[ghzallen]

you can use it to watch films but not listen music.

 

[Aardvarks]

I have just attended a full Bose afternoon demo to which I was invited. I took along my own discs and my own DAP. I listened to the lot from the new 321 system up to the £3000 cinema system and down to the headphones.

To anyone who is thinking of buying the triports , I always give the same advice.....go and listen to a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT231 galactic cans. Just as comfortable, just as much noise attenuation, still a warm presentation, a good two year warranty, and a third of the price.

Our local Bose store is full of old men who want to upgrade their TVs or cinema units and want a one stop shop with no hassles and dont mind paying the price.

Bose is good at what it is good at, they have a solid place in the market on lifestyle systems for people who want to listen to music without too much thought. They are great for technophobes who hate wires, cable and instructions. The sound is good enough for the majority of Johns and Janes, but it is only an approximation of true hi fidelity.

I find that all their systems are very mellow, lacking in detail and positioning and with over warm mids, muddy bass and no clarity in the top end. They are kind of like the Asian food you get in food courts, just less than bland, but not spicey enough to scare the uninitiated and certainly not anywhere near what you wou would get in the country of origin.

Bose is middle ground for middle america. The head office is in Framingham Mas FGS. And I say this in a good way. I am not knocking Bose, they offer a great customer back up and will fix units for years. They are not however the first rung on the hifi ladder, they are more like taking the escalator to the cafe on the mezzanine

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cry Havoc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bose aren't horrible. They just aren't the best (or close to it) based on the price.

Agree!
They are not horrible. Just overpriced for what they are...

 

[vkvedam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aardvarks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have just attended a full Bose afternoon demo to which I was invited. I took along my own discs and my own DAP. I listened to the lot from the new 321 system up to the £3000 cinema system and down to the headphones. To anyone who is thinking of buying the triports , I always give the same advice.....go and listen to a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT231 galactic cans. Just as comfortable, just as much noise attenuation, still a warm presentation, a good two year warranty, and a third of the price. Our local Bose store is full of old men who want to upgrade their TVs or cinema units and want a one stop shop with no hassles and dont mind paying the price. Bose is good at what it is good at, they have a solid place in the market on lifestyle systems for people who want to listen to music without too much thought. They are great for technophobes who hate wires, cable and instructions. The sound is good enough for the majority of Johns and Janes, but it is only an approximation of true hi fidelity. I find that all their systems are very mellow, lacking in detail and positioning and with over warm mids, muddy bass and no clarity in the top end. They are kind of like the Asian food you get in food courts, just less than bland, but not spicey enough to scare the uninitiated and certainly not anywhere near what you wou would get in the country of origin. Bose is middle ground for middle america. The head office is in Framingham Mas FGS. And I say this in a good way. I am not knocking Bose, they offer a great customer back up and will fix units for years. They are not however the first rung on the hifi ladder, they are more like taking the escalator to the cafe on the mezzanine

Good comparison, even I would say they aren't horrible, but I like Triport AEs, they are good, not that expensive, comfortable I have ever worn.

 

[304290]

They might not be horrible, but everything in that price range is going to be better. IMO a lot of cans at half the price will be better.

 

[NajoBB]

If you want bose i recommend triport AE. They are a little bigger, but very comfortable and pretty good for the movies. But don't pay full retail price. I've seen lot comments about bose sound terrible, and in the end wanted to try and see for my self if they are really soo bad sounding. Triport ie....at least old version....not wort 20$. Ae is actually not that bad but I've paid them about 50$ new and for that price they're good. Even for 20/30 buks more they're good value because they're really comfortable and have solid bass. Don't like Oe though.....too much low quality bass, not so comfortable in long time period.

 

[Joelc87]

Right the Original Triports are decent stuff. The OE's are OK....but just only. I actually used my friends Triports for a trip one time and they sound pretty good. The drivers are angled back to reflect off your ear and give a nice sounding soundstage effect.

 

[ghzallen]

IMO bose headphone is good for traveling use, they are close and lot of bass. I feel good and comfortable to watch film by QC3 on airplane or ttrain,they worth the price.but for music......too many better and cheaper choice.

 

[cheemo]

Prior to joining head-fi, I purchased the bose on-ear at the Bose retail store. I enjoyed the sound, lots of bass, good comfort, portable with bag, sound is coloured to say that the bass and mid bass are emphasized and the treble was ok-no sparkle to my ears and enough to be powered straight from the ipod. I came to head-fi and researched more on bose and was a shocked on alot of members denouncing bose's- eg. marketing strategies and cost but since I had 30 days to try 'em out I figured to give it a go. The result is that I returned them day 28 and purchased a pair of Grado SR225's which are cheaper and ALOT better sonically. Yes the Grado's are coloured but the forward in 'your face presentation' they provided was addicting. They did not drive as low as bose but the impact of the Grados were more balanced and if needed I can throw on some flats for more bass, I mostly listen to bowls on acoustic/rock and flats on electronic music. Maybe the Bose sound signature leans toward the lower end of the sonic spectrum? Bose wins more on comfort but I am not one of the many who are irritated by the foam pads of the Grado's. Headphone.com has a 30 day trial, so get 'em both and decide for yourself. Good luck! Before you know it you will be hunting down and hp amp, dac, interconnects, etc....Addicting hobby. Cheers.

 

[antran7]

Until I discovered this forum, I felt like alot of people ragged on Bose just to rag on Bose. They didn't really have a specific critique on why they thought it was overhyped crap, they just wanted to be snooty.

But there seems to be some intelligent critique on Bose (and they're value here), but I was still reserved, since I was tired of my so-called-audiophile friends hating them.

I think they have good 'first-impression' sound, especially when you compare them to their neighboring headphones at Best Buy: surprising bass and fairly detailed highs.

Only when you start comparing with other comparable priced cans does the bass seem bloated and mids are garbled. I just had that opportunity to compare them with ESW9s (just posted on that), and really, really like the comparable priced ESW9s better than the bose.

That being said - i still respect Bose. I applaud their marketing, and they're the best sounding thing you can buy at the big-box stores (so i applaud the channeling and distribution).

But here's the dilemna I was in: I've got $300 to invest in headphones. Do I buy a set from recommendations here from people I've never met? Or buy a set from headphones I can demo (which is usually Bose or less).

I ended up opting for the no-demo, recommended-by-strangers route, and have been very happy. But I empathize with the more conservative approach.

 

[captian73]

Bose OE's are one of my two recommendations for someone looking for a compact but powerful sound. the other headphones you need to consider is the Sennheiser HD25-1's.

however the overwhelming bass is good when you're in the mood. but they are small, fairly comfortable, and for a portable option, they're inconspicuous than the grado SR's.

 

[donunus]

heard the OEs earlier, they have a pretty groovy sound. Much better than the blurry sounding circumaural triports

 

[Beyerfan70]

The O.E's are not too bad at all,the only real drawback ive had is that they are too boomy in the bass department.
Apart from that they sound rather nice,and are very comfortable
But i do agree the around ear triport does sound better,but the build quality on those is seriously feeble!

 

[Spiritboxer]

The OE sound is nothing to write home about but they are extremely comfortable and weigh onlly 5.2 oz. I wouldn't buy a pair but I got them as a gift and you can't beat that.

 

[ok computer]

The main thing bose hp have going for them is comfort. I know people who love bose, and I know people who strongly dislike them. IMO They don't sound that bad, but for the price they are true ripoffs. But again thats just me.