Has anyone tried the Bose On-Ear?
Jul 12, 2009 at 4:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 38

Ultrazino

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I really really like the sound of the Zino, but I don't find them comfortable enough for usage over 2 hours and I wouldn't mind a wee bit more isolation.

Somebody recommended me the Bose On-Ear instead and I wanted to ask for a "professional" opinion.

This is what I look for:
- Clear sound! I like a tight bass but not if it sounds unnatural.
- Comfortable fit. I have a slim head, btw.
- I don't need much isolation but the Zino doesn't isolate enough, IMO.

Thanks!
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 5:11 PM Post #2 of 38
Bose? Never heard of 'em...
tongue.gif


This "friend" that recommended Bose - does he have more money than brains?

There is a difference between isolation and noise canceling. If you have isolation, you don't need noise canceling. However, not all noise canceling 'phones provide excellent isolation.

Do you want on-ear headphones or in-ear? In-ear will provide more isolation. What is your price range?
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 5:51 PM Post #5 of 38
Quote:

Originally Posted by ka-boom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Is the search button working for anyone but me? I just checked and it still works...


Didn't work for me. Thanks!
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 7:37 PM Post #6 of 38
Ok, Bose bashing aside, I actually listened to these for fun while looking for a Sansa Clip at target.

For one, I believe the sample music in the demo display is optimized and EQ'd for the triports and on-ear headphones. I bought the tri-ports years ago and I returned them because they sounded NOTHING like what I heard on the demo. Then I learned about head-fi and it confirmed the terrible sibilance and strange sound signature.

In either case, the on-ear headphones had very unnatural bass. But it was kind of fun for a few seconds, but I would think that it would get fatiguing. Strange because its usually the highs that tire your ears out, but the bass was so pronounced and unnatural that it just feels weird. Not tight at all.

Soundstage and instrument seperation are above average, but not at that price point.

I won't really comment on the highs and mids because I strongly believe they EQ'd the music samples and you might hear something different when you take it home.

All in all, if you can grab a pair for fifty bucks I'd say go for it. But for 160, stay around this site and you'll find many more options for that price point.
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 10:49 PM Post #7 of 38
nice to see that Bose brings out the best in people. I have the iCans and the OE's (which i have on right now, watching Kung fu panda). So what headphones would people buy for half the price against the Bose, and what comparisons can you give?

I like the Bose, they're small enough to go fairly unnoticed. I also like my AKG K450, deep well controlled bass,but not as stylish as the Zino's.

The issue with Bose is the constant bass, but the same could be said of the AKG's. Good when you're in the mood, but a bit tiring if you're not!
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 10:58 PM Post #8 of 38
Without bashing Bose... ( I really like thier desktop systems). They are super hyped, big advertising. mediocre at best... Simply not worth thier price. There are numerus lesser priced cans that stomp all over the Bose.
I'd buy Dr Dre Beats before I bought Bose

My overall recommendation is (1)Denon AHD2002 or (2)5000 ( Budget choice)( A little loose fitting)
or (3) Sennheiser HD650's
(4)Beyerdynamic DT770's or 990's (990's will require an amp)
(5)Ultrasone Pro 900's. (a Little snug at first)

Many recommend the Grado SR series but I have not had the pleasure.
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 11:05 PM Post #9 of 38
i do own a pair of on-ear triports. i do not admit to owning them somtimes as I never really look at them as real headphones. I'm also a little pissed because I carried them around in my pocket out of their case connected to a 30 gig ipod and now i have a short in that cloth type minicable. When they worked I guess the sound was great. The problem with the cable makes a person understand all the anti-bose talk you hear.
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 11:28 PM Post #10 of 38
Quote:

My overall recommendation is (1)Denon AHD2002 or (2)5000 ( Budget choice)( A little loose fitting)
or (3) Sennheiser HD650's
(4)Beyerdynamic DT770's or 990's (990's will require an amp)
(5)Ultrasone Pro 900's. (a Little snug at first)

Many recommend the Grado SR series but I have not had the pleasure.


Good those they are, none of them are what you call ... portable! This is the problem, there's no real high-end portable option bar the OE's and i wouldn't put the OE's against the like of the HD595's or the lower end Grado SR's. You can't even call the AE's portable.

Once you get beyond the Bose OE, AT ATH-ES7 and Sennheiser HD25-1's, you're into full size headphones. Give me something the size of the PX100's with the SQ of HD800's, and I'd be happy!
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 11:35 PM Post #11 of 38
Quote:

Originally Posted by captian73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Good those they are, none of them are what you call ... portable! This is the problem, there's no real high-end portable option bar the OE's and i wouldn't put the OE's against the like of the HD595's or the lower end Grado SR's. You can't even call the AE's portable.

Once you get beyond the Bose OE, AT ATH-ES7 and Sennheiser HD25-1's, you're into full size headphones. Give me something the size of the PX100's with the SQ of HD800's, and I'd be happy!



Looks like you may be in luck if the rumors turn out to be true.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/mro...-model-434019/
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 11:43 PM Post #12 of 38
Quote:

Hello my friends!
I was talking to a sennheiser supplier today about the official arrival of the HD800 and hints were dropped that sennheiser might be looking into research regarding a full-sized portable in the esw10 range and that they would feature similar tech to that on the HD800 for a lesser price.


Are the ESW10's the same size as the ATH-ES7's? The best option is the Stax SR-001 MKII system. I sold mine, but I'm thinking of ditching a huge section of my collection (including my barely opened HD650's) and buying the Stax system again. the only thing was that I was too scared to take it outside!

Real portable, real high-end SQ
 
Jul 13, 2009 at 12:48 AM Post #14 of 38
My problem with all of the Bose products I have heard (full-size, OE, Tri-Port IEM, Various home theater and audio speakers, etc) is that they are simply not a "natural" sound signature. The entire theory of Bose is that there are specific frequency ranges that most humans respond to, and that if there are humps at those locations, our brains will tend to fill-in or forgive the areas between the humps. Put a big hump in the lower mid-bass, and you won't notice that the lower registers are missing. Make a spike at ~8-10K Hz, and you won't notice the mids and the upper registers are missing. This is most obvious at the Bose demo locations, when the EQ and song selection is controlled. When I really sit down and do A/B testing with my own music against non-Bose products, the difference becomes obvious.

It's like the flat-panels at Best-Buy being set to their demo "torch" mode with the saturation and brightness maxed in order to make the units "pop" under the harsh store lights. Once you get the displays home, you then notice the beet-red faces, unnatural colors and lack of shadow definition. I prefer my video *and* my audio to be more natural and less "enhanced".
 
Jul 13, 2009 at 2:23 AM Post #15 of 38
I actually listened to these in a best buy a few weeks ago, just to see what they were giving you for $150 (i think?)

The first thing I noticed were the in-your-face obnoxious vocals. The soundstage was also pretty small, and they were overly warm (like a decent amount of bose products).

I didn't really like 'em, regardless of their price. But in general, stay away from bose. They make you overpay for poorly built and poor sounding stuff.
 

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