[GiacomoHoldini]

Yes I'm a Prince fan and was a member of the NPG Music Club before it shut down.

As was I. I was fortunate enough to see him in his first of three sold-out shows in St. Paul on his Musicology tour back in '04. The guy kicks ass no matter where he plays, but there is a special energy when he plays his home town. That was a great show to see, to be sure.

 

[the fool]

When you buy bose headphones, more than 70 percent of your money is for noise cancelling, the sound is only 30 percent, i rank their noise cancelling as the best in buisiness, if you are a frequent traveller, bose is a must

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

When you buy bose headphones, more than 70 percent of your money is for noise cancelling, the sound is only 30 percent, i rank their noise cancelling as the best in buisiness, if you are a frequent traveller, bose is a must

I would be interested to know what you base those figures on, because a simple comparison of the models would show they are not correct. Bose's top non-noise-cancelling headphone is the AE2. The AE2 has the same drivers as the QC15, and retails for $149.95. The QC15 retails for $299.95. Based solely on the numbers, one can see that, in the most basic terms, when buying the QC15, 50% of your money is for the noise cancelling, and 50% is for the sound. However, this is an oversimplified view. Although the two headphones have the same drivers, the architecture of the headphones is different, and they sound different, in ways that go beyond just the noise cancelling. The AE2s lacked the bass emphasis of the QC15, didn't sound as full or as warm, and to my ears simply didn't sound as good. Therefore, in paying twice as much, I'm not only getting the NC circuitry, but I'm getting what I consider to be better sound as well.

 

[the fool]

Haha, perhaps i am over exaggerating a bit, i have 2 bose nc headphones, a QC3 and a QC15, my family use it whenever we have business trip, but i rarely use it for listening purpose, personally sound quality wise, i think my senn hd 280 or even px 200ii is the same level or even better, i haven't listened to AE2, maybe they are better than i thought. 

 

[KingOfTheWild]

I believe that you wanted people to give their reasons for why they don't like the Bose QC 15's? I don't NOT like them, however I think that 1) noise cancelling headphones are unnecessary as there are a lot of closed back headphones that offer good enough isolation and some offer equal isolation then some noise cancelling headphones . . . there are some that even offer better isolation than noise cancelling cans (I can't talk about the QC 15's as it's been a long time since I have listened to them) and 2) if you happen to go on a trip somewhere and you forget to pack extra batteries and your batteries in the phones happen to die well then you are out of luck and you cannot listen to music until you return home (that is assuming you only packed your NC phones and no other head/ear phones). So that is why I think that (most) NC headphones in general (NOT just Bose one's) are extremely overrated. Just my two cents.

 

[Mr Newyear]

Personally, I like the noise cancelling of the QC15s because it will save my hearing in the long run. I don't have to crank up the music to be isolated from the outside world. Sure the SQ isn't the best, but with an eq it becomes acceptable. Just my two cents.

 

[danphan]

I've done a ton of research on the Bose headphones over the past few weeks. I tried the QC15, OEi2, AEi2, and QC3. 
 
In terms of sound quality, the QC15 were the best. They strike a nice balance of highs, mids and lows. The QC3s also sounded great but something about the on-ears (OEi included) that sounds a little muddled. The AEi2s were noticeably weaker. They lacked bass compared to the other 3. 
 
The noise canceling feature on the QC15 is nothing short of amazing. They really cut out the background noise. They are also the most comfortable headphones I've ever used because of the material and weight. The cushions are super soft and its all plastic (which is also sorta bad). 
 
In the end, I decided to get rid of the QC15's because they require a battery to run, which gets annoying and costly. 
 
If you care about sound quality, skip the AE2's.

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

Thanks for your input, danphan. Just a couple comments in response:

The cushions are super soft and its all plastic (which is also sorta bad). 

The headband support is actually metal, but otherwise, yeah, everything else is plastic. Personally, I don't find that to be a bad thing. As has been pointed out elsewhere, well-developed resins often have better acoustic properties than metal and wood, for the purposes of reproducing sound. Of course, they're also lighter weight, which helps with the comfort factor. I know some people feel like they're getting ripped off with plastic, but I don't agree. If plastic does the required job, I don't have a problem with it.

In the end, I decided to get rid of the QC15's because they require a battery to run, which gets annoying and costly. 

I found using recyclable batteries really helps with the cost factor. For a slightly higher buy-in cost, you can effectively eliminate the need to buy new batteries for years. Of course, you'll still have to change them out, and keep them charged, which presents its own inconveniences. Also, the battery indicator light starts blinking very early with rechargeables, even though they're not anywhere near used up; something about the rechargeable batteries interferes with the indicator's ability to gauge the remaining charge. This can be disconcerting if you don't know about it.

 

[Sinik]

same here, i have the bose qc15 they do really sound horrible. i expected it would be great sound quality, like when i listen to homecinemas in shops, the bose home cinema do really sound great! probably that's only for the homecinema?!
 
only the noise cancelling is really great, but the lows are just... sry, there are just NO lows. and ofcourse it's seriously overpriced, some pair with 1/3 of the price will do a lot better!!!!

 

[jham1496]

As others have said, the noise canceling is excellent but you can get grado sr325, beyer dt880, hd600(used) for about the same price and those 3 will sound a TON better.  
They sound great at best buy because you get the bose picked songs (and the fact that the only other option is beats) but dont fall for that.

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

As others have said, the noise canceling is excellent but you can get grado sr325, beyer dt880, hd600(used) for about the same price and those 3 will sound a TON better.  
They sound great at best buy because you get the bose picked songs (and the fact that the only other option is beats) but dont fall for that.

I'm in agreement here. I recently bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 598s, and the Bose simply don't come close, in terms of pure sound quality. Of course, where the Bose excel is in the noise cancelling, as well as their easy portability and driveability - all weaker points for the 598s. But if sound is the sole criterion, it's easy to pick the winner - and it isn't the Bose.

The Bose in-store displays are EQed to show off the headphones. With the right recordings, the Bose can sound pretty good. The problem is, not all recordings are tailor-made for the Bose. Just as many others show up what I consider the QC15's biggest weakness: the treble peaks that impart a harsh edge - something I picked up on even without comparing them to other phones. When comparing them to something as well balanced as the 598s, the harshness really becomes obvious.

only the noise cancelling is really great, but the lows are just... sry, there are just NO lows.

I still don't agree with the "no lows" statement. I hear plenty of bass; indeed, the Headroom FR curve shows a very pronounced sub-bass response. That doesn't mean it's necessarily good bass, but it is certainly present, at least to my ears.

 

[dundonrl]

I bought a pair of QC-15's from the Navy Exchange in San Diego, for 1 purpose.. the A/C ducting and exhaust in my work space onboard my ship was so loud that you had to literally shout to be heard. the QC-15's blocked most of the noise, but did allow a little bit to come through, and when you were listening to the TV (with them plugged in to it, of course) or music you couldn't hear the wind blowing at all.. also, since they aren't designed to block out higher frequency (such as talking) you could hear people talking if needed, again, when not listening to music.. 
 
I did compare them to a shipmates' Dr Dre's Beats and they were head and shoulders above them in music quality and noise cancelling. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I bought a pair of QC-15's from the Navy Exchange in San Diego, for 1 purpose.. the A/C ducting and exhaust in my work space onboard my ship was so loud that you had to literally shout to be heard. the QC-15's blocked most of the noise, but did allow a little bit to come through, and when you were listening to the TV (with them plugged in to it, of course) or music you couldn't hear the wind blowing at all.. also, since they aren't designed to block out higher frequency (such as talking) you could hear people talking if needed, again, when not listening to music.. 
 
I did compare them to a shipmates' Dr Dre's Beats and they were head and shoulders above them in music quality and noise cancelling. 

The Beats say they have NC, but I've never heard any. Not sure if its really there in the first place (marketing gimmick) or maybe its just so poorly implemented that one barely notices it. That said, the QC15s sound much better, isolate leagues better and are more comfortable. 

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

The Beats say they have NC, but I've never heard any. Not sure if its really there in the first place (marketing gimmick) or maybe its just so poorly implemented that one barely notices it.

If Beats represents the headphones as having active noise-cancelling circuitry, then I believe the circuitry is in there. (That isn't to say the circuitry is actually good.) If Beats was to make that claim falsely, the company would subjecting itself to huge liability, both under federal trade practice laws, as well as private consumer actions. A company as big as Beats would certainly know better than to do something that stupid.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

If Beats represents the headphones as having active noise-cancelling circuitry, then I believe the circuitry is in there. (That isn't to say the circuitry is actually good.) If Beats was to make that claim falsely, the company would subjecting itself to huge liability, both under federal trade practice laws, as well as private consumer actions. A company as big as Beats would certainly know better than to do something that stupid.

I was kinda joking just because their NC is just so poor it's virtually non-existent.