EYEdROP
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
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I've followed Bose products for the past 10-15 years and always enjoyed their sound signature for casual listening and convenience. Even remember being impressed with Bose sound as a child with totally virgin ears.
As I got into this hobby I fell in love, got some serious equipment and found Bose bashing understandable and did it a bit myself but matured up after awhile and realize I missed the point.
I always did find their sound pleasurable and collected here and there but they were never great for deep critical listening. Always too bassy/dark sounding with rolled off treble. But still nice sounding and never offensive. A safe bet for your average Joe and nicely tuned for unfocused listening...
I recently picked up the QC35 over the holidays and honestly, they are some of the best sounding cans Ive ever heard, and that's saying something.
There are still typical Bose problems with the QC35 sound. Every track has a strange DSP sheen to it and the sound is still typical Bose blanketed, smoothed over sound. Stretched out "direct/reflecting" soundstage. Not the last word, etc.. But to my ears, they have mitigated those issues tremendously compared to old models. Whatever they are doing with DSP to fix these things, they are doing a good job.
There is a certain "rightness" to the sound that I believe has always been exclusive to Bose but previously rarely well executed in past products....
There is a very natural "authority" and energy to the actual notes, making musical passages and melodies very naturally intelligible. The notes of the details sound literally "louder" in energy for lack of a better word.
No critical listening skills or focus required to enjoy every detail!
And with the latest products, they seem to have dialed the bloated bass back and lifted the highs and really refined the sound. They just did a great job with the tuning. And they actually have timbre accuracy now! I can now take them more seriously in critical listening sessions.
My QC35 make my other high end cans like Ety's and HE-4XX seem thin and lifeless... But really, you forget about the thinness after 5-10mins. My Senns, Etys, Beyers etc are all fantastic for critical listening. But some of those are actually bloated just like crap Bose and Beats...
My Etys are like chameleons in comparison to the Bose. But then again, I really feel there is something to be said about the unique sound of Bose.
The reason for me posting this is I feel Bose gets bashed a little too much for having bad sound quality. But honestly, I don't think that's necessarily the case. They have some great sounding stuff and some crappy sounding stuff just like everyone else.
If you havent tried the QC25 or QC35, I say they sound great and are worth a listen. And this is coming from someone who hates bloated, colored sound... Bose got these sounding "right" despite the hint of Bose color (which has its unique SQ merits IMHO).
As I got into this hobby I fell in love, got some serious equipment and found Bose bashing understandable and did it a bit myself but matured up after awhile and realize I missed the point.
I always did find their sound pleasurable and collected here and there but they were never great for deep critical listening. Always too bassy/dark sounding with rolled off treble. But still nice sounding and never offensive. A safe bet for your average Joe and nicely tuned for unfocused listening...
I recently picked up the QC35 over the holidays and honestly, they are some of the best sounding cans Ive ever heard, and that's saying something.
There are still typical Bose problems with the QC35 sound. Every track has a strange DSP sheen to it and the sound is still typical Bose blanketed, smoothed over sound. Stretched out "direct/reflecting" soundstage. Not the last word, etc.. But to my ears, they have mitigated those issues tremendously compared to old models. Whatever they are doing with DSP to fix these things, they are doing a good job.
There is a certain "rightness" to the sound that I believe has always been exclusive to Bose but previously rarely well executed in past products....
There is a very natural "authority" and energy to the actual notes, making musical passages and melodies very naturally intelligible. The notes of the details sound literally "louder" in energy for lack of a better word.
No critical listening skills or focus required to enjoy every detail!
And with the latest products, they seem to have dialed the bloated bass back and lifted the highs and really refined the sound. They just did a great job with the tuning. And they actually have timbre accuracy now! I can now take them more seriously in critical listening sessions.
My QC35 make my other high end cans like Ety's and HE-4XX seem thin and lifeless... But really, you forget about the thinness after 5-10mins. My Senns, Etys, Beyers etc are all fantastic for critical listening. But some of those are actually bloated just like crap Bose and Beats...
My Etys are like chameleons in comparison to the Bose. But then again, I really feel there is something to be said about the unique sound of Bose.
The reason for me posting this is I feel Bose gets bashed a little too much for having bad sound quality. But honestly, I don't think that's necessarily the case. They have some great sounding stuff and some crappy sounding stuff just like everyone else.
If you havent tried the QC25 or QC35, I say they sound great and are worth a listen. And this is coming from someone who hates bloated, colored sound... Bose got these sounding "right" despite the hint of Bose color (which has its unique SQ merits IMHO).
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