Bose QuietComfort 2 Headphones
- Design: Over the Head
- Usage: Consumer
- Sound Mode: Stereo
- Connectivity: Cable
- Compatibility: Home Audio Personal Audio
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Quality Electronics and Acoustics - Poor Mechanics
Pros
Very good bass (a little emphasized), very good noise reduction, lightweight, excellent overall sound.
Cons
Cheap mechanical design and cheap materials caused premature failure.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
I do not recommend this product because there are better built products now for less.
I bought a pair of the Bose QC2 for $299 about three years ago. They are still about the lightest full-ear coverage noise cancelling phones available, so you can wear them for comfortably for long time periods. The bass is full and deep, but a little emphasized and slightly muddy compared to expensive audiophile phones . The overall sound is rich with good harmonic content and clear, clean high frequencies. There is a two-level volume switch and the phones can be used in non-music mode if you disconnect the cord and use them for only noise reduction. The overall noise reduction is excellent at mid and low frequencies. The electronics inside is well designed with low distortion and has very little hiss. The padded case is very useful although a little large.
After about two years, the left earpiece simply broke off one day without being under any stress. The whole left earpiece just hung by wires. I duct-taped it back so that I could still use the phones. Within about a month the right earpiece also just broke off in the same way. Inspection revealed that the mechanical design of these phones is idiotic. The ear pieces are connected to the headband by hollow cheap brittle plastic that just shatters over time. Most other phones have bands of reinforced metal or thick flexible plastic bands to hold the stress of use. Soon the earpads began to disintegrate by shedding their surface material. Again, the cause was poorly selected, cheap padding material.
In summary, these phones have excellent electronics and acoustical design, but overall are a bad value due to their flawed mechanical design and construction. I replaced them with a different brand (Panasonic) that sounds just about as good, has the same case and accessories, but was about 1/3 the price and is built with reinforced steel bands.
After about two years, the left earpiece simply broke off one day without being under any stress. The whole left earpiece just hung by wires. I duct-taped it back so that I could still use the phones. Within about a month the right earpiece also just broke off in the same way. Inspection revealed that the mechanical design of these phones is idiotic. The ear pieces are connected to the headband by hollow cheap brittle plastic that just shatters over time. Most other phones have bands of reinforced metal or thick flexible plastic bands to hold the stress of use. Soon the earpads began to disintegrate by shedding their surface material. Again, the cause was poorly selected, cheap padding material.
In summary, these phones have excellent electronics and acoustical design, but overall are a bad value due to their flawed mechanical design and construction. I replaced them with a different brand (Panasonic) that sounds just about as good, has the same case and accessories, but was about 1/3 the price and is built with reinforced steel bands.
