Accessories:
The headphones come with three pairs of StayHear™ tips (small, medium, and large), a shirt clip, and a carrying case. Shirt clips are always nice to have, although mine sadly broke within the first month of use. The carrying case, on the other hand, is unique, in the way that it’s meant to hold the IE2s and your audio player of choice inside, rather than just the headphones. The case was just a bit too small for my iPod Touch, though.
Design:
I find the black and white striped cable to be an odd choice of aesthetics. It’s certainly eye-catching and lets everyone around you know that you have enough disposable income to afford a renowned brand like Bose, but it just doesn’t strike me as fashionable in the way that Beats by Dre is. When trying to stand out, black and white are not the first colors to enter my mind. But in the end this isn’t really much of a concern for me.
For my experience, at least, build quality has turned out to be pretty decent. The 45 degree angled plug is great for relieving stress near the connector, and is something I would like to see more audio companies do. And while the way the cord constantly tangles is constantly irritating, the included shirt clip does help to alleviate this issue.
Comfort:
Comfort seems to be one of Bose’s strongest points, and they stay true to that with the IE2. The StayHear™ tips are a unique and unusual design, but once you learn how they work (and figure out the right size for your ears), they provide an amazingly soft and stable fit. You’ll quickly forget their presence not only because they can be barely felt in your ears, but also because you’ll never have to worry about them falling out. You could literally spend every waking minute with these things on without any problems.
Isolation:
Unfortunately, the comfort and stability the StayHear™ tips provide did not come without sacrifices. These ear tips don’t even try to form an acoustic seal in your ears, which noticeably affects the noise isolation and perhaps the sound quality, but most noticeably isolation. Bose clearly states on the back of the box that the IE2s are “Not designed for noise reduction”, but this feels like an understatement to me. There is no noise isolation to speak of here. Everything you hear with your unobstructed ears will be heard when you put the IE2 on (before you put music on of course). Being able to hear your surroundings has its merits, but on noisy trains and busy streets, I found it impossible to focus on my music. I tend to use these things at home more often now, even though it defeats the purpose of their portability.
Sound:
The lows aren’t necessarily weak, but the IE2 helped me realize that I’m a bit of a basshead. The mid and upper-bass are adequately textured and not too bloated, but sub-bass is rather weak. This gives the odd sensation of hearing the bass well but never really feeling it all that much. Bassheads should stop reading this review now and look elsewhere.
The highs are also recessed, almost to the point of being veiled, darkening the overall signature. I’m still trying to figure out how I like my highs, but this is definitely not it. But at the very least, the highs won’t cause any listening fatigue here.
The mids are probably the strongest part of the sound signature. I wouldn’t call it spectacular, but they are clear with a decent amount of detail and definition. I actually like how acoustic instruments sound with these headphones.
The soundstage has a decent amount of width, but it’s lacking a bit when it comes to depth and height. Instruments are also separated well, although I don’t perceive much “air” between them.
Overall, I believe that Bose was going for a smooth, gentle, and neutral sound that wouldn’t offend or tire out anyone. After all, if it’s comfortable enough to wear all day, shouldn’t you be able to listen to it all day? But to me, the result simply sounds dull and not quite as lively as the Bose marketing led me to expect.
Conclusion:
Bose caters to regular consumers rather than professionals or audio enthusiasts, and it shows with the IE2. The IE2 will satisfy most casual listeners, with its “better than iBuds” sound quality and unbelievable amount of comfort. For them, that will be enough to justify the $100 price. But like many others have pointed out, you can easily find better value elsewhere. Since upgrading to better headphones, I mostly use the IE2 for gaming on my Nintendo 3DS now, where audio fidelity isn’t as much of a concern.