[blueangel2323]

  Bought the QC25 for my dad yesterday and very impressed with the ANC.
However, music sounds extremely muffled and terrible with the ANC turned off but at least you can still listen to music unlike in previous models.
A very warm a musical sounding sounding headphone that is definitely worth the $ if you are specifically looking for a comfartable ANC headphone.

 
That's to be expected. The passive mode of the QC20 sounds terrible too.

 

[MacedonianHero]

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

 You should be quite impressed with the improvements.

 

[Gabe62]

Just got them, 3 days from Belgium to UK.
 
Ok, so compared to the QC15s:
 
PROS:
 
1. Better build quality - arms, pivot joints and cups - but see Cons ! Joints especially, look very metal and substantial - I feel better about touching them now.
 
2. Better fit - slightly more roomy and less clamping force - thank goodness... big head here !!! They just feel lighter and less obtrusive. Much improved on the comfort scale !
 
3. ANC shows slight improvement on higher frequencies - TV voices definitely reduced more. Can only imagine lower frequencies are better too - have to wait for missus to get back and start moaning at me, to find out.
 
4. Cable is proprietary - ish !!! Actually need a 'long thin' 3.5 jack to go into phones. UPDATE: it is actually a 2.5mm (3 pole) longer jack that goes into the phones - can't find a decent replacement yet !
 
 
 
 
CONS:
 
1. Headband has gone downhill - big time. Made now, from thin cheap material and stretched over thinner and less padded headband.
 
Certainly a minus for me... imo, and I'm sure everyone will agree... not good at all.
 
I can envisage both ear pads and head bands will need replacing a year or so down the line, instead of just the earpads, as seemed to be common in the QC15s
 
2. That's it !
 
No more cons... except I'm (personally) not a lover of the smaller case and having to fold them 2 ways - I don't take them out, and I'll be keeping therm in a larger case - no folding required ! But, for many people, the smaller footprint will be a PRO.
 
 
 
So, I'm glad I got them even though my others were only 6 months old - managed to clear  £140 on Ebay, so not fussed.
 
Gonna try the QC20s now ! See you in that thread....

 

[Pass]

   
CONS:
 
1. Headband has gone downhill - big time. Made now, from thin cheap material and stretched over thinner and less padded headband.
 
Certainly a minus for me... imo, and I'm sure everyone will agree... not good at all.
 
I can envisage both ear pads and head bands will need replacing a year or so down the line, instead of just the earpads, as seemed to be common in the QC15s

I kinda disagree with you here. I find the headband to be a nice touch to their overall look ; it blends well with the side bands. The denim-like material covering the top seems to be a new trend for headphones (Urbanite), and QC25s integrated it well. Maybe your eye will accommodate with time, but that remains very subjective.
 
I rejoin you for durability, since I don't know how long will last the suede-like material under the headband. We'll have to wait! Comfy for the neck, though!

 

[Pass]

Can you compare the sound between QC15 and 25, if your 15 weren't sold prior the arriving of your 25?

 

[Kamakzie]

Does anyone that bought these also have a pair of SoundTrue's?  Is the cable plug in hole in the 25's bigger around?  It looks like it in the pictures but hard to judge.

 

[mrenvy]

  Can you compare the sound between QC15 and 25, if your 15 weren't sold prior the arriving of your 25?

QC15 has a noticeable hiss sound when no music is playing; QC25 is a complete silence.

 

[Gabe62]

   
   
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.
 
 

Not quite unfortunately... yo need the 3.5 to 2.5mm cable which are quite rare... and the one I tried only had 2 poles and was shorter than the original, and as such keeps cutting out. So, you either try a myriad of cable options in the hope they fit, or make do.

 

[Gabe62]

  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.
 
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

They benefit a lot from a half-decent amp. I use a Fiio E17 and crank up the gain and bass, and reduce the treble. Much better... especially with music.
 
My problem is that the balance is shifted to the left by around 6 db... can't cope with uneven volume so, mine are going back tomorrow for a replacement !
 
PS. I also use Media Monkey on the PC, via USB (as the Fiio is also a DAC), and use the built-in equaliser. With Sky TV (aka Cable in the states !), I use optical out from the box... improvement over headphone out from the TV !

 

[Gabe62]

  Can you compare the sound between QC15 and 25, if your 15 weren't sold prior the arriving of your 25?

Sound is pretty much the same - NC is way better - especially high frequency (TV, babies screaming and seagulls !), and they are more comfy.
 
Pleased with purchase, although these are going back as balance has gone out of whack !!! ???
 
So, hopefully it's just the pair I got, and not a design flaw. Never had problem with the QC15s.

 

[blueangel2323]

  Not quite unfortunately... yo need the 3.5 to 2.5mm cable which are quite rare... and the one I tried only had 2 poles and was shorter than the original, and as such keeps cutting out. So, you either try a myriad of cable options in the hope they fit, or make do.

2.5mm is still standard, just not as popular as 3.5mm. If it's really 2 poles then it's a mono cable. You need at least 3 poles for stereo - left, right, and ground.
 

 
My problem is that the balance is shifted to the left by around 6 db... can't cope with uneven volume so, mine are going back tomorrow for a replacement !

Definitely a faulty pair. I had the same problem with my first pair of QC15, although the imbalance was not as severe.

 

[Pass]

 
Sound is pretty much the same - NC is way better - especially high frequency (TV, babies screaming and seagulls !), and they are more comfy. 
 
Pleased with purchase, although these are going back as balance has gone out of whack !!! ???
 
So, hopefully it's just the pair I got, and not a design flaw. Never had problem with the QC15s.

So NC is way better than an already excellent NC performer… that says a lot!
 
And yes, you may have a default pair. I use mine almost daily (5-6 days/week) and no problem yet.
 
Only "problem" is that they just can't put out a lot of volume. At home, I need my Dragonfly, but when at work, Nexus 4 needs to be push to the max to obtain an adequate performance. But then, they juice down the phone  

 

[Kamakzie]

I've kind of given up on finding a 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter for these.  I was starting to turn into Captain Ahab.    Besides the supplied cable isn't too bad.

 

[Gabe62]

Well i may be referring to the incorrect term: by poles I meant the rings on the spline of the jack. On the standard 3mm there are 2 ( 1 for each channel), on the 2.5 mm BOSE jack, there are 3... 2 for the channels and 1 for the microphone / device controller (as in the QC25, there is only 1 cable - for use with device (ipod etc.).
 
So their 2.5mm jack is slightly longer than 3rd party 2.5 mm jacks.

 

[blueangel2323]

  Well i may be referring to the incorrect term: by poles I meant the rings on the spline of the jack. On the standard 3mm there are 2 ( 1 for each channel), on the 2.5 mm BOSE jack, there are 3... 2 for the channels and 1 for the microphone / device controller (as in the QC25, there is only 1 cable - for use with device (ipod etc.).
 
So their 2.5mm jack is slightly longer than 3rd party 2.5 mm jacks.

 
Ah ok. The tip of the plug counts as a pole too. The tip is usually the left channel, the middle section ("ring") is usually the right channel, and the part closest to the cable ("sleeve") is the common ground.