I've had a pair of Bose Quietcomfort 20's for almost 2 years now. My girlfriend also owns the same model but about a year older. I've recently run into a problem with both sets and an interesting discovery.
My problem is that both QC 20's have started making a humming noise like a ground loop would produce when plugged into my PC or my iPhone 7. On the PC the humming will stop when I touch bare metal (aka grounding myself I guess?) like my PC case. On the Iphone the humming will stop when I pick up the phone. As soon as I set the phone down on any surface the hum will instantly come back. The hum is not present ever when noise cancelling is not switched on. The newer pair hums sometimes and only in the right earbud. The older pair does it in both earbuds and constantly. I have used both sets with my PC, Ipad, and Iphone for years now without any issues.
Ok, on to my second issue and this one is really interesting. I have used the newer pair every day for the 2 years I have owned them. About 2 weeks ago I started to get this ear piercing shriek in my right ear, but only when pulling out the earbud. I thought it might be the rubber tip, so I changed it to a new one and the problem persisted. The shriek was not electronic in nature. For lack of a better term it was a loud sucking whistle in my ear just as I broke the seal between the rubber tip and my ear. So I examined the earbud and realized that the two pieces had separated near the bottom where the wire enters. So every time I had been pulling that earbud out of my right ear the motion caused this small gap to open in the body of the earbud allowing air to flow freely from inside my ear through the earbud and out of the gap. This was creating the sucking whistle. When I physically pinched the earbud to prevent the gap from opening the shriek would not occur. I tested this multiple times with the same conclusion. What makes the noise cancelling so damn good in these earbuds is whatever technology is creating slight pressure between the earbud and the ear itself.
Further evidence that the earbuds do this - I bought super glue made specifically for plastics. Inside the Bose earbuds from the factory there is a thick rubbery glue seal between the two pieces. This had failed and I needed to remove it to apply the superglue. I took my time with this and made sure that the tiny wires and solder points inside were undamaged. I then used the superglue to put the two pieces back together again. The earbud is now back together perfectly but the thick factory seal is obviously gone. This earbud now no longer has even 50% the noise cancelling effect of the left earbud. Furthermore, it feels loose in my ear compared to the left and makes all kinds of physical crackling noises as it moves slightly inside my ear. Why? The pressure seal is completely gone.
Before I write a book here I wanted to see if there is any interest in this topic and if anyone has experience with these models. I have even more evidence. If this is common knowledge then I'm an idiot, lol. But, I ahven't found anything else about this.
My problem is that both QC 20's have started making a humming noise like a ground loop would produce when plugged into my PC or my iPhone 7. On the PC the humming will stop when I touch bare metal (aka grounding myself I guess?) like my PC case. On the Iphone the humming will stop when I pick up the phone. As soon as I set the phone down on any surface the hum will instantly come back. The hum is not present ever when noise cancelling is not switched on. The newer pair hums sometimes and only in the right earbud. The older pair does it in both earbuds and constantly. I have used both sets with my PC, Ipad, and Iphone for years now without any issues.
Ok, on to my second issue and this one is really interesting. I have used the newer pair every day for the 2 years I have owned them. About 2 weeks ago I started to get this ear piercing shriek in my right ear, but only when pulling out the earbud. I thought it might be the rubber tip, so I changed it to a new one and the problem persisted. The shriek was not electronic in nature. For lack of a better term it was a loud sucking whistle in my ear just as I broke the seal between the rubber tip and my ear. So I examined the earbud and realized that the two pieces had separated near the bottom where the wire enters. So every time I had been pulling that earbud out of my right ear the motion caused this small gap to open in the body of the earbud allowing air to flow freely from inside my ear through the earbud and out of the gap. This was creating the sucking whistle. When I physically pinched the earbud to prevent the gap from opening the shriek would not occur. I tested this multiple times with the same conclusion. What makes the noise cancelling so damn good in these earbuds is whatever technology is creating slight pressure between the earbud and the ear itself.
Further evidence that the earbuds do this - I bought super glue made specifically for plastics. Inside the Bose earbuds from the factory there is a thick rubbery glue seal between the two pieces. This had failed and I needed to remove it to apply the superglue. I took my time with this and made sure that the tiny wires and solder points inside were undamaged. I then used the superglue to put the two pieces back together again. The earbud is now back together perfectly but the thick factory seal is obviously gone. This earbud now no longer has even 50% the noise cancelling effect of the left earbud. Furthermore, it feels loose in my ear compared to the left and makes all kinds of physical crackling noises as it moves slightly inside my ear. Why? The pressure seal is completely gone.
Before I write a book here I wanted to see if there is any interest in this topic and if anyone has experience with these models. I have even more evidence. If this is common knowledge then I'm an idiot, lol. But, I ahven't found anything else about this.
