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Bose Quiet Comfort 15 (QC15): Impressive noise cancellation

Nov 22, 2010 at 4:05 AM Post #16 of 89
Vocals were OK.  However, there was sibilance when increasing the volume, and it too suffers from very bloated bass.  At least that is what I remember when I owned them for about 6 months.   I think all Bose portable products are only specifically tailored for classical music, which it sounded better than ok.  If fact, this genre of music is evident in their marketing and demo CDs they used in the mall stores.  I would take note of the other postings as the Bose product does fills in the need of  a road warrior. 
 
However, if you want very good SQ and very good passive noise cancellation versus active. Look at the Ultraones headphones, in particular the HFI-780 and save a benjamin.  
 
Nov 22, 2010 at 4:54 AM Post #17 of 89

To be honest, I think for your situation, there is nothing wrong with it.  I think the success of both Bose and monster beats are  because they are made exactly for what they are meant to be (hopefully I'm not enter the flame from down under for this).  For Bose they focus on travelers and office setting and the beats are focus on bass related/mainstream music.  Both are not really hifi material, but for general mass sound quality is acceptable.  I think the reason why they are so fragile is because they try to make as comfortable as possible although it comes with a sacrifice.  If you look at the Bose headphones, they are pretty flimsy, but are extremely light, compact, mild clamp force, and the pads are soft/fluffy.  I see the beats are made kinda similar lightweight, pads are soft, compact etc. Both sound acceptable, but not quit hifi.  Whatever people may feel about the Bose, I don't think any headphone can touch their Noise cancellation feature. (I'm not talking about IEMs)  
 
  Whatever choice you make wind016, it's not a complete loss because they are comfy, no downward head pressure, sweaty ears, and unbearable clamp force.  They are also very portable.  I guess I should rephase what I said and say in my tight money situation,  I wouldn't buy them, but if someone give me one, I would use them.  Heck, I just think that with the Bose you just gotta accept they aren't going to measure up with some of the other hifi sound quality wise, but are better than some of the other cheapos. 
 
I guess I should also mention that the QC3 also uses recharge lithium battery and won't turn on without it being charged. The spare batteries are also expensive.
 
  I was thinking about what you said as far as cost, people do pay $$$ for comfort, kinda like going first class flight trip.  The mark up are insane, but the comfort makes people pay up even though the food is not the best that can be found and the chair aren't as comfortable as it can be.  If the situation at need fits then it fits.
Quote:
stokitw said:
Audiophile headphones like HD800, T1, PS1000 won't worth the money for just a short period of listening either.
QC15 is so comfortable, you won't take it off during the flight or trip.
I'm not a frequent flyer, but the fact that QC15 helps me rest during my cross Pacific flight, cross continent flight, and long distance driving makes it worth every penny.
Everything will be crazily expensive if one just buy it for 5 minutes of coolness.
 
Quote:
soundeffect said:
wind016,
 
  I think everything you said is completely what Bose was aiming for with them.  Did you notice at best buy when you click the demo button they have the airplane outside simulation noise on? Plus with the small size, light weight, simple look, and super super comfortable feel...I can see why people buy them for travel.
 
  It's funny that you brought it up because I had a listen today, the QC3, at my buddy's house who is actually is a pilot.  I didn't think they were aweful, but they are definitely not great.  The noise cancellation impress me every time, you hear almost nothing except the voice of other with no echo.  SQ wise I thought the high and lows are easy to listen to although as you pump the volume up they start to show a lot of flaws.  The headphone can be grainy, muddy, and are contains quit a bit of sibilance...actually unacceptable amount of sibilance to me which probable shows how colored they are.  Vocal of artist sounds almost like as if he/she has a lisp.  I was surprise that the QC3 does pack somewhat of a punch and can go decently low with the bass.  Although the bass lack tightness and refinement and are bloated.  I didn't have a long listen session and also didn't have another headphone to compare them to at that moment.  But for the brief listening, I did think to myself that the price of them are sort of ridiculous considering AT ANC are close to $100 and I would never buy them. 
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Nov 22, 2010 at 6:07 PM Post #18 of 89
Ah, another noise cancelling group.
 
As an owner of bot the Bose QC15 and the Sennheiser PXC450 and reading the past posts, here's what I have to say:
 
1: The low end suffers because of the noise cancelling feature.  This is true for all active noise cancellers.
2: The price is not that bad ... the QC15's and the PXC450 were the same price when they both came out.
3: The QC3 is my least favourite of the Bose series, because the 'on ear' design in my personal opinion is the worst possible headphone type for active noise cancelling - it needs to be 'over ear' to be any good
4: Even after a year, I cant say which noise cancelling I like - the one from Bose or Sennheiser.  They are both really good
5: If you dont believe in the name hype better value for money is the Goldring NS1000 priced at $70 (GBP 50) than the ATH-ANC7b's.  I say go for what you feel comfortable with, irregardless of the price (if you can afford it).  And not to start a flame war, the ANC7b's are also excellent ANC headphones without a doubt.
6: So far, IEM's produce better 'noise reduction' and the active noise cancellers I have.  The IEMs I have are the ATH-CK100's.  The Bose and Sennheisers do help out a lot when reducing unwanted noise, but IEM's - or the less popular active noise earphones - still do a better job.
 
On that note, the best one so far (in my opinion) for travels is the Panasonic RP-HC55-S.  Other than its one catastrophic design flaw its the best one of the bunch.
 
Nov 22, 2010 at 10:43 PM Post #19 of 89
Well I went and pulled the trigger and ordered the QC 15.  I need a set of cans for travel that does a good job of canceling noise and I'm not too worried about audiophile SQ.  I picked them up on sale at $249 and applied a $10 gift card on top of that.  I guess I'll be that guy audiophiles point at and laugh behind my back when I rock these on my next plane ride. 
 
Nov 22, 2010 at 10:46 PM Post #20 of 89


Quote:
blufalcon said:
I guess I'll be that guy audiophiles point at and laugh behind my back when I rock these on my next plane ride. 
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Yes, yes you will.
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Nov 22, 2010 at 10:54 PM Post #22 of 89
A friend of mine just recently bought a pair of the QC15. I spent very little time with them but I found them to be instantly more enjoyable than the QC3 and, I think they sounded on par with the AT ANC7. I'll meet up with him sometime soon to compare qc15 vs anc7... maybe even get another friends qc3 in there to round out the review.

Out here in Canada they cost $350 and I found that apalling, but if you're after top notch noise cancelling, great comfort and wholly decent (not $350 decent, but totally enjoyable for on the go) sound and you spend enough time on the go (bus/train/plane) then really... why not. That is, if IEMs don't appeal to you.
 
Nov 22, 2010 at 11:25 PM Post #23 of 89


Quote:
zida said:
A friend of mine just recently bought a pair of the QC15. I spent very little time with them but I found them to be instantly more enjoyable than the QC3 and, I think they sounded on par with the AT ANC7. I'll meet up with him sometime soon to compare qc15 vs anc7... maybe even get another friends qc3 in there to round out the review.

Out here in Canada they cost $350 and I found that apalling, but if you're after top notch noise cancelling, great comfort and wholly decent (not $350 decent, but totally enjoyable for on the go) sound and you spend enough time on the go (bus/train/plane) then really... why not. That is, if IEMs don't appeal to you.
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I think someone needs to do the comparison between the following:
 
AudioTechnica ATH ANC7b
Bose QC15
Denon AH-NC732
Goldring NS1000
JVC HA-NC250
Phiaton PS300NC
Sennheiser PXC450
Sony MDR-NC60
 
They are approximately similar in price range (give or take a few US$100 to be brutally honest), but they are probably the best ANC headphones out there right now.
 
 
Nov 22, 2010 at 11:57 PM Post #24 of 89
Nov 23, 2010 at 12:10 AM Post #25 of 89
s016471: Wow, nice collection and finds. Impressions and comparisons of these headphones would definitely be of interest to me. Also, thanks for the details of the QC15 and Senn. I'm also jealous that you have the CK100. I have heard that vocals on them are to die for. I may even drop the whole ANC positive and sacrifice game and risk getting a CK100 to see if my ears can keep them in.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by s0126471 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I think someone needs to do the comparison between the following:
 
AudioTechnica ATH ANC7b
Bose QC15
Denon AH-NC732
Goldring NS1000
JVC HA-NC250
Phiaton PS300NC
Sennheiser PXC450
Sony MDR-NC60
 
They are approximately similar in price range (give or take a few US$100 to be brutally honest), but they are probably the best ANC headphones out there right now.
 
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soundeffect: Thanks for the info on the battery and comfort. I would think the battery would make the headphones heavy.
 
BluFalcon: Hope your purchase will be good for your needs. Please come back and give impression!
 
Zida: The QC15 sounds great so far. Having a "good enough" sound is probably better anyways haha. Makes me appreciate my home set-up more =P
 
Nov 23, 2010 at 8:37 AM Post #27 of 89
 
Nov 23, 2010 at 10:48 AM Post #28 of 89
Bose QC headphones are the best NC headphones for one simple reason:  Bose owns all the better patents on active NC technology.  No one else can make anything nearly as good without a patent infringement lawsuit.  If Bose isn't willing to license the tech, they have no competition.  This is why patents stifle competition, and consumers get left with the choice of crappy sound quality or crappy noise cancellation.  I don't know if there's a better solution to patents, but what we have isn't working.
 
Nov 23, 2010 at 11:46 AM Post #29 of 89


Quote:
annirak said:
Bose QC headphones are the best NC headphones for one simple reason:  Bose owns all the better patents on active NC technology.  No one else can make anything nearly as good without a patent infringement lawsuit.  If Bose isn't willing to license the tech, they have no competition.  This is why patents stifle competition, and consumers get left with the choice of crappy sound quality or crappy noise cancellation.  I don't know if there's a better solution to patents, but what we have isn't working.
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Not quite.  Bose owns the majority of patents with regards to sound enhancement (including Noise Cancelling) for small sized consumer electronics.  This is why most of Bose speaker systems use very tiny satellites, while their amps/receivers still conform to the standard hi-fi size.  The same is also true for headphones - Bose patents gives me more flexibility in creating smaller headphones with its own noise cancelling tech, among other things.
 
There are many ways to get around the patents.  I think what you mean is that IP (Intellectual Property) is just getting stupidly complicated these days, which I totally agree on :)
 
Nov 23, 2010 at 8:43 PM Post #30 of 89
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