Bose Mobile On-Ear Headset

As some of you may know... the Bose name carries a negative image when it comes to savvy consumers that are 'in the know' about 'cans' or headsets. I admit, I was one of those who was ignorant at first... thinking why would anyone spend $100+ on headphones??? Unless your a musician or a total audiophile - most of us can't tell the difference. After a bit of research, you can find that most of the internet will agree that Bose is overpriced and under performs other brands that are half if not a fraction of the cost that Bose is asking for.

To be honest, Bose isn't the best out there when it comes to headphones, BUT - this is not to say that they don't have excellent qualities that make them worth the purchase. In respect to sound quality... this is very subjective as each person's individual taste will vary and while some like clean crisp sound, others may look for deep bass, etc... So the only way to really tell if these 'cans' are for you is to listen to them with your own music. If you like the way they sound... then that should be good enough, but feel free to compare them and see what else is out there before you settle.

Now let me tell you what made me pick the Bose Mobile On-Ear Headsets. I really liked the sound quality... though I do own a pair of Grado's and I also have a couple Shure ear canal buds. Each of these do their job and do them well... however, I wanted something that was more portable then my Grado's and didn't require me to constantly yank out my buds (Shure) when someone tried to talk to me. Which brings me back to the Bose Mobile OE's - the compact footprint and sturdy carrying case passed my portability requirements. Next came the fit... the Bose have this memory foam which acts as a perfect insulate for blocking out external noise. Not as good as noise canceling, but good enough. The memory foam feel likes pillows on your ears. They are so soft and conforming that you immediately forget that you have these on!

Next is the look of the Bose headset... they are small and compact and have clean lines throughout. The headband has been known to snap, but if you take care of your equipment and at $199 list, why would you not? The headband is fine, plus there is a 1 year warranty that Bose has so if you are concerned about this - go ahead and play tug aware with them and see how much they can take before they snap! The tension of the headsets are just right - they don't clamp onto your head to a point where your ears or head start to feel uncomfortable after hours of use.

But the real love-fest for me is that these are MOBILE headsets - which means you can use them to also talk on the phone. Yes, a bluetooth headset does the same job, but I spent $69 on a great bluetooth headset that was fairly small and lost it in two weeks. Not only that, but I find that I have to talk louder than usual to be heard using the bluetooth device. What I wanted was the old school wired headsets, but wanted stereo sound... not because I have an Iphone, but because I normally have a hard time hearing other people on their cell phones since everyone is now using bluetooth technology! With stero headsets you can hear every word good or bad!

Because you are paying $199 for these headsets - the call quality better be good... and the Bose Mobile OE are spot on Amazing! My call quality increased using these headsets. People tell me that my voice is clear and the background noise is filtered out well. Another thing I love about the Mobile OE's is that it comes with 4 phone connectors so in case you misplace the dongle - you have 3 more to replace them with. What I usually do is carry my Mobile OE's around with me as they are fairly compact and the wire is removable so you can just store that in your pocket if you'd like. I just carry them with my blackberry - which is probably inconvenient for most, but I really don't like putting my cell in my pocket and I don't mind carrying the headsets as they are pretty small when folded up.

I use my headsets to answer all my calls now and when I am walking around it doesn't look so bad as people think you are listening to music until they hear me talking as I pass by and they probably think I am nuts. Oh well! But the great thing is that when I get to my office or if I am working remotely at a coffee shop - I can pull off the dongle and plug them into my Slacker portable or Macbook and listen to my tunes w/out having to carry another set of earplugs. This is the best of both worlds... for the most part I just keep these guys on my head almost all day and if I am working I can listen to music... when my cell rings - I just unplug my Mobile OE's and plug them into the cell phone. The microphone is built into the wire and I get the same sound quality all around.

Like I said... this isn't for everyone as the mobile piece may be too big for many folks, but now a days you find yourself in situations where you wish you could put on some headsets from time to time to drown out the sound of noise around you (baby crying, loud talkers, shopping, at work, or just because). I really hate putting the cellphone to my head now a days because who knows what the radiation will do to you and having the Mobile OE's it really doesn't matter what kind of phone you have... just put these on when you answer a call and you'll have instant sound quality both incoming and outgoing.

So for the comfort, design and my acceptance of the sound quality that these provide - the $199 is well worth the purchase. But if you are looking for more function than form - then you most likely will look the other way. Since using the Mobile OE's... I have had several people ask me about the mobile part of it and they like the idea of having one universal headset to handle music and conversation. Like I said... best of worlds.

Hope you enjoyed my review... Enjoi!