Bose QuietComfort 2 Headphones
- Design: Over the Head
- Usage: Consumer
- Sound Mode: Stereo
- Connectivity: Cable
- Compatibility: Home Audio Personal Audio
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A world of difference
Pros
Noise reduction, sound quality, battery life, built-in amp
Cons
Dead batteries prevent use
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The combination of sound quality, noise reduction, battery life, and overall build quality make the Bose headset a "can't miss" product.
I tried the Bose headset on faith. The concept of noise-reduction for my daily train commute was very intriguing. I had previously tried headphones up to ~$50 (Koss) that were much better than the open-ear crap that come with walkmans. You'd think they were comfortable judging by the size of the earpads. Nope, those pads just crush your ears onto the side of your head and on top of that they make your ears sweat.
The Bose earcups fit entirely around your ears with no direct contact. You can comfortably wear these for hours at a time.
The noise-reduction is nothing short of amazing. The first few times I put them on and flipped the switch I had a sensation a being in a "vacuum" for lack of a better word. You'll know what I mean when you try them for yourselves. Of course you can still hear ambient sounds but the much-reduced noise is easily drowned out while playing music. Classical music, DVD movies, and radio dramas with their occasional near-silent passages are now clear and enjoyable. A great demo is to have friends at work try them out. Hearing your workspace without a/c noise, vents, computer fans, etc. will knock your socks off.
You get a two-fold advantage when using these 'phones. First, fatiguing noise is gone. Second, because there's much less noise, you'll find you set the volume lower which is also easier on the ears.
Battery life is amazing. Bose claims 80 hours and I have to believe it. Who ever would have figured that 2 AAA batts could last so long? I'm talking 3-4 weeks of daily use if not more. The power light blinks when voltage begins to drop but you still get about 10 hours past that point! BUT: When the batts finally do die, the phones don't work at all. It would be nice if they had a bypass switch.
The unit has a hi/lo switch which I've seen inaccurately described as hi/lo noise reduction. Not true: it's hi/lo volume. You use lo when using the headset for noise reduction only. The high setting has another advantage, it jacks up the volume on units that don't go loud enough. The initial Rio 500 had this problem which is only exasperated by the variation in mp3 encoding. Some are recorded at such low levels, a loud volume is necessary.
And on top of all this, the sound is superb. These are quality headphones for music reproduction. I see a lot of people get on the anti-Bose bandwagon, but if you audition these without those prejudices in mind, you will be extremely satisfied.
$300 for this set is a good value. Sure you can spend less, but in this case you truly do get what you pay for. The quality is top-notch, performance is extraordinary, and I think all you commuters out there should at least try them. You won't believe what your missing...
ENJOY!
Randy
The Bose earcups fit entirely around your ears with no direct contact. You can comfortably wear these for hours at a time.
The noise-reduction is nothing short of amazing. The first few times I put them on and flipped the switch I had a sensation a being in a "vacuum" for lack of a better word. You'll know what I mean when you try them for yourselves. Of course you can still hear ambient sounds but the much-reduced noise is easily drowned out while playing music. Classical music, DVD movies, and radio dramas with their occasional near-silent passages are now clear and enjoyable. A great demo is to have friends at work try them out. Hearing your workspace without a/c noise, vents, computer fans, etc. will knock your socks off.
You get a two-fold advantage when using these 'phones. First, fatiguing noise is gone. Second, because there's much less noise, you'll find you set the volume lower which is also easier on the ears.
Battery life is amazing. Bose claims 80 hours and I have to believe it. Who ever would have figured that 2 AAA batts could last so long? I'm talking 3-4 weeks of daily use if not more. The power light blinks when voltage begins to drop but you still get about 10 hours past that point! BUT: When the batts finally do die, the phones don't work at all. It would be nice if they had a bypass switch.
The unit has a hi/lo switch which I've seen inaccurately described as hi/lo noise reduction. Not true: it's hi/lo volume. You use lo when using the headset for noise reduction only. The high setting has another advantage, it jacks up the volume on units that don't go loud enough. The initial Rio 500 had this problem which is only exasperated by the variation in mp3 encoding. Some are recorded at such low levels, a loud volume is necessary.
And on top of all this, the sound is superb. These are quality headphones for music reproduction. I see a lot of people get on the anti-Bose bandwagon, but if you audition these without those prejudices in mind, you will be extremely satisfied.
$300 for this set is a good value. Sure you can spend less, but in this case you truly do get what you pay for. The quality is top-notch, performance is extraordinary, and I think all you commuters out there should at least try them. You won't believe what your missing...
ENJOY!
Randy
