[mchurgin]

I dont consider myself an audiophile, however my headphone collection has included in the past: er6, er4p. Now they include KSC35, Senn px100, shure e2c, shure e5c. Mostly used is the e5c for islolation and the KSC35's for general listening and fun/excersice when I dont need isolation. I have read many negative things about the triports so I stayed away from them, however whenever I tried them at the Apple store or a Bose store I never ripped them off saying they were terrible. So I was at Best Buy with my son and on a whim I thought I would give them a try. I really want something easy to wear and provide a bit more isolation then the senn px100(too bassy) or the KSC35's (No isolation).

Imust say that I am strictly speaking about the sound and not weather the $150 price is justifiable. But soundwise I think they are a bit better than the KSC 35's. They sound very clear good highs (not shreeky) good mids, and the bass is a bit less than the 35's, but it can go low when tested.

If the bad rap on these Triports is due to the price tag, that I can understrand, But if its the sound than I am missing something, because based on other members I feel my best sounding phones are the KSC 35's and the Shure e5c's. Well like I said these provide a bit of isolation and can easily be compared to the 35's for sound qulity with a little less pronounced bass, which I think is a good thing. I do not intend to use them for portability but rather around the house or in bed for that added isloation without the hassle of in-ear e5's.

Just wanted to voice my opinion on my findings and am interested in replys.

 

[Oddball]

I think if the Triports were 1/3 the price, I'd buy them. There aren't many decent closed, portable cans out there and the Triport I think is one of the better ones. Yeah, the price is the problem. It's overpriced, overhyped, and overadvertised. If you think about, there aren't that many competitors to the Triport in that particular form factor.

 

[lindrone]

I don't think Tri-ports are bad for their sound, I don't even think QuietComfort2 is that bad for their sound.. it's just the price/performance ratio that's completely off.

If QC2 was below between $100~$200, and Tri-Ports were between $100 to $50.. they would much better justify their price.

 

[Vedder323]

just to add to what everyone is saying... Yeah, they do sound good but they are over priced. Think of all the great cans that you can buy for $150!

However... its hard to compare anything that is light, comfortable, and closed at any price range.

 

[pedxing]

I think the Bose Tri-port would be a hit if it sold for less than $75 and Bose did not manufacture them.

 

[tiberian]

i had a pair before IMO they were really comfortable but sounded like crap

 

[LargeSock]

I think you're kind of answering your own question when you say they sound "a bit" better than the $30 Koss phones.

 

[mchurgin]

Based on the responses, and based on previous threads and comments, I'm inclined to believe that more people actually have these phones then are willing to admit. Some of the sound descriptions dont come from just a quick sample listen at the store where you dont control your sources of both music and player.

Afterall, I have the Shure e5's and although I traded for them and didnt pay $499, as good as they are, are they really worth $500?

I just wonder that if Bose didnt get all the bad press here if the reviews and admission that these phones, although a little overpriced, are actually pretty damn good! Good clean sound, NOT the typical Bose Boomy Bass, lightweight and comfortable with medium islolation. To me all this adds up to good usable phones solving many listening situations around the house. I do think they are to big for daily portable use, and not enough isolation for commuting, plane travel etc.

Does anyone use them for excercising? and how do they hold up to sweat?

 

[TMC]

Quote:

Originally posted by mchurgin Based on the responses, and based on previous threads and comments, I'm inclined to believe that more people actually have these phones then are willing to admit. Some of the sound descriptions dont come from just a quick sample listen at the store where you dont control your sources of both music and player. Afterall, I have the Shure e5's and although I traded for them and didnt pay $499, as good as they are, are they really worth $500? I just wonder that if Bose didnt get all the bad press here if the reviews and admission that these phones, although a little overpriced, are actually pretty damn good! Good clean sound, NOT the typical Bose Boomy Bass, lightweight and comfortable with medium islolation. To me all this adds up to good usable phones solving many listening situations around the house. I do think they are to big for daily portable use, and not enough isolation for commuting, plane travel etc. Does anyone use them for excercising? and how do they hold up to sweat?

I think most people who have/had them unfortunately bought them before they knew better.

I listened to the Triports on my own source with my own music (Zen Xtra) for about 5 mins and frankly they sounded like $25 headphones. They might have a lot of qualities I didn't have time to notice, but what I noticed was the quite bright presentation with severly lacking low-end. I threw some of the most bass-heavy music I had at it and it just whimpered. I'd like to see people who think D-66 lack bass try these on and see their facial expressions

If you really enjoy bright sound the Triports might appeal to you (if we forget about the price), but for others I really can't recommend it even if it was only $50.

 

[Jasper994]

One of the things that really threw me off of the Triports is that a Bose rep tried to tell me that they would compete with $300 headphones for sound quality. I'd really like to know which ones he was talking about...

That aside, I've heard the Triports on serveral occasions at Best Buy and Good Guys stores. Quite frankly I've never been impressed. Even rating them against $30 - 50 headphones I've heard/own such as the PX100 and PX200 and not considering price, they faulter. The worse part is that you can't compare them to headphones of that price range because you could never buy them for that price.

Listen to a fully burned in pair of HD280 Pro's ($60 -70) and then go compare to the Triport ($150) and you'll see just how BAD of a deal the Triport really is.

The other very funny thing about the Triport to me is that on serveral of the displays that I've come across the Triport was blown. All of the Sennheiser and Sony (even the Vxxx crap) headphones weren't... What! Did they make the drivers out of toilet tissue?

 

[zeno333]

I made a posting earlier about comparing the triports to my much loved AKG K340s...well after just a few minutes and a few comparisons the left one goes in and out now...I have to touch the cord to the left phone to get it back and then it comes and goes. I heard they were easily broken but this is ridiculous!!!! I was very gentle with these and they broke after a few minutes of use...i am actually shocked...and very disapointed. now i need advice on a nice pair of phones for over the ear that actually work....

 

[go_vtec]

If you are into audio, you probably knows that Boss is probably spending more money on advertisement than all other audio companies R&D combined. They are very good at marketing and very good at knowing what makes people "perceive" as good sounding system. If you ever take their systems apart, you will know what I mean (more marketing, less quality parts in). For the parts they are using for their products, most of everything is overpriced. Couple of magazines published measured specs on Boss product and got sued immediately (very poor performances for HIGHLY priced product).

To put it nice way, Boss audio equipment have VERY smooth sounding characterics in general; speakers rely heavily on reflected sound and/or tuned band-pass design for mid bass where people are most perceptive. If you like really laid back sounding headphone, Boss you get your vote. But you can get a better all-purpose audio/headphone for half price or less. Try Sennheiser HD280 pro (around 70 bucks) or Sony V6 (around 60 bucks). Basically, they are re-patterning known technologies, but customers pay for all the extra overheads on advertisements and marketing costs.

 

[Oddball]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jasper994 One of the things that really threw me off of the Triports is that a Bose rep tried to tell me that they would compete with $300 headphones for sound quality. I'd really like to know which ones he was talking about...

The "other" headphones Bose makes...the Quiet Comfort 2 does retail for $300 and doesn't sound as good as the Triport. Sad but true.

 

[strohmie]

I actually had my first sighting of Bose QC2 headphones on the U of I campus - a woman walking to a bus stop had a pair on. In the headphone's defense, they did at least keep her from hearing the guy on the bike who was yelling "on your left" at her as she happened to be walking down the sidewalk bike path.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Blah sound quality, REALLY craptacular build quality. BLEH!