[Pandatail]

Can someone please advise me on which cans should I purchase between new Bose QC20i Noise Cancellation Earbuds and Shure SE535 Isolation earbuds?  I know how good Shure in-ear headphones are since I used to have a pair of E5C but I never had Bose before so I can't judge Bose quality.  I also know there is quite a difference in prices between the two that Shure SE535 earphones cost more than Bose QC20i.  Your feedbacks are very appreciated in helping me to make final decision on purchasing one of them.  Thanks.

 

[MacedonianHero]

The SE535s sound quite a bit better. The QC20's sound more in like with say the SE315, but they do isolate better than any headphone/IEM I've heard.
 
Hope this helps...

 

[Pandatail]

The Bose Q20i looks very cool but I don't really like the idea of unreplaceable battery on the noise cancellation unit where you connect to the device.  It's like throwing away money when that thing goes wrong or bad battery.

 

[heatofamatch]

  The Bose Q20i looks very cool but I don't really like the idea of unreplaceable battery on the noise cancellation unit where you connect to the device.  It's like throwing away money when that thing goes wrong or bad battery.

 
I eventually got over that "idea" and bought a QC20 anyway. I couldn't be happier. I'm not even worried if it truly just up and dies after 500 charges - I would get another pair without reservation. It's just that good and already so integral to my mental well-being, every time I put it on I'm totally glad I bought it instead of something else that according to other people is equally isolating - to my ears they're not.
 
Also my local Bose (non-US) has a thing where post-warranty, you can buy the same product at half-price, which is more than good enough for me.
 
For anyone else who's not me, the reason to choose the QC20 over a Shure product would be that you can't stand stuffing things down your ear canals. This is the main and perhaps only reason. I could go on and on about how I think the QC20 isolates more than even a properly inserted Shure product, but in reality each person's got different sensitivity to different frequencies of noise.  You need to audition and make your own decisions.
 
On the active noise cancellation front, Sony and Bose are pretty much the only brands still actively pushing, developing the technology for headphones. Sony hasn't updated the tech in their NC IEMs in 3-5 years. That leaves just the QC20 at the forefront of it all and nothing else to hold a candle up to it. So if you have accepted on principle that active NC is what you want, Bose is really the one to get.

 

[heatofamatch]

My apologies, double post!
 
Well, in that case, let me talk a little about the Shure option.
 
The reason I rule out Shure mostly is because I just don't like their signature sound. I auditioned the SE535 and to me it sounded like $15 earbuds with no highs whatsoever. I'm fully aware that it doesn't sound anything like that to the rest of you, but there's just no explaining it.
 
Sure, the QC20 also seems treble-shy, but if you check out the chart innerfidelity posted, and EQ accordingly to compensate, you can get a pretty bright sound out of it. I couldn't manage that with the SE535. Also the QC20, like Bose's non-NC earbuds the IE2, seems to need a lot of power to shine, this might be a consideration for some folks?
 
I've got other Shure models in my possession (SE210 I think?) and I fully recognize that technically they're superior. Things like positioning is wonderful with Shure... But I just can't get over the darkness, plus the QC20 really does fit me like a glove.

 

 

[Pandatail]

I agree to what you said about the fitting of Bose.  They feel very comfortable and very quickly to insert into ears without any hassle of adjusting anything.  My friend he owns a pair of Bose QC20i and said one thing that irritates him a lot is buzzing he tries to cope with every time he turns up the volume to the loud level he wants to listen to his music especially if you pause in the middle of any song at certain loud level, you will clearly hear buzzing.  Like I said, I used to own Shure E5C and they didn't have this issue.  Have you experienced the same issue from Bose QC20? 

 

[Pandatail]

I had a chance last night to test out my friend's Bose QC20i and I would have to say the bass is a bit stronger than Shure E5C.  One big thing that Bose QC20i let me down was when I turned up the volume on my friend's Windows 7 laptop to 60%, I started to hear noise and buzzing when I paused the music during playback.  I don't think it is normal but I hope Bose will try to fix the problem.  Generally, Bose QC20i is good looking but buzzing...

 

[heatofamatch]

I haven't gotten any buzzing except one time when I wore a fleece jacket, so some sort of static electricity must've carried over onto its plug. The buzzing has only occurred that one time.
 
Perhaps you could try the QC20 again with a different source, and see if that changes the buzzing at all?

 

[TechGamer]

Yeah I totally agree.... Laptops have a lot of static charges due to leaks... If you give the charges a path... Ie the Earphone cord... It will move... Try it with an ipod or a mobile device...

 

[TechGamer]

I was trying to decide between the Bose QC 20i and the Sennheiser IE80... Which one do you think is better...?

 

[M Coupe]

535, if music is the priority( esp the red Japan editions). Also, with noise isolation I don't find noise cancellation necessary. Honestly, it is not even close. Ymmv.

I would take the se215 over the Bose iem as well. They cost a fraction of the Bose too.

 

[enthusiast]

The distortion with the Bose also happens on an Audio Engine D1 DAC, which is supposed to be extremely good. So yes, the Bose 20i is a horrible headphone in terms of SQ, but a bliss if you really want to shut out every sound you can think of, let it be rain, waterfalls, engines, birds, stampedes, it is just that good. Then again they really need to step up their game in regards of the sound quality, it sounds like a $15 headphone supplied with some cheap mobile phone. Only the bass I like when playing anything but hiphop, mids are mumblish, yes, those voices, they just dont sound full. Highs are harsh and cymbals in particular are a pain. Imaging is bad, soundstage very small. Let me be very clear: A lot of detail will get lost if you buy these Bose's. The Soundlink Mini of Bose does quite a better job, but also shares that same Bose signature sound, which translates to bad sound if you are an audiophile; and also if you are a bass head. HipHop sounded horrible with the 20i. These headphones cannot produce high levels of sound, they are very silent-ish. Read my review on the Bose 20i page here on headfi.

 

[Info qc20i]

Can someone please advise me on which cans should I purchase between new Bose QC20i Noise Cancellation Earbuds and Shure SE535 Isolation earbuds?  I know how good Shure in-ear headphones are since I used to have a pair of E5C but I never had Bose before so I can't judge Bose quality.  I also know there is quite a difference in prices between the two that Shure SE535 earphones cost more than Bose QC20i.  Your feedbacks are very appreciated in helping me to make final decision on purchasing one of them.  Thanks.

Salut j'ai acheté des bise qu20i il y a 2 ou 3 semaine et il y a quel que chose qui me dérange plus que le bourdonnement quan je passe à côté d'un chantier de construction avec du marteau piqueur si je ne n'enlève pas me écouteurs les song du marteau piqueur et 4x Plus Fort et si je ne mais pas la batterie a off il grinch durant 3 ou 4 min et ces le cas quan j'embarque dans la voiture quan la porte se ferme ces vraiment agressants