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?
For me, the whole aspect of being able to put any AAA battery was a big advantage, sound definitely has been changed and is more detailed between midrange and low range, you don't get that sense of frequencies are missing when you do casual listening which you get in lot of ANC headphones.
You should try trading them in and upgrade.
On macbook pro I had to crank up to almost 80%, on iphone 6, I was listening at 60%. portable headphone amp definitely makes them more transient and improves the bass as well as overall volume levels.
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?
Bose QC25 are nothing harsh, infact its a very non fatiguing sound especially when compared to Westone 3. nothing stands out in QC25 and vocals sound very satisfying.
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.
different strokes for different folks. Bose qc25 are very light but yet feel premium....for some people that lightweight might bother them and make headphones feel insignificant for that price tag
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.
its all about lifestyle and at this point in life, Bose fit my lifestyle..when I am mid 30's, i might not even be into headphones anymore and be all about speakers..who knows.
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...
the refined understated design is quite visually attractive to me also..thanks for the feedback!
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.
QC25 are not harsh to me at all. by harsh if you mean very bright and louder high range?
I've owned several Bose QC models over the years, including my current pair, the QC 15. For travel and outdoor balcony use, these are high quality, suberb sounding phones. For indoor use, I always default to the AKG K812. No comparison. But for reducing noise while still retaining quality sound, these are extremely hard to beat. Despite what many people say about Bose, no one has really come close to beating them in the noise canceling category. In fact, Dr. Bose and his engineering team developed them for aviation and military purposes decades ago, and have perfected them for consumer use. Brand bashing is silly. Every brand has had their share of misfires. No other Audio company to my knowledge has developed quality products with the breadth and scope of Bose.
time changes everything...its a fad to bash on Beats nowadays but people who use them must love them.
not everyone has time and luxury to sit at home with a huge tube amp and enjoy Sennheiser HD800 and some people just cannot seem to enjoy shoving earphones in their ears.
we should be happy that everyone in the consumer market appreciates the need to buy headphones instead of using ibuds...competition has definitely improved the plethora of products out there for every kind of consumer.
Bose definitely upped their game due to Beats eating into their market share.
Well said, mac. Bose is clearly going for a different type of consumer, one that puts more stock in comfort and isolation, and they're doing incredibly well in that category.
yup, i appreciate Bose being focussed on what they do good and improve on that instead of trying to dump random headphones in the market .
Howdy!
BOSE has a program that allows you to trade in your current device (headphones, sound docks..etc.. for a newer model. I had the QC over the ear model and wasn't happy with them and was able to trade them in and got the QC15s after 3 years. I had to pay $100 but got a new pair. I really like this about BOSE and don't know too many companies that do this.
Give them a call and ask if you can trade your current headphones in.
It worked for me!
I also heard that if you buy directly from Bose store they have this 30 day return policy and some other benefits.
Nice review!
I bought mine at beginning of October when it was on sale on Amazon. The noise cancelling feature is really amazing. I work in a lab full of noise of mechanical pump. This headphone literally reduced the surrounding noise to unnoticeable level. About the sound quality, it felt a little bit muffled and tight at the beginning. But after several hours breaking in, the sound quality improved quite a lot. And now I am very pleased with clear sound it delivers. FYI, the sound quality is much better when the noise cancelling is turned on than when it's not.
yup..its really impressive.
i had the best sleep in coach class when i used them as earmuffs without any music playing.
P.S:just noticed watching movies on laptop also is a great experience with no ambient noise as my living room faces a major road.
