Bose Quiet Comfort 15 (QC15): Impressive noise cancellation

[wind016]

Just what we need. Another excuse to buy another pair.  Because my IEMs aren't comfortable enough. Changing headphone like we change clothes. PRINCESS

 

[BluFalcon]

I brought the Bose QC 15 to the office today.  Kanye West "Good Morning" sounded like garbage.  Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" sounded okay.  Howard Shore's LOTR score sounded okay.  NC was beautiful. 
 
Could be that the sound card in my work PC is not the best, so I will try listening to these tracks when I get back to the crib on my home system. 

 

[dk01]

I've owned a pair of Bose Quite comfort headphones for some time now and I must say that I love them.. So many times have they saved me from procuring headaches.

 

[ear8dmg]

There's a comparison article reprinted here from What Hi-Fi Australia comparing Bose QC15, Goldring NS1000, Senn PXC450 and Monster Beats: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Review/168766,mini-roundup-4-noise-cancelling-headphones.aspx
 
Personally, I own the Goldring NS1000s and love them.  Not tried other noise cancelling headphones though.  Incredible headphones for the money (£50-60 in the UK) and they stand up as closed headphones in their own right.  They have a very strange relationship with amps though, especially with noise cancelling off.  FiiO e5 or a CMOY do them proud with NC off but my Bravo V1, Sony AV receiver, Mackie 402-VLZ3 soundcards etc all do a terrible job with them with noise cancelling off.  With it on the Bravo and Mackie are great.  This probably explains some poor reviews and user impressions on here.  If they don't synergise well with an amp they are nothing short of awful.  I've never heard the right amp make such a difference to any other headphone as these with noise cancelling off.  Get is wrong and the bass overwhelms everything else: boomy and bloated in itself while colouring and veiling the higher frequencies.
 
With noise cancelling on, they hiss very slightly but I've found using higher quality AAA batteries helps this a lot.  The hiss is particularly bad with rechargeables.  With better amps extra detail is revealed and the bass gains impact.  It's lovely bass too, smooth, clean and punchy.  It's one of the few headphones I've heard that can convincingly render bass distantly if the soundstage info is there in the recording.  This means they synergise extremely well with Dolby Headphone, to the point of becoming transparent.  Mids are lush, with both male and female vocals being rendered exceptionally convincingly.  Highs sparkle but can be a little grainy if amped inadequately.
 
Of the closed headphones I've owned I rated them better than Creative Aurvana Live! and JVC HA-RX700.  They were almost as good as my ATH A900s.  There was so little difference that I didn't feel I was missing anything much by getting rid of the Audio Technicas.  With noise cancelling on the are about as detailed as my HD600s, with quite a similar sound signature but smaller soundstage.  Bass quantity is more like an open headphone than a closed one but there's nothing wrong with them for hip hop.  Unless ultra-portability is an issue I always use them in preference to my sJays or Senn IE6 IEMs.
 
I regularly use them in preference to my HD600s at home. Have some Beyer DT770 Pros being delivered soon and should be able to compare to another well-known closed headphone soon.

 

[wind016]

Does anyone know what the effect of noise cancelling is to your ears? There's still pressure even though we don't hear it... How safe is that?

 

[BluFalcon]

Yup.  Feels like you're climbing in altitude when the NC is on.  I felt that at the office today. Not sure how this will effect your hearing in the long run.  You'd think "Better Sound Through Research" would have discovered any health risks associated with NC frequencies by now if there are any. 

 

[JonC]

I stopped by Best Buy today and tried out some of the headphone demos.  The Beats demo station was right next to the Bose demo station so I got to try out the Beats Studio with that plane type noise that the Bose demo station makes.  As expected, the Bose cut out most of the noise.  The Beats Studio cut out surprisingly little of it.  I know they don't claim to have the greatest ANC, but it didn't seem like they had much at all.  The Sony's were too far away to try out with the noise.    

 

[wind016]

Sonys have terrible ANC compared to Bose. Probably worse than the Beats. Plus distorted sound added FTW

 

[sperandeo]

I have a pair of the Bose QC-15. These headphones truly have there place. If I'm working in my office and there is noise outside (construction etc...) I slip on the QC-15 and the world is G-O-N-E. I can't hear myself typing, I can't hear the printer printer or the wife yelling (lol). In terms of sound quality, well there are okay. I use my Grado SR1i 95% of the time. The wife can't sleep if I listen to the Grado's in bed, the sound outside is almost as loud as to what I'm listening to LOL. 
 
I thought about selling the QC-15's, but there have been many times when I really needed to shut all outside noise and just listen to my music. For this reason alone they are worth it.
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I have a pair of the Bose QC-15. These headphones truly have there place. If I'm working in my office and there is noise outside (construction etc...) I slip on the QC-15 and the world is G-O-N-E. I can't hear myself typing, I can't hear the printer printer or the wife yelling (lol). In terms of sound quality, well there are okay. I use my Grado SR1i 95% of the time. The wife can't sleep if I listen to the Grado's in bed, the sound outside is almost as loud as to what I'm listening to LOL. 
 
I thought about selling the QC-15's, but there have been many times when I really needed to shut all outside noise and just listen to my music. For this reason alone they are worth it.
 

Have you ever tried any really good IEMs (i.e. in the same price region of the QC15s)? Not only do they sound a whole lot better, they actually isolate even more (especially higher frequencies...something the QC's do a poor job of).
 
Oh and welcome to Head-fi! And our apologies to your wallet.

 

[Banko]

Hi MacedonianHero,
I own Shure SE530, and though they might isolate high frequency noise better than QC, the overall NC is a lot better on the QC, especially the frequencies you experience in planes.
 
Further to that an IEM is not the same as full size headphone, I like my SE530 but like sperandeo I also think my QC have a place in my humble collection.
 
As I mentioned previously in this thread: If you can afford to buy them as your "travelling/I need peace and quiet" headphone on top of a "I want really good SQ headphone" - they are very good.
 
Quote:

Have you ever tried any really good IEMs (i.e. in the same price region of the QC15s)? Not only do they sound a whole lot better, they actually isolate even more (especially higher frequencies...something the QC's do a poor job of).
 
Oh and welcome to Head-fi! And our apologies to your wallet.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Hi MacedonianHero,
I own Shure SE530, and though they might isolate high frequency noise better than QC, the overall NC is a lot better on the QC, especially the frequencies you experience in planes.
 
Further to that an IEM is not the same as full size headphone, I like my SE530 but like sperandeo I also think my QC have a place in my humble collection.
 
As I mentioned previously in this thread: If you can afford to buy them as your "travelling/I need peace and quiet" headphone on top of a "I want really good SQ headphone" - they are very good.
 
Quote:

Have you ever tried any really good IEMs (i.e. in the same price region of the QC15s)? Not only do they sound a whole lot better, they actually isolate even more (especially higher frequencies...something the QC's do a poor job of).
 
Oh and welcome to Head-fi! And our apologies to your wallet.

 

Wow...you hear the sound quality from the SE530s and still go back to BOSE. I always find that good IEMs (like the Shures) isolate much better than the QCs...and don't put pressure on my ear drums like NC headphones do. I guess YMMV.

 

[wind016]

I had the chance to hear the Bose QC15 with my own music at the Apple Store just 2 days ago. I must say the comfort and ANC remains gold, but the treble was very distorted.VERY very low resolution. The treble may have been as bad as skullcandies. im glad i had the chance to try them and you were all right. i guess i will stick with my iems for now and see what comes along

 

[macbob713]

I have owned and used Bose QC headphones since their first model, and I have found that they sound very good with my ipod [using lossless compression] and my ipad. They sound rich and full, with good bass definition and solid midrange with a balanced but not fatiguing top end. The noise canceling is the best in the business and this combination of great sound and noise reduction has made them one of the biggest selling headphones on the planet. I have never heard distortion or any of the other sound aberrations noted by some in this thread. Ever.   For serious listening at home I use my HD800's with a Schitt Asgard Amp and a top end NAD player. This combo sounds superb, but I still use the Bose for the pod or pad when I'm on the patio outside. It's all good but people should not  pay any attention to posts written by people who have never owned the product and quite frankly, don't know what they are talking about. 

 

[wind016]

I'm sorry, but the Bose QC15s could not play a single one of my vocal jazz tracks without distortion. Usually, it takes me a while to pinpoint the areas of distortion on good headphones(sometimes its just the song itself, but not in this case), but I heard it immediately with the first song. I know the music and heard through enough headphones to know when it is being distorted, not colored. I also played songs that rarely distort on headphones(not congested music), but I heard it even with those tracks. Trumpets, snare drums, female vocals were all distorted.
 
I can say it still has top notch ANC, excellent comfort, and decent bass impact. However, the treble and mids were just too much.