[Music Alchemist]

 

Ok, a little of something here… to whom it may concern!
 
1. I've never dropped a baby on headphones.
 
2. I've never dropped a baby on anything.

 
Haha! Not even I would have thought of this comedic twist.
 

3. NC headphones are principally meant to be used on planes, commute, etc. An excessively bright headphones would cause fatigue in that kind of use. That may explain the warmer sound. With all their R&D, I can't believe Bose aren't able to produce an audiophile-quality sound. They have a massive lot of engineers, no one of them is actually a pure audiophile? They do tune their headphones with purpose. To pleased the masses? Yep!

 
I'm sure plenty of them own audiophile systems and the like. When Steve Jobs of Apple went home, he would listen to vinyl on hi-fi speakers, not the (relatively) affordable products his company created, for example. That being said, I know more than a handful of people who outright dislike a neutral and accurate sound signature. I like it all, personally!
 

 

QC25 seem to use a 2.5 mm plug… I don't know if the whole prong of QC15 serves to connect to the headphones. Plug only, they look similar.

 
The connectors are the same size (3.5mm) on both ends for the QC15.
 

BTW, love the "airy" red skirt 

 
Why, thank you! XD

 

[Gabe62]

  Just checked out the QC25 at a local store. I didn't get to test it with my own music so I can't compare to my QC15. But I'm happy to report that the cable is indeed thicker - about the same thickness as the V-Moda cable if you removed the nylon sheath. The earcups are the same height as the QC15 but looks a bit wider. Comfort is as good or better, and looks much better, especially on the head. The sides of the headband don't stick out like with the QC15.
 
EDIT: That was my 2000th post! Pretty anti-climactic, lol.

Bravo on so many posts... I've made around 6 !
 
Good info., makes me feel better about my pre-order ! Improvements are good.
 
But I certainly hope the cable will work on a normal mp3 player, as I don't own - nor ever will - own an "i" anything !
 
As for alternatives to BOSE, I think the Sennheiser PXC 450s are one I may try in the future, mainly because they are more sturdier and a lot larger around the ears. Yes, the ANC is worse... but how much worse ? It may be worth the trade off.

 

[blueangel2323]

 
I'm just a little irked that there doesn't seem to be a normal audio cable (without the inline remote, etc.) available for it. The normal cable sounds much better than the remote cable to me. Does anyone know if the QC15 cable fits into the QC25?
 
hehe, I kinda like how the sides stick out.
 
At least you didn't go completely overboard like I did:
 
Maybe angels are more down to earth than alchemists?

 

 
The QC15 and QC25 have different cables. The QC25 cable is a normal headphone cable and lacks the hi-lo gain switch on the QC15 cable. The QC15 cable can be used with the QC25 (with a 3.5-2.5mm adaptor), but you will have that ungainly switch module sticking out of your headphones. The good news is that because it's a standard jack, you can use your own (non-Bose) cable!

  Ok, a little of something here… to whom it may concern!
 
1. I've never dropped a baby on headphones.
 
2. I've never dropped a baby on anything.
 
3. NC headphones are principally meant to be used on planes, commute, etc. An excessively bright headphones would cause fatigue in that kind of use. That may explain the warmer sound. With all their R&D, I can't believe Bose aren't able to produce an audiophile-quality sound. They have a massive lot of engineers, no one of them is actually a pure audiophile? They do tune their headphones with purpose. To pleased the masses? Yep!
 
4. I saw a lot of good comments about PSB M4U2's sound quality. Their NC isn't as effective as QC15/25, but it could be a possible alternative if you use them at home while you don't necessarily need the better NC of the bunch : (for what it's worth) http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/noise-canceling-headphone-challenge.html
 
5. Congrats for your 2000th!

 
As you said, the main point of the Bose headphones is NC. If you need NC, there's no point in getting a better sounding headphone like the M4U that has less effective NC. If you're listening at home and don't need NC, why bother buying a headphone with NC?
 

Bravo on so many posts... I've made around 6 !
 
Good info., makes me feel better about my pre-order ! Improvements are good.
 
But I certainly hope the cable will work on a normal mp3 player, as I don't own - nor ever will - own an "i" anything !
 
As for alternatives to BOSE, I think the Sennheiser PXC 450s are one I may try in the future, mainly because they are more sturdier and a lot larger around the ears. Yes, the ANC is worse... but how much worse ? It may be worth the trade off.

 
There are differing opinions... according to this site the QC15 sound better and have more effective NC than the PXC 450, but this site says the opposite (although the second site is referring the QC2 and QC3 - presumably the review was written before the QC15 came out).
 
iPhone-compatible cables work fine with normal MP3 players. However, as I said, the QC25 finally uses a standard cable so you can replace it with your own.
 
I've been an iPhone user since 2010 but decided to switch to Android. I'm getting a Samsung Galaxy on Saturday. I'm pretty tech savvy so I think the far greater flexibility and customizability of Android would be better for me.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  The QC15 and QC25 have different cables. The QC25 cable is a normal headphone cable and lacks the hi-lo gain switch on the QC15 cable. The QC15 cable can be used with the QC25 (with a 3.5-2.5mm adaptor), but you will have that ungainly switch module sticking out of your headphones. The good news is that because it's a standard jack, you can use your own (non-Bose) cable!

 
Too bad it's not a normal cable in the sense of not being a remote cable.
 
Have you ever compared remote vs audio only cables? For me, there is a huge sound quality difference in favor of the latter.
 
Oh, sweet! So if I ever get the QC25, I could use V-MODA cables with it...except I would still need that 3.5-2.5mm adapter.

 

[Pass]

 
I've been an iPhone user since 2010 but decided to switch to Android. I'm getting a Samsung Galaxy on Saturday. I'm pretty tech savvy so I think the far greater flexibility and customizability of Android would be better for me.

Welcome in, new Android user! It seems that your 2000th post gave you reason!
I use an LG Nexus 4 for a year and I'm very happy with it. Plus, some Androids are really good audio players (LG Nexus 5, HTC One, etc.). 

 

[Gabe62]

Good to know a standard 3rd party cable can be used !
 
How is the battery compartment - still plasticky with a spring that cost less than the one in a 99 cent flashlight ?
 
As for Android, they reckon Kitty-Kat is as good as the iOS anyhow. I'm after the new Moto G2 - £150 for a 5" smartphone - that does phoney things, and £200 for a decent compact camera (e.g. Canon SX280). To me... much better value than an iPhone, and £200 change to put towards a decent mp3 player ! Only problem is that if you want to take them all out at the same time, you will need a Batman-style Utility belt !!!!!!!

 

[blueangel2323]

 
Too bad it's not a normal cable in the sense of not being a remote cable.
 
Have you ever compared remote vs audio only cables? For me, there is a huge sound quality difference in favor of the latter.
 
Oh, sweet! So if I ever get the QC25, I could use V-MODA cables with it...except I would still need that 3.5-2.5mm adapter.

It depends on the cable. I notice no difference between the remote and audio-only V-Moda cables. My used QC15 didn't come with the audio-only cable so I can't compare.
 

  Good to know a standard 3rd party cable can be used !
 
How is the battery compartment - still plasticky with a spring that cost less than the one in a 99 cent flashlight ?
 
As for Android, they reckon Kitty-Kat is as good as the iOS anyhow. I'm after the new Moto G2 - £150 for a 5" smartphone - that does phoney things, and £200 for a decent compact camera (e.g. Canon SX280). To me... much better value than an iPhone, and £200 change to put towards a decent mp3 player ! Only problem is that if you want to take them all out at the same time, you will need a Batman-style Utility belt !!!!!!!

 
The battery door on the QC25 looked identical the one on the QC15, unfortunately.

 

[mrenvy]

Does the Sennheiser Momentum cable work on QC25?

 

[jay-w]

I don't know but I'm selling my Momentums to help pay for these.

 

[Kamakzie]

I currently have a pair of QC2's and SoundTrue's.  I was talking to Bose and if I ship my QC2's back to them they will send me a pair of QC25's for $225 or so after tax and shipping.  I will take them up on that offer soon.  I wish Bose would've done 3.5mm headphone connections on the headphone end instead of 2.5.  I tried adapting the SoundTrue's with a very skinny 2.5 to 3.5 adapter so I could use my V-Moda BoomPro but it was about 1mm in thickness too thick.  Tried dremeling it but destroyed the adapter.  If anyone else figures a way please let me know.

 

[TopTogs]

Hey Guys, so I finally picked up a set of the QC25s (UK £260ish) and wanted to start contributing to this vibrant and knowledgeable community.
 
From the moment you take them out of the box you can tell they are well built, from the choices of materials to the smooth action of the hinges, they just ooze a sense of quality, despite being so light. I'm not sure why Bose chose to put this very bland off blue/grey strip around the dome, it doesn't really do much at all, especially compared to the colour inside the cup.
 
Naturally the noise cancelling is very good, mids and lows are very well surpressed whereas highs can still be heard but sometimes in a way which makes them sound blended, like part of what you are listening to, can be funny sometimes. The noise cancelling does make my ears feel like they need to be equalized, like when you go diving, is that normal? After only a short amount of use?
 
The sound is probably the biggest let down for me though, they sound rubbish comapred with my Ultrasone HFi580s, the whole mix sounds recessed and further away, and although the details left to right sounds good, the vertical spacing seems lacking, like Bose have taken the top and bottom of the music and cut them off, leaving you with this wedge in the middle. It's unexciting, a very controlled and managed sound.
 
So far i'm thinking, what did i pay £260 for exactly, yes they are supremely comfy and yes the noise cancelling is very effective, when it's not making me feel like im scuba diving, but surely we buy quality headphones for their ability to portray music in a quality way??
 
My question is this, can these headphones be burnt in like any other, or does/will the EQ nulify this effect? I'm going to give it a week, then if i'm still not happy, they are going back.....and i'm going back to the drawing board!!
 
Cheers all,
 
Togsy

 

[Pass]

  Hey Guys, so I finally picked up a set of the QC25s (UK £260ish) and wanted to start contributing to this vibrant and knowledgeable community.
 
From the moment you take them out of the box you can tell they are well built, from the choices of materials to the smooth action of the hinges, they just ooze a sense of quality, despite being so light. I'm not sure why Bose chose to put this very bland off blue/grey strip around the dome, it doesn't really do much at all, especially compared to the colour inside the cup.
 
Naturally the noise cancelling is very good, mids and lows are very well surpressed whereas highs can still be heard but sometimes in a way which makes them sound blended, like part of what you are listening to, can be funny sometimes. The noise cancelling does make my ears feel like they need to be equalized, like when you go diving, is that normal? I don't think. Mine are working perfectly, without that feel you described. After only a short amount of use?
 
The sound is probably the biggest let down for me though, they sound rubbish comapred with my Ultrasone HFi580s, the whole mix sounds recessed and further away, and although the details left to right sounds good, the vertical spacing seems lacking, like Bose have taken the top and bottom of the music and cut them off, leaving you with this wedge in the middle. It's unexciting, a very controlled and managed sound.
 
So far i'm thinking, what did i pay £260 for exactly, yes they are supremely comfy and yes the noise cancelling is very effective, when it's not making me feel like im scuba diving, but surely we buy quality headphones for their ability to portray music in a quality way?? No. You buy quality headphones for their claimed ability, may it be sound quality/audiophile proprietaries, ruggedness/solidity, noise isolation/noise canceling.
 
My question is this, can these headphones be burnt in like any other, or does/will the EQ nulify this effect? I'm going to give it a week, then if i'm still not happy, they are going back.....and i'm going back to the drawing board!!
 
Cheers all,
 
Togsy

The question is: what was your need prior to buying these headphones? If it was NC, I assure you, you can't find any better (well, maybe the QC20…). But if you wanted a good sounding headphones, so why have you bought a NC set?
 
BTW, I'm quite liking their sound profile. Mine have 25-35 hours of play. I don't think that they have actually burned, but you should at least give them a chance, since you have a 30-day return policy. And maybe questioning yourself as why you've bought this particular model, because NC headphones will always sacrifice a little SQ in favor of NC, even though I'm very pleased with them for my tastes/needs.
 
Could you have a defective one? V-Moda guarantee a 1-dB max difference between each headphones, I don't know about Bose quality control process though. You can also take a look here and compare his results with yours : http://www.head-fi.org/t/672743/comparisons-22-of-the-top-closed-portable-headphones-around

 

[Kamakzie]

I assume there would be a big difference between my old QC2's and some QC25's?

 

[MacedonianHero]

  I assume there would be a big difference between my old QC2's and some QC25's?

Considering there was between the QC2 and QC15s, I'd say yes!

 

[Kamakzie]

  Considering there was between the QC2 and QC15s, I'd say yes!

 
Yep probably going to do the trade in with Bose then for the $199 deal.