[Sebhelyesfarku]

 
Quote:

Anyone have $150 to burn? 

 
I'd spend it on booze rather.
 

 

[paconavarro]

LOL

 

[Sophonax]

I just took a look at these...and I must say that I think they actually look pretty nice.  Knowing Bose, the sound quality probably won't be up to the $150 price tag, but they look very comfortable, and the structure looks much more durable than the original TriPorts (in fact, I'd even venture to say that it looks stronger than the Denon D1001).  Add on top of that the fact that they fold flat and have a single-sided cable, and these actually might not be such a bad offering.
 
Bose says these still use the TriPort architecture.  Anyone know where the ports exit the earcups?  I don't see them anywhere...
 
I always thought that you could make the original TriPorts sound a little better by changing the port tuning to cut down on the muddy midbass.  It would be interesting to see if the same could be done with the AE2.

 

[nonsupremous]

I recently listened to the new AE2 at a local Best Buy store and I thought they were better than the Beats by Dre.  Now that may not be saying much, but however they were setup, they weren't quite as washed out through the mid range and highs.  
 
I have always been one of those guys that keeps coming back to Bose to see if they have put something together that I personally like.  Sigh.....they keep missing it for me.  I have liked the bass in bose headphones typically.   But they need to be tapered off to bring out mids and more sparkly highs, IMO.  They just seem to keep missing the boat here.  Whoever approves the final sound of Bose headphones must really hear differently than most people. 
 
But I will keep trying out every new model.  I can't just get on the hate bandwagon without doing my own research.  Don't hate just because it's trendy. 

 

[BluFalcon]

I auditioned a couple of sets of Bose headphones yesterday.  I wasn't blown away by how they sounded at all. 

 

[Tom White]

I realize I am a little late to this party, but here is my input.
 
I just picked up a set of the AE2's, and they are not yet broken in (never liked the term "burn in").
 
As a bit of background I have tried/owned various Sennheisers, a pair of Grado sr60's, Koss ur55's, and some others. So my experience is not with the extremely high priced or "boutique" brands, but run of the mill models by well known companies. Although I do not make my living at it, I have also been a musician since my mid teens (I'm 59 now. That's right. I'm an old fart!) so music is not something I have just recently discovered. Most of my listening is to music of my younger years. The Beatles, Stones, Moody Blues, Cream, Hendrix on one end, and lighter fair such as Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor or John Denver on the other end, and artists like Harry Nilsson somewhere in the middle. Heck, you might even catch me listening to Nat King Cole on some days. Absolutely no rap, hip-hop or country. OK, MAYBE a Kathy Mattea song or two, but I promise that is as country as it gets with me.
 
I agree with another poster in this thread that the discussion should perhaps be more about the sound and comfort (making longer listening sessions more pleasant), and less about brand name or price, to truly evaluate these phones. That being said, here goes.
 
These are without doubt the most comfortable phones I have tried. Some of my other headphones have been either too tight or loose (the Senns), and some downright uncomfortable (the Grados). The Koss were unique in the flexibility of the headband, and thus were easier to adjust for comfort. These however, are darned easy to wear. No, I won't "forget that I am wearing them" as some claim about some headphones, but really darned comfortable. They are not the sturdiest I have seen or worn, but they certainly feel like they will last a good long time.
 
By the way, I am listening to music on a Sony S545. No additional amp (and no intent to buy one). Some of the music is recorded in lossless WAV format, some in MP3 VBR average of about 296 to 320.
 
Now, on to the sound. 
 
I'm pretty well pleased with these AE2's. For example, the Moody Blues can sound a bit dark on some phones, in particular the Senns with their signature sound being a bit that way to begin with. By contrast, the AE2's bring out more in the music. The Koss phones do this as well, but not quite the same. Nice presentation overall. With The Beatles, these phones are nice and balanced. Perhaps Paul's bass could be better represented, but that old Hofner of his had a very mellow sound to it to begin with. The bass representation may change with time and use. We'll just have to see. But it isn't bad at all.
 
On acoustic music these phones really do a terrific job. S & G, Denver and Taylor all sound great, and vocals on all the different music sound very good.
 
So, if the bass gets better with time and use, I'm going to be very happy with these. You might notice that I made comparisons with my Senns and Koss, but not the Grado. The reason is I have never been able to bring myself to say anything nice about those. They are uncomfortable and shrill and I regret buying them. Yes, I know they are the holy grail for some, but not for me. I would not, however, spit on anyone wearing them, nor would I mock that person or their family as one poster so inelegantly put it. I've just always been one to believe my ears more than put stock in any magazine review that tries to tell me what I should or should not like.
 
So, there's my opinion, for what it is worth.
 
Thanks for reading, and be sure to tip your bartenders and servers on the way out.

 

[Sophonax]

Thanks for the detailed impressions!  I always thought the Bose Triports were the pinnacle of headphone comfort, and it sounds like Bose has done it again with the AE2.

Any chance you've heard the original Triports / AE headphones?  While not very detailed, I always thought the Triports had decent mids, with a pretty strong emphasis on midbass, and rolled-off highs.  I'm curious as to how the new AE2 compares.

 

[DevienT]

I have the AE and used them for daily portable use and the earpads fell apart within 1 year. The seam for the ''pleather'' came apart and they also cracked apart. Besides that the thin metal band with minimal padding cut into the top of my head and I always had to adjust them. The sound was ok, but not that great.
I got the Pioneer SE-MJ31 now which blows them out of the water in sound, comfort (they dont hurt the top of my head), and portability (they are not as big around my neck), imo.

 

[Tom White]

Quote:

Thanks for the detailed impressions!  I always thought the Bose Triports were the pinnacle of headphone comfort, and it sounds like Bose has done it again with the AE2.

Any chance you've heard the original Triports / AE headphones?  While not very detailed, I always thought the Triports had decent mids, with a pretty strong emphasis on midbass, and rolled-off highs.  I'm curious as to how the new AE2 compares.

No. I never did try the earlier version. One reason is, as stated by DevienT,  in the following quote, I had read about problems with the headband and such.
It does appear that they have addressed some problems in this latest design. The new design appears much better done to me.

 
Quote:

I have the AE and used them for daily portable use and the earpads fell apart within 1 year. The seam for the ''pleather'' came apart and they also cracked apart. Besides that the thin metal band with minimal padding cut into the top of my head and I always had to adjust them. The sound was ok, but not that great.
I got the Pioneer SE-MJ31 now which blows them out of the water in sound, comfort (they dont hurt the top of my head), and portability (they are not as big around my neck), imo.

 

[aorbinati]

I am very happy with the AE2's. I've been listening to 595's for a while now and actually prefer the Bose for certain types of music: R&B, jazz, blues, electronica. Very happy with the purchase. Great for portability and actually do a great job at muting outside noise.