[tdockweiler]

I tried the AE2 and they're quite good, but not $150 good to me. I think if they were sold for $70-$100 they'd be worth it. Please tell me what is as small and as comfortable for under $100. Not many that are easy to find online. Any of them with memory foam? Nope.
 
So far I can think of the Maxell DHP-II, Beyerdynamic DT-235 and a few others that are as comfortable and circumaural. It seems that for the Bose AE2 you're paying a little more for the Bose name, it's marketing, the size and comfort. To me the AE2 is $70 sound for $150. People expect them to sound like a $150 headphone.
 
The sad thing is that most Bose haters never gave them a chance. I'm willing to bet money that most of them never actually had them in their home and are just judging them from a store display. I can't tell you how dumb this is.
 
The AE2 sounds fairly good, but I returned it and kept my Creative Aurvana Live, which is actually less balanced sounding. The AE2 actually had better mids and a clearer sound to me.
 
I actually prefer the AE1 a bit. To me, it didn't have any bloated bass, very very slightly recessed mids and some fatiguing treble. Who would have thought they would have a lot of treble?!
 
I remember back when I was new to all this I originally had the AE1 and always loved them. This was back before everyone had mp3 players! I bought a pair recently for $40 and I was shocked that they didn't sound like garbage.
In the end from my Ipod Touch they had too much treble for me so I gave them away to my mom as an upgrade to her Maxell DHP-II (which is a very good headphone, despite being a Maxell!).
 
It's funny how many people have this idea about how Bose headphones sound, but yet can't even describe the signature or are totally wrong on it. They just listen to all this junk from others how "Bose sucks" and just continue to spread it around without having a clue.
 
I will say that the AE1 has HORRIBLE build quality. I've tried maybe a hundred or more headphones in my life and these are one of the few that has actually broken..twice! Bose replaced it with no questions asked the first time.

 

[dirkgently]

Quote:

To me the AE2 is $70 sound for $150. People expect them to sound like a $150 headphone.
 
The sad thing is that most Bose haters never gave them a chance.

 The former point is exactly why people don't give them a chance.  I demoed them in-store, and just from that little sample, I overall enjoy the sound out of my Grado SR80i's more, and I paid almost half as much for them.  If $150 headphones don't sound like $150 headphones, not giving them a chance is a no-brainer to me.  I expect to get what I pay for, not get half of what I'm paying for.

 

[sophiesophie]

Bose owners are what?  Social-lepers and deviants?  Oh my god!  Bose headphones actually produce excellent sound.  They're overpriced?  Probably.  But they're always on sale somewhere.  Just not at the Bose stores!  Also, a quick note to the Grado haters:  Yes, some people find them uncomfortable.  You're sticking them on your head.  Everybody is different.  I can't stand to wear almost all Sennheiser headphones as I find them all very uncomfortable.  I find almost all over-ear headphones uncomfortable.  That is why I love Grado.  Not to mention the fact that they sound superb.

 

[sophiesophie]

I mean, just look at dtockweiller's picture.  He's the most handsome man I've ever seen.  I know it's not his picture, but I can just tell.  First born to dtock!

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 The former point is exactly why people don't give them a chance.  I demoed them in-store, and just from that little sample, I overall enjoy the sound out of my Grado SR80i's more, and I paid almost half as much for them.  If $150 headphones don't sound like $150 headphones, not giving them a chance is a no-brainer to me.  I expect to get what I pay for, not get half of what I'm paying for.

 
That's the thing..with Bose you ARE paying for the comfort, small size, Bose name and the marketing. People pay extra for this all the time and often don't realize it.
Just look at the Skullcandy Aviator and Klipsch Image One. Do you think those are $150 worth of sound? Definitely not. Not saying they don't sound good..
Then there is the Shure SRH-940. In no way does it sound like a $250-300 headphone. Shure thinks they're something special now I guess charging that much.
Yes..I did like the SRH-940 a LOT, but it sounded like a $150-$175 headphone. You ARE paying extra for that detachable cable, nice pads and storage case.
 
Yet..Bose is so evil, but everyone is OK with other $150 headphones that don't offer $150 worth of sound.
 
Yes, at least with Grado more of it goes into the sound.
 

 
 

 

[swaffleman]

It's funny to me that people rag on the build of the AEs. Mine never broke. I even worked out and occasionally ran several miles at a time with them one (I've since realized that it's stupid to wear larger headphones when running). I also lugged them around in my backpack a lot. Never broke. But some ******* did steal them.
 
Anyway, the build of the AE2s is pretty awesome. Very sturdy and lightweight. 
Quote:

I tried the AE2 and they're quite good, but not $150 good to me. I think if they were sold for $70-$100 they'd be worth it. Please tell me what is as small and as comfortable for under $100. Not many that are easy to find online. Any of them with memory foam? Nope.
 
So far I can think of the Maxell DHP-II, Beyerdynamic DT-235 and a few others that are as comfortable and circumaural. It seems that for the Bose AE2 you're paying a little more for the Bose name, it's marketing, the size and comfort. To me the AE2 is $70 sound for $150. People expect them to sound like a $150 headphone.
 
The sad thing is that most Bose haters never gave them a chance. I'm willing to bet money that most of them never actually had them in their home and are just judging them from a store display. I can't tell you how dumb this is.
 
The AE2 sounds fairly good, but I returned it and kept my Creative Aurvana Live, which is actually less balanced sounding. The AE2 actually had better mids and a clearer sound to me.
 
I actually prefer the AE1 a bit. To me, it didn't have any bloated bass, very very slightly recessed mids and some fatiguing treble. Who would have thought they would have a lot of treble?!
 
I remember back when I was new to all this I originally had the AE1 and always loved them. This was back before everyone had mp3 players! I bought a pair recently for $40 and I was shocked that they didn't sound like garbage.
In the end from my Ipod Touch they had too much treble for me so I gave them away to my mom as an upgrade to her Maxell DHP-II (which is a very good headphone, despite being a Maxell!).
 
It's funny how many people have this idea about how Bose headphones sound, but yet can't even describe the signature or are totally wrong on it. They just listen to all this junk from others how "Bose sucks" and just continue to spread it around without having a clue.
 
I will say that the AE1 has HORRIBLE build quality. I've tried maybe a hundred or more headphones in my life and these are one of the few that has actually broken..twice! Bose replaced it with no questions asked the first time.

 

 

[swaffleman]

I'm very well aware that I'm not just paying for the sound.
 
As I said, ALL of the features of the AE2s make them, in my opinion, an excellent value. 
 
I'll restate what they are: decent warranty if bought new, easily replaceable cord (the original AE's did not have that and it's great for the longevity of the set), extreme comfort and lightweight, and very sturdy build quality. All of that in addition to a good sound. I'd say it's worth $150. 
 
And for what it's worth, these are way better than the image one headphones. The bass isn't as good but it's a more even and open sound and the comfort blows the klipsch away. I couldn't seem to get a good fit on my ears with the image one headset, and after just a few minutes I noticed discomfort. 

 

[swaffleman]

I'd say they compare favorably to headphones in that range, but that's me. And yes I've listened to some...like the Senn. 380 pros or the HD 25-1s (owned both). Actually those are a lot more than 150. I'm not saying the bose are better, but they aren't vastly inferior either. 

 

[jjinh]

Music taste is subjective so the most important thing is you like them.

 

[alv4426]

I haven't heard Bose HPs but I will say that their home theater stuff is pure crap, all of you who say they are good mustve only been listening to TV speakers. They are very expensive for what you get especially for their sound-bar and 2.1 surround systems that were apparently engineered to sound even more crappy. And dont get me started with their Wave music systems... 

 

[Redcarmoose]

I didn't mind Bose all that much at the start. It is kind of a slow process of buying their headphones, I have owned a couple. The sound is wrong but fun at first. The big problem is no matter what the sound issue is, or the over price issue is, they all break after a very short time. I would be really surprised if any Bose headphone product would last more than a year or two, unless it was kept in a box and taken out once a month being cared for like a Faberge Egg.
 
 

 
 
Then you can go back to the store and pay $80.00 to trade in your 1 year old broken pair of On-Ears and get another pair for a replacement. Then that pair is brakes in a year. With that investment total you could buy something better that would last I would think. But they do look cool.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[koolkat]

Quote:

 
That's the thing..with Bose you ARE paying for the comfort, small size, Bose name and the marketing. People pay extra for this all the time and often don't realize it.
Just look at the Skullcandy Aviator and Klipsch Image One. Do you think those are $150 worth of sound? Definitely not. Not saying they don't sound good..
Then there is the Shure SRH-940. In no way does it sound like a $250-300 headphone. Shure thinks they're something special now I guess charging that much.
Yes..I did like the SRH-940 a LOT, but it sounded like a $150-$175 headphone. You ARE paying extra for that detachable cable, nice pads and storage case.
 
Yet..Bose is so evil, but everyone is OK with other $150 headphones that don't offer $150 worth of sound.
 
Yes, at least with Grado more of it goes into the sound.
 

 
 

 
What is $150 worth of sound to you? 

 

[swaffleman]

Not my experience. I've owned Bose headphones before and they lasted a very long time. Just take good care of them and they won't break. Plus the detachable cord means that you can keep using them even when the cord goes bad (major reason why most headphones become defunct at some point). 
 
Quote:

I didn't mind Bose all that much at the start. It is kind of a slow process of buying their headphones, I have owned a couple. The sound is wrong but fun at first. The big problem is no matter what the sound issue is, or the over price issue is, they all break after a very short time. I would be really surprised if any Bose headphone product would last more than a year or two, unless it was kept in a box and taken out once a month being cared for like a Faberge Egg.
 
 

 
 
Then you can go back to the store and pay $80.00 to trade in your 1 year old broken pair of On-Ears and get another pair for a replacement. Then that pair is brakes in a year. With that investment total you could buy something better that would last I would think. But they do look cool.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[crumpler]

I must confess i do enjoy the somewhat infrequent listen on my AE2s. Not the most accurate or "audiophile" sound available but these are fun engaging headphones, perfect for the occasional fooling around.

 

[alanbeeb]

Bose Headphones actually quite good?
 
Yeah right, next thing you'll be saying that faster than light travel is possible!
 
Oh - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/22/faster-than-light-particles-neutrinos