[Nocturnal310]

​

 
For years I have been told by Head Fi that never get Bose, Bose sucks, Bose is overpriced and I completely ignored Bose. Always managed my long flights with in-ear monitors (Westone 3) but living in NYC, the passive Noise cancelling just wasnt cutting it for me. I always liked the noise cancelling and comfort factor of Bose QC15 but never really thought the sound was fulfilling minimum requirements in sound quality department for me. I needed a change since over the past 2 years I have been travelling continents and after reading every opinion on active noise cancelling and its benefits I bought them.

(I was gifted Sony NC500 headphones and used them for a while but I have nothing good to say about them so I won’t bother unless someone asks)

Then I read about QC25 and a long 22 hour flight was coming so I had to make a decision…let it be a miserable flight with noisy babies and passengers or trust the frequent flyers around the world and buy Bose.
Other Active Noise cancelling headphones were out of the question because they just cannot compete on comfort and noise reduction. The question was of sound signature and and improvements.

To keep things short, Bose QC25 are probably the best noise cancelling headphones if one takes all factors into account including Sound quality.


Design : Understated grey design fits my personality instead of ‘look at me’ design of Beats and other effeminate headphones.The minor blue color detail goes very well with greys. The swivel earcups really reduce the size profile and very easy to stow in the pockets of the coach class seats. They are very light but yet feel very solid. 
They never feel fragile and have not prone to scratches on the earcups.
there is no such thing as a kit for these headphones, its just the hard case and the headphones. There is a small slot for Airline adaptor and extra cell.
- Cable has inline remote that works perfectly with my new iphone 6 and macbook pro but does not work with my Lumia 920.
- Extremely comfortable without a doubt and slept like a baby in the flight by using them as earmuffs.
- Works without battery as normal headphones also in case of emergency but sounds like a $10 chinese headphone in that mode. They should def include Bose QC25 in the next Transformers movie.

Performance: I have been using these since 30th October when I received them from Amazon and today is 14th November and even after using 80% of the time on my New York to Singapore flight via Dubai, they are still running on the same AAA battery.
I was told that when 7 hours are left on them, the non-eye piercing green LED starts blinking but its still static.
The biggest anxiety I have with rechargeable headphones is not knowing when battery will run out. But with Bose QC25, the replaceable battery feature really is an improvement and you will appreciate it.
 Note For QC15 Owners: The Hi/Low feature still exists but it has been moved to the airline adaptor. This means that the airline adaptor used with single 3.5mm pin acts as an impedance adaptor. I have used it on my speakers output and it does work.
- They definitely benefit a lot of amplifier, with iBasso D2 Boa plugged into my macbook pro, the bass and dynamic range benefitted but then the sound also became a bit too forward for long duration listening.

Noise Cancelling performance: To give you an idea, I was in A380 and when I put them on and switched them on, I felt like I was in alaska with 2-3 people talking in the next house. Could not hear any ambient noise at all. This was a very strange feeling for me as I have never used Bose on a flight. Its as if their entire R&D team  has rented a lab next to Airbus factory and know exactly what frequencies need to be cancelled.

Sound Quality: Definitely a big improvement over QC 15 in terms of midrange and highs have lot of more details and being a bit more forward, you never feel you are missing out on some frequencies.
the bass is laid back in the beginning but I will get back to it in a while.

I have now tested Bose QC 25 with Sennheiser HD600 and Westone 3 side by side with some of my favorite tracks and some popular poppy music.

(All songs were 320 Kbps Mp3 and played out of Macbook Pro 15 inch and Cowon J3 in between)
Song: Bright Lights - Gary Clark Jr.
Every minor detail in the background is captured including some other sounds in the studio and friction on the guitar string. No distortion. Good stereo imaging and the DSP’s add a good feel of soundstage. The snaps sound very good even when compared to amplified HD600 but of course there is a lack of dynamic range in the output (I am not sure how the driver system works in Active NC but this is the main weakness)

Song: Maps - Maroon 5
Definitely the bass comes out here but the recording is so terrible that there is hardly any dynamic range in the song and everything sounds at same level even with HD600. Adam Levine you should be ashamed.

Song: Ain’t no Love in the heart of the city - Bobby Blue Bland
Very accurate stereo separation of vocals, drum kits, strums. The dynamic range is definitely lacking which constitutes to poorly perceived weight of bass but vocals sound very clean with very low sibilance.
They are forgiving on sibilance when Westone 3 only harshly reveal sibilance in recordings.

Song: Sail - Awolnation
The highs are there but never fatiguing. Stereo imaging is accurate, the different basses are differentiated and no muddiness. although vocals sound more laid back than HD600 or Westone 3.

Song: TKO Remix - Justin Timberlake
the dynamic range is slightly better on this song and seems like they do well with other Justin Timberlake songs as well..strange.


Well thats about it for now and since this is my first proper review, I am open to feedback on what I could improve.

(Will soon add some nice pictures of my entire setup)
 
Few cliff notes for fellow ADDers:
 
- Big improvement in Sound quality and simple but thoughtful design (much like BMW, everything is understated)
- Designed with frequent flyer in mind at every instance but been enjoying them at home as well due to never ending battery life.
- Not as bassy as beats but good separation on different low end frequencies and with EQ they became very good for bassy music.
- Dynamic range is lacking that gives those eargasms but with headphone amplifier that also improves a lot.
- Noise cancelling is impeccable and had the best sleep on my flight even though it was a very noisy flight overall.
- Put them on and you are in your own private soundroom.
 
- My first review so feedback and questions are highly welcome!

 

[FiioforMeOh]

Just got an office job and have been using their predecessor for the last year. Would you say it's worth the upgrade?

Nice I put on sound btw, if they are more detailed than the 15's it's a done deal. It's nice to see more people reaching out and seeing that most bose bashers are full of it.

Btw how far did you crank up the volume to achieve a comfortable listening experience?

 

[blueangel2323]

I found the QC15 unlistenably harsh in the upper mids and treble. Not bright, just harsh as in the frequency response is very rough and uneven with lots of narrow dips and peaks. Does the QC25 improve greatly in this regard?

 

[Bogart24]

Beats are effeminate?

 

[Canaudio]

You say in your review that:
 
"Other Active Noise cancelling headphones were out of the question because they just cannot compete on comfort and noise reduction. The question was of sound signature and and improvements."
 
That's presumptuous. i actually listened to a variety of active noise cancelling headphones (including Bose) before I made a purchase and I did not buy Bose because I found others that had a better combination of noise cancelling ability, comfort and sound quality.

 

[toolio]

Just as an aside I use the Bose QC20 in-ears and would never travel without them. Sure, they don't produce the greatest sound. But their noise cancelling is very effective, they are easy to jam into any kind of carryon and I arrive much more rested after a long series of flights. I regularly make 20 to 30 hour airline trips and this helps keep me sane--even if i just turn on the noise reduction and don't bother with music. You won't catch me using them at home when noise reduction is not an issue, But I think on balance the benefits of decent noise reduction on planes outweighs the lack of fidelity. And they're not horrible in the sound department. I can live with a few hours of imperfect audio to keep my sanity, lol.

 

[pietcux]

  You say in your review that:
 
"Other Active Noise cancelling headphones were out of the question because they just cannot compete on comfort and noise reduction. The question was of sound signature and and improvements."
 
That's presumptuous. i actually listened to a variety of active noise cancelling headphones (including Bose) before I made a purchase and I did not buy Bose because I found others that had a better combination of noise cancelling ability, comfort and sound quality.

Pleas tell us which ones did you select, or is it a secret?

 

[noblemff]

I believe that Sony MDR-1RNC is way ahead in the sound department than Bose, although it falls a bit behind Bose for noise cancellation.
Also the comfort I believe is a tie for both.

 

[walfredo]

Thanks for the review, Nocturnal310.
 
I have the QC15 and it is a nice headphone.  Not in the same league as of my top headphones, but musical and enjoyable.  And unbeatable on a plane.  I used them with the Fiio X3 + cmoy amp.
 
You made me want to upgrade...

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

I found the QC15 unlistenably harsh in the upper mids and treble. Not bright, just harsh as in the frequency response is very rough and uneven with lots of narrow dips and peaks. Does the QC25 improve greatly in this regard?

My sentiments exactly. The QC15 is very spiky/peaky in the upper-mids and higher frequencies. Great NR, but, like you, I find them to be harsh sounding. I would be interested to know how the QC 25 improves the situation, if at all, although the OP's description of increased detail makes me skeptical.

 

[Tim941]

How does it sound compare to the older model QC15? Any idea?

 

[Canaudio]

 
Pleas tell us which ones did you select, or is it a secret?

Audio Technica ATH ANC-9.  I found them to have better sound quality than the then current Bose, also played with a dead battery, unlike the Bose of the day. Noise cancellation perhaps slightly less effective, but still great with variable settings. Comfortable and well made.  My biggest complaint - not compact enough; the travel case is too big.  i might make a different choice if I were shopping today

 

[walfredo]

 

I found the QC15 unlistenably harsh in the upper mids and treble. Not bright, just harsh as in the frequency response is very rough and uneven with lots of narrow dips and peaks. Does the QC25 improve greatly in this regard?

My sentiments exactly. The QC15 is very spiky/peaky in the upper-mids and higher frequencies. Great NR, but, like you, I find them to be harsh sounding. I would be interested to know how the QC 25 improves the situation, if at all, although the OP's description of increased detail makes me skeptical.

 
Interesting.  I find a bit of that when driving the QC15 with the X3 directly.  That is why I add the cmoy in the mix.
 
Which source/amp you guys used?

 

[pietcux]

 
Audio Technica ATH ANC-9.  I found them to have better sound quality than the then current Bose, also played with a dead battery, unlike the Bose of the day. Noise cancellation perhaps slightly less effective, but still great with variable settings. Comfortable and well made.  My biggest complaint - not compact enough; the travel case is too big.  i might make a different choice if I were shopping today

Have you seen the review on NC cans on Inner Fidelity?
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparative-review-high-end-noise-canceling-headphones

 

[Canaudio]

 
Have you seen the review on NC cans on Inner Fidelity?
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparative-review-high-end-noise-canceling-headphones

Yes saw that; don't agree with their assessment as to sound quality.  I also saw this:
 
http://gizmodo.com/5944636/the-best-noise-canceling-headphones
 
and this:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKAwjvttX_k