@carmatic
I have been a long time reader of Head-fi but joined today so I could respond to this thread. First off, I use various headsets all day for IT support calls and getting email messages read to me on the fly. I own almost all decent in-ear/earbud headsets that have been produced. If they have a mic and make noise I have probably purchased them. They are essential to my day and productivity and I have been in a constant battle to find the perfect set.
I am also now on my 3rd set of QC20i's. These buds produce a very slight white noise which is the result of the noise canceling operating. All three sets have had this. If you have worn a pair of QC2 or QC15 the effect is identical but slightly less pronounced. I'm sure for those not use to Bose NC it could be off putting but it is by far their best NC implementation yet. I believe that these headphones are going to suffer from problems over time caused by the microphones deteriorating. On a set like this sweat is going to be a problem and moisture seems to cause low frequency muddiness. The first set was returned due to the left headphone getting dunked in a glass of water as I carelessly let it dangle around and went to take a drink. (I know dumb mistake) I dried the earbud but days after that point the NC did not match and the left bud took on a sort of low droning especially when the awareness mode was selected. It still cut noise but was not as accurate as the non dipped right ear. Bose warranty being amazing I went into the store and was given a new set. Determined to be extra careful I continued forth with the new set.
On a daily basis they are great to use although the microphone is not in an ideal place for clarity. I often find myself holding the microphone up so clients can hear better. I have been told on multiple occasions that it sounds quiet unless I do this. This second pair became my full time go to set. After about a week using them daily at the gym and sometimes falling asleep with them in my ears I began to notice the low frequency muddiness similar to the issue with the left ear on the first set. I put the headphones in dry rice for 24 hours and what do you know they improved almost 100%. I went back to wearing them at the gym and after a long run in 90 degree heat I noticed near the end of the run that the droning issue was back. Upon inspection they were wet from sweat. I went into the Bose store again and explained the issue. I was told they were not meant for exercise and the sales guy offered to replace them.
Set 3 has been fine as I am making sure to care for them better. Bose has created a really nice set of headphones but the sensitivity of these headphones is going to be a problem long term. The microphones hearing the noise they are supposed to be canceling accurately is essential to them functioning well. I do not think the unplugging the phones is causing a voltage issue but instead they are sensitive to moisture. To my sensitive ears just a slight difference in NC response between the two ears is enough to frustrate me.
All this said, they are the best total package I have found to date. They are decent but not amazing headphones but the NC is as good as it gets. Easily better than the QC15s in a much smaller package.
From a recommendations standpoint Bose needs to move the microphone to the right ear cord at the chin level. Similar to the MIE2 yet leave the controller for pause/play/volume and awareness in the center. That would be the ultimate configuration and allow you to easily rock a single earbud and tuck the rest away neatly as well as give better outgoing call quality. The battery pack should be able to detach leaving a 3.5mm 4 pole connector for direct non powered usage. You could also then have multiple batteries and the ability to do without the battery completely.
I am currently looking at doing a set of custom ear tips for these as they are with me every day and will be for the foreseen future. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I already have ear molds completed for other earphones. I am just looking for someone who is creating custom tips for these earphones.
Hi Jim,
I am using some Bose QC20 with a Cowon X9. I have had some modest to perhaps very good success with a custom tip setup. Let me back up a bit first:
Basically, after getting an "o.k." fit with the largest "stay-here" tips, (I have big tall skinny canals), I was always dismayed at how the marvelous NC circuit was going to waste with what seems like a mere -2dB passive "seal" with the "Stay-Here" eartips. A great deal of city roar and transit noises was still getting through. The massive isolation curve (-45dB at 160 Hz) that Mr. Butterworth obtained with a laboratory measurement dummy-head and tight clamped-on stay-hears wasn't obtainable with my real world situation (the stay-here tips barely closing my canals, no real seal etc.).
What I did was this:
I took some silicone custom canal molds (with my ears' crazy sharp 80 degree bend-one pre-impressioned in them), and removed their hard plastic liner sound tube. I then slightly enlarged the entrance hole (it's on a flat surface on the exit side) with a drill to create a slight "funnel" 1 mm deep. I then took a compound called "Silpoxy" and used it to attach the smallest "stay-here" Bose tips' nozzle to this widened entrance. I used a tooth pick down inside to clear away any loose Silpoxy that might clog the entrance (while it was still wet). Keep the bond still during this, or it won't work!! -The next day, once it was cured enough to gently handle & stay together, I gooped a liberal amount of yet more Silpoxy around the outside of each nozzle to strengthen the bond. I waited another day. (I also had to Silpoxy some 1mm thick by quarter inch squares of expanding earplug foam to 2 sides of my custom canal molds so they would swell up and lock better. (I found the weight of the Bose would pull my canal molds out a tiny bit & leave me with a crummy -2 dB attenuation seal issue all over again ). Now, my old laboratory custom canal molds will snug up tight & give a definite very strong "talking through a plugged nose" sensation with everything still shut off. I'm not sure, but, I believe I at least improved the initial attenuation (passively) by about -6 dB, from around -2dB when they "leaked" to perhaps -8 dB now. It makes a huge difference to start with a decent passive seal - then, when you fire up the active Bose NC switch, it can stand a chance to block out the city. In my setup the "shark-fin" on the stay-here isn't doing anything, so you can cut it off with scissors. The deep canal mold up through bend 2 is what is holding everything in. (My ear lab in Toronto boasted that their original custom molds are -25 dB, which, in my case, with a glove fit, no swelling foam originally to tighten them, is simply not true. A leak the size of a human hair, & you've got a mere -2 dB isolation and no Bass). That's why I modified mine with expanding foam tacked on.
The smallest "stay-here" Bose ear tip has a small nozzle exit & mates nicely to my slightly bowled entrance that leads into the small roughly 1.5 mm sound hole in my custom canal molds. The nice thing about those laboratory custom molds with their built-in 80 degree bend-one sound passage, is that they "guide" the Bose high frequencies around the sharp bend one and onto bend two. I don't need to boost treble as much on the Cowon's BBE settings as a result. When people report in that there isn't sufficient treble with the stay-here's, it's because they fire directly across bend-one, and sound hits the opposite canal (flesh) wall, just a bend-one is starting. The treble gets absorbed because the sound isn't guided around bend one with a tube.
Today, after taking a few minutes to get my foam enhanced customs on & swelled tight - with QC 20's clipped into the attached outer part (i.e. the Bose small stay-here mount tunnel) - I sat outside on my balcony near a busy city street. The molds by themselves cut things down enough (say -8 dB) to hear quiet radio, but, lots of city roar is there. Then, I switched on the QC20 active switch, and there it was! The bass-baritone city roar was replaced by soft swooshing. Then, to see what might happen, I gently coaxed some new huge Peltor X5A muffs (-31 dB) over top of the lot. (I made sure the Bose's wires came out & down just behind my jaw line for better seal). The net combined result was unreal. Even more of the faint roar was now gone, and the soft swishing of vehicles was now a whisper. I put some quiet Eno ambient music on, and kept on turning down my Cowon. I had it as low as "2" on a scale of "40". It was like watching the world go by in those lobby areas of big towers, where they have massive thick 3 pane glass. You see the traffic but you don't hear it.
My next challenge is to try this on big city subways. The ones in my town sound like 747 taking off when they roll into at station, and, the synthetic announcer voice for each stop is maddening. It's some sort of harsh 95 dB blast of 350 Hz alto voice & horrible 700 Hz first overtone. I should (finally) have it nearly beat this week as I try out the above. The QC20 are supposed to be about -19 dB at 500 Hz under ideal dummy head laboratory conditions. I'm hoping that, because my initial inner passive seal is now better, and, I can put the Peltor's over this (they hit about -40 dB in the 500 Hz - 1,000 Hz area), that this will help the QC20 a lot.
Rule of thumb: Use 3 attenuations 1) Get a good passive first seal (canal mold - modified if needed), 2) Use a powerful active NC (Bose QC20), 3) Use a powerful passive outer seal (big earmuff like the X5A - which has generous space inside for my now sticking out a bit QC20).
I also may experiment later, with something I saw on the web: de-core a Comply, stretch it over an Earportz (has a 35 degree bend one that can bend more), attach the Bose medium stay-here to the earportz with the left over Comply's core tube (Silpoxy wont' stick to Earportz in my experience). This should work, but, for now, I'll try to get some mileage out of the custom molds as above.
'Hope this helps. -Veryquiet
