Bose (017817401494) Consumer Headphones

I had been waiting ages for Bose to come out with something to replace my Apple iPod earbuds. The Apple buds just never fit right, and left my ears aching if I wore them for long, which I often do. And, I love my noise-canceling Bose headphones, so I jumped at the chance to buy the Bose in-ear phones.

The headphones come with a case, and three sizes of silicone tips, so that you can choose the size appropriate for you. As a petite woman, with a relatively petite head (well, some might disagree about the size of my head), I was surprised that both the medium and small tips felt too small. The largest were the only ones that felt like they wouldn't fall out. But, you learn something every day.

Here are the technical specs for the medium tip. I guess if you have calipers, you could measure the inside of your ear or something:

Outside dimensions: - 1.3" H x 1" W (3.3 cm x 2.6 cm)
Weight with cables: .64 oz

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(18.1 g)

The first impression: pure comfort. No jabby edges, and they're lightweight. The wire is amply long, so if you attach it to an iPod or other player and pop the player in a coat pocket or bag, there's enough cordage for you to move your head without dislodging the phones from the player or from your ears. If you need even more range, Bose offers an extension ($12.95 on their website).

Second impression: Impressive sound for little guys. I did a blind test with my iPod earbuds, and it was a no-brainer. The Bose buds won hands down. Of course you won't get the sound you'll get with the big Bose over-ear headphones, but I don't like to pack those behemoths around, or worse yet, take them to the gym.

At the lower end of the range, the bass quality is good for small phones. (Again, don't expect miracles--these are not subwoofers.) At the upper end, I was really pleased. I have a few old mp3s that sound somewhat 'tinny' to my ear over certain speakers, including my car stereo's. The Bose buds help mitigate the quality of those poorly ripped mp3s.

Bose claims that their strength is a design that gives better low frequency output. Here's how they handled different types of music (obviously some of these points have to do with recording techniques as well as the phones). I listened to all these at about 75% volume in a somewhat quiet room:

Jazz orchestra (Hubert Laws + band): Trombones fuzzed out a little bit at the lowest notes. Laws' flute sounds great--sweet and clear. Drum line is strong and distinctive.

Solo piano (Debussy): Bell-like concert hall sound. The left hand (lower notes) are deep, rich and clear. Good separation of sound left to right.

Solo vocal (Sting): Gorgeous. Every nuance of his voice is evident--there are only backup voices and a bit of drums and fiddle in this little sea chantey--Blood Red Roses--so the strength of Sting's voice is really highlighted. It's big and recorded right down the middle.

Solo lute (Edin Karamazov): Every nuance of sound, including fingers sliding on the strings is clear. Again, nice bell-like concert hall sound.

Bass-heavy rock (Violent Femmes): Not the thumping drive you hope from the bass notes, but deep and distinct. The drum comes through clearly and separately from the bass guitar.

Although I listened in a quiet room for the above, I've also listened on the subway, and at nearly top volume, they hold up against subway noise quite nicely without making my ears ache. On a crowded rush-hour train last night, I listened to techno (Imogen Heap), and it sounded perfect, and drowned out the idiot who was yakking loudly on his cell a couple seats away.

Now the cons: 1) the silicone tips fall off relatively easily if you just toss the headphones in a bag or pocket without storing them in the case. I've nearly lost a tip a few times. Bose offers replacements for $5.00 a pair. I suggest ordering an extra pair if you buy--I wish I had. I think I'll need them. 2) The case is awkward. Any case that requires a little "cheat sheet" to tell you which way to wrap the cords, etc. is never going to work for me. Even with the cheat sheet, I can't get things to fit quite right, which is why I nearly lose the tips when I give up on the case and throw everything into my bag.

But, I think these two cons are minor. I'm sure I'll find a simpler case to use than the one sent by Bose, and both problems will be solved.

UPDATE: December, 2007

Bose has designed new tips that stay on more easily, and "stabilizers" for use when running or other activities. Both of these make the buds much more functional. I was happier before, but happier now, especially since Bose provided these upgrades free, without requesting them, for purchasers of earlier designs.