donedj
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2011
- Posts
- 236
- Likes
- 28
Well, first of all I do know that in the community the Bose products are low regarded, and I agree.
This is just a quick review of AE2, and then will want recommendations of something else.
A little background;
I have a long history of music, not the classic audiophile type, because I have been in music for long years. I was a DJ for about 10 years, playing in many clubs, and in various countries in Europe, then life changed and I went onto corporate world, moved up etc...
Anyways, those days of living with music in the music are gone. I worked with many types of equipment, from old Pioneer tube amps, to modern EV amps, to Yamaha full range EQs... Back in the day these equipments were expensive, mostly made in USA, Germany or Japan, and not extremely easy to find...
Anyways;
Nowadays I have some foreign assignment, and will be traveling more, and staying in hotel suites, etc... So I will need some headphones.
So it starts here;
Being the most accessible stuff out there, and supposedly high quality (which I never did own before), I went to the Bose store, and got myself AE2, and IE2 to test out, until I find the good stuff I am looking for. They offer 30 day return policy which gives ample time to try the stuff. I know this is not the forum for IE2, but they are extremely comfortable earpieces, with decent sound quality, some distorted bass, good mids, decent treble. But they are just what they are not the best in quality, but extremely comfortable.
Now for the AE2
Yes, these headphones are once again, extremely comfortable. Really great stuff. Amazing. Light, comfy, does not hurt, I wore them for about 6 hours couple days ago straight, and they did not bother me for a single minute.
The quality seems to be decent at most, definitely not worth $150. Maybe $40. Decent quality plastic, cable is thin and not confidence giver, the cups are great, looks well made, but replacements are expensive. The actual drivers, (did not really look in extreme detail) seem to be decent made, but for sure not $150 worth. They come with carrying case, and that is it.
Sound;
I am extremely mixed with this. good and bad.
The one thing that comes to sound, and how to describe it quickest is "Does no tire you".
That is the way to describe it, the sound will not tire you a bit, as I mentioned 6 hours of listening to stuff straight, just did not tire me a bit. But in the 6 hours, what you end up realizing is that the sound is tireless as well as lifeless... It feels like Bose just created a headphone that will appeal to the masses, they way they want to see. A big action Hollywood movie you see and then once you are done you forget about it... There is no deep plotline, there is no character actors, no subplots etc.
The headphones show their best offering while listening to acoustic driven music, softer stuff. While listening to various music, the Lionel Richie - Hello started, and in that song the headphones literally shined. Amazing I said, then Cindi Lauper had Time after Time, the same excellent outcome... But that is not what I always listen to.
The bass is almost non-existent with these things, very mellow, and loses itself in transition, and confusion. It does not know what to do with it. In club songs that I was listening, at times it was extremely muddy, at times it was clear but way in the background.
In conclusion;
I do not recommend these for $150. For $50 they are a good buy. For $75 a decent buy, for more no go.
After this testing of the headphones, I have decided to look and ask for advice, as I have been out of the game for quite a while.
I will be commuting a bit with these headphones, and will be using in my residence as well. I will be using my Android phone to run them, and my laptop. So the requirements become a bit of a hassle.
What I am looking for;
1 - Good/great sound quality
2 - To be used by a portable media player (smartphone), so the phones should not need an amp
3 - Must keep the sound in mostly, and not open up to outside too much (do not want to disturb people)
4 - Must be light, and in decent size (If the actual pads are the same or similar size to Bose AE2 it would be great). I do not want a 1lb brick to carry on my head. Maybe up to 8-9oz, 250gr.
5 - Price up to $200
6 - I do not like Made in China stuff, and do not find value in paying $200 for stuff that is made using $1 labor... So I would prefer made elsewhere. Of course the cheaper it gets, the more I don't care where it is made. But if the quality, sound, comfort all there, I will let myself accept the phones no matter where they are made in.
7 - I listen to all kinds of music, mostly classic rock, hard-rock, 80's metal, house/underground, brit pop, top 40... and anything else I feel like. These will be at times used for watching movies etc. I do not want a boombox, with massive amounts of base, a good clean base with good amounts of it. I am for the quality over quantity when it comes to base.
8 - No i do not want in-ear, in-canal phones.
Am I asking too much?
Well that is why I am here.
To get opinions from you guys.
Thanks for all the inputs.
This is just a quick review of AE2, and then will want recommendations of something else.
A little background;
I have a long history of music, not the classic audiophile type, because I have been in music for long years. I was a DJ for about 10 years, playing in many clubs, and in various countries in Europe, then life changed and I went onto corporate world, moved up etc...
Anyways, those days of living with music in the music are gone. I worked with many types of equipment, from old Pioneer tube amps, to modern EV amps, to Yamaha full range EQs... Back in the day these equipments were expensive, mostly made in USA, Germany or Japan, and not extremely easy to find...
Anyways;
Nowadays I have some foreign assignment, and will be traveling more, and staying in hotel suites, etc... So I will need some headphones.
So it starts here;
Being the most accessible stuff out there, and supposedly high quality (which I never did own before), I went to the Bose store, and got myself AE2, and IE2 to test out, until I find the good stuff I am looking for. They offer 30 day return policy which gives ample time to try the stuff. I know this is not the forum for IE2, but they are extremely comfortable earpieces, with decent sound quality, some distorted bass, good mids, decent treble. But they are just what they are not the best in quality, but extremely comfortable.
Now for the AE2
Yes, these headphones are once again, extremely comfortable. Really great stuff. Amazing. Light, comfy, does not hurt, I wore them for about 6 hours couple days ago straight, and they did not bother me for a single minute.
The quality seems to be decent at most, definitely not worth $150. Maybe $40. Decent quality plastic, cable is thin and not confidence giver, the cups are great, looks well made, but replacements are expensive. The actual drivers, (did not really look in extreme detail) seem to be decent made, but for sure not $150 worth. They come with carrying case, and that is it.
Sound;
I am extremely mixed with this. good and bad.
The one thing that comes to sound, and how to describe it quickest is "Does no tire you".
That is the way to describe it, the sound will not tire you a bit, as I mentioned 6 hours of listening to stuff straight, just did not tire me a bit. But in the 6 hours, what you end up realizing is that the sound is tireless as well as lifeless... It feels like Bose just created a headphone that will appeal to the masses, they way they want to see. A big action Hollywood movie you see and then once you are done you forget about it... There is no deep plotline, there is no character actors, no subplots etc.
The headphones show their best offering while listening to acoustic driven music, softer stuff. While listening to various music, the Lionel Richie - Hello started, and in that song the headphones literally shined. Amazing I said, then Cindi Lauper had Time after Time, the same excellent outcome... But that is not what I always listen to.
The bass is almost non-existent with these things, very mellow, and loses itself in transition, and confusion. It does not know what to do with it. In club songs that I was listening, at times it was extremely muddy, at times it was clear but way in the background.
In conclusion;
I do not recommend these for $150. For $50 they are a good buy. For $75 a decent buy, for more no go.
After this testing of the headphones, I have decided to look and ask for advice, as I have been out of the game for quite a while.
I will be commuting a bit with these headphones, and will be using in my residence as well. I will be using my Android phone to run them, and my laptop. So the requirements become a bit of a hassle.
What I am looking for;
1 - Good/great sound quality
2 - To be used by a portable media player (smartphone), so the phones should not need an amp
3 - Must keep the sound in mostly, and not open up to outside too much (do not want to disturb people)
4 - Must be light, and in decent size (If the actual pads are the same or similar size to Bose AE2 it would be great). I do not want a 1lb brick to carry on my head. Maybe up to 8-9oz, 250gr.
5 - Price up to $200
6 - I do not like Made in China stuff, and do not find value in paying $200 for stuff that is made using $1 labor... So I would prefer made elsewhere. Of course the cheaper it gets, the more I don't care where it is made. But if the quality, sound, comfort all there, I will let myself accept the phones no matter where they are made in.
7 - I listen to all kinds of music, mostly classic rock, hard-rock, 80's metal, house/underground, brit pop, top 40... and anything else I feel like. These will be at times used for watching movies etc. I do not want a boombox, with massive amounts of base, a good clean base with good amounts of it. I am for the quality over quantity when it comes to base.
8 - No i do not want in-ear, in-canal phones.
Am I asking too much?
Well that is why I am here.
To get opinions from you guys.
Thanks for all the inputs.
