I was in a BestBuy the other day and noticed that the Bose demo area now had three of the four phones available for comparison (Some displays only feature 1 or 2). Since I'd just contributed the other day with a few comments about Bose (from memory), I thought I'd upgrade my memory.
I found the OEs to be really bassy but in the worst possible way. No doubt, there's a lot slam there but the presentation was so thick that the female voice, telling you to listen for the clarity of the vocals, was raspier than Jody Foster with a case of whooping cough. She could have stood in for James Earl Jones yammering, "THIS is C-N-N!" I think she must be Luke's father. No wonder Obiwan kept it a secret. Anakin's a she-male!
The AE's were less bassy, in both senses of the word. They were less muddy but the bass impact was sliced and diced, removing the whole reason to listen to either of these phones. They're more comfortable than the OE's, since they don't sit on the ears, but they're so small, my ears barely fit inside those plastic shells. The sound was crap. Whatever sacrifices a person might make to listen to the OEs, at least they had slamming bass. These didn't even have that.
BestBuy didn't have the QC3 on display but it did have the QC15 (The QC3 is the more expensive version of the QC15, more expensive because it fits the QC15 into a smaller package). The QC15 is an upgraded version of the OEs, with noise cancelling technology (something Bose, himself, patented more than three decades ago for aviation headsets). To give credit where credit is due, the QC15 sounds a lot better than the OEs. It's still muddy but not as much so as the OEs, but it has some (if not all) of the OE bass. If you were going to go Bose, this would be the headphone to buy. Unfortunately, it's $300.
Should anybody pay $300 for a Bose that doesn't totally suck? The same $300 would buy you a Grado SR-325 (or a 225 with a hundred dollars left over). Online, you could get a brand new HD600 or an AKG K-701. You could get an Audio Technica ATH-AD900. You could get a beyerdynamic DT880 (or, with a few dollars more, the 990). You could get a Sony MDR-DS6000. You could have an Ultrasone HF1-780 or a Pro 550/650. All of these choices would give you better sound for the same or less money.
What really struck me as interesting, this time around, was the sales pitch - voiced by Darth Husky and supplemented by a matching video display. I challenge anybody with a few minutes to spare to check this out. While you're listening, a voice comes on saying things like, "Notice the clarity of the vocals" - followed by the muddiest vocals you've ever heard. The musical selections skew toward vocals, with plucky guitars and a strong bass beat (which would be prominent on any set of headphones). Each selection is introduced by this husky female voice complimenting some WEAKNESS of the Bose presentation. It's like hypnosis. Whatever the voice tells you, it's just the opposite of what you're hearing. The only sonic quality that stood out was the heavy bass. THAT'S what Bose is selling.
The people who are buying Bose aren't people who buy headphones. They're people whose only headgear has been the stuff they give away on planes. If your idea of a headphone is something you can pick up at Walmart for under $40, you're easy prey for the Bose marketing machine. They DO sound better than something you'd fetch for 1,000 points at a Chuck E. Cheese - just not against any decent audiophone at the same price. This is why Bose is the punchline of the audio world - and no less so at HeadFi. In presenting itself as the headphone of audiophiles, it has become the choice of audiofools. Its arrogance is matched only by its greed. Those fooled by the marketing machine will probably never go on to hear a decent set of cans - and they certainly won't have the coin.
To be a Boseur is to be a poseur. That's why Boseurs get no respect around here. On the other hand, take a walk to the mall and Boseurs rule. While you're down there, you might as well shop for skateboard supplies at Zunies.
