Bose Quiet Comfort Internal Headphone Amp? - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Darren808 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 12:00 AM

Does the Bose Quiet Comfort incorporate a headphone amp? I know they don't work without a battery. I am seriously considering these vice seperate headphone and amp. While I believe I could do better than Bose I am overwhelmed by the numerous choices. My dad has Ultrasone's and they are real tinny on some songs but sound excellent on others. I feel that would require to much equalization for me to just listen to. I am thinking maybe Bose took alot of the guess equalization impedeance matching work out of the equation for me. Does anyone know if their amplification is any good? or similar to a cheap headphone amp like the cMoy?

Chickenman · #2 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 02:55 AM

Im sure that batterys for the noise canceling feature on the headphones. Why not state what you want in a headphone (e.g. closed, open, used for rock, classic, etc) and price range? Since you seem to be needing amplification, I'd look at the Grados because they're easy to drive. Hope this helps. Cheers!

JamesL · #3 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 03:17 AM

If a headphone is wireless, it has to have some sort of internal amplifying circuit and likely a DAC powered by the battery. The drivers in the headphones can't move by themselves.

That said, any kind of media player, such as a DAP or CD player has some kind of digital decoder(dac) and amplifies the signal. A headphone amplifier is simply a dedicated device that does a better job than the one built into your source.

Tmacfan4321 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesL

If a headphone is wireless, it has to have some sort of internal amplifying circuit and likely a DAC powered by the battery. The drivers in the headphones can't move by themselves.

That said, any kind of media player, such as a DAP or CD player has some kind of digital decoder(dac) and amplifies the signal. A headphone amplifier is simply a dedicated device that does a better job than the one built into your source.

The QuietComfort series isn't wireless. My dad owns a pair of QC2s. They are far from wireless.

scytheavatar · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 06:33 AM

If you are concern about volume get one of those easy to drive phones like the Grados or the Audio Technicas.

BigTony · #6 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 07:16 AM

The Bose QC does indeed contain an amp, but it has basically 2 settings, low and high. If I set the setting to high with an ipod as the source then I can't wind the ipod up over 40% before my ears start to complain.

However, the amp and NC circuit does add in some hiss, which can be annoying unless your in an noisey environment (like a plane train etc, i.e. where these puppies really shine).

I don't use them apart from whilst travelling.

Darren808 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-08-2008, 01:27 AM

I have the Bose IE and they sound excellent when amplified through my Companion 2 speakers but sound weak when playing directly out of an iPod. I was hoping the Bose Quiet Comforts would take care of some of that amplification for me. I don't feel like lugging around an external amp everywhere I go but might not mind if an amp was part of the headphones. Bose seems like the logical choice for weak iPods for this reason. Any other headphones that sound good through an iPod. I know about the Bose bashing on this thread but in side by side comparisons I rarely find something better. Then when I do it will sound bad on something listening to something else. See my dad's Ultrasone comment above. I mainly listen to Radiohead, Thom Yorke type music. Thanks.