[Mike Walker]

I love mine. Go ahead, yell at me. I'm not intimidated by the opinions of others. Not when I've heard, compared, and DECIDED for myself. "NO HIGHS"? "RECESSED MIDS"? You're kidding, right? The bass extension is profound, and honestly a little exaggerated in level. But the overall tonal balance is WAY forward compared to, say, Sennheiser 600s, BeyerDynamic DT-990 pro, or many of the other 'cans reviewed here.

I used to have the same stereotypically negative opinion of Bose products...until I LISTENED to their headphones! The around-ear 'phones have lots of bass, but not the sheer extension of the on-ear model. Did you try something with true deep bass? I'm not talking LOTS of bass, but DEEP bass...like a pipe organ recording. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! These things go to the BASSMENT! They're exceptionally sensitive, so they will play LOUDLY with even wimpy mp3 players (sans amplifier). And they're clean, and distortion-free. Oh yes, they do have elevated bass. But even that's not a great sin in my book, because it's also clean and EXTENDED...WAY extended!

Yell at me. It makes no difference. After 35+ years in radio and pro audio, successfully operating my own studio for a decade, and producing a weekly radio show (Saving the 70s) noted for it's sound quality Saving the 70s I'll take MY opinon over YOURS every single time.

Later. I'm off to LISTEN TO MUSIC...what this damn hobby is supposed to be about!

 

[moonboy403]

There's nothing wrong with loving your headphone. After all, it's what you like that really matters to you.

However, I didn't write the review by only auditioning them at a store. I actually owned it.

 

[Mike Walker]

Uh, I actually own the Bose 'phones...have since Sept of 08. To quote Charleton Heston "out of my cold, dead hands!"

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Walker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Uh, I actually own the Bose 'phones...have since Sept of 08. To quote Charleton Heston "out of my cold, dead hands!"

I know you own them since you mentioned it in your other post. I was only saying that I owned it too.

 

[cheemo]

I owned these OE for the time trial period of 30 days, in that time I purchased a pair of Grado 225's. The Bose went back to the store and been a Grado lover ever since. Thanks HF.

 

[Mike Walker]

Grados always seem just a tad too aggressive in the mids and highs (WAY too aggressive in their inexpensive models). Plus the bass extension on the Base OE 'phones is far better.

 

[sebhuber]

..."color the sound like a retard with a crayon" that is the funniest thing I have read all day!!

 

[Mike Walker]

Yeah, as someone whose nephew has Down Syndrome, the use of a term like "retard" is simply hilarious.

Who's next? Blacks? Jews? How about the blind? I guess I'd qualify for that one, since I have about 5 percent vision from retinitis pigmentosa.

On subject, audio coloration is easiest to spot on pink noise. Through a transducer with relatively flat response, it should sound very much like a waterfall, with no distinct pitch. If you hear distinct pitches (even great headphones usually reveal a couple), THOSE are colorations. If it sounds "rumbly" at the low end, the bass is exaggerated. If it sounds "screechy", there's a peak in the upper midrange/lower treble. Etc.

The Bose OE headphones do remarkably well on this test. They're sure not perfect, but they're far better than average.

 

[Redcarmoose]

you guys do know that the bass wave is not as noticeable inside the care right? The lower or longer bass wave the more the distance it takes to finalize. If the frequency is low enough it may get heard 300 feet away but not close to the speaker.

 

[Mike Walker]

You're confusing wavelength with frequency. The wavelength may be many feet, but that really makes no difference. If it did, it wouldn't be possible to hear anything below a few hundred hertz through headphones. A closed-ear headphone, or earbud with good extension can go so low that the pressurized wave is felt rather than heard. Bose OE headphones, and to a lesser extent Sony MDR-V6 'phones, for instance, are quite strong at 20hz.

I have no freaking idea what you mean by "finalize" in relation to a waveform. Regardless of the distance from the speaker, only a part of the waveform is at your body at any instant. And that part of the waveform...be it beginning, middle, or end, was closer to the speaker just a moment ago. If what you say were true, nobody who doesn't have an auditorium-sized listening space would hear any bass! Bass wavelengths are longer than the dimensions of most any small room. By the way, a 300 foot wavelength is too low to even be sound!

Do me a favor. Put on a pair of Bose OE headphones, Sony MDR-V6/7506, Koss A130s, most any good in-ear monitor, or your choice of sealed headphone, and play test-tones at 10hz intervals backward from 100hz to 20hz. If you can hear every single tone distinctly, then you must apologize to each of us, and mow our lawn(s). I'm so sure of the outcome that I'll leave the shed where my mower is stored unlocked

Yes sound travels in "waves", but you don't have to be a full wavelength away to hear a sound. Perhaps you're thinking about standing waves, which can develop in an enclosed space, randomly boosting and cutting response near the resonance of the space as you move about. Cars (and headphones) can actually be excellent for low bass reproduction. It's very simple...the cone moves out, pressurizing the air in the enclosed space, which pushes your eardrum inward. The cone moves back out, depressurizing the air in the enclosed space, and your eardrum moves back out. This actually works very well with the tiny transducers in earbuds, shoved deep into your ear canal only a tiny distance from your eardrum. If what you said were true, people would hear no bass under these circumstances. Instead, this is one of the most effective ways to hear truly deep bass.

One thing that's missing from headphones that we experience in the "real world" is the feeling of the waveform vibrating our bodies at low frequencies. We experience low bass with our whole bodies, while we're hearing it with our ears. This sensation is missing with headphones, but I don't really care. Good 'phones are far better than anything but the most expensive speakers at reproducing low bass.

Can you imagine a speaker system priced at 150 dollars a pair that can produce ear-splitting volumes in the octave below 40hz, with distortion way below a percent? It's virtually impossible. I doubt there's ever been a commercial example. But I literally don't have space on my desk for all the headphones and earbuds which achieve this.

 

[Redcarmoose]

There is a volume knob type filter on my sub, when I have it at 5% you have detailed sub bass in the room in the place where you sit. If you turn the knob to 90% you no longer hear any bass. My neighbor will hear my bass though. I have heard it called the matureity of the bass wave.

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebhuber /img/forum/go_quote.gif ..."color the sound like a retard with a crayon" that is the funniest thing I have read all day!!

Quote:

retard

.... what a nice word! well you do get all sorts of interesting people on here! What a numpty!

 

[Berlioz]

I agree that the retard comment was somewhat inappropriate. Besides, I know mentally handicapped people that can colour a lot better than myself.

Anyways, I'd like to see someone take apart a pair of Bose headphones and post the results here. I've done it myself quite a few times, but that was when I had easy access to used Bose headphones. The build quality on them is so astonishingly bad, that the headphones are almost an exercise in cutting corners.

All headphones are going to have markup. Obviously, no headphone (HF1 excluded) is going to be produced truly at cost. However, for that pair of Bose headphones, the markup is just unbelievable. I see QC3's going for $400 CDN, when they contain perhaps $40 worth of parts. For that kind of money, you could get HD650's or AKG 702's.

The worst part is, anyone who buys Bose is committed to their music. I see people with Bose all the time, and they're totally in to their music. People I meet who use Bose, have extensive CD collections, and even use lossless formats. That's what really gets me. It's only the most loyal customers of Bose - the people who really love their music - that get screwed the most.

 

[tvrboy]

Interesting review, thanks. My question is why do most cheap headphones sound the way you described the Bose: lots of bass, but very fuzzy and vague mids and highs? Is that the way customers like them to sound? Or are they cheaper to construct that way? I for one cannot stand highs and mids being recessed, wooly, fuzzy, or however you describe it. That is the mark of "cheap" speakers to me.

 

[Mike Walker]

I've removed the earpieces from my Bose OE. The construction is no better, or worse than my Sennheiser HD600s, or any of the other more expensive 'phones I own. Now they don't seem to be particularly RUGGED (perhaps that's what you mean?) I've been in radio for 35+ years, and would never consider using the Bose in an on-air studio for hours a day, where they'd get dropped, have their cord rolled-on, etc. My Sony MDR-V6/7506 'phones can take such abuse. I doubt seriously the Bose could. But then I wouldn't use my Sennheisers in this way either.

Being legally blind, I'm probably less visually oriented than some here. But I am VERY tuned to sound. I'm NOT a Bose-lover. I DESPISE the "direct-reflecting principle"...introducing random reflections and colorations into reproduction sounds quite insane to me. But a closed mind is a terrible thing. When Bose produces a product that's actually good, as they do occasionally, THAT SHOULD ALSO BE ACKNOWLEDGED! The Bose Wave Music System II (the latest model of the Wave Radio) is quite good for what it is. And my mom had a Bose stereo in a car she used to drive that was quite pleasant to listen to.

In the late 80s, Bose scientists discovered that the FMX noise reduction system about to be incorporated in FM stations and tuners actually made multipath distortion much worse. That's real science. And the Bose on-ear headphones are QUITE GOOD! If these wore the label Denon or Sony, and sounded exactly the same, they would no doubt be praised here.

A shame. No person is either all good, or all bad. When conservatives complain that Bill Clinton had some moral lapses, lied under oath, should have resigned, and is far from trustworthy...well, those points are hard to argue. But when people like Ann Coulter and others assert that the Clintons are murderers, well people with real intellect simply stop listening. They're seeing ONLY their personal biases, not what's actually there.

When people declare that NOTHING FROM BOSE HAS MERIT, they're doing the same. I LOVE certain headphones from companies like Koss, Sennheiser, and Beyerdynamic. But all three of those companies also make some GOD-AWFUL headphones as well. Honestly, I don't know ANY manufacturer whose line of headphones is without a few "dogs" (do you, really?) Why are so many here incapable of admitting that once in a while even Bose gets something right? After all...even a stopped clock is right twice a day