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Review

Review - Bose QuietComfort 2 Noise Canceling Headphones

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 at 6:00 AM - by

If I'm going to be using headphones for a long stretch of time, the Bose QuietComfort 2 (QC2) are my top choice for the job. They have among the best fidelity I've heard, including clear sound and powerful bass response.

The QC2 uses noise-cancelling technology to screen out hissing and droning noises like crowd noise or airplane turbines. Unlike many other noise-cancelling headphones, they go over, not in, the ears. That makes them bulky, but it also makes them supremely comfortable, and the padding of the earcups also muffles distracting outside noise, such as unwanted chatter.

It's annoying to use disposable batteries on any piece of electronics, but the QC2 runs for more than 24 hours on a single AAA battery, which is cleverly tucked inside one of the earpieces. The earpieces also fold flat for easy packing. These headphones may be expensive, but it's worth it for their beautiful sound and slick design.

Just The Facts

QuietComfort 2 from Bose

MSRP $299 / Street Price: $299.

Pros: Superb sound, noise cancellation and comfortable, large, muffling earpieces.

Cons: Bulkier than most headphones; requires a AAA battery, though battery life is good.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jul 14, 2005 9:39 pm

I'm borrowing these from my wife right now. I thought *I* was the audiophile in the house? With the headphones turned on, but no audio playing, you can hear a high pitched hiss. The sad part is, you need to have the headphones turned on to listen to anything! So you either get noise reduction (even if you don't need it) and the hiss, or just really expensive mufflers with no audio. It would be great if I could just drive them *without* the noise reduction in my normally quiet environments.

These headphones expose just how lossy any of the current codecs really are. Even something in "pristine" iTunes Music Store format sounds really muddy compared to a CD. I played The Overture from Phantom of the Opera (original cast recording) with EQ and SoundEnhancer off, both original disc and AAC ripped at 128. WOW. You don't know what you're missing with cheap headphones. You also don't know what you're missing with the AAC codec. I picked the Phantom because a pipe organ is about the most complex sound you will ever hear besides the human voice. Backed with an orchestra.

I'm not any kind of audio snob, especially since you have to really know what you're listening for to tell the difference. But in the recent movie version of Phantom, you can hear Christine's lips smack between words and the backpressure when she breathes too close to the mic. You'll never hear that with the iPod earbuds no matter how many times you listen.

My Sennheiser open air headphones with rare earth magnets reproduce the sound more accurately than the Bose set. But the Bose kills the iMac fan, CD spinning, and the wife on the phone in the other room. Pricey for the limited used they will get on the plane, but better than (almost) anything else in the house.

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Various said:

member since 07 Apr 2005 with 2 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:47 am

I just want to know why IPO is putting out such crappy reviews. There are already tons of other websites out there that have reviewed these headphones. The information presented in this article is junk. There is no material! I've been reading TMO for about 2 years now and love their stories. Could we try to get a better review that tells the reader a little bit more than "they sound nice"? Thanks for trying IPO, but this doesn't cut it.

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-hh said:

member since 04 Aug 2004 with 54 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:57 pm

The Bose headphones could very well be the best NC headphones on the market, but for $300, they had darn well better be.

Pragmatically, a far better choice are the "Plane Quiet" NC6 Noise Cancellation Headphones. They may only provide 80% of the performance, but at $55, they're a fraction of the cost.

This is important because the classical "noisy environment" that you're going to use a device like this is going to be on something like an airline flight...as such, the odds are good that the lifespan of this type of product is going to be defined by how long it survives without being accidentally broken, or left behind. For a $300 device, many people won't risk losing it, so therefore they won't take it with them on the trip...a lot of good that does!

The Plane Quiet also has some attributes that some people may prefer over the Bose. For example, when turned off (or dead battery), they continue to work fine as normal headphones. Next, they fold up better (IMO), and the connector cord is hard wired in to the headphones, so you can't lose it, whereas the Bose's cord isn't hardwired in and is thus, more easy to lose.

More info can be gleaned from this review:

http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorcontent/planequietnc6headphones.htm

Just a satisfied Plane Quiet NC6 customer.

-hh

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