering amazing sound experiences through continuous innovation. The company began selling products globally in 1972, but it was in 1978 on a flight from Europe to Boston that Dr Bose sketched his concept for noise cancellation technology. That sketch was the foundation for a legacy of sound innovation that spans the company’s current product lineup, including aviation headsets.

In 1989, Bose introduced the first commercially available aviation headset with active noise reduction. In the more than 30 years since then, Bose has become the leader in providing premium aviation headset technology to pilots around the world. Our most recent innovation is the Bose A30 Aviation Headset, which gives pilots the best combination of comfort, noise cancellation and audio clarity of any aviation headset on the market.

MR: Bose continues to be a company focused on technology and amazing audio experiences in the home, on the go and in the car. We are constantly learning by leaning into our curiosity and exploring new ways to harness the power of sound.

For more than 30 years, our aviation team has continued to lead by engineering innovations in the areas that matter most to pilots. Our primary focus will continue to be on delivering the best combination of world-class noise reduction, comfort and clear audio.

MR: It is interesting you identify Bose as a “headphone” company. When I joined Bose nearly 20 years ago, this wasn’t the case at all. At that point, the company was known best for its out-loud audio systems and home theater/speakers. Although Bose was making aviation and military headset systems, it had just started making headphones for consumers. At the time, designing headphones to help protect the hearing of passengers in commercial aircraft was just a small part of the company. But the introduction of the QC (Quiet Comfort) product line not only helped these users fly more comfortably. It also revolutionized headphones in many ways.

Over the last three decades, the Bose team’s hard work and dedication have built the legacy that you and many people around the world know and understand. I’m confident the company will continue to evolve and create experiences in the three focus areas we currently have – in the home, on the go and in the car – well into the future. The passion and spark that Dr Bose left us are still here, and the future is wide open.

MR: The new A30 is replacing an iconic and incredibly performing headset, the A20. This was indeed the challenge. Our goal was to bring current A20 customers into a new era of headsets by improving the overall experience while also building a platform that would take us into the future.

To do this, we asked what customers wanted most in a new headset and quickly found that comfort was their greatest desire. We changed the distribution of weight and reduced clamping force, and found that in order to provide greater comfort, it would be imperative to provide improvements to the noise reduction performance. To accomplish this, we rebalanced the close ties that exist between comfort, noise reduction and audio. Our new digital architecture and system design helped pave the way for this, and we believe will provide users with a great experience compared to the A20 for years to come.

MR: The aviation headset market space is wide, and there are many competitors offering multiple products at various price points. Our focus at Bose is to provide products that offer the best combination of comfort, noise reduction and audio clarity in a form factor that customers want. Our ProFlight Series 2 headset offers pilots earbuds and a unique headband configuration that is primarily meant for quieter aircraft, while our new A30 Aviation Headset is an around-ear configuration with features that satisfy the entire breadth of the market, from student pilots to ATP and from light sport aircraft to A380s.

MR: The most popular versions of the headset (dual plug configuration with BluetoothⓇ*) are available today in most markets. Bose has distribution partners all around the world but not in every country. If you can’t find the product in your own country, you can submit a question to our Bose web page and ask for some assistance in finding a dealer or distributor who might be able to help you get the product where you live. We also have service centers in many parts of the world that can help you if there are any issues during the five-year warranty period.

MR: Bose is always looking at ways to make things better, and that work never stops. As a privately held company, we are able to invest in areas that will play out in both the short term and long term. It’s exciting to see some of the seeds planted years ago making their way into product ideas and development. I’m confident customers in any of our focus segments will be excited about what is coming in the next few years!