Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
See it at Amazon.com for $399.99Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Amazing product if you are a business traveler...
First of all, let me say that I resisted buying the Bose QuiteComfort 2 headphones for a long, long time. I travel a fair amount for business, and had been looking for a pair of noise cancelling headphones for those long plane rides, but I didn't like the $300 price tag. I bought and returned a number of the cheaper Sony alternatives after finding them dramatically inferior. A business colleague had the Bose headphones, and I borrowed them for a test drive. There really isn't a comparison. Turn on the power and the ambient noise really does melt away, whether you have music playing or not. I now use them to review and edit audio files on my laptop when I'm flying, watching DVDs, as well as mowing the lawn while listening to my iPod. I never noticed the pressure that an earlier reviewer mentioned, but after reading their reviews it is there. However, it's never caused me any discomfort. Really, I have nothing bad to say about these headphones.
(3 out of 5)Too much ear pressure, horribly muddled sound
I had the Bose Triport headphones, which were okay. I used to use them at Starbucks while I was studying, but I could hear some crowd noise over them. So, because the Quietcomfort 2 has the same Triport technology PLUS noice-cancelling and a sturdier headband and case, I took back the Triports and got the Quietcomfort 2.
It helped cancel out more noise, yes, but whatever pleasure I gained in reduced background noise was canceled out by this damn annoying constant pressure on my eardrums! That's how the Quietcomforts cancel out noise -- they sample the background noise and pump an inverse waveform (basically the opposite sound) into the headphones. It works well for low frequencies, but it causes a constant ear pressure that is really annoying and slightly uncomfortable. I definitely could not wear these phones for an extended period.
More importantly, the sound on these things is horrible. The bass is a booming, synthetic creation -- music doesn't sound natural, but rather Bosey. Highs are lost. I feel like I'm listening to everything in a cave.
As for drowning out the cafe rustle, it did that, but just slightly better than the Triports. I took these headphones back within a few weeks.
In short, only get this if A) you fly a lot, B) you don't mind the constant pressure, and C) you like a synthesized, artificial-sounding bass. Otherwise, I highly recommend anything by Grado. Those are not as comfortable, but the sound is true to life and better than I've ever heard through a pair of headphones.
(5 out of 5)Great noise cancellation, very comfortable
Ironically, while most people buy a version 2 before they buy a version 3, I bought the Bose QuietComfort 2 *after* I had purchased the Bose QuietComfort 3 newer headphone set.
Here's the issue. The QuietComfort 3 are the brand new version, they cost more, and they are "smaller and lighter". They offer pretty much the exact same noise cancelling quality, but they fit on top of your ear vs being a larger, bulky around the ear style like the QuietComfort 2.
However, when I tested out the QuietComfort 3 for a month, I found them to be quiet painful. Not in a "pressure on the ear" sense - they were quite comfortable to wear. Rather, when you turned them on, the pressure they exerted on the actual eardrum in order to "cancel noise" hurt. It was a physical sensation, when you turned them on and felt that WHOMP of wave energy pressing against your eardrum. Anybody who thinks the QuietComfort 2 is uncomfortable in that sense hasn't tried the QuietComfort 3 yet.
Yes, I realize that in order to cancel out ambient sound waves, there has to be an opposite sound wave to cancel them out. It's simple physics. However, because the QuietComfort 2 is an around-the-ear design, it doesn't have to blast that cancelling wave right at your eardrum. The larger "air area" being encapsulated by the ear cups gives you more area to work with, and you can block out the sounds without bombarding the ear canal with signals. I did numerous tests with the QuietComfort 2, with my set of iPod playlists that had left-only and right-only sounds, and even during the quiet parts, it was quite comfortable.
Also, as much as people might say that the QuietComfort 2 has "large" ear pods, I really didn't find them bad at all. I was able to sleep with them, wear them without feeling silly at all. The case, in fact, is about the exact same size as the QuietComfort 3 case.
In all, I am EXTREMELY happy that I traded in my QuietComfort 3 headphones for the larger but "kinder" QuietComfort 2 set. The noise cancelling ability is pretty much exactly the same, and the long term comfort is FAR superior. Plus, since the QuietComfort 2 takes batteries vs rechargeable plug-in items, it means if I drain the battery, I simply plunk in new ones. With the QC3 I'd have to wait for a recharge, assuming of course I had the appropriate charger (and outlet access) for whatever airport or country I'm in.
(5 out of 5)Excellent Headphones
After reading some of the other reviews, I feel I must weigh in with my opinion of these headphones. I bought them online from Bose after some research of similar products. I'm not made of money, but $300 didn't seem bad, since I do really enjoy listening to music, and I own some incredible Klipsch speakers. I believe the most important component in an audio system is the final link, the actual sound transducers, whether they are the speakers, or headphones, so I tend to not scrimp on either.
That being said, I have listened to a wide variety of headphones, and I own a pair of Sony V600's. The sound quality of the Bose QC2's are on par with the best I have heard. I personally do not get the sensation of "pressure" mentioned by others, however the noise-cancelling feature does produce a sensation that, frankly, you don't get anywhere else. It's not bothersome to me at all, and I don't even notice it after the first minute of listening. As a frame of reference, I work in a noisy manufacturing environment, and I wear foam earplugs in my ears over 8 hours a day, so the QC2's are entirely unobtrusive to me.
As a testament to their noise-cancelling ability, I wear them when I mow my lawn with my cheap (noisy) riding mower, and in that capacity they are nothing short of phenomenal. I plug them into my Muvo MP3 player and turn the volume on the player up to about half to three-quarters, and I don't even notice the mower engine anymore. No other headphones I've tried were able to let me enjoy listening to music while I mowed.
The AAA battery seems to last forever. The construction of the QC2's can best be described as very high quality, but light. The 'phones weigh very little, but I wouldn't want to drop them off of a table for fear of them breaking. I tend to be very careful with my electronic "toys," but I still find myself treating these even more carefully than usual.
The bottom line is I am completely satisfied with my QC2's. They don't cancel all noise out completely, but they do reduce it very noticeably, cancelling lower frequencies (street rumble, footfalls on stairs and floors) better than higher frequencies (female voice, television sound.) When I bought them, Bose was running an offer of a free CD player with the purchase of the 'phones, and that helped push me over the fence. Even without the free player, I can recommend buying these without reserve.
(4 out of 5)Very good, but not as amazing as all that.
Okay, the main points first:
1. The noise-cancellation works fairly well, but has some problems.
2. The overall sound quality is good, but not exceptional.
3. The ear-pressure effect is there, but it's not that bad.
4. They cost $300.
First off, there's the noise cancellation. The effect is so subtle at first that I missed it completely, and thought there was a problem with my headphones. With a little experimentation, though, I figured out exactly what it was doing. (Disclaimer: I haven't been on a plane with them, which is apparently exactly where they shine the brightest.) The upside: in certain environments, they'll actually filter out a great deal of ambient noise. They're pretty nice at home. I live in a noisy apartment in a noisy neighborhood. They dampen out the sound of cars on the street, people talking outside my window, and (fortunately or not) they entirely kill the sound of my doorbell.
So far so good, but there's a drawback. While they cancel out some frequencies beautifully, they leave others virtually untouched. Specifically, human voices carry through the NR circuitry almost undiminished.
When I tried these in the cafe down the block, it was pretty unpleasant. They killed all the regular background noise, but left untouched the sound of conversations. This is really weird, because normally, human voices in public places are muted by background noise. With the QC2s on, I could hear everyone around me talking, and they were all talking really loudly, to overcome background noise that I couldn't hear. The effect was really annoying, and I found it impossible to concentrate.
As far as sound quality, it's fine, but nothing special. The sound is probably far better than the headphones that came with your walkman, but it's not even near audiophile quality. Compared to any number of reasonably good under-$100 headphones from Grado or Sennheiser, these are muddy and indistinct. Not a huge problem for most people, but folks who are used to good headphones will be disappointed.
The ear-pressure effect is definitely real. Anyone who's having trouble noticing it, try putting on the headphones without any input and turning them on and off while you're wearing them. You'll feel it. Unlike other reviewers, though, I don't find it uncomfortable or annoying, just weird. It's a little like your ears popping at altitude (or, rather, your ears not popping when you'd like them to).
Finally, there's the cost issue. I gotta tell you, these just don't sound nearly as crisp and detailed as much, much cheaper phones without the NR circuitry. Beyond that, though, a good set of closed-earpiece headphones will block out almost as much background noise as these do, and an in-the-ear set like Etymotics (I had a set of ER6s) will block out more noise and sound better for less money.
Bottom line - these are great headphones if:
1. $300 is not a lot of money to you and you like gadgets, or...
2. You travel a lot on airplanes, or...
3. (Like me) you have several pairs of headphones, and you don't count on any one set to do everything for you.