BOSE (R) In-Ear Stereo Headphones
by BOSE
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of BOSE (R) In-Ear Stereo Headphones
Customer Review: Great sound, great fit after some trials... gym & run proof (for me)
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been on a mission over the past week to find good replacement earbuds for my iPhone, starting with the Shure SE115s. They sounded ok, but I couldn't stand the "stethoscope" effect (dull thumping in your ear when the cord hits/rubs your chest). So I took them back and got both the Bose earbuds and a cheaper $26 Sony in-ear pair, just to compare and see if they fit any better than the Shures. The Sonys were actually more comfortable than the Shures (to me) but the sound quality was muffled no matter how I positioned them in my ear. Plus after running around the house a few times, they slid out easily with all 3 adapters. 0 for 2.
Based on the Shures and Sonys, I've found I'm not big on the models you have to stick tightly in your ear with expanding foam or rubber. It just doesn't feel right to me, the music sounds too muffled, and apparently my ears are abnormal because they just don't stay in unless I'm perfectly still.
Moving on to the Bose buds, I tried to shove them in my ear like the others. LOL then I read the directions. I found that with the medium tips they fell out easily. But, with the largest tips, they fit snugly in my outer ear and didn't fall out even while running or attempted headbanging. Seriously. As a final test, I ran around the neighborhood, then left them in for a few hours while I did stuff around the house and outside. Not once did they come close to falling out even with sweat... didn't seem to reposition themselves like the orig iPhone ones did constantly and need adjustment, and sounded great!
Yeah, they won't be good for airplane use as they don't block the external noise too much, but they're definitely my preference for the gym and running.
Oh, some people have mentioned the rubber tips fall off easily. In your ear, no. In your pocket, YES! But Bose does give you 2 free pairs of tips when you register, so that's cool. And it does come with a nifty case perfectly sized for an iPhone or iPod. Coincidence??? Probably not...
Hope this helps!
Customer Review: Not so Good.
Summary: 2 Stars
Well, I bought these a few weeks ago when I decided to upgrade my ipod. They looked really cool in the package and were labeled as "in-ear" headphones. I was used to using my Shure SCL3 earphones, so I was used to using in ears and prefer the noise cancelling ablilities of those type of earphones.
First off, these Bose earphones are NOT "in-ear" noise cancelling type earphones. They rest over your ear canal like a NYC manhole cover (which is an accurate visual description of the steam coming out of my ears after having these for a couple of weeks). With the silicon tips, they make you feel like you want to push them into your ear to make a good seal, but they won't or can't because they are not meant to. Basically a loose fit. Even if they weren't promoted as "in-ear", and were labeled more correctly as sitting over your earhole, they still have a tendency to plop right out of your earhole rim.
The saddest thing about these earphones, is that they sound really warm and pleasing. Not true audiophile, like my Shure e500PTH (which I bought for like $350) where you can hear every separation, but nice like listening to your old records on an analog tube receiver and good record player.
I really wish that Bose would make some tips that extended just a bit further into the ear and fit snugly into the canal of the ear. You would truly get the BOSE experience (if you know what I mean).
So, basically, these are frustrating on good and bad levels. Good earphones that won't stay on your ear equals uselessness in my book. Having to fidget with the earphones every 5 minutes to get them to stay on makes listening to music unpleasureable. That's just sad.
By the way, these tips are the new tips, which I guess BOSE didn't really change for fit, but just to stay connected to the earphones themselves.
I had read in alot of reviews that Bose had fixed this problem with the tips and "not to worry". They only fixed the problem with tips coming loose from the earphones and NOT the poor fit.
Customer Review: sound is OK, but phones are very comfortable
Summary: 3 Stars
A couple of years ago, I purchased a pair of expensive Shure earphones that are designed to be inserted into the ear canal. The sound on the Shures phones is GREAT (much better than the Bose phones) and, because these phones create a tight seal in your ear canal, the Shures block out a lot of external noise. Unfortunately, I discovered that I can't stand to use phones that sit in my ear canal--the feeling of having something inserted into my ear canal is, for me, very uncomfortable. And, to gross you out, having to deal with ear wax build-up on the Shures was somewhat messy.
So I gave my Shures to my sister and began looking for ear bud replacements that don't have to be inserted into the ear canal. Enter the Bose TriPort IE Headphones, which sit just outside the ear canal. I've found these phone to be extremely comfortable. And, while the sound isn't close to the standard set by the Shures, the sound of the Bose phones is much better than the standard ear buds that come with most MP3 players; the Bose sound is certainly good enough for airplane flights, working out and my daily commute, which is what I use them for. I also like the fact that I don't have to remove the phones in order to hear what a flight attendant or someone else is saying to me--having to remove and reinsert the Shures was a major pain.
Bose also appears to have addressed the problem of the ear pieces falling off, which so many posters here have reported. A few weeks ago, I got a new free package of ear pieces from Bose that fit more securely on the phones.
The bottom line is that if you're looking for really great sound and if you find phones that fit into your ear canal to be comfortable, then it is probably worth paying more for a pair of Shures. But if (like me) you can't tolerate ear canal phones, then the Bose phones are an acceptable compromise--they're very comfortable and the sound is more than adequate.
Customer Review: Big Bang for the Money
Summary: 4 Stars
Already I had these earphones for over a year now. I must say, these earphones are PHENOMENAL! :]
Pros:
Sound: Very great bass. The bass on these babies actually shakes your eyeballs. It's hard to read when you have this on with a bass-friendly song.
Design: Very well designed. The earphones themselves are very good looking, and I often received comments on how cool it looks.
Cost: Compared to other high-end earphones, these are fairly cheap. Seeing how some Shure's can go up to $400, I think I made a fairly good decision.
Customer service: Since I bought the model's first generation, I really made the bad choice. The construction was weak. There were many negatives to the earphones when they first came out. Thus, the reviews were pretty bad. Seeing these complaints about how the ear plugs fell out easily, Bose sent a complimentary three pack of ear buds, at NO CHARGE. I did not even call them up to complain. They also sent me a strap to hold the earphones down when exercising. :]
Cons:
Construction: Construction was fairly cheap for the first generation. The wires were only covered by rubber, which could easily snap when it gets caught in a door handle (so lucky I wasn't holding my iPod so tightly).
I was constantly afraid that the wires would easily snap
Furthermore,the earphone jack was very weak. The connection from the jack to the wire was weak, and after several months of use, the sound varied whenever I tweaked or bent them.
(These are cons for the first generation)
Overall:
Very good with the sound. I was often inspired by many of the songs that I previously had, but heard it through different speakers and earphones. When you hear your music through these, you will most definitely buy them!
Customer Review: GREAT SOUND, ANNOYING FIT
Summary: 3 Stars
Bose addressed the issue of fit months ago when they began selling the new improved model bearing the same model number. The wire on the old version is black and on the new it is black and white. Despite Amazon's product picture, I'm guessing Amazon is shipping the black and white corded model. The sound is superb across the audio spectrum. Despite the claim of others, I have found no issues with the bass. It seem natural, not boomy or thin. I think that all reviewers have missed a key point when they criticize these or any ear/head phones. Much of the sound reproduction has to do with the device producing the sound. Back in day, consumers spent fortunes on "stereo receivers" because they understood that regardless of how good the speakers, if the receiver was middling, what you heard would be middling too. Today, the ear buds ARE the speakers and the MP3 player the "receiver". I paired these earphones with a Sandisk Sansa E260 MP3 player and maybe that is why I have experienced superb sound. I'm not dissing other players, I'm just relating my experience. As to the ear buds, yes it comes with several sizes and I have found that while exercise walking, they do NOT come out. In particular, for me the left ear bud is and stays precisely positioned but the right one seems to constantly require a nudge in place. If I don't nudge it, I find that the stereoscopic imaging is compromised with more weight then going to the left channel. Like most folks I download songs as well as rip songs from CD. Because the signal is so much better with ripped songs, you can really appreciate the fullness of sound the Bose reproduces. If you intend to use these while running or brisk walking I don't recommend them. It is a shame that BOSE still can't get it 100% right. Goodness knows at the high price of the Bose, there should be enough of a profit margin to do so.