The Bose In-ear Review!

[big_sound]

Ok, so today I will tell you a bit about the Bose In-ear. I will rate the quality in 3 sections: build quality, comfort, and finally I will rate the sound quality in 4 sections with a brief summary. OK, so let's get started.

http://www.uncrate.com/men/images/20...headphones.jpg

Firstly, the build quality is pretty sturdy. The phones feel like they are very good quality at first glance. The cable is pretty durable, with a thick rubber coating. The black and white wire is a pretty nice touch. The ear tips are very durable and comfortable, but may fall off easily. Overall I give it a 7\10 in this department.

Second, the comfort is astounding. I have never had earphones that I could listen to for so long and not even feel them. They are probably the most comfortable earbuds I have ever tried on. This is because of the gel like eartips that come in 3 sizes. However this does not help the sound quality in any way. I give the comfort department a 10/10.

Ok, so here is my only gripe with these buds, and it is a big deal being their price of $100.

Bass: The bass on these buds is farty, bloated, and covers up the whole lower mid end. I cannot hear some vocals from the overpowering bass. This may be ok for some types of music, but for most rock and alternative, and classic, it makes the music experience terrible. This is not the worst problem with the sound quality, though.

Mids: All of the vocals sound washed out in the sound, and as I said before, the bass overpowers the vocals easily. It feels like my music is in another room.

Highs: The highs are so rolled off that sometimes I miss the snare hits in a song. It doesn't help either that the highs are overpowered by the farty bass. Even, when EQ'ed, the bass still has a farty bloaty presence. This is not good for any music, I mind you.

Isolation: There is pretty much none. They offer just a dip more than ibuds because of the large silicone earpieces, but you still have to crank up the volume all the way to hear your music.

Summary: The bose in-ears are a comfy pair of buds with subpar sound quality. If their price point was $30, I would let up on the hate, but there is nothing here to justify the $100 price point. I would actually rather use my Ipod earbuds sometimes because of the bloaty bass. Suggestion: Stay away.

Cheers!

 

[tstarn06]

Did you get them for free? Someone once gave me a pair, and I sold them on Ebay for $55.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

It has been long known that the bose in-ears are appalling. Neat review anyway. The comfort level depends a lot on the person i think. I prefer the smaller flanges to them and the comply tips even more.

I was almost offended when a friend said she prefers her bose-in ears to my IE8s which are already very bassy. Such are the unenlightened.

 

[shigzeo]

here we go again...

 

[mokshaa]

"Bass: The bass on these buds is farty,"

LMAO..

 

[talisman42]

I believe farty and bloaty describe different sounds.

I have the SE420, I can relate to the flatulent sound signature, but I like it - as long as it's controlled. Bloat on the other hand, implies uncontrolled bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mokshaa /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Bass: The bass on these buds is farty," LMAO..

 

[Redcarmoose]

I have had a long love-hate relationship with Bose headphones. In-Ear Bose are really Mid-Ear Bose. The review here is correct.
They do not have heavy bass because there is no true air-tight fit in the ear. There is bass, just not two tons of it. I love the comfort of them. They are easy to put in and out. You have to tell yourself that even though you can not feel them the music is there so they are in place. This adjustment compultion goes away after a while. You just can not feel them. If you can get into the flabby mid they produce an abundance of, your good to go. In a way you can understand the Head-fi cutdowns because they are not what this place stands for in regards to pure correct sound. Other in-ears were like ear surgery to get them in right. You felt like you had ear surgery when you took them out too.

They are a C-note so they better last a couple of years. I saw a guy in the weight room with a pair he must have had for awhile as they looked yellow. That is the only yellow pair I have seen. They must last. They come with a case so that is another good point. If they were $35.00 Bose could not have those Gucci stores. I really hate their home HI/FI stuff. The other wild program they have is called trade-in-repair. One day you find your On-Ears (retail $160.00} are out of working order. When you call Bose they state when the warrenty period is over they trade to fix your stuff. The only good thing is if you have two issues they are both fixed because the new phones are straight out of the box new. There is no wait period. The problem is again cost. A trade in for Bose-On Ears is $75.00. I have not used this program but it may panout for some who found an old pair and traded for a new pair at reduced cost. Wouldn't that be cool? You may have to sell your soul with a pac of lies, but it may work." Yes, I purchased these new in 2006 I think." What does Bose care? The true cost maybe $10.00 USD. They have you by the jewels as again you will trade-fix again and again forever at $75.00 a throw.


There will be Bose-haters here and maybe very few Bose lovers. Head-fi people feel they are over-priced entry grade low-fi. They kind-of are! I do not care what anyone thinks and buy what I like. The sound is not right. It makes having them kind of a guilty pleasure at times. You know the music is modified somehow from the way it was made. In all their cost, they are a cheep sounding thrill. On-Ears the same guilty pleasure only this time it is just from too much manufacured bass, not too little like the In-Ears. In the 70s we used to have torn guitar speakers that made this messed-up sicko sound that was not right only warm and fun. So do the Bose sound like torn speakers do?.......................Well yes they do. They sound warm in a messed-up about to fail way.


So why do I like them? I think they sound good. Not perfect. Just a fun incorrect dull soggy sound. So why is that good?
They have a good sound for the rock I play. The tone does not wear on my ears. So just like the easy fit, the sound has a level of comfort. I almost think they were made for Apple Products because that is were they perform. The In-Ears with a tube amp like the Woo 3 is too warm. They are hard to drive. Can you get a hold of that? An in-ear mini-tiny speaker that is hard to drive.
If you buy a pair you will see.

 

[righteousball]

I like Bose because they tend to put out products that everyone else simply plaigiarize. Especially the Japanese. So they definitely did something right here.

Triport (AE) gave rise to the OR7 and a few other Sony headphones that don't look so similar. Sony started borrowing the OE's earpad concept lately. And although not strictly IEM, doesn't the setup of the IE enclosure look like an "open" version of Sony's EX300/500/700?

I have a pair of IE that I don't really use anymore. It's just not my kind of sound, but I do believe that it serves a purpose and there's a market for it. Off-topic for this forum, I also had a pair of AE, and I really enjoyed it. It's not boombastic at all, it sounded normal. And it's really rather comfy. I ended up selling it only because I'm not used to over the head phones.

 

[089709867]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Dying_Wren /img/forum/go_quote.gif It has been long known that the bose in-ears are appalling. Neat review anyway. The comfort level depends a lot on the person i think. I prefer the smaller flanges to them and the comply tips even more. I was almost offended when a friend said she prefers her bose-in ears to my IE8s which are already very bassy. Such are the unenlightened.

If she listened to them and told you that she liked the In-Ear better.. what's the problem? Maybe she should have her ears swapped out for a pair of yours?

I have the mobile in-ear set and the sound is just what I wanted it to be. I wish I could turn the highs up manually but I don't care to now. I sampled (Apple and Klipsch) the competition and I came away with the In-ear.