Bose On-Ear Stereo Headphones
by BOSE
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List Price: Our Price: $79.99 You Save: $120.00 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Bose On-Ear Stereo Headphones
Customer Review: Review Update on: Leery so far..
Summary: 3 Stars
Update of Review:
***
Well, it's been a couple of weeks and I have to stick with three stars- maybe three and a half. The sound of these headphones has substantially improved with use, but they remain bass-heavy and require equalization tweaking to render some music listenable. As for something like an iPod Shuffle without EQ adjust? Forget it. To me, that - coupled with the construction issues identified in the original review - is not consistent with the price of these cans. That said, they sound pretty good when the bass is attenuated, and they're pretty comfortable. But if it were my money on the line, I would investigate alternatives like Grado or Sony.
Original Review
***
I think it important to say that I got these headphones for free. In other words, I don't have financial skin in the game and feel like I have to defend a purchase to protect my ego because I made an iffy financial decision. I should also add that I own some Bose speakers and think they're fine - I am not an advocate or a detractor of the company. Lastly, I have lost some of my hearing in the upper ranges, so I may be missing some performance nuances - though I still hear pretty well - e.g. when I hear music on high-end speakers, I know the difference.
There. With that out of the way...
Sound: Out of the box, these cans were so bass-heavy that it was overwhelming and unpleasant. Had I purchased them, I would have returned them immediately. However, I read some comments saying a burn-in was needed to improve the sound, so I decided to let them play at moderate-to-loud loud volume for the past couple of evenings over a wide range of musical styles. Now, in principle, this burn-in idea strikes me as not unreasonable. If the speaker surrounds are brand new and relatively "stiff" (for lack of a better word), the highs and mids might be attenuated relative to the bass. In other words, it may be that the bass was right, but the upper registers under represented, and I was playing the cans overly loud to pick up the highs and mid-range.
In the event, I tried them for a few minutes this morning and the sound seemed to be much more balanced and listenable. I will report back on this after I have a little more time to test.
Build Quality: Let's face it, for $160 the hinge assemblies should be machined aluminum, not plastic. No matter how you slice it, you have to deduct a star for employing a cheap and brittle material on a moving part at this price point. However, the band seems okay to me, in contrast to those who say it's flimsy, and the leather covers are very soft and comfortable. There were also some negative comments about the cord, but the cord seems pretty typical to me. At least it's replaceable.
Engineering: Just an observation that whatever Bose did, the bass port really has an amazing effect on the sound. If you cover the ports with you fingers, the sound completely transforms, and not in a positive way. So that's kind of slick.
That said, these headphones might turn out to be acceptable or even very good (pending more burn-in and listening.) However, it seems unreasonable to me that a customer should need to waste hours of time to "burn in" a new set of headphones. For $160 Bose can't do this before shipping the things? Also, whether the plastic construction is detrimental to durability or not, they should throw five dollars worth of aluminum into the product and make the build quality reflect the price.
In light of these shortcomings, these headphones probably cannot attain five stars (how can you "five star" a product that you can so readily identify areas of improvement for?), but with outstanding sound they might merit a four. As I said, I will revisit and rate after I have a bit more time with burning these in. This morning, at least, I was cautiously optimistic.
Customer Review: Attractive design, but disappointing sound quality
Summary: 2 Stars
I collect headphones as a hobby, and I've reviewed a number of them here on Amazon. To make things easier(and my review more objective), I've created a six-song test with a rating scale, where 0 - 2 is abysmal, 2.1 - 4 is poor, 4.1 - 6 is mediocre, 6.1 - 8 is above average, and 8.1 - 10 is excellent.
The songs I used were chosen for the wide range of musical genres they represent. They were "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac, "Every Planet We Reach is Dead" by Gorillaz, "Concerto Grosso no. 26 in D Major" by Handel, "I Know You Are, But What Am I?" by Mogwai, "Afro Blue" by Triplexity, and "The Patient" by Tool. All songs were encoded in Ogg Vorbis at 192 kbps or higher, and played from a Cowon iAudio 7 with all sound effects turned off and the equalizer set to flat.
Sound Quality(4.5/10)
The Chain(6/10) - decent sound stage, decent highs, but too much bass. Muddy and bland mid tones.
Every Planet(7.5/10) - decent sound stage, decent highs, good bass, but weak mid tones.
Concerto(3/10) - muddy with a subpar sound stage. Very bland overall, with neither crisp highs nor rich mid tones.
I Know You Are(3/10) - muddy with noticeable distortion. Overpowered lows and highs. Decent sound stage.
The Patient(3/10) - muddy with noticeable distortion. Decent sound stage. Unimpressive treble and mid tones, but nice bass. Terrible separation of instruments.
Afro Blue(5/10) - nice, smooth bass, but small sound stage and bland, muddy mid tones. Highs sound fairly crisp, but music is a bit muddy outside of that.
Overall Sound(4.5/10) - Sound quality is borderline between mediocre and poor. Lows are moderately overpowered but fairly clean. Distortion was present at higher volumes, and in songs with a large amount of bass, but overall it was kept fairly low. Mid tones are bland; severely lacking. They seem to be less emphasized than the bass and the treble, perhaps because some consumers perceive quality through exaggerated bass and highs(which may appear to make the music sound crisp). Highs are somewhat bright, but otherwise unimpressive.
Some sound stage, but still very lacking. Music occasionally seemed to be coming from "outside the headphones", but this didn't happen often. Instrument separation is slightly muddled, although not terribly. These seem to be best for listening to musical genres which emphasize bass, but even so, better headphones in this price range can be easily found for this purpose.
Design(9/10)
Attractive, modern styling. They look sleek and contemporary, but not so much that they appear tacky. Compact, supra aural design that can fold up and be placed inside an included case. Relatively sturdy. Lightweight body, adjustable headband, and generous padding makes them comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The casing containing the diaphragm is made of plastic, but seems quite solid.
Noise Isolation(5/10)
Moderate noise isolation effectively blocks out most ambient noise in a suburban setting. Louder foreground noise, however, still comes through only slightly muffled. Noise leakage is also an issue with these headphones, as it is fairly easy to hear music from them when they're playing at only a moderate volume.
Bottom Line(4/10)
Low overall value. While these headphones were attractive, comfortable, and mobile, I don't feel the low sound quality can be justified at this price. However, opinions on headphones vary wildly according to personal taste, and I always recommend listening to many different pairs before buying. Listen to the Bose, but also listen to Grado, Denon, Sennheiser, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic, AKG, etc. before choosing a set to purchase.
Customer Review: A different perspective
Summary: 5 Stars
So i'll write the review today, 24 hours after purchase, and i'll update in a month - in case there's a difference.
For me, the tell sign of a good headphone is whether or not my ipod sounds good with it. I don't mess with default EQ levels on my ipod - but i find an ipod with ear buds - even my shure E2c's - to sound incredibly horrible. IMHO you need over the ear head phones at a minimum for bass assist. In any event, that's the bar with which I measure the sound - i'm not looking for my $2k stereo system and $5k speakers on my head.
I like the sound of these. Another reviewer wrote that they block a fair amount of noise and he's right. My office is just in front of the office printer and i rarely noticed it there today. I also didn't hear the delivery guy dropping off a package, asking me to sign. That was interesting. Walking to the breakroom to get water I was aware of my own foot steps - something i usually experienced with my QC's on the airplace.
A couple of things I noticed, especially after reading other reviews here:
1. Quality/construction: i'm used to using my studio headphones - Sony's - which are amazing, awesome, but heavy. Often, on flights to europe from california i find i have to take them off and give the top of my head a break - and it's not that they're on too tight or some such - they're just heavy. Here, with the Bose, i'm finding i'm welcoming the lighter weight. Yes, they feel .. "flimsier?" than the studio phones - but i don't think they'd fall apart. We'll see what 1 month shows.
2. Sound: for me, this really should be sound/size. I really held off buying an ipod shuffle because it seems rediculous to put it on the other end of huge sony monitors. :) These are still bigger than i wanted - i really want over ear sound in ear, which isn't going to happen - but the fold up - a plus - and have a case - a double plus - and the bass is good. Yes, it's Bose - and yes it's $179 - but considering Shure in ears can't give you the same sound ON AN IPOD for twice the price - i'm happy with the sound.
3. Ear squishing: When I put them on, it never occured to me i'd have to pull the ear pieces down. My head is fairly small and i've always used the smallest settings on headphones - these were the first that i had to pull down a notch. I'd suspect that'd make the ear piece on my ear "tighter" - i'd expect them to be looser as you elongate the extension/plastic bar to make the head piece bigger. I haven't noticed a problem at all. Squishing is not a problem - until i read it here, i'd not have even thought of it.
Overall i dont doubt i'm paying a premium for the brand, but i don't know of anything else comparable at the same size/form factor. We'll see in a month how they hold up.
July 6 2007 Update
I re-read the review and I still believe everything in it is accurate. My ears get a little warm after working with them - but to be fair, that's at least 5-6 hours of straight use. On an airplane where i might be stuck for 8-12 hours i wondered if that's a good thing or not - but you're supposed to get up and walk around every 2. That short break on the plane - or for me, to the breakroom for more water - was more than enough to put them back on and be comfortable. My ears weren't burning, like another reviewers - just a bit warm. I think they're superb. I think they make my ipod sound like the $499 investment it was and not the crap it is without these headphones. I highly recommend the product.
Customer Review: Best Bang for you Buck
Summary: 5 Stars
Now I admit these are quite expensive. For this money, you can certainly get a pair of better sounding headphones but for best sounding, portable, and private listening? This is it. The only set that can beat this is the B&W P5 at $300!
Let's look at other alternatives: Over-ear audiophile headphones - Big, bulky, and you'll probably have to carry an amp to power these guys. In-ear buds - they are really portable, but comfort? No way. Sound? Tiny and inside your head.
The sound is crystal clear. I can hear all ranges clearly but it does lean a little bit toward bass. These phones have really good bass and perfect for listening to jazz. However, if you like hip-hop or dance, they may not give enough bass. However, a simple tuning of the EQ settings on your player should fix this problem. But it is recommended that you turn off all EQ settings if you want to listen to the music as it was intended by the artist.
I never tried noise-cancellation headphones because I'm too cheap to spend extra money on batteries. Also, it's bad enough that I have to worry about the mp3 player running out of battery, now I have to worry about the headphones? No thanks. Having said this, the memory-foam offer really good noise-isolation. It's actually really hard to hear external noises with these phones on and the closest or loudest sounds will sound muffled. The ear cushions are also extremely comfortable. The most comfortable portable headphones ever.
The only downside is portability and possibly construction. You cannot fold them to a really small size like the Senn PX-100 and the carry case is rather big. But if you have a good-sized jacket pocket, you can probably store them there. The construction feels cheap as it is all plastic and the cord is very thin, the thinnest I ever seen. However, I heard that you get great support from Bose so it should not be an issue. These phones would also require more power from your player to drive them since they sound about 2 notches lower in volume compared to my other headphones.
Compared with B&W P5s: The P5s are not portable at all. The P5s are much bulkier and may not fit in any jacket pocket. P5s have better construction and build since it's made entirely of steel and leather, however they may feel heavy after long hours of listening. Even more power is required as they sound about 3 or 4 notches lower in volume compared to most portable headphones. Lastly, the p5s are $100 more! Basically, sound is more balanced and neutral in P5s, but all other areas, I feel the Boses beat it. It is really up to you if this ever-so-small improvement of accuracy in sound is worth $100.
I always benchmark portable headphones with possibly the best one for portable players out there, the Grado SR60, and the Boses fared very well. The Boses have a smaller sound stage which is a given since they are of a closed-back design. Clarity is near comparable to the SR60s but not quite there. And as expected, the Boses are not as neutral and have more bass. Unfortunately, the open-back SR60 would noisily disturb others in a public environment.
Customer Review: amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
damn this things are amazing, i put off buying these for a while because YES, They are very expensive, however i decided to buy them about 2 weeks ago and they are amazing, i dont even miss the money!!!! everything sounds absolutely fantastic with these, bass is superb and so are the mids and highs, crystal clear sound. they seem sturdy enough to carry around but the carry case is portable enough if you wish to carry them in your backpack to skool or work or watever. You will not regret buying these babies they are fantastic. it is also worth mentioning that they are not noise cancelling but because of the super-confortable memory foam cushion material that adapt to the shape of your ears, THEY DO BLOCK OUT ALOT OF OUTSIDE NOISE, i live in NY so blocking out traffic,horns,and people screaming on the streets is essential, and these sets brings all of those obsructions down to super minimum volume. 100% RECOMMENDED.
p.s: if you are upgrading from those terrible ipod headphones you are in for one BIG improvement here, you will not believe the sound!!!
i forgot to mention something really nice about these headphones, the CORD is perfect length and it comes off right at the top of the headphones' left earcup meaning that if you accidentally pull it (and it takes force to pull it off) it will disconnect and not break the actual cord which means that if you were to BREAK the chord you can simply REPLACE it with a new one without compromising the headphones!!!! i accidentally SAT on the plug and it broke off at the tip where it connects to my mp3, with any other headphone the whole thing would have been ruined but with THESE BOSE i just replaced the cord with a new one!......and good as new!!!! im on my 9th month with these babies and i havent had any problems, they are still sturdy as the first day i bought them and i take them with me everywhere, they have survived rain, snow, heat and super cold weather and still function fantastic and ear-cushions are still in excellent condition. HOPE THIS HELPS! BYE
year 1 1/2, still sound amazing, the cushions are showing a bit of tear around the middle, but this is expected because of EXTREME heavy use, i take these EVERYWHERE and use them EVERYDAY, this hasn't compromised any part of the sound. I AM STILL EXTREMELY HAPPY WIHT THESE HEADPHONES. still recommended, i would buy them again.
2 years, more tear on the cushions no need to have them replaced yet though they still sound amazing!, top head band is also losing some of its nice cushion material because of heavy use and i rarely use the carrying case. these things still sound amazing, survived the winter storms and snow, had to replace the cable again, so $5 more dollars, i ordered 2 just in case. its to be noted that i use these things ALOT! everyday ! and still sound as good as new, they look worn but its not a problem for me, i might get the cushions replaced next year but i see no need for that yet. STILL AMAZING !!! would STILL buy them again.