Bose QuietComfort 2 Headphones

As I am typing this, I am yet again listining to the addicting Al Jarreau. Those of you that are familiar with his voice know how his tone and pitch can change in a heartbeat, and how he can be a nightmare for a loudspeaker (or in this case for a headset). His range is exceptional, delving from baritone to tenor, scatting with ease, knowing no boundaries as far as musical style is concerned, singing anything from urban to jazz and funk.

Now, why did I say that the QC2 is better than the QC3? I have spent time with both and have a decent idea of the sonic properties of both headsets.I am trying to listen to the music, and trying to concentrate on what I am typing, and it is difficult. The sound of the headset is good enough to draw me away from the task at hand, and get me to concentrate on the music, which is great for the audiophile tendencies in me. It is clean and clear, and with nice taught bass and nice midrange performance. It will draw you into the music if you let it, while also allowing you to block out your surroundings in the process. This is the primary reason why I bought it.

Being a college student, I enjoy music in the library, without hearing everyone else studying and/or override the computer noise in the computer labs. With my previous headset, I had to turn the volume up to levels that would probably damage my hearing, and with the QC2, it will override the background noise.

THIS HEADSET WILL OVERRIDE HUMAN SPEECH IF IT IS LOW MUMBLING IN THE BACKGROUND, AND AS SUCH MAKES IT PERFECT FOR USE IN LIBRARIES.

I am also a fairly frequent flier / train traveler, and the noise cancellation on planes / trains is second to none. I can not begin to tell how refreshing it is to get off a plane / train after a trip with EITHER of the quietcomforts and have that refreshed feeling that you get when you are in your own little world without anyone bothering you but you and the favorite music selection.

But, why did I state that the QC2 is better than the QC3?


back to the basics...


SOUND QUALITY!!!


The sound from the QC2 simply is vastly superior to that of the on ear quietcomfort 3. Being that I have spent time with both, and let them both break in, comparison was fair as well as music selection used.


from here on out the QC2 will be called the 2, and the QC3 will be called the 3.


DETAILS ABOUT SOUND REPRODUCTION BROKE DOWN


TREBLE

as far as highs were concerned, the 2 was by far and away better than the 3. Where the 3 lacked any semblance of highs, the 2 had a nice balance of highs to the rest of the sound spectrum provided the volume was kept at a reasonable level. It the volume was pumped up too loudly (read, arena rock levels) the highs could drill your ears, but I feel that it is unreasonable to listen to a headset at this level.

There is actually a reason why the 2's have superior highs vs. the 3's, and it has to do with placement of the bracket that holds the microphone for the noise cancellation. With the 3's AS WELL AS the 2's, the bracket is placed right over the speaker. However, because the 3's are right on your ears, the brackets and speakers are right on your ears as well, and this effectively blocks the highs off, as they do not have room to travel around said bracket.

But, if you examine the way the 2's are assembled, it is obvious they will have superior sound. Being they have more room in the earcups, and do not place the speaker drivers / brackets right over the ears, this in effect gives the high frequencies more room to propagate inside the earcups and reach the ears, instead of winding up totaly blocked. Some may argue that this smears HF transmission, but it creates a warm, somewhat distant image that I find pleasing.


MIDRANGE

Yet again, the 2's are superior performers. As I stated before, I listen to many different musical genres, but my fortes are jazz and smooth jazz. Speciffically the saxophone. I do not play, but can tell when a switch has been made in the equipment list, such as a reed or mouthpiece. For example, Candy Dulfer usually plays (until recently) a Selmer Mark V1 alto sax with a saxworks (metal) mouthpiece and rico select reeds. On her earlier material, she used La Voz reeds and a plastic mouthpiece, but cant recall the manufacturer off the top of my head. It is these details I listen for in the midrange, and the QC2 excells in pulling them out. The midrange is clean and clear, while the 3 was muddy and indistinct. I always had a difficult time trying to determine the difference between a synth and a steinway. This should not be the case on a headset.


BASS

Bass performance was also a big plus as well. Low notes were round, full, and plump. These definatly do not sound like earbuds, and that is a good thing. But, the bass does not sound like it is all over the place. It is not totally flat, and I dont mind that. I like my bass slightly warm, and these deliver :-) :-) It isnt as fat as the triports that I had in 2002, and sound tighter and more accurate. If you think your triports sound too fat in the bass, check these out.

on comparison with the 3's, the comparison really was not fair. The bass performance of the 3's was that of a muddy, boomy ghetto blaster. The bass was also indistinct and chesty because of a rather significant hump that sounded like it was around 150 hertz. This was revealed with the great vocalist michael buble. I have never heard him sound so chesty and muddy as over the qc3.

The bass response in the 2's is much smoother, palpable, much more detailed (I can actually hear the bassists fingers work the frets), and has a very very slight hump, which gives presence to vocals instead of overpowers them and makes them chesty.

A totally accurate headset does NOT exist, and if it did it would not be one that you would want to listen to. I have reminded so-calld "audiophiles" of that before, and they have to agree with me, and then forget I said it.

I have listened to the Grados (no soundstage, zero bass, thin mids, sharp highs) I HAVE stax (in ears, sound like speakers stuck to ears) Etymotic (painful to stick in ears, thin bass, great highs, but painful for any legnth of time and may not fit everyone) and sony NC (terrible)

As someone who has worked with studio monitor headphones can attest... you dont want to listen to them for terribly long once a recording has been mastered. They will sound flat and lifeless, like everything has been sucked dry. So much for "accuracy"

Trust me, this is a fine headset once you get past the price. It is fun to listen to if not the most "accurate" on the market. I enjoy its sound, and the noise cancellation is a wonderful bonus. I am constantly in areas where it is a great benefit, like libraries and in planes. But, even if it werent needed, I would probably still own it or the TriPort OE.

My VERY BRIEF audition of the TriPort OE suggested that the highs were much better than the on the QC3, and that the bass was much improved as well.

Just please remember to treat this headset like any piece of quality audio reproduction gear, and let it break in before you judge it :-).

Mine sounded quite lousy out of the box, and had me wondering if I made the same mistake twice. The first thing that I thought was that it sounded like an acoustimass on my head. They opened up in a couple hours, and havent stopped yet :-)

At least with this set the first thing I noticed was the highs, and not that they sounded like on-ear subwoofers.

As far as comfort is concerned, I have yet to use a more comfortable headset than this one. The leather earpads are almost velvet soft, and the weight is almost neglegible during long listening sessions. I can lose myself during long listening sessions, and forget that Im even wearing a headset.

Battery life is exceptional. Boses figure of 40 hours is reasonable. I usually around 50.

A FINAL NOTE....

if all you are interested in is NC, and travel constantly, and even can warrent the extra expense of the QC3, I still would say no. I constantly had issues with my ear pads comming loose with mine when I moved my head, be it in flight, or on a train, or simply listening to music, OR EVEN PUTTING THEM IN THE CASE! This would let in an ear splitting roar, and had me messing with the offending side for a few minutes each time it happened to rectify the issue.

When I boarded a plane or train I would notice that one side was cancelling and the other was not, so I would have to mess with it.

so, even if you have the budget and are curious for the QC3, I would still say stick with the QC2 mentioned here in the review. The ear pads simply snap on the QC3, so they can come loose really easily and it is a pita.

It may be a fluke that I had that issue with my product, but I have yet to experience it with the QC2.

Along with its superior audio performance, lower price, and superior battery life, I feel that the QC2 is a superior product.

Standard features:

-A nice black carrying case
-removable audio cord (may be removed for noise cancellation only use)
-an audio extension cable
-an airline audio adapter
-a AAA battery
-both 1/4 and 1/8 inch audio adapters
-folding and swiveling earcups allow for compact storage of the headset when not in use

standard 1 year equipment warranty.