Bose QuietComfort 2 Consumer Headphones

Product Rating
4 of 5
42 reviews

Price Range
$229 - $300

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Product Description

Summary

I was hoping for total silence and found that in Noise cancelling mode it cuts noise by about 50%. That is not what I was hoping for. I have no opinion on the sound quality given that I bought it for only the reason of cutting off outside noise. I dfo not recommend it and I might send this one back before the 30 day quaranty expires...

Strength

Weakness

Summary

I was first introduced to these headphones during a layover in Denver. I thought that they were amazing but who needed to spend $300.00 on something like that. I was told I'd have 30 days to check them out and if I didn't like them I could return them or if I wanted the new QC3 units, I could trade up for full value. I passed.
By the time I got into St. Louis I was already second guessing my decision and wished I had succumbed to the impulse buy. I set up the laptop and went to Bose.com where I discovered that there was a Bose store in St. Louis at the galleria. After a good night's sleep I was off to the galleria where I tried 4 other brands of noise cancelling headsets. I purchased the Bose content knowing I could return them if they were less than satisfactory. While at the store I realized I wanted the available cell phone acessories ($39.00). I actually love the headphones at work and when the top in down on my car, the sound of the music is outstanding and the noise cancellation is first rate. I was having trouble however with the cell phone accessory and started thinking about dumping the whole shebang. The I discovered another brand of headphone that claims noise cancellation and excellent cell phone ability when driving in a convertible. I called to ask if they offered a 30 day money back trial period and they did. I recieved the other brand in less than a week. In less than 48 hours they were on the way back to the OEM for refund. They had less noise cancelling ability and the sound quality for music was noticeably less accurate. In addition, the microphone had problems of its own and was less understandable to people I spoke with than were the Bose's. The one thing I did like was that they included a wind screen for the microphone, something Bose forgot. Once I rigged up a windscreen for the Bose's mic, I had no further complaints.

All in all $300 skins is a bunch of money, but if you want noise cancellation and good quality (not excellent or exceptional just good) music reproduction AND cellular communication in a convertible....you get what you pay for

Strength

Noise cancellation is better than any of the 5 competitors tested.
Light weight
comfortable
long battery life on a single AAA battery (about 30-40) hours
nice carrying case

Weakness

Cost
too much bass boost

Summary

The Bose QC2s have great presence and sound quality. Terrific performance through a range of circumstances. They are comfortable and I have worn them on long flights to Paris. I liked them so much I bought them. Modular design is great when you just want to sleep or enjoy a quieter setting. They do a great job of reducing the drone of both the high and low frequencies of jet engines and surprisingly efficient at cutting out conversation and crying babies. The sound quality is on par with the triports save the minor electronic background noise generated by the active noise cancelling. Which is only really noticable at low volume in a quiet setting. Really comfortable earcups only discomfort I experienced is slightly increased pressure from active noise cancelling on my eardrum.

Strength

The best at cutting noise with triport quality sound. Great in noisy settings and good in quiet settings.

Weakness

No pass through (passive) listening without battery power or noise cancelling. Note to BOSE - I would like to hear the triport technology sans noise cancelling for quiet settings to avoid the albeit small annoyance of active cancellation looking for something to do. Also eardrum pressure becomes bothersome after a while in a quiet setting.

Summary

The Bose QC2 is not a perfect headphone. It is likely the best headphone for travel that I have yet encountered, and that remains its speciality. For that, it has no equal. This is my third set of noise cancelling 'phones. I have had some cheapo Aiwas (terrible and noisy), Sennheiser PXC250s and now these. I know that "in canal" phones like the Etymonics can do a great job cancelling noise, but I just can't stand feeling those things in my small ear canals. The Bose QC2 is nicely packaged with a carrying case, extension cable and adapters. Construction is lightweight for comfort but has no blatent issues. A single AAA battery powers the internal amplifiers for about 35 hours, so I always stash a couple of spares in the case (which also has room for my iPod - nice touch!). Another nice feature is the oddly hidden input pad that allows the QC2 to be used in high or low efficiency modes; very useful when going from portables to stationary sources. I picked up the Bose after a direct in-flight A-B test against my Sennheisers, courtesy of another passenger. While the PXC250s are admirably neutral and do a decent job of eliminating outside noise, they are no match for the Bose QC2. Noise reduction is almost startling, and the residual hiss of the electronics is far less in the Bose than any other I have tried. Sonically, the Bose QC2s are overly warm and bass heavy. While that may seem a "bad thing", most environmental noise is low-frequency in nature; so the extra bass actually sounds about right when in a plane or a noisy street. By comparison, the "better balanced" Sennheisers sound thin under such circumstances. This certainly makes the QC2 sound "exciting" upon first listen. The bottom end, while a bit muddy, seems endlessly extended and projects a sense of body that few headphones ever achieve. The highs are slightly subdued or distant, but do not give the impression of being "cutoff". The QC2 shares another Bose characteristic: they tend to homogenize recordings and make them all sound "good". Old jazz recordings - no problem. Thumping dance music - no problem. String quartets - no problem. New, old, it doesn't matter. Nothing sounds thin, nothing sounds harsh, not ever. By comparison, my old favorite Grado headphones sound almost analytical, plainly exposing the differences between recordings. While the Grados are no doubt more accurate, there is a smaller amount of music that sounds really terrific on them as they mercilessly reveal flaws - and gloriously reveal well done efforts. The Bose presents an acceptable soundstage, sometimes surprising with depth. Being internally amplified, they also sport tremendous efficiency - my iPod can drive them to dangerous levels with ease. While I prefer my Grado headphones on good source material, the Bose QC2s never disappoint or fatigue. And on less-than-stellar source material, they really shine, making many recordings sound better than they have any right to. Overall, I am quite happy with the Bose QC2. It accomplishes its goals in style and with great efficacy. What it lacks in sheer accuracy it makes up for with its own style and musicality, providing a comfortable and wonderfully isolated listening experience.

Strength

*Tremendous noise reduction *Very comfortable *Very efficient *"One size fits all" EQ actually works

Weakness

A bit expensive

Summary

These headphones are, in a word, decent. To those who swear by Bose products, I don't understand you. Though the first reviewer was obviously not serious, the second was obviously a Bose zealot, and should be treated with equal scrutiny. The quiet-comfort headphones do serve their purpose -- they offer comfortable listening with decent sound quality and useful noise-cancelling features. However, they are not the headphones they ought to be for the exorbitant price of $250. First, sound quality is lacking. The midrange frequencies (~4-8khz) are harsh and overemphasized, and the bass is the definition of boomy. There is absolutely no bass clarity, and voice playback is noticably unrealistic. These headphones do NOT have a flat frequency response at all and should not be considered audiophile grade for any purposes. But that said, they sound decent, and the everyday listener will probably not care that they don't sound the best. To sum it up, these headphones are another amazing feat of the Bose marketing department. Someone in their engineering department must have a skewed ear or something, because all the headphones and products I hear out of them consistently have the same weird frequency response... yet, the marketing department continues to (quite sucessfully) make the public believe they are the best on the market. The bottom line: these are mediocre to good headphones; there are much better offerings on the market. But they do their job, and if your ear likes them then by all means, enjoy them.

Strength

The noise-cancelling works well when you need it. Battery life is good.

Weakness

Mainly,they do *not* have anywhere close to $250 sound quality. Major drawback: the noise-cancelling feature has to be turned on in order to listen -- so if you run out of batteries, tough luck. But the batteries do last fine, so that shouldn't be too big a problem. It's annoying that you have to flip the on switch just to listen though. In response to the previous reviewer ("$250!!! What on earth is so bad about that???") The truth is, these are a pair of *headphones* and there are better products on the market for a fraction of that price.